I came across the Mountain Mods' Bob Slay blue UV case while looking for a smaller LAN case to take to this years' QuakeCon event in Dallas. Though I am not particularly fond of clear cases, the Bob Slay accepted full sized ATX boards, had a handle, and looked pretty nice in UV blue. I sent off my order to Mountain Mods for the case, some clear 120mm blue LED fans and the assorted cables needed for a nice build.

My thinking was that it would be nice to assemble a PC without the normal effort involved with a full blown mod, and the extra time involved for a case review. In other words, I was just going to buy a simple case, toss a system in it, and go have fun for a change =)

Ah, the best laid plans--from the moment we were unloading machines in front of the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, this little blue case caused a stir. People were just drawn to it in groups of 3 and 4 constantly. Keep in mind that we brought some SERIOUS case mods to the con, and this case just pulled attention like a locomotive right through the entire event untill I closed the door on the truck to go home. Eventually, it just became easier to say, "It's the Bob Slay from Mountain Mods--read the upcoming review at Boxgods.com, and yes, you can take a picture".

For all of you guys who asked--here you go.

Those among you familiar with Mountain Mods already know that their cases are designed with form following function. This means that the performance of the case is job one--and the "look" tends to be more of a professional purpose built design. Purists like me, and most of our readership, tend to like this.

The blue acrylic is likely the only outright nod to "fashion" in the entire Bob Slay design, and it works very well in this regard. It is hard to miss and very pleasing to the eye. The simple handle on top serves its purpose without fanfare, as it should. The case is split into two compartments, with the HDD's. optical drives, and PSU below. Above, is the motherboard where you simply can't miss it. There are also a pair of 120mm fans in a front to back configuration that move cool air over your CPU, memory, and video card/s and out the back--simple, elegant, efficient.

Anyone who has ever tried to connect all their cables in a semi-dark room at a LAN event will really like the motherboard mounting layout that places the I/O ports of the motherboard on the right side of the case where access is super simple. I sure do like it. Last, we have the small size of the case. Though not small enough to classify as SFF, it is still about as small as you're going to get in a case that accepts a full sized PSU and full ATX boards--and there is still ample room to work inside the case.