If you don’t mind the size, the M998 isn’t bad looking. It is a pretty simple case, as far as exterior details go, which I like. The side Plexiglas window provides a great view of the internal components, and the cable management system works well to eliminate cable interference. If you don’t mind the massive size, you could certainly do worse than the M998.

The window to your computer's soul.

Performance:

I felt the M998’s performance was a bit of a mixed bag. While the operation of the assembled unit exceeded my expectations, the manufacturing quality of the individual components felt a little lacking, especially for a case that costs $199.99 without a power supply. The sparse instruction sheet also left a lot to be desired.

While assembling my rig, I occasionally ran into parts that didn’t fit together as nicely as I had hoped for. The slide out MoBo tray was a little flimsier than I like, and the aluminum paneling on the exterior felt less sturdy than my previous Antec brand case. The rear pass-throughs for video card, sound card, and other components were a bit narrow, which made it a little difficult to align the various connectors, and the front panel was pretty difficult to remove for drive installation. Still, I managed to get the rig together without any serious problems, so although my complaints may seem fairly numerous, none of them were deal-breaking.

Even though there were some things to complain about, the M998 also has a lot of nice features, the most unique of which is the “Power Bar Distribution System”. This system consists of a metal “power strip” running down the inside wall of the case. After plugging your power supply into the strip, you can then use the strips multiple outputs (4-pin peripheral and 8-pin PCI-E) to power all of your individual components.

By placing these outputs closer to where your components are located, and by providing a number of very short cords, the M998 greatly reduces the level of cord clutter within the unit, which makes for a much nicer view through the side window. You will not get as much of a benefit out of this system if you do not have a power supply with modular outputs, because there will be excess wires to contend with, but if you do have the aforementioned type of PS, then you are looking at a much less cluttered case. Considering that there are a total of 11 drive bays (4 External 5.25", 2 External 3.5” and 5 Internal 3.5”) the power cable management system can be really handy.