Riotoro CR1080 Review

  

Up Close:  Exterior

Mmmmm?  Normally the first thing we do is talk about the aesthetic, but if we’re honest we don’t know quite what to make of the CR1080.  The odds are it’s going to be a bit of a Marmite case, you’re either going to love it or hate it.  For us, I think the thing that sticks out the most, both figuratively and literally is the bulging side window.  We understand the reasoning behind it, it’s just that in this case, the function somewhat denies the form.  And that’s before we’re even pointed out that this is a reverse window case, in that it has the window on the right side as opposed to the left.  Not a biggy, but if you’ve got your heart set on it and you’ve currently got a left side window case, you’re going to need to swap the old desk round to set it up.

  

 

 The left hand side of the case is left black other than a large vent for the PSU intake.  In the piccy below you can also see the Riotoro emblem in the top right corner.

  

 

The front of the case supports high airflow, with a fully perforated panel.  Although reasonably well disguised, you can still see the cover plate for the 5.25″ device.  OK, so this needs saying, we appreciate the thought, and the fact that Riotoro have done a very good job of stealthing it in, but how many people actually use a 5.25″ drive on such a regular basis that they actually need one integral to their PC???  Yeah, we thought as much.

  

 

There’s no denying that the Riotoro emblem at the bottom looks awesome though!

  

 

The top of the case is a fairly simple affair, with the front I/O supporting 2xUSB3.0 as well as the usual Audio and separate Power and reset buttons.  Nice and simple, just how we like it.  Aside from that, the only other feature is an unfiltered vent towards the rear.  as well as being unfiltered, this vent does not have any fan or rad mounting points on it.

  

 

As this is an inverted motherboard case, the rear of it looks a little unusual.  Up at the top we have no less than seven expansion slots, beside which there is a hex mesh ventilation area.  Below this we have the rear I/O cut out, to the left of which is a space for an 80mm fan, while over to the right there’s the cut out for a full size ATX PSU.

  

 

 The case stands on four un padded plastic feet, in between which is a huge mesh area that is able to support 2x120mm fans, should you so desire.