| Don't let the name fool you. Ultra's m998 mid-tower case is much more than a utilitarian enclosure. It may be named after the rugged and versatile M998 HMMWV (Humvee) military vehicles but it features a wealth of useful features. Ultra designed the m998 mid-tower ATX enclosure for PC enthusiasts planning to build the ultimate gaming, multimedia, or high-end workstation system. Inside the oversized, aluminum enclosure you will find two 120mm cooling fans, 11 drive bays, a removable motherboard tray and Ultra's unique Power Bar system. The m998 also comes with a large side window, removable top and side panels, and caster style feet.
( Courtesy of Ultra Products)
Ultra m998 ATX Enclosure Key Features:
Aluminum construction with elegant, clean styling
Black anodized finish inside and out
Removable top and side panels for easy access to internal components
Large acrylic side window with CPU and VGA vent openings
Removable chrome-plated steel motherboard tray
Two 120mm case fans included (front and back)
Ultra Power Bar power distribution and cable management system
11 Drive bays (6 externally accessible and 5 internal HDD bays)
Front mounted controls and I/O panel with eSATA
Standard feet or lockable caster style wheels
Ultra m998 Specifications (from Ultra's website)
The Ultra m998 mid-tower enclosure ships wrapped in plastic and nestled between large Styrofoam end caps inside a bright orange and black retail box.
Securely packed inside the enclosure are two small boxes and a brief multi-language User's Manual. One box contains the optional casters and the second box contains all the accessories (screws, hardware, I/O plate, SATA cable, and the Power Bar cables).
Next page - A Closer Look
( Courtesy of Ultra Products)
The Ultra m998 is slightly larger than most typical mid-tower ATX style cases and features a beautiful black anodized finish inside and out. The main chassis is all aluminum but the removable front bezel is actually plastic and the motherboard tray is chrome-plated steel. While the m998 may appear a bit utilitarian for a high-end gaming enclosure (there are no skulls or panels that light up) the simple design is both functional and attractive. When compared to a typical mid-tower ATX enclosure (Lian Li PC60 for example) the m998 is wider (1-1/8") and deeper (2-1/4"), which gives more room inside to work.
Located in the top section of the front panel are four 5.25" bays and two 3.5" bays. Plenty of room for two or three optical drives, a multi-function display controller, and maybe a universal card reader - just right for the majority of users. Below the drive bays are vertical slots that let air into the front of the case.
Located down the right side of the front panel is a neatly organized control panel with all the basic buttons, LEDs and I/O ports. The I/O ports, which include an eSATA port, are normally hidden behind a small door that pops open when pressed.
System Power Button
System Power LED
System HDD Activity LED (1 and 2)
System Reset Button
(2) USB 2.0 Ports
eSATA Port
IEEE1394 Firewire Port
Microphone Jack
Headphone Jack
The one piece front bezel can be roved by releasing three plastic catches on the inside of both sides (with the side panels off). In fact the front bezel must be removed to access the front intake fan filter and the screws that secure the two internal drive bays.
With the front bezel removed you can also see that the front I/O ports are mounted in a standard PCI slot-type bracket, which can be removed and replaced with another PCI slot device if desired.
One of my favorite features is the removable top panel. This is such a simple item that is so often overlooked. In addition to the two easily removed side panels, the top of the m998 case can also be taken off after removing two thumb screws. This can make working in the top area of the case much easier (installing the PSU, 5.25" optical drives, and routing cables/wiring).
The left side panel features a large acrylic window to show off all your internal components. The window includes two vent openings: one for the CPU area (with an adjustable/removable duct) and one for the video card area. The CPU vent hole can be fitted with an 80mm fan if you choose.
Moving around to the back side of the enclosure reveals a typical mid-tower ATX style layout. The power supply opening is at the top with a 120mm Ultra labeled exhaust fan mounted below. The chrome plated steel motherboard tray is removable and includes 8 expansion slots and additional vent openings in the expansion card area.
A quick look at the bottom of the Ultra m998 chassis reveals four standard rubber feet, which can be replaced with the included caster wheels. The rubber feet work best when the case sits up on a desk but the casters can be a real convenience when the case is sitting on the floor underneath a work surface.
All four casters swivel and two of them incorporate a locking mechanism. The casters can be easily attached to the bottom panel with the provided screws (and you don't have to remove the rubber feet).
Removing the top and left side panel provides a nice view inside the Ultra m998 enclosure. All of the interior components have the same black anodized finish as the outside except for the motherboard tray, which is mirror-like chrome.
The motherboard tray appears to be chrome-plated steel (not polished stainless steel as Ultra's specifications claim) and is secured by five thumb screws on the back panel and two machine screws inside. Once all the screws are removed the motherboard tray just slides out.
There are a total of 8 expansion slots and each slot cover is held in place with a dedicated machine screw (no tool-less quick releases here). The motherboard tray supports ATX, Extended ATX, and Micro ATX motherboards and uses threaded brass standoffs for mounting. Surprisingly, none of the mounting hole patterns are labeled (but its not too hard to figure out which holes to use).
Located across the front edge of the motherboard tray is Ultra's Power Bar, which doubles as a power distribution and cable management system. It is supposed to help minimize cable clutter. You plug cables from the power supply into the top four connectors (two 4-pin Molex and two 6/8-pin PCI-E) and then use the supplied Power Bar expansion cables to power all the components located towards the bottom of the case. I personally will use the 4-pin drive connectors but my PCI-E cables go straight from the power supply to the video card connectors.
Rear Exhaust Fan Front Intake Fan
The Ultra m998 enclosure comes with two 120mm Ultra labeled fans; one in the back and one in the front. Both fans are fitted with 3-pin connectors, incorporate a speed sensor, and are rated for 0.18A (2.2W) so they should be OK to plug into spare motherboard fan headers. And don't forget, you can add an 80mm fan to the CPU vent opening on the side panel for extra airflow and cooling if needed.
Turning our attention to the front of the case you will see the fixed upper 5.25" drive bays and two removable 3.5" drive bays. All of the drive bays use standard machine screws (included) for mounting drives (ODD, FDD, HDD) and bay devices. Unfortunately there is no vibration isolation of any kind.
To remove the lower two drive bays requires taking off the front bezel to access the mounting screws (four thumb screws for the lower 3.5" HDD cage and two machine screws for the upper 3.5" FDD cage). While certainly utilitarian, this is not a very user friendly arrangement.
And finally here is a view from the right side with all the exterior panels and the motherboard tray removed.
As you might expect, the internal layout of the Ultra m998 chassis is pretty typical for a standard mid-tower ATX style case with the PSU located up top. The overall installation of basic components went smoothly and was completed without problems. The slightly larger size made things all the more easy. As you may have noticed by now, the Ultra m998 enclosure does not incorporate very many tool-less features. You will need a screwdriver or two to mount just about everything. This really isn't a big deal for me as I personally prefer standard screw mounts over the majority of tool-less mounting options (with a few notable exceptions).
Power Supply
Ultra uses a secondary mounting plate for the power supply. The mounting plate attaches to the PSU and then is secured into the case with four thumb screws. For a power supply I chose Ultra's 1,600W X3 PSU. This is one of the largest power supplies currently available (both output capacity and physical size). Because it is so large it will make for an interesting test to see how it fits into the m998 case.
The Ultra X3 1,600W PSU fit into the m998 enclosure without issues. The power supply is fully supported underneath and secured on top by another mounting bracket. The position of the upper bracket is adjustable and can be located to secure virtually any power supply you choose to use. Very nice!
Note: Even though this power supply is so long there is still room between it and the optical drives (5") to work and route cables.
Exposed Drive Bays - Optical Drives
Before a 5.25" drive or bay device can be mounted the plastic bay cover must be popped out from the inside. Then you just slide the drive in from the front and secure it in place with four machine screws.
Internal Hard Disc Drives
Installing HDDs into the lower 3.5" drive cage is pretty basic. Just slide the drive in and secure it with four screws. As mentioned previously, the lower two 3.5" drive cages are removable.
Once the various drives and other 3.5" devices are mounted you can use the supplied Power Bar cables to supply them with power. Ultra provides cables that are fitted with 4-pin FDD, 4-pin HDD, 15-pin SATA, 6-pin PCI-E and 8-pin PCI-E connectors.
ATX Motherboard
I installed a full size Asus P5N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard into the m998 chassis without issues. The removable motherboard tray uses threaded standoffs for mounting points and everything lined up and fit perfectly. There is plenty of room around the motherboard area to work and connect cables but make sure you don't have a CPU cooler that extends much past the edge of the mobo or it will prevent using the removable motherboard feature.
My experience with the Ultra m998 mid-tower ATX enclosure was both positive and enjoyable. I will seriously consider this case for a future system build. The overall construction and build quality is good and the simple lines and black anodized finish provide a nice background for highlighting all your internal goodies (visible through the large side window). Thanks to its slightly larger size, the m998 can easily accommodate a large PSU, extended ATX motherboard and it comes with 11 drive bays. The two bundled 120mm fans provide good airflow and can be supplemented with an additional 80mm fan on the side window if desired. And if you plan to floor mount this enclosure you will certainly enjoy the optional (included) caster wheels.
Like most things in life, the m998 case isn't perfect. Some hard-core gamers may find the basic lines and simple styling of the m998 to be too utilitarian and plain. And I'm sure some will complain about the general lack of tool-less mounting options, which really didn't bother me. My main complaints center around the lack of any vibration isolation mounts for the drive bays and the extra work required to access some of the components (cleaning the front air intake filter and removing the internal drive bays for example).
( Courtesy of Ultra Products)
The MSRP for the Ultra m998 mid-tower ATX case is $199.99 USD.
Strengths:
Materials and build quality are good
Clean styling with beautiful black anodized finish
Removable top panel (along with both side panels)
Convenient front panel layout, controls and I/O panel
11 Drive bays: (4) 5.25 ext., (2) 3.5" ext. and (5) 3.5" Internal
Two 120mm cooling fans included (plus additional location for an 80mm fan)
Good airflow and case ventilation
Large acrylic side window with CPU and VGA vent openings
Ultra Power Bar cable management system
Removable, chrome-plated motherboard tray
Optional caster wheels included
Weaknesses:
No vibration isolation mounts on any drive bays
General lack of tool-less mounting features
Very weak User's Manual
Ultra m998 Mid-Tower ATX Case
I would like to thank our friends at Ultra Products for sending us m998 case to review - thank you!
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Ultra m998 Mid-Tower ATX Case Review
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