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Chenbro Junior
aka GENIE jr by jfh.

The Chenbro Junior is *not* a GENIE, contrary to the impression that the front bezel gives you. As BMF and jfh point out, the internals are a completely new design. This is a good thing, resulting in a slick hard disk cage setup but results in some design quirks. Extensive explaination is therefore included on quirks of the Junior.

The Junior, like the GENIE before it, is a wide case. At 18.5"x8.75"x17.75" (HxWxD) it stands noticably taller, wider, and deeper than my Enlight 7237, but not by much in any direction. With 3x5.25" and 2x3.5" exposed bays, it loses an exposed 5.25" bay from the GENIE as well as three internal 3.5" bays and most of the LED lights. It retains side panels and a removable, two-part front bezel; like the rest of the case the design of both pieces is different from the GENIE.

According to jfh, the side panels are of the same design as on conventional Chenbro cases. A thumbscrew removes the top panel, which slides back and comes off. A single screw holds each side panel, then you life a handle and the panel comes off vertically. You do not need to remove the front bezel, which makes things easier for those who use harddisk coolers, especially the Globalwin IStorm. The front bezel requires the removal of both side panels, then four plastic tabs are undone and the bezel can be removed. Reinstallation is accomplished by aligning the bezel with the top of the case, then snapping it back in place. The system works well, but it is very different than the GENIE. The power supply is mounted horizontally, not vertically like the GENIE. The harddisk/3.5" cage is integrated into a single unit- a metal locking tab that you squeeze, then pull towards you unlocks the cage. There's no front intake filter although one could easily be fitted. The front 80mm looks blocked from proper intake, but upon inspection it appears to breathe fine.

Features common to the GENIE and the Junior: a standard Ya Hsin 300 watt PS, a set of hybrid 92/120 fan mounts (one in front, one in back), drive rails, screw-on metal covers for the exposed drive bays, and a front bezel with a removable intake cover. Excellent airflow is also standard- jfh's stock configuration is 74.5cfm/36dBA (120mm) intake + 34cfm/30dBA (80mm) intake plus the PS exhausting (~35cfm?). For less noise Panaflo L1A's should be a good substitue; I will perform such testing later.

Intake is a 120mm and an 80mm in jfh's standard configuration. No separate exhaust is standard; with open area and venting it probably is not required. The 80mm is in-line with the 3x3.5" internal HD mounts, and is more than adequate for HD cooling even when the cage is full. A 92mm HD fan could probably be fitted for those who need the extra cooling. A free-flowing path for air and the 120mm intake seem to allow for sufficient airflow through the case. In the back, additional 80mm exhaust fans could be fitted above the expansion slots with some work; I haven't tested this and may not as the ~100cfm standard exhaust potential is plenty. The card holder has a slot for cables to be routed through, which is a nice touch.

Quibbles: The card holder (easily removed with 1 screw) obstructs the 120mm intake *slightly* and doesn't seem necessary for most. Reset button is stupid- you need a pen to push it. The front bezel on mine does not fit flush at the middle, and my 120mm intake seems to be making some mechanical noises on power up/down. With the exception of the first two, these problems are probably specific to my example.

Conclusion: An excellent case with some notable design quirks. ~100cfm intake and ~100cfm exhaust potentials offer excellent cooling. The Addtronics 6896a has better construction but is closer to the GENIE in size. Nothing in its class seems to compare exactly so identify your needs first.

On to the pictures.... these will be joined by other pictures and split up onto other pages shortly.

    
The front of case. The intake venting is excellent. From the angle shot, you can see venting on the right side, where the removable front of the bezel and the grey stripe meet. It's a nice, clean design. The back of the case is fairly plain, dominated by the 120mm fan mount. The ATX i/o shield is thick and slide locks in. The standard Ya Hsin PS has a switch on the back, which some seem to appreciate and others (e.g. me) could care less about.

  first pic is not linked
The 80mm intake fan for the HD cage- view from the 3.5" cutout. It's hard to tell but that intake fan is getting reasonably good airflow. The next picture is of the handle to remove the side panel. It's identical for each side; you undo the top (thumbscrew) and then one screw per panel, then use the handle to lift it out. It's odd but it works well.

  
Side shot. The 5.25" bays are not removable, but the 3.5" cage comes out and the card holder does as well. The card holder allows for sufficient airflow for the 120mm intake, it accomodates the speaker well, and on the bottom left there is a cutout to run the LED cabling, which is useful.

    
The 5.25" bays use large plastic rails as on the GENIE, while the pull tab and lock for the removable 3.5" cage is visible. You squeeze the top tab to the main tab, pull back and then the cage slides left and out. The 80mm intake fan is clearly visible and is pointed directly at the HD bays. When the drive cage and card holder are removed, you can see both fans as well as 3 of the 4 plastic tabs that help to lock the front bezel on.

    
Power supply and the rear interior of the case. The PS has enough clearance from the 5.25" bays that playing with the 5.25" cables when instaled is not difficult. Below the 120mm mount there's a strip of metal (for rigidity?); if you want more cooling you could probably cut through there and fit 80mm fans. The final shot in this sequence is of the lower section of the case where the motherboard mounts. It's wide open, even with the 3.5" cage reinstalled. Fit and finish look very good, but not up to Lite-On standards from what I hear. (I have yet to work with a Lite-On case)

  
The front of the chassis, stripped of all coverings. Note the two slots below and out from the 80mm fan screws- those are for the 3.5" bay cage and may be of a concern if you are attempting to modify the case for a 92mm in that position.

  
A detail of the intake vents that run up the right side of the bezel. They are actually formed by the front bezel's lower cover; it is removable and has those vents molded into it. The penguin feet of the case screw in easily and are rotatable, as demonstrated in this picture. They're present on the GENIE as well and are quite stable, although the feet are almost too easy to rotate when the case isn't standing on them.

All material is original by Brian J. Won; bwon@usa.net. All trademarks are properties of their respective owners. Please contact me for permission to reuse this material. Linking pictures from this site for forum postings is permitted. It's my work and I am willing to share it, but don't plagarize it. (c) 2000 Brian J. Won