Months ago, I had the opportunity to install, test, and review 3 of the XCM line of 360 Case Replacements made by TeamXtender.com. I had received the Chrome Case, the Black Knight with Blue LED cutout window, and the Blue Translucent Case. All of the cases came well packaged, in large cardboard boxes, and virtually all of the parts came with a plastic lining that protected the exposed surfaces of many of the components to help prevent unseemly scratches during shipping. Kudos for thinking of that, especially for the Chrome unit. Nothing is worse that buying something that is a cosmetic mod and having it arrive damaged. TeamXtender clearly has learned from past experiences with damaged units (a la the PSP faceplates)
We would have posted the review sooner, however there were parts to the case review that demand that we take our time, and later in this review you’ll see why.
With no further delay.. the XCM Cases Review…
The basic XCM 360 Case Replacement Kit comes with the following:
-Outer Shell
-Faceplate / DVD Bezel / Eject Button
-“top” and “bottom” vents
-Plate that covers the Hard Drive connection area (for those with core units only)
-XCM case Unlock/disassembly tool w/ Hex Tool.
XCM 360 Chrome Case
Higher Quality DivX streaming/download: here | WMV Download: here
First up is the Chrome Case. If I’d have to guess, this case is the one that people were the most skeptical about. Chrome after all, hasn’t been the easiest effect to pull off on cosmetic mods. We’ve seen other manufacturers like e-linksoft produce controller shells with Chrome that rubbed off in a matter of weeks of moderate use. (which I’m guessing is the reason they didn’t submit Chrome shells for their Controller case review)
Getting the XCM Chrome 360 case and seeing for myself how good Chrome can look put me on my ass. Course.. looks are only half the battle. Cosmetic mods don’t just have to look good, they have to assemble properly. One thing I really liked about this kit was the inclusion of the XCM disassembly tool.
For what it is, it works and works well. With all of the parts laid out and accessible, I went about the process of taking apart the stock case using the instructions provided by TeamXtender and using their Tool.
The stock case came apart easily enough, and the tool did it’s job. (I would note though, that the tool is best suited to a one time use, then toss.) The tool bends and warps easily, and can and will mar any case it’s used on later. The tool also has sharp and un-deburred edges that will mark subsequent cases it comes in contact with. For most, this isn’t a problem as the only case it’ll come in contact with is the Stock case. However, down the road if you intend to re-open the new case, I would recommend placing masking tape over as much of the case surface that the XCM tool is going to come in contact with as possible to prevent scratches, scars and mars of the surface. (I wish I had on some of the other cases I had use the original tool on..)
TeamXtender learned from some of their mistakes over last year’s Xbox XCM cases. This time around they did not include any garish XCM marks on the DVD Bezel.
This pleased me greatly, as I personally want it to say either “Xbox” or nothing at all. A minor disappointment, at least for me was that the vent parts, are not chromed. Not a big deal for most I’m sure, but I myself would have liked to see them chromed like the rest of the unit. Also missing, in my opinion anyways is an enclosure for the Hard drives. It’s a shame that for those of us who have the Premium Console, or.. the core with an Hard Drive purchased later that we can’t/won’t have a Hard Drive that will match the rest of the case. I really feel that Xtender missed the mark by not including a color matched Hard Drive enclosure. I hope something changes down the road and they offer it later.
The quality of the chrome effect was tested rigorously. Since I was extremely disappointed by e-linksoft’s Chrome efforts, I intended to test and make sure that TeamXtender did better. I spent an hour just sitting there and constantly rubbing my thumb back and forth across the DVD bezel in an effort to make it wear off, flake off, or at least tarnish badly. Short of a blister on my thumb, and some sweat and grime that built up on the bezel which was easily cleaned off, the Chrome stood up quite well to the test. The case was also child tested for many months. The chrome stood up remarkably well to this abuse. Some review sites may have gotten a chrome review out before us, but NONE of them managed to spend any real time with any of the XCM cases as we did here at XS.
Second test, was what I call the clarity/readability test. Good chrome should reflect newsprint or other printed text in such high clarity that you should be able to read it. As you can see from the photos before the quality of the chrome is quite nice indeed
Given how well the XCM chrome stood up to my attempt to rub it off.. and it’s clarity I’d have to say short of going to an Custom Auto Specialist and getting it chrome dipped, this is the best we’ll see in this scene as far as chromed Xbox 360 shells/cases go.
The warning that comes with the Chrome Faceplate (similar notices come with the other cases/faceplates) basically tells you to limit your handling of the Faceplate. I can attest that you risk damaging the product if you attempt to remove it after it’s first properly applied. When the Chrome faceplate is applied to the XCM case it practically takes the Jaws of Life to remove it. Again, this isn’t a big deal if you have no intention of ever removing it after it’s applied. However, if you ever intend to re-enter the case you can expect to pray and grunt a bit trying to remove the faceplate. You’ll see my attempts to remove a faceplate from the XCM case in one of the 3 videos I supplied with this review.
In case anyone is interested, the Chrome Faceplate that is part of this case kit is the same Faceplate I promised to review with the last Faceplate review I did. The Faceplate on its own is a stand up product and delivers on it’s promises of quality. (I didn’t see a point in doing yet another faceplate review on the chrome when I new I had this coming.)
XCM 360 Black Knight Case with “x” cutout and Blue LEDS
Higher Quality DivX streaming/download: here | WMV Download: here
Like the chrome, the Black Knight comes equally protected with plastic covering most all exposed surfaces. The black appears to be a semi gloss finish, which is definitely nice. What made this case stand out was the “x” cut into the panel, and the addition of the plexi window and Blue Leds
The cut of the “x” is second to none. I suspect a laser or water cutter was used, as I’ve never seen a cut so clean before. The window cut is lined with about 25 LEDS. This Window kit won’t impress anyone who has done their own, and the mistakes that Xtender made on this are quite apparent. When you look at the pictures, you’ll notice that the LEDS are facing away from the Black shell panel, and onto the plexi. That isn’t so bad, but when you see the effect, it’s a waste.
What they should have done is taken as least a few of the LEDs and aimed them INTO the plexi. It would make for a nicer and more consistant effect. Instead, the LEDS just look like bright scattered zits scattered around the “x”. There is also a decent gap between the plexi and the shell panel. For the Same effect they achieved, they could have used a more flexible piece of plexi glued to the shell panel, (as flush as possible) and then applied the LED’s to it. This at least would have minimized the gap, and reduced the area that can collect dust. (which.. the Black Knight windows does. It collects so much dust over a short period of time, I also found that of all of my 360 units I have, the Black Knight had about twice the amount of dust INSIDE the console.)
Don’t get me wrong, the Black Knight with window and LEDs is still nice. Given time though, I will eventually take this Black Knight case and redo the lighting system and the plexi. (as I think most will do once the see the shortcomings of this particular case.)
Update: the LEDS of the Black Knight just died. That’s less than 3 months folks.
Higher Quality DivX streaming/download: here | WMV Download: here
The Translucent Blue case is a personal favorite from the batch of three cases I got to play with for the last few months. The only difference between this case and the others review is that it is translucent. (blue) It offers what is in my opinion the widest range of customization options given that LED’s can be placed anywhere to provide any desirable effect.
Like the rest of the XCM case product line, you get all the same components, and the same XCM tool you’ll need to take apart your case. What is unique to this case is that the grill panels are translucent blue as opposed to black or dark grey. (and like the other cases, no Hard drive enclosure.)
There isn’t much I can say about this case that hasn’t already been said about the others.
The tool works. The instructions are clear. The new case assembles clean and neat and is a good tight fit.
What I can say that hasn’t already been said, is that ALL of the XCM 360 cases, once assembled have one minor annoying issue. Remember all those 3rd party faceplates I reviewed months ago from MadCatz, Joytech, Microsoft, etc? Almost all of them either don’t fit or don’t stay in place on these new XCM cases. The fit just isn’t true.
Pro:
+ variety of XCM 360 case Kit for every taste
+ quality components (shell/plastic/chrome)
+ useful XCM tool included
+ packaging/protective film
+ price
Con:
- no Hard drive enclosures (shame)
- XCM tool isn’t well suited for multiple attempts.
- XCM cases when assembled don’t take 3rd party faceplates well (many fail to adhere properly to the XCM)
- XCM vent tabs are brittle and break far easier than the stock MS component
- LEDS on some models are either poor quality, or were installed to the shell panel poorly, causing premature failure
TeamXtender XCM 360 cases aren’t the only game in town for those wanting a third party Case Replacement, but given how poor the alternatives are (ghost), the Xtender Cases are going to continue to do well, and sell well despite it’s minor short comings. I’m using the Xtender Cases, and will continue to do so.
