The Case

U2

Arguably the best feature of this entire computer is the case. While not the most pleasing to the eye, it has a feature that no one else to date has brought to the table – portability. While most gaming machines are towering behemoths of power, the LAN Gear ES sits in a tiny 2U case. Picking it up requires as much as effort as hefting a gallon of milk. Weighing in at a scant 11 pounds, the entire machine fits like a binder under an arm. In fact we walked the building with it in just this manner while looking for a weight scale. In comparison, a typical mid-tower computer weighs over twice as much – 25 lbs, and that’s not even with a premium case. Comparing it to a small aluminum case is a joke – empty LianLi and CoolerMaster cases alone weigh more than the LAN Gear ES.

System	Weight
Utron LAN Gear - full system	11 lbs
Lian Li PC10 - case only, no PS	13 lbs
CoolerMaster ATC100 - case only, no PS	12 lbs
Conventional Mid-tower - full System	25 lbs
My Antec 1030B - full system	hernia inducing pain

We’ve seen most of you guys out there. You’re just like us. Guys who play with computers aren’t exactly known for their feats of strength. Sadly enough, muscles grow not on the man who sits with a mouse in one hand and WASD in the other. To make this already light burden even easier to carry, U-tron has included a shoulder strap. Consider this to be a large, shiny, but powerful, purse.

Top view

Angle shot

The Weight

What makes this system so light is the fact that it is made from aluminum. What makes this system lighter than everything else on the market is due to the fact that it is half the size of any tower or desktop system. In fact I’m pretty sure I could fit this entire system inside my current computer case (Antec 1030B) with room to spare. One also has to take into account that the system only accommodates two drives maximum. But since this machine is meant to be portable, it might not serve as your primary rig. Think of it as the Porsche you use for a night on the town. You can use the Civic as the daily driver, for all the mundane things in life like writing papers and burning CDs.

Your soul for a donut

The case itself is completely custom built. While this is still in the beta stages, the case does show some finishing touches. There isn’t a sharp edge to be found. In fact, most of the case is one single aluminum piece that has been folded in places. To get into the innards of the case, one has but to pull out four screws. You could easily replace these with thumbscrews, but then the sleekness of the machine would be ruined by four Frankenstein-esque protrusions.

Side shot

CPU vent

All this compactness does come at a cost. Moving hardware in and out of this machine is a little difficult. In order to change the video card or add a sound card, you’ll have to rip out all the risers and cards in the process. The ability to expand by adding drives and different PCI cards is pretty much out the door. The whole point of this machine is simply to game. Anything more than a large HD and a decent CD-ROM is pretty much extraneous. Having a burner would be nice, and I do think that is going to be an option. Aside from that, there isn’t much else you really need on a gaming rig. You do get one useable PCI slot with which to add a sound card like an Audigy or Game Theater XP, which will most likely be amongst the options. Since networking is onboard, you’re covered there. If you want SCSI or an extra RAID card look somewhere else, cause it is not going to fit in here. There is only room for one PCI card because of size constraints, despite the presence of three slots.

To even consider the LAN Gear ES, you have to convince yourself that this is one system you don’t want to add parts to. The whole point of this computer is to lug, plug, and play. This doesn’t mean it isn’t upgradeable, it just means you can’t keep adding parts without removing the old stuff first.