XCM Crystal Xbox Case Review 4 1/2 Stars

It turns out we have quite a bit to say about these so I'm moving this over to a review page. 

 XCM Case now available at Llamma! They're pretty sweet, top and bottom are included as well as a clear XCM jewel (removable) and a matching XCM DVD face plate.  They are not as crystal clear as a Microsoft Original clear cases but well worth the investment.  The case appears to be nearly identical to an original case, the tin shielding from your old black one can be placed in the XCM to give it a nice original look.  We are pretty excited about these and look forward to providing them if the community appreciates them as much as we do.  Our initial purchase with Teamxtender was of a relatively small quantity of cases so we expect to sell out soon.  We will continue to stock these in greater numbers if there is interest in them.

Photos above from manufacturer.

Side by side comparison Original Microsoft Clear on the right, the XCM on the left.  Its a harsh comparison with the stark white background the original has a tint of blue while the XCM Xbox case has a tint of yellow.  Keep in mind if either of these were sitting next to my dark wood grains and stereo equipment it would be the white shiny pearl of the living room. 

Here is a comparison of the Original Katsumi Chan Blue on the Right and the XCM on the Left.  You'll notice the XCM is just slightly lighter actually an improvement in our opinions.

The XCM jewel...  hmm well at least its easy to take off (whap it like you got a pair from the inside of the lid and it should go shooting across the room).  They are all kind of hazy, the one in the photo has a whiteish blemish in the upper right of this photo.  I would highly recommend upgrading the jewel right away.

I was a little surprised to find the dimensions of our laser etched jewels happen to fit exactly inside the the jewel opening and are a tight enough fit that no adhesive is necessary, this works out great because getting a clear jewel it to stay in place without seeing a big glob of glue is a pain in the but!

Installation:
assumes you have already disassembled your xbox

The tin on the lid is always going to be a beast to remove.  You have to loosen each of four little "grabby tabs" around 6 pegs with a flat head screw driver bending them back then once all pegs are loose it will come off straight up.  Prepare the tin lid for installation by smacking the grabby tabs flat with the but of a screw driver.  Then completely remove the face plate of the Xbox, the inner tin of the console will lift out with relative ease.  To remove the face plate, I have found nothing better than a hunk of aluminum bar stock (guessing dimensions are about 1/8" X 2" X 8")  Other than the length this is a standard size that should be readily available at the hardware store or metal supplier (ready made Xbox face plate remover $4.99). 

Re-Assemble new case with the tin.  The fit of the XCM is "near perfect" I've installed only a couple so far and see that it is fashioned after a 1.6 case which is good to a point.  The challenges when installing a 1.0-1.5 in an XCM case are the same as installing a 1.0-1.5 in a 1.6 case.  First the tin is a bit tight in the front and a little difficult to install.  Second you will notice the drive carriers give a little attitude when installing you will need to be careful that they are perfectly parallel to the console.  One screw no longer has a receptacle on the motherboard.  Most importantly the audio video connector should be bolstered with a couple nylon washers, if you do not install the washers you will need to be careful not to over tighten the two screws on either side of the audio video connector.

Blue XCM face plate back lit with UV, Green, Red, Blue (notice Red and UV fade away)

Clear XCM face plate back lit with UV, Green, Red, Blue (all colors look cool, appears to be UV reactive!)

Clear lit with just UV, looks pretty cool, much better than in the picture above, the other colors wash out the UV.  Its pretty sweet how the lighting of the corners and contours of the faceplate come out, (I'm looking forward to doing one up all UV).