Internal Inspection (continued):
The next set of images shows off what I feel is the coolest part of the Ultra Products m998 case, the removable motherboard tray and Power Bar power distribution system. The tray itself is high polished stainless steel that is held in by five thumbscrews on the outside, and two standard screws inside. The backplate features a 120mm exhaust fan, and is tall enough to allow the tray to be slid in or out even with a large heatsink installed. The expansion slots are tool-less, but use the same small diameter thumbscrews which aren't as convenient as many other tool-less configurations out there.
 
The Power Bar is extremely cool and seems like a great idea. You simply connect two 4-pin drive connectors and two 8-pin PCIe connectors at the top, and the power is then carried down to four 4-pin drive connectors and two 8-pin PCI-e connectors below. This allows you to make a very short run with your power supply's cables, and hide the bulk of them out of sight. Ultra Products then includes a variety of modular cables to go from the lower connections on the Power Bar to your devices. You can connect SATA drives, 4-pin powered drives, PCIe video cards, floppy drives, fans, or whatever else you might have. Cable organization should be taken to a new high of neatness with this setup, and I can't wait to try it out!
Accessories:
The m998 comes with a variety of accessories, some common and some far from it. The below left image shows some of the typical items, including a whole bunch of screws, motherboard standoffs, the generally useless motherboard backplate, and a SATA cable required to connect the front eSATA port. The below right image shows off four swiveling casters, another great feature. Two have locks to keep your case from rolling away, and the bulk of the screws shown on the left are required to mount these to the bottom of the case. Having casters not only makes every day use easier, but it makes installation more convenient since you can just spin the case around to access the various sides.
 
And finally, we have the key accessories for making the Power Bar useful. A collection of modular cables to allow for your typical devices to be connected. There are cables for drives and PCIe cards, single and double drive leads, and a selection that should allow you to connect just about anything you want. While there are only four headers on the Power Bar, you can connect more devices, but for really packed systems you may wind up using some of the traditional connectors on your power supply anyway.
The one concern I have with these cables and the Power Bar is resistance. Every connection may add to the resistance on the line, and there could be a voltage drop before you even reach your device. Putting the Power Bar in-line with a well loaded system on a marginally acceptable power supply could be enough to create instability. But, if your PSU is adequately rated, there should be no issues.
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