Packaging and bundle
The size of the packaging betrays the small size of the R-2. The entire package is smaller than most midi ATX towers currently available and considerably more lightweight. The cardboard walls of the box feel very sturdy and the lightweight case is held between two thick Styrofoam pieces, providing ample protection during transport. The bundle you will receive with the R-2 Toast is nothing to write home about; a mere plastic bag with the necessary screws, hardware and a very minimalistic manual.
The case exterior
Our first look at the R-2 Toast out of the box left us with mixed feelings. The case is considerably smaller than a normal ATX tower and weights less than half the weight of a steel midi tower. Matter of fact, it weighs less than the majority of HTPC cases out there too! The black paint is smooth and well applied. Although the R-2 looks like an ordinary, yet small ATX case, that is not strictly true. Despite its small size, the R-2 can fit any modern ATX system with ease; however the front panel design restricts the installation of more than a single optical drive and two hard disk drives.
It is common for the left side panel of modern tower cases to be perforated in order to aid the cooling of the CPU and other installed components. This stands true for the R-2 Toast, as GMC have placed a funnel above the CPU area which allows the CPU cooler to draw fresh air from the outside of the case, they also have perforated the area above the PCIe slot to aid the cooling of the installed display card. The funnel is removable, should you need to install an extremely large cooler. Additionally GMC have also perforated a small area at the right side panel, which is right above the HDD cage. While it cannot be compared to active cooling, this should be more than enough to keep the 3.5” drives from overheating.
The rear of the R-2 is rather simple, nothing out of ordinary for a tower case and you can install two 80mm exhaust fans here. We would prefer a single 120mm fan which creates about the same amount of airflow with less noise but it seems that it wouldn’t fit as the R-2 is slightly narrow as well. You cannot install an intake fan at the front of the R-2, but you can install a single 80mm intake fan at the bottom if necessary.
The front panel is the main attraction of the R-2 Toast as there are no 5.25” or even 3.5” slots to be found here. The R-2 allows only a single 5.25” device to be mounted, perpendicularly. This way the optical drive door opens upright inside the front panel opening without extruding from the case at all. While most modern optical drives will hold an optical disk without issues even if placed perpendicularly, GMC also provides sticky plastic disk holders you can install in your optical drive tray. When the system is powered on, the optical drive tray opening is illuminated blue, creating a nice effect.
Besides the optical drive tray opening, there is nothing else of interest on the front panel. The power button can be found right at the front of the case, while at the left side of the tray opening you can find the optical drive tray eject button. At the top of the front panel you will find a door hiding the front USB ports, the audio jacks and the reset button.
