Install and Review of XCM Black Knight Case

Method : Install and Review

So, you want to be different from every other wii gamer out there. Everyone wants to have a unique look to their system and everyone wants what the OEM doesn't give them. Well, if you wanted a black wii instead of a white wii XCM has provided a solution for you!

First and foremost thanks to XCMLive for providing a Black Knight case for review! They utilized divineo.cn as the shipping company to me and had it to me within 3 days. (Again I'm in Minnesota, United States) Keep in mind this was shipped to me from China! I must say amazing support from a manufacture and communication with a retail outlet. I highly recommend buying your case mod from divineo.cn despite the recent problems with wiikey clones.

Below are some images of the package shipped to me.

 

REQUIRED TOOLS AND ITEMS

- A Nintendo Wii ( of course )
- A Tri-wing screwdriver Size 3 (XCM packages a tri-wing and a phillips, however the tri-wing is much too sharp and pointed for the screws on the wii)
- A small plate or container ( to hold the screws in )
- A couple pieces of tape ( use the tape to keep track of what screws belong to part of the wii)
- Soft Working surface ( the wii scratches very easily )
- A razor blade and a pair of tweezers will help remove items

Step 1. Unpacking contents

Ok, so here's the package contents naked and exposed for your viewing pleasure. Lets be honest, this is exactly what you came to see. (FYI: if you just want the quick and dirty on the overall impressions of the product skip to the bottom!)

As you can see there is a complete set of parts to replace all white portions of the wii with black. There is an extreme attention to detail and the plastic is a made of similar high quality plastic as the OEM parts. The surface texture of the black knight is not glossy like the OEM, however the matte black is very impressive. The packaged contents include the replacement shell, , replacement vertical stand, replacement black stickers and rubber feet, a pointed tri-wing, and a phillips screw driver. Each and every replacement part is a 1:1 perfect copy and well made.

Step 2. Dis-assembling the Wii

Refer to the original wii dis-assembly guide here. Then return here for furthur instructions, due to the fact that the original dis-assembly guide was intended for just modchip installation.

1. Your should be at this point now after going through the initial dis-assembly. The disc drive should be seperated from the main wii body.
   
   
2. Now remove the fan, by removing two black screws on it and then unplugging the connector.
   
   
3. Remove this wireless antenna (the green board in the picture ) from the black plastic housing. You will have to remove one screw securing it. Pull the white tape off holding the wire and set the antenna aside. ( still attached to the main board! DO NOT DETACH IT COMPLETELY) Also unscrew the black screw to the right of the antenna. In this picture it's to the right of the white tape.
   
4. Unscrew this now exposed screw. ( which was previously hidden by the antenna )
5. Unscrew this black screw to free the black housing over the heat sink.
   
6. Now carefully detach the wireless antenna from the the plastic housing by pushing the plastic tabs apart to release the antenna.
   
7. With the black plastic housing over the heatsink removed your wii should now look like this.
   
8. Remove the black L plastic piece by unscrewing three screws.
   
9. Remove the middle black plastic housing by unscrewing the two screws holding it in and then pulling it away from the metal heat sink shroud.
   
10. Now Remove the metal shroud by unscrewing the single screw holding it into the motherboard.
    
11. Your Wii should now look like this.
    
12. Remove the thermal protectant tape from the area where the fan use to be.
13. Now the metal plate should pull away from the wii leaving the motherboard exposed like below.
    
14. Now remove the 4 screws holding the heat sink in. Pull the motherboard upwards and it will seperate leaving you with the following image.
    
15. Take the metal frame out of the white wii shell.
    
16. Insert into the replacement black piece and begin putting the wii back together. (just follow the steps backwards.)
    

FINAL PRODUCT IMAGES

Here are the final images of the product installed. Look for the comparison between a white wii and the black knight wii.

CONCLUSION

All in all, the XCM case replacement is a fantastic product and at a selling price of $34.95 it's a really good bargain as well. The product is a near perfect 1:1 replacement of the original case. The swinging lids of the GameCube ports/memory cards were nice and snug. The screw points were all dead on and accommadated the original screws with ease. Simply, those of us that are looking for something different or may have ruined our original case have a cheap solution to those problems. Do keep in mind that the case switch isn't hard, but rather a tedious time consuming process. Make sure you have time on hand before you take on this project.

The only gripes I have are that (1) the tri-wing supplied is VERY pointed and will end up with many stripped tri-wings screws in the end and (2) the backing of the replacement rubber feet was nothing more then double sided tape which didn't work extremely well and was hard to seperate from the rubber. A glue like the OEM would've have been preferred bett here.

For those of you that want something other then black, XCM will have a chrome, blue, and clear model out shortly.

I highly recommend this product, as you can see in my photos, the Wii now blends into my home theater setup. Rather, then sticking out like a sore thumb that doesn't belong. Now if only I can get wiimote and nunchuk replacements.. hmmm.....