I have this case. Yes, you can slide the side panels off seperately, but only after removing the top. It has a slide out m.b. tray which is really great. A huge downside of this case is the terrible airflow. When you put two fans in the top they won't have any use besides cooling the harddisks. Almost all the heat is forced through the PSU. Case modding is a must with this A-open case.
The default fan of the PSU was very loud, so I replaced it with a Panaflo L1A.
If I could do the buying decision again I wouldn't buy this case. An Antec case is a lot better.