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Technical Details
- Brand Name: Apex
- Model: MI-008
- Item Package Quantity: 1
- Color Name: Black
- Width: 7.00 inches
Product Details
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Product Description
Apex MI-008 Chassis MI-008 Computer Cases
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
43 of 48 people found the following review helpful
By Mr. Digital
Amazon Verified Purchase
**Information about the case - DETAILED!
The case is small and somewhat neat looking. The powerlight in the front is not blue, but green; which I found a little disappointing. The case is really tight! For a DVD Drive; it cannot exceed more than ~6 inches in length or it will not fit due to the position of the power supply. I used an Intel DG41MJ board with an Intel Celeron E3300 processor. The heat sink sits (touches) the CPU fan. It doesn't seem to pose any problems since it's not transfering heat to/from the processor. The case has no fans except that the power supply has one; however it blows air right into the wall of the case, so it doesn't do much. The inside can get pretty hot, so I wouldn't use this for anything that requires high performance. Make sure that absolutely nothing is blocking the air vents or else there may be heating issues. Due to the lack of room and air flow, I used a 2.5" (laptop) SATA hard drive in this computer. You can use a laptop or desktop SATA hard drive and it will work perfectly fine! There is no slot for the 2.5" laptop SATA drive, but you can set it down on the botton of the case if you lay the case down sideways.
I loaded Microsoft Windows 7 Professional on it and it works fine! With the 2.5" laptop SATA hard drive, I can bearly hear the computer running. It is very quiet.
-POWER SUPPLY INFORMATION-
The power supply has the following plugs:
2x SATA power
1x 20+4 power pins
1x 4 pin (for the processor)
1x floppy drive power connector
I know it has some molex cables as well, but I forgot how many. I know there was about three or so.
All the cables had either enough line or too much line. Make sure that when you're done assembling the computer that none of the cables are touching the CPU fan; you can easily work the cables around the fan.
Decent case for the price.
The case is small and somewhat neat looking. The powerlight in the front is not blue, but green; which I found a little disappointing. The case is really tight! For a DVD Drive; it cannot exceed more than ~6 inches in length or it will not fit due to the position of the power supply. I used an Intel DG41MJ board with an Intel Celeron E3300 processor. The heat sink sits (touches) the CPU fan. It doesn't seem to pose any problems since it's not transfering heat to/from the processor. The case has no fans except that the power supply has one; however it blows air right into the wall of the case, so it doesn't do much. The inside can get pretty hot, so I wouldn't use this for anything that requires high performance. Make sure that absolutely nothing is blocking the air vents or else there may be heating issues. Due to the lack of room and air flow, I used a 2.5" (laptop) SATA hard drive in this computer. You can use a laptop or desktop SATA hard drive and it will work perfectly fine! There is no slot for the 2.5" laptop SATA drive, but you can set it down on the botton of the case if you lay the case down sideways.
I loaded Microsoft Windows 7 Professional on it and it works fine! With the 2.5" laptop SATA hard drive, I can bearly hear the computer running. It is very quiet.
-POWER SUPPLY INFORMATION-
The power supply has the following plugs:
2x SATA power
1x 20+4 power pins
1x 4 pin (for the processor)
1x floppy drive power connector
I know it has some molex cables as well, but I forgot how many. I know there was about three or so.
All the cables had either enough line or too much line. Make sure that when you're done assembling the computer that none of the cables are touching the CPU fan; you can easily work the cables around the fan.
Decent case for the price.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By DKO
Amazon Verified Purchase
I used this to build an HTPC, and I've been very happy with it. A lot of the case was well laid out, but they could have made a few small improvements.
My build:
i3 2100t
intel h67 mini board
4gb ram
2 TB HDD
64 GB SSD
DVD drive (full size)
120mm fan
80mm fan
Despite the common complaints about tight fits, I thought there was ample room. You'll want to pay close attention to cable management to allow for good airflow, but what do you expect in a small case? I put in a 120mm intake fan in the rail that acts as a HD bay (I think there's still room for another drive next to it, but I haven't checked), and an 80mm fan as exhaust on the other side of the case. My temperatures during normal operation (playing 1080p video, streaming netflix, etc) rarely go above 42 C. It usually stays between 35-40. The fan in the PSU is silent, but doesn't really move any air. I think adding fans to the case is almost mandatory.
The space under the external HDD bay could have housed another HDD, and it would have been nice if they'd put a mount there. For now, I velcroed my SSD there, but if I add another HDD, I'll probably put it there and move the SSD.
I recommend using a CPU with a low profile cooler, as I've seen pictures of a standard cooler touching the bottom of the PSU in this case. With the 2100t's cooler, there was plenty of space.
I haven't had any trouble with the PSU. It could have come with more sata connections and fewer molex, but that's why there are adapters. I'd have happily paid a few extra dollars for an 80 plus PSU.
What you end up with, if you take care with the build, is a small case where you can stuff an optical drive, an SSD, and at least 2 (probably 3) HDDs, while staying quite cool, if you add fans.
My build:
i3 2100t
intel h67 mini board
4gb ram
2 TB HDD
64 GB SSD
DVD drive (full size)
120mm fan
80mm fan
Despite the common complaints about tight fits, I thought there was ample room. You'll want to pay close attention to cable management to allow for good airflow, but what do you expect in a small case? I put in a 120mm intake fan in the rail that acts as a HD bay (I think there's still room for another drive next to it, but I haven't checked), and an 80mm fan as exhaust on the other side of the case. My temperatures during normal operation (playing 1080p video, streaming netflix, etc) rarely go above 42 C. It usually stays between 35-40. The fan in the PSU is silent, but doesn't really move any air. I think adding fans to the case is almost mandatory.
The space under the external HDD bay could have housed another HDD, and it would have been nice if they'd put a mount there. For now, I velcroed my SSD there, but if I add another HDD, I'll probably put it there and move the SSD.
I recommend using a CPU with a low profile cooler, as I've seen pictures of a standard cooler touching the bottom of the PSU in this case. With the 2100t's cooler, there was plenty of space.
I haven't had any trouble with the PSU. It could have come with more sata connections and fewer molex, but that's why there are adapters. I'd have happily paid a few extra dollars for an 80 plus PSU.
What you end up with, if you take care with the build, is a small case where you can stuff an optical drive, an SSD, and at least 2 (probably 3) HDDs, while staying quite cool, if you add fans.
14 of 18 people found the following review helpful
As the motherboard I used, a Zotac IONITX-A-U Atom N330 Dual Core 90-Watt PSU WiFi ITX Intel Motherboard came with its own external laptop style PSU, I ended up ditching the included power supply, which made this case comparatively roomy without the problems others have found with fitting in the optical drive. Into the case I was able to mount an optical drive, a 3.5" hard drive and a 2.5" SSD drive--although there was no bracket for the 2.5" drive there was plenty of room under the 3.5" internal bay, and if it bothered me I could place it there firmly with a few minutes and a metal cutting drill bit. I mounted a fan to the the CPU's heat sink and another to the back of the case, and I've been happy with both the temperature and the noise level.
It's an attractive case for a small home server, I have it sitting on a wire rack above my desk where I can plug in USB devices in the hidden front panel and have easy access to the power button. Certainly an improvement over the old full sized tower I've replaced. Construction is a nice blend of sheet metal and shiny plastic ornamentation.
Assembly was reasonably easy. Take care to fit the top piece snugly with the bottom or it will tend to splay awkwardly out. Do not drop the plastic slider which marries the external optical button to the eject button on your optical drive--if you do there will be trouble.
So all in all, a good case, I just wish it were easier to find nice mini-ITX cases without power supplies so I wouldn't have to shelve the PSU. By the way, I would not recommend the motherboard I used for a server--even though it makes a fine server--as you will end up paying for a number of home theater PC features you don't need. I just had a spare.
It's an attractive case for a small home server, I have it sitting on a wire rack above my desk where I can plug in USB devices in the hidden front panel and have easy access to the power button. Certainly an improvement over the old full sized tower I've replaced. Construction is a nice blend of sheet metal and shiny plastic ornamentation.
Assembly was reasonably easy. Take care to fit the top piece snugly with the bottom or it will tend to splay awkwardly out. Do not drop the plastic slider which marries the external optical button to the eject button on your optical drive--if you do there will be trouble.
So all in all, a good case, I just wish it were easier to find nice mini-ITX cases without power supplies so I wouldn't have to shelve the PSU. By the way, I would not recommend the motherboard I used for a server--even though it makes a fine server--as you will end up paying for a number of home theater PC features you don't need. I just had a spare.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good except for the PSU
Good case while it lasted, except the PSU died after only 2 years. Debating whether or not to buy a new case completely or a new PSU.
Published 5 days ago by Jordan H. Burke
3.0 out of 5 stars
mixed feeling
good: cheap (less than $50); stylish; reasonably built.
bad: poor instruction manual (a few loose pages only), hard to read, and lack of relevance. Read more
bad: poor instruction manual (a few loose pages only), hard to read, and lack of relevance. Read more
Published 6 days ago by JCW
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cliche, good things in small packages, but not quite...
Great value for the money, it came with a power supply which was awesome for me and helped keep my budget build under control. Read more
Published 7 days ago by kenneth thompson
3.0 out of 5 stars
Stylish, compact, but...
This is an aesthetically pleasing case that lost two stars because of very poor cooling characteristics. Read more
Published 13 days ago by Cevyn L. Miles-monaghan
4.0 out of 5 stars
small, light, compact and just right
Purchased this case to use as a HTPC and although it was a small case, everything fit in there with room to spare. Read more
Published 13 days ago by Roy K Bann
5.0 out of 5 stars
Apex for the win
This is a nice little case. Sure there are fancier (and higher priced) cases out there but Apex provides a great value. This is my fourth build with this model and it's just right!
Published 18 days ago by Rob Anderson
1.0 out of 5 stars
Keep out of it and of Apex
Very soon after assembling the HTPC the disk door spring got faulty. I asked twice for support from Apex and made clear I would pay for the replacement part or parts, They ignored... Read more
Published 22 days ago by pro
4.0 out of 5 stars
good mini itx case
Built my first mini itx pc with this case. read other reviews and bought it. Nice little case for the price. A couple of tips...
1. Read more
1. Read more
Published 25 days ago by **
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great for custom HTPC build!
Found this based on the LifeHacker custom build recommendation. Its a nice case with only a few drawbacks. Read more
Published 1 month ago by B. Christiansen
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great case for the price
I needed a small case for a HTPC I was building. I also needed it shipped next day. Amazon provided me both. The case isn't going to win any awards, but it does the job.
Published 1 month ago by M. Inman
