After plenty of research, it seemed this is the one. The case to be my HTPC. I wanted something "about the size of a stereo/surround receiver" and found this. On top of that, I wanted to be able to use some existing components, such as hard drives, DVD drives, and most importantly: The power supply. The fact that this takes a standard PC "ATX" power supply in the size this thing is was an instant winner.
I threw in my existing OCZ 600w power supply without any issues. I had to cram some of the cabling (non modular power supply) down into an empty spot where would be below the rear of the disc drive, but it wasn't that big of an issue. Do note, the cabling comes out the bottom rear of the PSU. If your potential PSU has the cabling coming out the top 1/2 of the back, you may have issues with the optical drive. I bought ASRock Micro ATX Motherboard (960GC-GS FX) as it could take any of my AM2/AM3 processors I had laying around, as well as DDR2 or DDR3. All fits great and all the provided screws and such worked fine. The case has some hard-set motherboard risers and a few removable ones. I only had to install a single modular riser for my motherboard to align all holes. Note that the I/O shield fit without any issues, though also note that the rear, without the cross brace arm, is a bit "floppy", but just don't use enough force to bend it and it won't be an issue.
When I put in the Blu-Ray drive (Pioneer BDC-207DBK), things go ta bit tight. As noted, I'd have been in trouble if the PSU had cabling out the top half. I had to also use 90* bent ends on my SATA power and data cables. It fit, it was just snug. One plus side is: The power/data cables will NEVER fall out while these units are installed into the case! The screws to the optical drive are interesting: On one side, it is easy access to up to 4 screws. The other wise is only the front 2 screws, and the bottom of which is not accessable with the 2.5" slim SSD drive on top of the black plastic riser, though this isn't really much of an issue.
I threw in an old 500GB HDD (3.5") below the drive. It was kind of odd getting it in there, but it fit. It seems silent from the rubber mounts. The 2.5" SSD drive I got fit on the plastic riser without issue, though that thing is somewhat goofy, but it works. Cabling everything was kind of tough, as I like cables to be out of the way, but it worked. I would recommend shorter SATA data cables where possible. I think mine were only 6-8" long for my 3 devices.
Finally, the video card (HIS 7750 low profile) slapped in without issues. I also added a Inateck PCI-Express 1x USB 3.0 card, since this motherboard didn't have USB 3.0 and it turns out, those front ports require the special 3.0 interface for the cable inside! So no, it won't simply plug into your motherboard USB 2.0 pins.
Ultimately, I put in a Evercool full-sized PCI slot fan controller and 4x Enermax UC-8EB 80mm fans. The fans are a tight fit, but they will go in there! This combination, at 50-75% turned up, is dead silent, but moves enough air to keep things cool. With all fans pulling air out of the case, it seems to come in with the 2 perforated slots under the video card, the side of the case by the PSU/Hard Drive, and above the CPU, which seems perfect.
I ended up using an older Phenom II 905e quad-core 2.5Ghz processor. At 65W, it seemed to be a good fit for the motherboard/case. I threw on a ZALMAN CNPS8900 Quiet, which fit snug to the board (had to remove a heat spreader on one of my DDR2 sticks, heat pipe still touches the PCB of the ram, but fits). The cooler still has 1/4-1/2 inch clearance from the top of the case, though.
The closed-front panel gives you a simple easy-access power button (which can be locked from inside to keep from being pressed) and a dimmed blue power LED (that can be completely blocked from inside as well). The lock is a triangle-key style. One thing to note is that without the lock flipped, the front opens very easily. A few degrees angle lift on the back flips the front face open instantly. Keep it level and it stays shut. Once open, you have access to your optical drive, the power button with a reset button, the EXTREMELY BRIGHT power LED, hard drive LED, 2x USB 3.0 ports, and 2 audio jacks (mic and headphones).
The overall finish on the front of the case is awesome: like an black anodized brushed aluminum. The finish on the rest of the case, however, is just OK. Anywhere I put a screw in, the black finish fell off. A sharpie will fix a lot for at-a-glance. Luckily, you really only see the front of the case in my setup.
To overview, this case is extremely good for the money. It keeps things quiet and cool. It's a bit cramped up inside in some areas, but with the right components, everything will fit. It's extremely slim, will take fairly standard components (e.g. no special power supply). The metal on some parts of the chasis can be a bit flimsy, but after full installation, it shouldn't be an issue. I wouldn't hesitate at all to recommend this product for anybody looking for the same requirements I had.
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 2 |
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