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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2018
For a case that's advertised as an HTPC case, you'd think that it'd be quiet, right? Despite the computer itself being lower-power system, the PSU fan runs at full speed all the time, and is pretty noisy. There are no connectors to make the fan speed adjustable by the computer.
For a case that's advertised as an HTPC case, you'd think that it wouldn't be flashy, right? It's got a blindingly-bright LED in front. Who wants this nonsense?
The case successfully fits in a 6" opening under my entertainment center. However, the case is otherwise quite bulky. You'd think that an HTPC case would be on the smaller side. All this has going for it is the height (when laying flat).
When I first attempted to use the case, I thought that it was DOA. As it turns out, there is a switch for the PSU hidden behind the front panel. After switching that on, it still didn't work. The power cable going to the PSU was loose as well! After fixing that, the computer would power on.
The faceplate for the 5.25" optical drive is too close to the drive itself. As-is, it presses into the drive and makes the eject button constantly pressed in. As a workaround, I have the faceplate partially backed out, which looks ugly. But at least I can use the eject button that way.
Thin, cheap metal. Cheap brittle plastic. Disposable expansion slot covers. This thing is cheap in all senses of the word. Look elsewhere if you want something nice.
*UPDATE*
If you're handy, and the PSU noise is bothering you, there is something you can do about it! Get a pair of 1W zener diodes. Start with 4.7v ones (the higher the voltage rating, the slower the fan will go, as you subtract the zener diode rating from 12v to get the final voltage that reaches the fan). Wire them in parallel to ensure they can handle the load (not 100% sure if this is necessary, but it can't hurt.). Open the PSU to remove the fan, and cut a length of the red wire after you've slit the clear tubing around it. Solder the diode pair inline so that the stripe is on the connector side. Wrap it up and you'll now have a fan that spins at a slower speed, and therefore is quieter. If you have a high-draw system, don't go too slow or the PSU may overheat. Also, be careful with screwing the fan back in. It's very brittle.
*UPDATE #2*
Even after successfully lowering the PSU fan RPM with zener diodes (I ended up at using 6.2v zeners), I still had noise problems. Why? The remaining noise wasn't from the RPM of the fan, it was from the crummy bearing (if it even had one). Even at low RPMs, it would rattle, which was quite annoying. Having had my share of noise annoyance, I ended up purchasing a fanless PSU that I will mount in this case. Which totally negates my cost-saving goal of getting a case that comes with a PSU. This is garbage!
I got this case because it was 6" or less in height, and came with a PSU to save money. What a disappointment!
For a case that's advertised as an HTPC case, you'd think that it'd be quiet, right? Despite the computer itself being lower-power system, the PSU fan runs at full speed all the time, and is pretty noisy. There are no connectors to make the fan speed adjustable by the computer.
For a case that's advertised as an HTPC case, you'd think that it wouldn't be flashy, right? It's got a blindingly-bright LED in front. Who wants this nonsense?
The case successfully fits in a 6" opening under my entertainment center. However, the case is otherwise quite bulky. You'd think that an HTPC case would be on the smaller side. All this has going for it is the height (when laying flat).
When I first attempted to use the case, I thought that it was DOA. As it turns out, there is a switch for the PSU hidden behind the front panel. After switching that on, it still didn't work. The power cable going to the PSU was loose as well! After fixing that, the computer would power on.
The faceplate for the 5.25" optical drive is too close to the drive itself. As-is, it presses into the drive and makes the eject button constantly pressed in. As a workaround, I have the faceplate partially backed out, which looks ugly. But at least I can use the eject button that way.
Thin, cheap metal. Cheap brittle plastic. Disposable expansion slot covers. This thing is cheap in all senses of the word. Look elsewhere if you want something nice.
*UPDATE*
If you're handy, and the PSU noise is bothering you, there is something you can do about it! Get a pair of 1W zener diodes. Start with 4.7v ones (the higher the voltage rating, the slower the fan will go, as you subtract the zener diode rating from 12v to get the final voltage that reaches the fan). Wire them in parallel to ensure they can handle the load (not 100% sure if this is necessary, but it can't hurt.). Open the PSU to remove the fan, and cut a length of the red wire after you've slit the clear tubing around it. Solder the diode pair inline so that the stripe is on the connector side. Wrap it up and you'll now have a fan that spins at a slower speed, and therefore is quieter. If you have a high-draw system, don't go too slow or the PSU may overheat. Also, be careful with screwing the fan back in. It's very brittle.
*UPDATE #2*
Even after successfully lowering the PSU fan RPM with zener diodes (I ended up at using 6.2v zeners), I still had noise problems. Why? The remaining noise wasn't from the RPM of the fan, it was from the crummy bearing (if it even had one). Even at low RPMs, it would rattle, which was quite annoying. Having had my share of noise annoyance, I ended up purchasing a fanless PSU that I will mount in this case. Which totally negates my cost-saving goal of getting a case that comes with a PSU. This is garbage!
For a case that's advertised as an HTPC case, you'd think that it'd be quiet, right? Despite the computer itself being lower-power system, the PSU fan runs at full speed all the time, and is pretty noisy. There are no connectors to make the fan speed adjustable by the computer.
For a case that's advertised as an HTPC case, you'd think that it wouldn't be flashy, right? It's got a blindingly-bright LED in front. Who wants this nonsense?
The case successfully fits in a 6" opening under my entertainment center. However, the case is otherwise quite bulky. You'd think that an HTPC case would be on the smaller side. All this has going for it is the height (when laying flat).
When I first attempted to use the case, I thought that it was DOA. As it turns out, there is a switch for the PSU hidden behind the front panel. After switching that on, it still didn't work. The power cable going to the PSU was loose as well! After fixing that, the computer would power on.
The faceplate for the 5.25" optical drive is too close to the drive itself. As-is, it presses into the drive and makes the eject button constantly pressed in. As a workaround, I have the faceplate partially backed out, which looks ugly. But at least I can use the eject button that way.
Thin, cheap metal. Cheap brittle plastic. Disposable expansion slot covers. This thing is cheap in all senses of the word. Look elsewhere if you want something nice.
*UPDATE*
If you're handy, and the PSU noise is bothering you, there is something you can do about it! Get a pair of 1W zener diodes. Start with 4.7v ones (the higher the voltage rating, the slower the fan will go, as you subtract the zener diode rating from 12v to get the final voltage that reaches the fan). Wire them in parallel to ensure they can handle the load (not 100% sure if this is necessary, but it can't hurt.). Open the PSU to remove the fan, and cut a length of the red wire after you've slit the clear tubing around it. Solder the diode pair inline so that the stripe is on the connector side. Wrap it up and you'll now have a fan that spins at a slower speed, and therefore is quieter. If you have a high-draw system, don't go too slow or the PSU may overheat. Also, be careful with screwing the fan back in. It's very brittle.
*UPDATE #2*
Even after successfully lowering the PSU fan RPM with zener diodes (I ended up at using 6.2v zeners), I still had noise problems. Why? The remaining noise wasn't from the RPM of the fan, it was from the crummy bearing (if it even had one). Even at low RPMs, it would rattle, which was quite annoying. Having had my share of noise annoyance, I ended up purchasing a fanless PSU that I will mount in this case. Which totally negates my cost-saving goal of getting a case that comes with a PSU. This is garbage!
Poor quality and noisy. Look elsewhere!
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2018
I got this case because it was 6" or less in height, and came with a PSU to save money. What a disappointment!Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2018
For a case that's advertised as an HTPC case, you'd think that it'd be quiet, right? Despite the computer itself being lower-power system, the PSU fan runs at full speed all the time, and is pretty noisy. There are no connectors to make the fan speed adjustable by the computer.
For a case that's advertised as an HTPC case, you'd think that it wouldn't be flashy, right? It's got a blindingly-bright LED in front. Who wants this nonsense?
The case successfully fits in a 6" opening under my entertainment center. However, the case is otherwise quite bulky. You'd think that an HTPC case would be on the smaller side. All this has going for it is the height (when laying flat).
When I first attempted to use the case, I thought that it was DOA. As it turns out, there is a switch for the PSU hidden behind the front panel. After switching that on, it still didn't work. The power cable going to the PSU was loose as well! After fixing that, the computer would power on.
The faceplate for the 5.25" optical drive is too close to the drive itself. As-is, it presses into the drive and makes the eject button constantly pressed in. As a workaround, I have the faceplate partially backed out, which looks ugly. But at least I can use the eject button that way.
Thin, cheap metal. Cheap brittle plastic. Disposable expansion slot covers. This thing is cheap in all senses of the word. Look elsewhere if you want something nice.
*UPDATE*
If you're handy, and the PSU noise is bothering you, there is something you can do about it! Get a pair of 1W zener diodes. Start with 4.7v ones (the higher the voltage rating, the slower the fan will go, as you subtract the zener diode rating from 12v to get the final voltage that reaches the fan). Wire them in parallel to ensure they can handle the load (not 100% sure if this is necessary, but it can't hurt.). Open the PSU to remove the fan, and cut a length of the red wire after you've slit the clear tubing around it. Solder the diode pair inline so that the stripe is on the connector side. Wrap it up and you'll now have a fan that spins at a slower speed, and therefore is quieter. If you have a high-draw system, don't go too slow or the PSU may overheat. Also, be careful with screwing the fan back in. It's very brittle.
*UPDATE #2*
Even after successfully lowering the PSU fan RPM with zener diodes (I ended up at using 6.2v zeners), I still had noise problems. Why? The remaining noise wasn't from the RPM of the fan, it was from the crummy bearing (if it even had one). Even at low RPMs, it would rattle, which was quite annoying. Having had my share of noise annoyance, I ended up purchasing a fanless PSU that I will mount in this case. Which totally negates my cost-saving goal of getting a case that comes with a PSU. This is garbage!
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