Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)The photograph of this case doesn't really do it justice. This is one of the nicest looking PC cases I've used - and I've built quite a few units. All the components are top quality: The power supply is adequate to support a very powerful system; the fans are silent but very effective at cooling the unit, and the drive bays pull out for easy installation (a big plus in a unit this small as I've usually nearly broken my hands trying to squeeze a system in a case this small).
There are a few very important things to remember if you want to buy this case and build your system. First: remember, it is a very small case and that means you need to get small components. While micro-atx boards run up to 9.6" x 9.6" and will "conceivably" fit this case, definitely don't get one. You will fit the board in but I can't see how you'll get the RAM, CPU, and drives to fit. I used a Biostar P4M800M7A Intel Socket 775 MicroATX Motherboard, which is tiny but full featured. I love this board, I've built a half dozen systems with it and I've never had a problem. It doesn't take dual-channel RAM, but it does take Dual Core Pentium D processors, and is very affordable. I put in a Pentium D 805 (also an incredible bargain) and clocked it a 3.2 GHZ. The system is unbelievably fast and stable.
Second: get a a very short DVD-RW drive. The fact is that nothing other than a Lite-On and some Sony's will fit. Any other drive will smash into the CPU fan and will stick about 4 inches out of the front (you'll never get the face plate on).
Third: use a SATA drive if you can. As previously stated, the drive bays are incredibly well designed, but having those thin SATA cables is a big plus in such a tight space.
Fourth: Though there is room for a second hard drive, I personally would not install one. The cabling will get crazy and you will be pushing the power supply, especially if you want to install a good video card and some PCI cards. I installed a Radeon 9600, a USB PCI (the system already has 6 ports, but I hate hubs and have a lot of peripherals), and a Firewire PCI.
Finally, if you want to get a third party heatsink/fan, I would go with the CoolerMaster X15-9IDSA. It costs $10 at Amazon, is small enough to fit the system, offers much better cooling, and is much quieter than the stock fan.
There is only one problem with this case and that is that the front panel pops off easily. I'm used to front panels you have to carefully pry off with all of your strength (even after releasing the clips), and pray that nothing breaks. This has the opposite problem. I found the solution is to find some fat screws and lodge them in the center of the retaining clips after the front plate is reattached.
If you are planning on builing an AMD based system I would suggest getting an MSI board. The K8MM-V is very solid and is actually a few hairs smaller than the Biostar. It's a 754 socket, but there are similar 939 versions. I wouldn't build an AM2 system. I've yet to find a reliable micro-atx AM2 motherboard. The AMD stock fan is quieter, smaller, and more efficient than Intel's stock 775, so you can skip buying an aftermarket version. Using these (or similar) configurations you should be able to fit everything in this case and have a beautiful, very fast system.
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Product Description:
Clear acrylic frame
Silver color coated buttons
Light pipe shows various colors
Main Features
Manufacturer: Athenatech U.S.A., Inc
Manufacturer Part Number: A100BB.270
Manufacturer Website Address: www.athenatech.us
Product Type: System Cabinet
Case Style: Desktop, Tower
Motherboard Support: Flex ATX, ?ATX
Fan System: 2 x 2.36" Rear Standard, 1 x 3.15" Front Optional
External Bays: 1 x 5.25" - 1/2H Front Accessible, 1 x 3.5" - 1/3H Front Accessible
Internal Bays: 2 x 3.5" - 1/3H
Total Bays: 2 x External, 2 x Internal
Expansion Slots: 4
Ports: USB 2.0 USB, Audio
Power Supply: Included
Color: Black
Form Factor: Tower, Desktop
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