iStarUSA S3 STORM SERIES Black SECC body, ABS and aluminum front panel Mini-ITX Tower Entertainment Computer Case 80W Power Supply

Pros: Well made, good layout, the right front panel connectors. Fairly quiet fan.

Fits the Intel DG45FC motherboard and 775 CPUs - e8600 works with the stock cooler.

Small, slimline DVD drive mounts perfectly flush using predrilled mounting hole.

Cons: PCI riser card not useful with PCIe motherboards. Either have to mod case to allow for PCIe card or purchase PCIe riser.

Power and front panel connectors are slightly longer than needed creating further space / cable management problems.

The cable slot for the Slimline DVD tray is in the wrong place for a SATA drive.

Does not include SATA power adapter cables, only one device power connector.

Other Thoughts: You can squeeze 3.5" drive in this case however I do not recommend it as it is a very tight fit.

I expect/hope that iStarUSA will update this case with the Intel DG45FC in mind.
Specifically:
- A PCIe riser card or change to the design to allow for vertical PCIe mounting.
- A Consumer IR port in the front of the case.
- A slightly larger power supply and SATA power connectors.

Pros: After testing the Morex 3688, the AMS DS-2600BK, the new Winsys case here, and the iStarUSA S3, I have to say my favorite is this one, at least for Intel's Atom or low power boards. This has the necessary extra power of 80watts, the fan is quiet, it allows a full size HDD and an expansion slot. Comes with all the necessary parts, well for IDE anyhow.

Cons: After having this case for awhile, the power button broke, and could not be repaired. Kinda cheap, that button. You can use the expansion slot, but you have to get it just right, or else it will not work. The mounting for it will make sure it stays in there, but it is a pain with it being so close to the HDD; it would be best to use a laptop sized HDD for heat reasons. Like what others have said, the bottom door never goes in all the way.

Other Thoughts: So far, this case has the best balance of power, expandability, room to work with, noise and price for Intel's Atom or other low processor applications. The Morex 3688 wins on style and size, the AMS on ease of installation, the Winsys for a general build.

By the way, if you build a system with a AMD AM2 socket or Intel 775LGA socket, it is best to go with the Winsys case. It has the extra power and space you need, without resorting to expensive power options, such as a pico power supply.

Pros: Tiny size, 80W PSU included (with an external brick), looks good, decent build quality, lots of extras (riser card, screws, IDE cables, PSU cables, laptop connector converter, vertical mounting holder), can take a 3.5" HDD, and it includes a quiet case fan that blows air out of the unit.

Cons: Although my Intel D945GCLF2 (Atom 330) mobo seems flush with the case badge, I cannot align the mobo with the screw holes. The fit is simply too tight.

Also, longer cables that seem fine in a mid-tower (e.g. 18" SATA) simply do not work well in this unit because it is so tiny. Also, a regular SATA cable would not work due to the tight fit - I had to get one with L-bend connectors.

Other Thoughts: The power supply cable only includes 1x SATA, 1x Molex (4 prong), and 1x floppy connector. This enclosure permits 2 drives, so if both are molex or if both are SATA, you'll need a Y-splitter.

I highly recommend buying SHORT cables due to the lack of room in the case. Make sure your SATA cables are the L-bend type.

The PSU unit inside takes up a bit of space, and so if it dies, replace it with a smaller picoPSU 80W or 120W unit.

If you want a DVD or Blu-Ray burner, make sure you get a thin type (for laptops).

Pros: Small, looks good, quiet.

Cons: One of the screws that fastens down the drive tray was stripped and I had to drill it out. The ATX power connector has a broken clip on it. It's a little pricey but I did buy it for the way it looked.

Other Thoughts: Shipping to Canada was fairly quick and UPS surprised me and didn't stick me with a $40 brokerage fee like they often love to do! Once I'm done putting it together, I will be running an Intel D945GCLF2, 2.5" WD Black 500GB HD, and a Samsung SN-S082H Slim DVD Drive.

Pros: Super quiet fan - Well designed case - looks great

Comes with everything you need

Newegg=best

Cons: Difficult Installation - Using vertical stand blocks 2 of 4 vents, seems like there could be a hot-spot in the bottom (covered side) of the case
No manual - just a mechanical drawing

Other Thoughts: It comes with the PCI Riser card.
The "power supply" is a small power brick about 1.5 times as big as a normal laptop brick. It connects to a small PCB inside with a 20 pin connector and a floppy connecter. Includes two power cables - 1. a 20 pin ATX plug with a 4 pin CPU (square) plug and 2. a cable with a floppy plug and a 4 pin molex (big 4-in-a-row) plug.

I used a Intel Atom 330 motherboard.

My installation order:
1. Open case and unscrew top bridge for HDD and disk drive
1.1 Pop off front panel using tabs and unscrew drive cover
2. Put RAM in motherboard
3. Install motherboard in case.
4. Plug in all cables, including HDD and disk drive cables
5. Install riser card in motherboard.
6. Insert PCI card in riser.
7. Reinstall top bridge but feed disk drive cables through the hole before securing.
8. Install harddrive (note one side is held up by pci slot so hold it with one hand on the other)
9. Plug in disk drive and then screw it in.
10. Put the top on and enjoy!

Pros: Strong small case.
This case continues to look good.

Cons: On-board power supply recently died. "Brick" adapter is still fine.
Newegg's page on this item shows 3 year limited parts warranty.
A quick e-mail to iStarUSA... again...

I'm informed the case (and it's attached components) are only covered for a year.

Other Thoughts: I'm now looking at a pico-psu on fleabay... for another forty bucks

:(

Pros: Small, Fits a PCI card

Cons: Same as others stated

Other Thoughts: Used lots of tie wraps to keep wiring neat. Stuff wires under boards where you can. Blue magic marker over the blue LED to reduce its brightness. The on/off switch is really above the light, so push towards the top to turn it on. You need a 3x0.5 tap to fix the screw holes. Put extra spacers on the stand to lift the case for better air flow. Remove wires you do not use to save space. A 8" sata cable works well for 2.5 sata drives.

Pros: Easy to assemble for anyone with a little experience in such things, very sturdy and well-designed case. Works great for a cheap home server. REALLY small.

Cons: Not a lot of room to work with but it's hardly a disadvantage if you're going for small size. Wish they would have included more power internal power connectors but oh well.

Other Thoughts: Includes everything you need for most people, even the slim-DVD drive connector. good case here.

Pros: Nice small case. Plenty of room to work in if you go with a 2.5" HDD instead of the 3.5". I paired mine with the Jetway JNC62K motherboard and an Athlon X2 4850e processor; they fit without a hitch. There is a caveat and I talk about it below. The built in power supply worked just fine with this motherboard and powers a slimline blu-ray drive and a 160GB 2.5" laptop flawlessly. I use it as an HTPC and it gets a 5 out of 5 except for one detail.

Cons: The case does not have enough ventilation even with a 2.5" HDD. I had to sacrifice my PCI slot to use a PCI slot cooler. I went with the adjustable speed Dynatron. I was able to turn it down just below my hearing threshold, but it made ALL the difference. The system now runs quite cool.

Other Thoughts: I really like this case. I wanted to give it a 5 star rating, but if you are going to use it with anything above the lowest power processor and m/b combos then you have to make a sacrifice to keep the heat monster appeased. Otherwise, a genuinely nice case.

Pros: Nice looking, comes with TONS of accessories (slimline CD adapter, power cabling, etc), very compact, quiet case fan for good airflow, included 80watt PSU

Cons: Taking screws out of the thing is HELL. I swear they put lock-tite on them.. I guess that's good construction though...

Other Thoughts: Running a D945GCLF2, 160GB SATAII HDD, 16x slimline DVD/CD-RW, 2GB RAM, ATI HDTV-WONDER PCI Tuner, MythBuntu