Athenatech Black Steel A100BB.270 Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case - Retail

Excellent case but plan on buying a new power supply

Reviewed By: Kiran Patil on 4/8/2009

Tech Level: high - Ownership: 1 week to 1 month

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: Solid design! Everything is well thought out to make installation of components and motherboard a breeze. Hard drive cages pull out easily, the optical drive bay flips up (and out of the case) and everything is held together by large easy-to-remove thumbscrews. I also like that I can use full height expansion cards in such a small case. You can fit three hard disks in here (four if you don’t need an optical drive). I definitely recommend buying this to anyone who wants a computer with a small footprint. I’m very impressed with this case.

Cons: The included Sparkle brand power supply is old stock and useless for a modern computer build. Two glaring problems include no SATA connector and only a 20-pin motherboard connector (instead of 24-pin). You’ll be forced to buy a new power supply unit (PSU) to get your computer up and running. When you do look for a new PSU do not look under “micro ATX”. Brands that use that term for their PSU are complete junk. Micro ATX is motherboard standard and NOT a power supply form factor. Look under “SFX12V” instead. SFX is the power supply form factor Intel created for use with smaller cases housing Micro ATX motherboards. For this particular case I bought a SeaSonic ECO 300 which I recommend highly.

Other Thoughts: The paint job seems prone to scratching easily.

As mentioned by previous reviewers, the optical drive may touch the CPU fan depending on the motherboard, fan and drive you choose. If this is a problem for you, buy a black optical drive and remove the spring loaded bezel. This should allow you to push the drive further away from the CPU fan. Another alternative is spending a little extra (around $30) for a low profile CPU fan replacement. I’d opt for pushing the drive further out first and go with a low profile as a last resort. Throwing heat up directly on to the optical drive is a horrible compromise.

If it weren't for the useless power supply I would give it 5 stars. I would rather they not have included it.

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Phenomenal Little Case

Reviewed By: akbrennan on 10/3/2008

Tech Level: somewhat high - Ownership: 1 day to 1 week

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: Received this case and all of my components in the mail from Newegg yesterday. I have read many reviews on this case and was a bit concerned about the small form factor (The CD Drive bumping into the CPU Heatsink, difficulty to add new components, and whatnot. The case has been absolutely phenomenal so far. I had no difficulty getting my motherboard mounted in the case, and everything attached. The case was built very intelligently. It is obviously not for powerhouse systems, but it does amazingly as a standard or home theater PC. The case is very modern looking, and the blue light is beautiful unless you are trying to sleep right next to it.

Cons: None so far. The plastic plates on the front may be a tiiiiny bit flimsy, but certainly not bad for such a cheap, small form-factor case.

Other Thoughts: ***It may be difficult to use a bigger heatsink with this case than the one that comes stock with your processor.

I absolutely love the case so far, I am going to be using it to make a few more PC models to sell.

My current setup with this case consists of:

GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz Socket AM2
SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner
Western Digital Caviar GP WD5000AACS 500GB
and OCZ Vista Upgrade 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

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Perfect

Reviewed By: Hibish on 1/28/2010

Tech Level: high - Ownership: more than 1 year

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: Last year about this time, I as looking to build a smallish, but powerful media center and light gaming rig. This case was about the only thing I could find at the time that fit my small entertaiment shelf and my budget (sale for $29 at the time). I was worried about the power supply being 270W, but I am able to run all of the stuff listed in other thoughts and I use the front USB and audio ports without issue.

I was surpised how easy this small case is to work in....The top/side comes off with two thumb screws removed and the center placed 5.5"/3.25" combo cage comes out with the front panel easily pulled off and two thumb screws behind it removed. The hard drive cage comes out too if needed.

I use the system for entertainment with Windows Media Center, family MP3/MP4 players, video editing, web/email, and modern games (NFS, AOEIII, NHL/NFL 09,COD series, MW series). Future upgraded PS and vid card, and I should be able to keep this system going for several more years.

Cons: My Cons: Small PS wattage if you have many add-ons or periphs. No front case fan. Hard drives are far right (from front angle), but many main boards put SATA and IDE connectors on the left. Crowded if many cable, but that is typical of most HTPC cases.

Other reviewers con claims:
- 99% of CPU coolers will not fit - true with normal size optical drive. Need shorter than usual optical drive, they do exist. With shorter drive, typical profile stock provided CPU coolers works fine. Many better-than-stock coolers fit fine with a shorter optical drive too.

- Power Supp. not fit Micro-ATX - many Micro-ATX boards have the larger main power connector, but they often still work with the smaller one provided by this PS. Not all do so check.

This case, not unlike any other product you buy, requires good research before buying for you to be ultimately satisfied. Hoepfully this review will help you do so.

Other Thoughts: BIOSTAR Micro-ATX MB oN-board USB, LAN, Sound, Vid(not used)
AMD Athlon 64 x2 6000+ CPU (with BB RocketFish AMD CPU cooler)
2 2GB DDR2 PC-6400 DIMMS
500GB SATA HD
Short (length-wise) DVD RW drive
Front 80mm Case Fan
2 60mm Back Case FansNVIDA 7600 GT 512MB (no external power required)
Windows 7 64-bit

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Excellent Case, Replace The Power Supply

Reviewed By: Paul S on 12/4/2009

Tech Level: high - Ownership: more than 1 year

Pros: I have had this case for over a year now and am completely satisfied with the overall layout and construction. I removed the hinged door for the optical drive and moved the drive forward,(there is a set of mounting holes provided to do this as an option). Plenty of room inside this case for everything your HTPC needs.

Cons: Outdated, noisy power supply. I replaced mine with an "A-Power AK420M" 420watt mATX / SFX12V-H form factor power supply I found at a different vendor site.

Other Thoughts: SFX12V-H power supplies are not as common as many others but are not really hard to find. Generally the dinensions are 2.5 x 5 x 4-inches (H x W x D, approximate). I have 2 suggestions to look for that I know will work in this case. A-Power AK420M, 420watt, and A-Power AGS350M, 350watt. Both of these have a flush, side mounted 80mm fan. These A-Power power supplies are not silent but are quieter than the one that comes with this case, and have higher power, 8pin +12V connector, and SATA connectors. BUY THIS CASE!. You won't be disappointed. Thanks New Egg.

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Reviewed By: on 9/6/2009

Tech Level: high - Ownership: 1 day to 1 week

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: Finish looks really nice in entertainment center... I was a little worried about the light but its not to bright... Holds everything, like with most mATX cases its a pretty tight fit...

Cons: Definitely get some tools on this build.... read the little cheat sheet on how to take this thing apart.

Other Thoughts: Really good case for the price.... I could not of been happier with it. I took an egg off though just because it was a little difficult getting everything in there.

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