- Steel Micro ATX Desktop
- USB / Audio Front Ports
- 300W Power Supply
- Side Air duct
- 1 External 5.25" Drive Bays
- 1 Internal 3.5" Drive Bays
Well Priced, easy build
03/22/2009
This review is from: Foxconn DH839-MT300K Black Steel Micro ATX Desktop Computer Case 300W Power Supply
Pros:
Wanted a beginning HTPC case, and this one fit the bill. Great small case, integrated PSU is plenty powerful and still quiet when paired with the ASUS M3A78-EM, 65 W Athlon, 1 SATA HD and 1 SATA DVD drive.
Contains rubber stand offs at key points to reduce vibration and noise from fans and drives.
People complain about the drive cage, but I actually really like it. Drives fit in the there well, and there are clips on the underside for cable management.
Because I used only SATA drives, I was able to get a very well laid out case with excellent airflow. I actually think I will be able to use a fan less heat sink on the CPU because the fan on the side blows across the processor and the case cover has vents right over CPU. This is good because the stock AMD heatsink/fan is way to loud for a HTPC. Case temps are in the low to mid 30s, CPU temps in the high 40s, low 50s (but that's a function of the poor heatsink/fan, not the case.)
Cons:
Front bezel is plastic and mine was damaged on the corner (shipping?). Will talk to NewEgg about getting a new bezel, but I'm happy enough with the case that I won't RMA it if I can't get a new one.
Case is longer/deeper than I realized. At about 15 inches, it sticks out of my shelf by about half inch.
Accepts only half-height PCI cards. Not a problem because I used a mobo with everything integrated onto it, but might matter to others. There are plenty of half height TV tuner cards, so that's a problem.
It can be hard to get the cover back on after the build. This is due to the rubber stoppers below the drive case. You have to press down on the cover pretty hard to compress the rubber enough so that the cover will slide forward and lock.
Overall Review:
I saw a lot of true HTPC cases with more features here on NewEgg, but for my first HTPC build, I didn't want to spend too much. This case fits the bill well. Once I get things figured out, I may upgrade, but this case will still makes a good, quiet, and small system.
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- John V.
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Verified Owner
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Owned For:
1 week to 1 month
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