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Apex’s MI-100 case is a great choice for instances where you don’t have a lot of space for a system. It would work well in kiosks or as a video wall controller cabinet. You could also use it to control information signs in a hotel or airport. Its small size would also make it a good choice for a HTPC.
There are two external bays; one 5.25” and one 3.5”. There is also a 3.5” hard drive bay and a full-height expansion slot. The front panel also has two audio jacks and two USB ports. The 250W power-supply delivers ample power for all your components needs. Once everything is installed put the lid back on and you’re good to go.
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- 5
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- 32%
- 4
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- 43%
- 3
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- 15%
- 2
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- 2%
- 1
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- 8%
| Product Rating: |
 
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| Total Reviews: |
102 |
Excellent Case
- Pros: Lots of room to work with for an itx box. Beautiful finish all around, very nice front panel. Power supply is more than adequate for an Intel Atom board, sata optical and hard drive, and anything else you can fit inside. The PSU fan (a pleasant surprise) is pretty much silent, and makes less noise than the northbridge fan on my Atom 330 mobo. It stays very cool with the one fan and the Atom 330 board. I will definitely use this case again if I build any more Atom machines in the future. A very neat case all around.
- Cons: The included power cord is a little short, but you're probably not going to be stretching it across the room anyway. No mention of the power supply cables in the descriptions, I wound up having to buy a molex to sata converter. The PSU has 3 molex, 1 sata, and 1 floppy along with the 20+4 pin connector and a 12v connector. The hardest part of the build was putting the optical drive in, it was a tight squeeze with the wires against the power supply and you have to maneuver it around to get it in place.
- Other Thoughts: Please reviewers, don't complain about the case's lack of ventilation when you knew there were no fans when you bought it. That's like buying a Nintendo 64 and then taking an egg off because you can't play Crysis. What you see is what you get.
If you're building a higher end system, buy a pci slot fan for 5 bucks.
New Version
- Pros: I build alot of machines with this case. In the last batch of cases, they changed the power supply wires, yay! As many people have noted the wire were not long enough for many mobos. Now the wire are much longer and you will have no trouble hooking up any mobo.
- Cons: PSU can run a tad hot since there isn't much room left for air flow if you fill the case up, but hasn't been an issue to date.
- Other Thoughts: Remove PSU before assembly, hard drive mounts sideways in a nifty way to save space.
| Model | MI-100 |
| Type | Mini-ITX Tower |
| Color | 2-Tone |
| Case Material | Steel |
| With Power Supply | Yes |
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- 5
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- 32%
- 4
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- 43%
- 3
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- 15%
- 2
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- 2%
- 1
-
- 8%
| Product Rating: |
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| Total Reviews: |
102 |
Not as expected
- Pros: this unit was somewhat easy to assemble. There was not much in the way of space however to get things in an out. I know this is to be expected in a Mini-ITX case, but you must stop and consider the puzzle before you start putting things in.
- Cons: I have not had the chance to power this up because the intel board i bought for this was shipped with a 3.5 floppy to install the bios. Stupid.
On the case, it is horrible as far a placement of the power supply. The size and placement of the power supply make it almost impossible to do anything. It is nearly impossible to install a CD Drive in this unit because of the size of the power supply but the biggest problem is the CPU. The power supply literally sits on top of the CPU fan. There is maybe enough room between the two to get a piece of notebook paper. I do not know how this will affect the overall cooling of the unit. There is also no cooling fan other than the one on the CPU and the Power Supply. There is no fan to pull heat out of the unit. You must rely on passive cooling or install your own fan somewhere. Good luck.
Waste
- Pros: Sure looks nice in the picture and even when you unpack it.
- Cons: Piece of shoot Power supply died within 24 hours. Returned, removed everything, got new one, spent day with big fat fingers putting together again, power supply worked for 72 hours this time. Removed everything, case was destroyed with hammer. It was worth the 55 bucks to feel better. Piece of shoot!
- Other Thoughts: Piece of shoot. Installed everything into different brand case, working for 3 months with no problem
Perfect for what it does
- Pros: Small, Shiny, Quiet, Well-Designed
- Cons: Regular-sized DVD-RW will actually not fit into the case, you will have to order something a little bit smaller to have some space to plug the wires.
- Other Thoughts: If you want to put fill every possible hard-drive slot, you will have use your own personal ingenuity
| Model |
| Brand |
APEX |
| Model |
MI-100 |
| Spec |
| Type |
Mini-ITX Tower |
| Color |
Black / Mirror finish |
| Case Material |
Steel |
| With Power Supply |
Yes |
| Power Supply |
250W |
| Motherboard Compatibility |
Mini-ITX |
| With Side Panel Window |
No |
| Expansion |
| External 5.25" Drive Bays |
1 |
| External 3.5" Drive Bays |
1 |
| Internal 3.5" Drive Bays |
1 |
| Expansion Slots |
1 |
| Front Ports |
| Front Ports |
USB, Audio |
| Cooling System |
| 80mm Fans |
No |
| 120mm Fans |
No |
| Side Air duct |
No |
| Physical Spec |
| Dimensions(L x W x H) |
11.80" x 8.70" x 5.10" |
| Features |
| Features |
Sturdy construction
Thermally optimized
Excellent EMI shielding
8.5 liters |
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Reviewed By: some guy on 1/11/2009
Tech Level: high - Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
