CHENBRO ES34069-BK-180 Black 0.7 mm SECC Pedestal Server Chassis 180 W (DC: 19V)

Pros: Hotswap drive bays w/ backplane, small form factor, external power supply included. It's the only case I can find with this featureset, and it gets the job done.

Cons: Fans moderately noisy, and unusual size makes them difficult to replace. PSU makes a loud hum at times. Cable routing is difficult in the cramped space. Card reader and IR options are nearly impossible to find. Backplane can be a bit finicky about properly seating the drive. None of these are dealbreakers, but it'd be nice to have a case with the little details done right.

Overall Review: I wanted a NAS/HTPC combination, and built a system using this case, a Pegatron IPX7A ION motherboard, 2 GB of RAM, and 4 WD Green drives. Haven't measured power consumption, but it ought to be pretty reasonable. Works quite well using Ubuntu 9.04.

Pros: * Very well built case * Super small and compact, but still has room for 4 hard disks * pretty quiet out of the box * Great for home NAS/WHS build * Chenbro RMA support is very responsive once you get a hold of them

Cons: I have a DG45FC with an E5200 processor. I had alot of issue with powering everything up. I had read in other forums that many people had used this mobo with same TDP processor combinations, so I ended up getting the same thing. Once i put everything together, the system just wouldn't boot up. After testing everything with a spare 450W ATX power supply AND a 150W PicoPSU, I figured it had to be a power supply and RMA'ed the case with newegg. Once the new case came, it also wouldn't power up the system. I ended up having to RMA AGAIN with Chenbro directly this time to replace just the power distribution board and finally everything worked. If I had known I would run into all these issues i might have just picked up a 150W PicoPSU and saved myself the headache.

Overall Review: I used this for a Windows Home Server build and ended up with the following HW: * DG45FC mobo * Intel E5200 Processor * 2x 1.5TB WD Green HD * 2x 500GB WD Caviar HD * 2x 1gb Gskill 5-5-5-15 1.8v RAM Once I got through all the headaches everything worked out really well ... but having to deal with multiple defective power supplies really wasted alot of time. After running for a few weeks, the CPU and Southbridge temperature seem to be a little high, but still well within operating range. I will probably end up getting some aftermarket coolers to try and cool things down some more.

Pros: Attractive Small footprint Hot-Swap bays (But do you need them?) Screwless optical drive mounting bracket

Cons: Expensive Stock fans are very loud TIGHT space Included riser adapter is PCI. If you need to install a card note that the cable routing in the case will make for an extremely tight install. The four drive SATA cables along with 24 pin power cable will be pressing against it. Case supports 4 hot swap drives, 1 internal 2.5" drive and optical drive but it is hard to find a mini-itx board with more than 4 internal SATA ports.

Overall Review: I bought this case for a Windows Home Server build. Overall I'm very happy with the results. This is a nice looking case that doesn't take up much space. Case comes with 2 pretty loud 70mm fans. I purchased some aftermarket 70mm fans but found that they were thicker than the originals and did not fit in the case since the original fans are already up against the power distribution board. I had originally planned to sit the server on my desk but the fan noise it makes in stock configuration is nerve-wracking. I moved it to a different room. This was my first experience with a mini-itx case and motherboard. If you are used to larger ATX cases then working around in this one is going to be a learning experience. Before you buy this case ask yourself if you really need those hot-swap bays. If not then there are some really nice mini-itx case alternatives (PC-Q08) or consider going with micro atx which really opens up your options.

Pros: Smallest hot-swap mini-ITX case I've ever seen, perfectly designed for a NAS or small file server.

Cons: No documentation included with case. Online documentation is a generic manual with sections not applicable or even completely incorrect for the case. Advertised accessories are impossible to find. SATA cables too short to reach ports. Optical drive bracket blocks power cables. The power brick is big and noisy, and the distribution is sloppily put together. After three months of functioning, the distribution board stopped functioning correctly. It rebooted my server in the middle of file transfers, fried the motherboard's USB 3.0 chip, and finally stopped turning on at all. I wish I had found this out before I installed the replacement motherboard, which it now may also have fried. The proprietary power supply is a real risk. If it works - great, though it's not the most efficient supply in the world. If not, you are locked in to the two-part, non-standard solution, and are dependent on Chenbro's technical support, which is sorely lacking, for a replacement.

Overall Review: Chenbro's tech support page is a web form that pulls double duty as a sales contact e-mail form. There are no numbers to call, no options specifically for repairs or RMAs, and no fields to gather any information about the products you own. I am regretting this purchase greatly.

Pros: a small foot print & a good design easy to open inside separated compartment.

Cons: Flash card reader is an optional, not included! Remote control adapter is an optional, too. It is almost impossible find those optional parts. Lots of LEDs. Check your mb for connections. No PCI slots.

Overall Review: I purchased an ATOM ITX mb w/4 sata for this case. An IDE to SATA converter might help my shortage of connections over 4 HDDs. Still, I have 1 more for a slim DVD-RW. THINK MORE before buying this pricy case.

Pros: Small case that fits 4 3.5" hard drives. Quiet. Love it.

Cons: Mine came with broken power LED so build quality is so so. But still a good case for a NAS. Non-standard PSU meaning hard to replace if it breaks..?

Overall Review: Thanks NewEgg for bringing this case to US. It was hard to get earlier. Also be aware that it comes in TWO different PSU sizes. So pick the one that fits your needs...

Pros: I love this case. I built a beautiful HTPC running Ubuntu and XBMC. Got this case mainly for the 4 hot-swappable drive-bays and it didn't disappoint. The case is well constructed, feels solid and has good features in terms of hiding some of the underpinnings that I frankly don't care about. Everything in the case is easily accessible. The drive bays slide in and out with ease. It has more options for LEF displays than my motherboard supports, I should put that as a negative... :p

Cons: I can't find the optional IR receiver anywhere! I want one!

Pros: Small, but VERY well structured enclosure. Easy to dismantle and assemble. Mini-ITX and Mini-DTX boards. And surprisingly quiet, even with 2 fans!

Cons: Hmm.. Oh well.. Maybe the fans are not "silent". :-D

Overall Review: I had installed a zotac Mini-DTX, a slim-drive and 2.5" HDD for OS, all withing a matter of 2 hours. The front panel removal can be tricky as mentioned by previous posters. I took extra-care to dis-lodge the inner clips, which is a must if you want the panel clips intact. So far I love it. I have it running WHS Vail beta.