hec Black 0.7mm Thickness SECC 7K09 Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case with 270W FLEX Power Supply

Pros: Great case. Good build. Air flow is ok, but go for low wattage items to keep the thermal total down. Great HTPC case. Inexpensive for what you get.

Cons: It is tight. I have built over 100 systems and this was a tight fit. I cannot stress the importance of a few things. 1. Remove the front cover to install hard drives before you start ripping the case apart. 2. Install the CD/DVD drive last. 3. IMPORTANT...Use right angle SATA connectors and right angle SATA power connectors. I went on the suggestion of someone else in the reviws and they said a Zalman CNPS 8700 cpu cooler fit fine. It does...if you use 90 degree power and sata connectors. I cannot stress this enough, since trying to fit everything in the case, you can possible crack off a SATA connector either on the motherboard of your hard drive. Also, use wire wrap to maximize airflow in the case. Power LED connector was not compatible with my motherboard. Lastly, remove the plastic cpu shroud which is attached to the inside of the removeable cover if you decide to go with the Zalmancooler. It hits the cooler when you reinstall the case. Temps: CPU 98 degrees F Mainboard 88 F

Overall Review: AMD 5600+ 2.9 gig 65W MSI K9A2GM FIH 2 Gig OCZ2G8002GK (5-5-5-15 1T command rate) Zalman CNPS 8700 (1) Western Digital 120 Gig SATA 3g (1) Western Digital 750 Gig SATA 3g 1 Samsung SH-S223F ASUS ATI HD4550 Adesso WKB-3000UB (Awesome little Keyboard) Win XP Pro

Pros: Quiet (my HD DVR from the cable company was louder than this case), well placed yet compact internal layout, efficient cooling, simple case to place in my home theater without looking like a PC. Large power switch fits into the entertainment system nicely.. no fiddling to to turn it on, yet hard to accidentally depress it.

Cons: Some reviewers say the size is a con. Of course its small, thats the point of a slim Micro ATX case.. So how is that a con? None.

Overall Review: I liked this case so much that I ordered another for a desktop PC build. Running this with Mythbuntu, AMD 4000, WD 1TB, and a slimline Nvidia HDMI card for HD playback. Power supply hasnt flinched yet.

Pros: Good size for small space, and still have a full-sized system (no ITX for me...) Power supply handles 45W AMD CPU with no problems Goes together quite easily if you're using SATA, no extra boards.

Cons: Fan is just a <i>little</i> loud

Overall Review: Here's my HTPC build using this case: <ul> <li>hec Black 0.7mm Thickness SECC 7K09 Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case</li> <li>GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2HP AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard</li> <li>AMD Athlon X2 BE-2300 Brisbane 1.9GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 45W Dual-Core Processor</li> <li>Crucial 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory</li> <li>Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive</li> <li>SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S223Q</li> </ul>

Pros: The case has a pleasing front panel look that would fit into a home theater shelf quite well. The fans IMO are not loud - they could be faster because airflow feels a little lethargic, but I suppose it is a good speed / sound compromise. The price is a good value right now, as long as there are no major case issues. I may not list many pros, but overall I am satisfied with the product for the price. I have not put it to extreme use or much testing yet; I am attempting to see how it functions as a media-center type PC.

Cons: (1) Quality assurance/product support. If aligned horizontally, the case is supposed to rest on rubbery standoffs. The case I received only had three (of four) attached and so the case does not stand evenly. How did this case pass the QA inspection? A cheap workaround is to use a small stack of coins as the 'missing standoff.' I have tried to contact hec at their Taiwanese and USA addresses with no response. It is not worth it to pay the shipping back to Newegg to RMA for this defect. (2) PSU is of proprietary size. This is not an issue for me at the moment, but does limit future replacement. Overall, I do not have many complaints, but mitigating an otherwise high rating because hec will not respond to my inquiry about the defect in my product. On a contrast note: I purchased this case with the eDATA DEC-200B remote, and even though the remote was missing a piece, eDATA's customer support mailed me the missing piece the next day after I called them.

Overall Review: Overall, it is a tight fit, but that is expected. Like some other folks here, my MB is the GA-MA78GM-S2H. Some notes about this combo, that may echo some existing reviews: (1) The left-side drive cage blocks the Front Panel Header, so FPH should be wired prior to mounting the MB. (2) SATA hard drives will make life easier if you have an IDE drive. Others note memory with large heatsinks may block the IDE drive. I'm using a Corsair "TWIN" and the drive slides in above it ok. (3) The front fan's path will be obstructed a bit from cables and wires, obstructing airflow to the already pretty hot GPU on the MB. (4) The power supply will reach the MB's ATX_12V plug but it is a tight, stretched fit. (5) - The top fan opening of the case is not fully aligned with the CPU fan, but I don't think MB layouts don't have a standard exact location for that. Tall CPU heatsinks/fans may not fit. The retail AMD CPU fan is a bit noisy, but has fair clearance. Thanks for reading.

Pros: Size - Price - Sound - Looks... If you're looking to build an HTPC to fit inside a standard entertainment center, this is the case you're looking for! (although it's still a bit snug). The fan is quiet, but efficient. The styling fits nicely with most entertainment system components.

Cons: As expected with an HTPC build, the components are a tight fit. With a bit of creative routing, the power and switch wires can be tucked neatly under the MB, and out of the way of the fan.

Overall Review: All-in-all, this is an EXCELLENT HTPC case, especially for the price $60 vs. $200-300??? you do the math :). If you're putting this in an entertainment center, you may need to do a little cutting on the back of the center to rout the wires, so your PC doesn't stick out (about an inch, or so). Now, if I can just find the perfect wireless remote/keyboard:)

Pros: Everything fit for my HTPC, it doesn't twist when you move it around, and the power so far is working just fine. What more can you ask for? I did replace the fan to something a little quieter, but the stock fan was already pretty quiet.

Cons: Definitely needs a SATA DVD drive because it gets really close to the CPU heatsink.

Pros: There's plenty of room for an optical drive, two hard drives, and a mini ITX board. The front panel looks great - especially the power switch/light ring. The case fan helps keep the inside cool.

Cons: The included power supply fan is very noisy (too noisy for a lower power unit). The power supply is missing a power connection for a second SATA drive (you'll need to buy a split power connector if you have two SATA drives).

Overall Review: I'd give this case 5/5 stars if the power supply fan wasn't so loud (again, for a low power PSU).

Pros: Small, Quiet, gets the job done. Even better quality han I expected. Both 'intakes' have a filter, should keep most dust out (MY $200 antec fusion HTPC case that I am not a fan of is full of dust after 2 months of use... it has NO filter at all). Cooling is good enough as far as I can tell, with cool'n'quiet set, the fan almost never goes on high. Stock AMD cooler is 75% under the intake vent.. is pulling cold air straight to the CPU.

Cons: If I install a second HD in the external 3.5" bay, the drive extends about 1 mm too far, just pushing the right clip on the 3.5" cover to extrude just a little (might just be te HD i tested.. only tried 1 WD green) You really NEED to get a right angle SATA POWER and DATA connectors for the DVD drive to fit against the stock heatsink (For me, this is really the only 'tight' fight in the case, everything else is ample or as expected) I am also using a Blueray drive, I have not measured to see if it is longer than 'standard.'

Overall Review: If you want to build a HTPC, or home server, or even a desktop not for playing new games, this case is PERFECT. This comp performs amazing for how cheap it was. I bought low power components, and am currently loving the PC. Built as an HTPC/Server that will take care of my downloads, etc. Installed Windows 7 x64 RC, couldn't be happier. With onboard video, and windows default drivers, I am currently playing a 1080p mkv in mpc, using 80% of cpu, playing flawlessly. GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-US2H 780G (my second, i like it more than my full atx mobo! it has everything you could need, other than s-video or rca out) AMD Athlon 64 X2 5050e Brisbane 2.6GHz 45W Western Digital Caviar Green WD6400AACS 640GB LG Black 6X BD-ROM 16X GGC-H20L - OEM 2 x 2GB name brand (I forgot which, too lazy to look) RAM stock heatsink and fan, onboard video and audio (maybe a video card upgrade soon, and wireless. Still looking for the best solution to get s-video/RCA out, as well as HDML, VGA, and