Hec 7K09BB Black
Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case
The Hec 7K09BBA30FNRX case is a great value for building a budget-friendly HTPC without sacrificing performance and functionality. The classic matte black color scheme, along with flexible horizontal or vertical placement, makes this unit a great fit in your home theater system. Inside its compact profile, you'll find enough space to accommodate your Micro ATX motherboard or a 3.5in. and 5.25in. drive. An 80mm front fan is pre-installed to cool the system. A 300W flex power supply is also included to handle anything you throw at it.
Features
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Front-mounted 8cm cooling fan
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Built-in CAG 1.1 Air Guide
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HEC300FNRX 300W flex power supply
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Comes with two foot-stands
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One side-screw mounted for 5.25in. and 3.5in. devices
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Thumb screws kit for 5.25in. and 3.5in. devices and upper cover
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L-type key-lock ring and kensington lock hole supported
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Could stand vertically as a tower or horizontally as a desktop
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Front access USB 2.0, Audio, and Firewire ports
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Optional intrusion switch supported
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Optional latch kits on back cover
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Optional metal covers for drive bays
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Optional liner conductive spring for PCI slots
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Superior CoolingThe Hec 7K09BBA30FNRX comes equipped with an 80mm front fan and side air vents for efficient ventilation and effective system cooling.
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Easy InstallationOne side screw mounted design for 5.25in. and 3.5in. devices, as well as thumb screws kit for 5.25in. and 3.5in. devices and upper cover permits easy DIY drive installation.
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300W PSU300W flex power supply is included to deliver robust power for all your components.
Pros: Running for a week now 24/7, stress testing the power supply with no problems. Just the right size for a mATX HTPC build. Accepts full size 3.5" and 5.25" drives (see other thoughts). Gives enough room for small miscellaneous items (I have 2 single-fan speed controllers and a USB dongle for the RF remote velcro'd in open areas to the bottom of the case). I removed the stock fan from my Athlon II 260 heatsink and rigged up a 120mm fan to cool the CPU and surrounding mobo. I've worked with hundreds of different cases from Rosewill, Antec, Lian-Li, Silverstone, Thermaltake, etc and I started buying HEC (compucase) cases about 2 years ago and haven't looked back. They are the best bang for the buck for budget builds (90% of what I build). Their plain look is exactly what they want too. Nothing crazy, no sniper, alien, garbage truck cases here. Never had one of their power supplies stop working.
Cons: Not really a con, just a tip on front panel removal: as others stated, it's four tabs, two on each side that you push in and slide the bezel off. Makes it easier to work in the open areas I mentioned above for miscellaneous items, storing extra cables, etc. I was also able to run the front panel USB/Audio cords under my mobo, saving more space. Use some electrical tape to keep them in place before screwing in the mobo. Note that the firewire cable is noticeably thicker and you will not be able to run it under the mobo (without smashing it at least). You should have ~2" inches between the power supply and mobo to pull the cables up and bend them back down to your mobo connectors. Just be generous with the curve you make (use the full height of the case). The power supply fan is still the most quiet fan in my case even after I put in fan-speed controllers on my other 2 fans. Guessing it spins no faster than 1200rpm.
Overall Review: Tips to remember before buying this: Do NOT buy RAM with a fancy heat-spreader if you plan to use an internal optical drive (ie Blu-ray drive). Most mobos have the RAM slots where the optical drive will slide in and it will stick up and block the optical drive. Same goes for the 20/24-pin mobo power connector. This isn't a big deal (as others make it sound) if you take your time and arrange/bend the connector to sit underneath the optical drive. It DOES work and it's not as tight as you might think. I took the cautionary route and bought the case and all components except the blu-ray drive until after I installed everything in the case. From here I measured how much length I had for my blu-ray drive before hitting the heatsink. Came in around 8 inches (max) which is still enough room for power connectors using current blu-ray drives (~7.28 inches long). MSI 880GM-E41 G.SKILL 2x2GB F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT AMD Athlon II X2 260 Regor 3.2GHz LITE-ON ihes108-29 BD Combo