Question 1

What kind of optical drive can be used with this case? It looks like it requires a slot load from the picture.

Accepted Answer

It will use a standard DVD/CD drive. The left side of the front opens when you push on the panel...it's spring-loaded. Once the panel is open, you have access to the headphone & microphone jacks and two USB 2.0 ports (as well as the DVD opening.)
So, to use the DVD/CD drive, you would have to open this spring-loaded panel...but hey, that's the price of compactness!

Question 2

can you fit a graphics card in this case?

Accepted Answer

Since I don't know what your goal is, here is more information than you probably care to know.

1. If you plan on using this for heavy gaming, and want a high end card, it will not work. Airflow will be an issue and most high end cards now require two slots worth of space, and there is only one slot space available in this case.

2. If you plan on light gaming, then you could put in a low profile card or even better would be to use a combined CPU/GPU chip. This is what many people who have reviewed this product have done (myself included). I get good fps in LOL, but I haven't played high demand games on it.

3. If you want to put a TV-tuner card in this case, you can easily find a low profile TV tuner card that will fit.

Hopefully this answers your question.

Question 3

So... I like this case, but I'm not to sure about the specs.

Is 200W enough to run:

1. MSI B85 Mini-ITX 1150 Motherboard
2. 1x 500GB 7200RPM HDD
3. 1 x 1600 4GB Low-Profile RAM Stick (Will upgrade with another 4GB stick)
4. Intel i3 Haswell Processor

I know there is a power supply calculator but I don't think it's accurate, I could be wrong. I'm building this computer for my girlfriend and I want it to be small and simple. Will this case be suitable and power all my parts without any problem?

My second choice is the Rosewill Legacy Mini-ITX case that can fit a normal sized PSU, so the PSU wouldn't be the problem, but now it doesn't have a disc drive bay. And plus I think the Rosewill case is a little bit expensive.

Thanks in advance!

Accepted Answer

I think that you'll be fine.

I have the same case with: 8GB (4GB x2) DDR3, Gigabyte GBGAH61N-USB3, i3 3225 (Ivy), 1 80mm fan, 1xSSD running Win 7 and have no problems. I use it to serve web content to 52" TV, without issue.

Also, let my son use it (light gaming, internet, etc) for a week or so, no issues.

FWIW, I ordered this fan to keep the noise down: Fractal Design R2 FD-Fan-SSR2 because some of the reviews said that the stock fan was noisy. Never ran the stock fan (replaced it during the build) but the Fractal is nice and quiet. If you choose to replace the fan, pay attention. I can't remember the exact issue but the fan mount is funky!

And, finally, I use this site to estimate power requirements: eXtreme Power Supply Calculator. (Newegg won't allow a link, just google it.) Mine spec'd out to about 150 watts with a 25% value for capacitor aging.

Best of luck with your build!

Question 4

Is this case support 84 watt CPU?

Thanks

Accepted Answer

It has a 200Watt PSU, and whether that is sufficient depends on what you put in the box. If the motherboard will handle that CPU and you don't put other equipment in the box, then the 200 watt PSU that comes with this case should be fine. But a video card, plus a DVD drive, plus two high capacity hard drives might be more than the PSU can handle. 
So, the answer is: it depends.

Question 5

I'm hoping to cram an AMD A10-7850K into here, do you think there'll be enough room for the stock fan?

Accepted Answer

New egg was selling a kit that had just about that CPU with a fan, small form factor mother board , I went with a half height video card for my set up to take some of the load off the apu and i put a blue ray burner in it, plus works good on my 50" TV

Question 6

Is it possible to fit two 3.5" SATA HDs in this case? I don't plan on having an optical drive.

Accepted Answer

Robert, yes, you could use the optical drive bay to hold the 2nd 3.5 drive if you purchased a kit to hold the drive.  The cases are nice, the included fan is a little noisy and I've purchased 4 of these cases and not had a problem with running the PC's without the fan.  Too bad the cage for the drives isn't a 1/4" inch bigger to hold a normal 3.5" drive for a 2nd drive, but I guess the move is to SSD drives.

Question 7

Hello I was wondering what the max height for CPU heatsink+fan is in this case? I looked at the In Win site and was not able to find any specifications for this. I'm hoping to put an A10-7800 in this and prefer to not use stock AMD heatsink.

Accepted Answer

I can’t remember the exact distance but I am using a Cooler Master Gemini M4 which is 2.3in tall and I have plenty of breathing room above the fan. I think 3 in would be a max and only if your CPU lines up with the holes in the side.

Question 8

I'm interested in putting in an FM2 based motherboard in this.  Any thoughts on the tallest heatsink/fan combo I can fit?

Accepted Answer

I was lucky to fit the standard heatsink fan combo that came with the processor. It's VERY tight in that case.

Questions & Answers