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Samuel T.

Samuel T.

Joined on 10/22/12

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 3
Most Favorable Review

Good Small Case

Fractal Design Core 1000 Micro ATX Computer Case w/  1 x 120mm fan
Fractal Design Core 1000 Micro ATX Computer Case w/ 1 x 120mm fan

Pros: I was looking for a quality, inexpensive and small case. I did a lot of research and this is it. This case is 1593 cubic inches. I could not find a Mirco ATX case smaller. This case is $40. That's really as cheap as it gets. Some people may list the lack of cable management as a con; but if you want cable management options it's going to add an extra inch or two thickness to the case. You want a thicker case, go buy one, you want a small case this is your man. The thumb screws are excellent, both on the outside of the case and the hard drive mounting panel. Everything fits nicely, seems to be of quality workmanship, the inside is painted. The case is super light weight. Has all the screws an accessories (including speaker header) that you will need.

Cons: The biggest con is the lack of front panel USB 3.0. The way I have my computer on my deck I can easily access the rear ports so it's not a problem for me, but be aware. The blue LED light indicating that it's on is stupid bright. This thing casts a shadow in a brightly lit room in the daytime. It can not be on in a room in which you intend to sleep. The front panel dust filter works great at filtering dust, but it is hard to clean. You can't really remove it to clean it you just have to blow compressed air through the fan.

Overall Review: It is a small case, but I didn't have any trouble with that aspect really. This was my first time building a computer; I prioritized a small case and have no regrets about that. I was worried about fitting two hard drives in with a longish video card, but it turned out not to be a problem at all. First I want to say I love the hard drive mounting system in this case, it's very convenient to be able to install the drives outside the case and then thumbscrew the panel back in afterwards. Secondly you can easily fit two hard drives with any length video card as long as one of them is an SSD. My video card is 9.25" (over the 210mm length) but it's really not a problem. The card could be a foot long and fit fine. This case is perfect for being on top surface right side of a desk. This is because the "front" panel is on the left side of the case. This layout also works for on the floor to you're right or under your desk to your left.

SilenX EFX-09-12 92mm Effizio Quiet Case Fan
SilenX EFX-09-12 92mm Effizio Quiet Case Fan

Pros: Cheap, quite, works great.

Cons: It comes with two mounting options. One is conventional screws, the other is these rubberish things that you pull through the screw hole. The idea is that these will pull the fan taught to the case and eliminate any rattling noise that might be caused by ever-so-loose screws. I choose to use these and I guess they worked as intended. About a week later I noticed a faint rattling noise that I attributed to a case fan (not necessarily this one) and went poking around my case. I decided to redo these mounts and boy was that a mistake. You can not remount this fan with these rubber mounts. As soon as you stretch them taught the second time they will break. They will snap, they will crumble. If you intend to use these then you better intend on ordering extra or never touching them ever, they are single use only. That said I just used the screws the fan came with. They are tight and quite; no complaints.