Question 1

do i need a slim dvd drive?

Accepted Answer

Yes, a slim or laptop dvd is the only type that will fit.  Be prepared for the %&^ micro miniature mounting screws.  You'll need a #1 phillips or a watchmakers phillips screwdriver to mount it.  You will also need a special power/signal cable as laptop sata id different.  Do not try to use the adapter to a normal sata cable in a sgo5, their isn't room.  Silverstones 450 watt  sfx power supply is highly recommended, it's smaller.

Question 2

Will this take full-height PCIe expansion cards, or only low-profile?  It looks like the 2 expansion openings in the back are tall enough for full-height cards.  Can anyone confirm this is true?

Accepted Answer

Yes a full-height card fits... but you may run into a problem like I did were the auxiliary power connector to the GPU comes off the card toward the top of the card. The cable then interferes with the DVD/hard drive carrier tray that mount near the from of the case.

I was able to make it fit by bending the power cable hard over and cutting off 3 unneeded wires in the bundle. Bit of a hack.

It is a nice small case. Remember it requires a SFX power supply, not a full size unit.

I would buy it again.

Question 3

Does this case have room for dual slot cards or will I need to get a low profile card?

Accepted Answer

It has room for most cards, but it'll be a little tight.  Fortunately the side where the video card fans are is vented for better airflow.  the length should be OK, you can always remove the front 120mm fan and replace it with something smaller if you need more room.

Question 4

Could I put a case fan in the back of the case, or are there no screw holes to put the case fan on the back?

Accepted Answer

The back of the case is designed to have the I/O shield, SFX PSU mounted above, then 2 slots for a GPU or other PCIe card. It does not have the right hole pattern or similar for a fan.

I adapted the drive cage in front to only be the DVD drive tray with 2x 2.5" drives mounted underneath so I could for a Corsair H55 with full 120mm fan as intake. This does eliminate the 3.5" drive slot but as the case internals recirculate air it brought temps down.

Question 5

It looks like this case will take full-height (not low-profile) PCI express cards.  Is that correct?

Accepted Answer

Yes.  The motherboard mounts on the bottom, and the case is high enough for full sized cards to be installed.

Question 6

Does this case have a spot for a dvd drive?

If not, which mini its case does?

Accepted Answer

It does have a space for DVD drive, but it has to be a slim one (like what's used in laptops). You can see the small cutout for it in the item pictures (on the front, above the fan)

Question 7

How loud is the fan? I need something very quiet.

Accepted Answer

It's not too loud.  But there are better case fans such as scythe gentle typhoons or noise blockers.  The biggest issue with noise you'll have is from the processor's heat sink.  For this case, for a quiet one that fits - and it tried several for this, do a search for noctua NH-L9I (if you're using intel) or noctua NH-L9A if you using AMD.  That is the only non-stock heatsink which I can guarantee would fit and be quiet.

Question 8

What are the dimensions for the power supply that I need to look for?

Accepted Answer

I got the newegg N82E16817338031 and it works great in this case.

Question 9

will my asrock itx motherboard fit in this and can I put 2 HD in it?

Accepted Answer

Any mini ITX motherboard will fit as long as your cpu cooler is not too tall.  Also you can mount one 2.5 inch hard drive and one 3.5 inch hard drive.  Though you can wedge another 2.5 inch 7 mm sdd above the 2.5 inch hard drive

Question 10

We have one of the older versions of this case, and we use it often and it's nice so we got this. However, this case did NOT come with a power supply support, meaning we have to rely on only the screws to keep the power supply in place (recipe for disaster). The old case has a metal piece to hold the power supply up, we didn't get one with this.

Does this not include a metal piece to hold a power supple?

Accepted Answer

Mine did not. I suppose it may be possible to get something under the supply that extended to the sides and latched over or connected in some way to hold it up and still get the shell back on  Even a ribbon that went around and just tied back to itself underneath the ps would work I would think.  I just replaced the back ps screws with black thumb screws and called it good.  Good luck to you.

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