Micro-ATX Cases - Shoebox Showdown
by Joshua Buss on January 2, 2007 12:40 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Antec Aria - Interior
Opening the Aria is a bit like taking apart a puzzle, with multiple interconnected parts and some areas being totally inaccessible until uncovered. That's not to say it's difficult though - the top and side panels all remove individually with only one thumbscrew holding the top in place before the clips which hold the side panels in can be undone.
After all the covers have been taken off, the drive cage can be slid backwards then lifted up and out. With this view we can now see why the case feels so sturdy - the frame is extremely thick for a unit this size, and it is strongly reinforced at the corners. You can also see just how shallow the custom PSU is, which is the only reason a case this small is capable of holding a standard 5.25" optical drive.
Here's a more holistic view of all the parts of the Aria, with the frame of the case being viewed from its left side and the drive cage from underneath with the front of it resting on the table. Getting the micro-ATX motherboard into the somewhat cramped frame isn't the easiest thing in the world, but if the PSU can be removed for a little extra clearance if necessary.
Considering there isn't any other permanently mounted active cooling elements to the case other than the PSUs, we really have to start seeing how parts fit into the Aria to look more closely at the design of the case. Here is the test bed's motherboard with a Zalman CNPS 7000 CU cooler installed to give an idea how tight a fit some parts can be.
Attaching cables and installing our 6600 GT required a little finagling, but was easy overall. Larger video cards could be a real problem for any case this small, and using all four expansion slots would likely push things too far, in terms of cooling.
Opening the Aria is a bit like taking apart a puzzle, with multiple interconnected parts and some areas being totally inaccessible until uncovered. That's not to say it's difficult though - the top and side panels all remove individually with only one thumbscrew holding the top in place before the clips which hold the side panels in can be undone.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
After all the covers have been taken off, the drive cage can be slid backwards then lifted up and out. With this view we can now see why the case feels so sturdy - the frame is extremely thick for a unit this size, and it is strongly reinforced at the corners. You can also see just how shallow the custom PSU is, which is the only reason a case this small is capable of holding a standard 5.25" optical drive.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
Here's a more holistic view of all the parts of the Aria, with the frame of the case being viewed from its left side and the drive cage from underneath with the front of it resting on the table. Getting the micro-ATX motherboard into the somewhat cramped frame isn't the easiest thing in the world, but if the PSU can be removed for a little extra clearance if necessary.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
Considering there isn't any other permanently mounted active cooling elements to the case other than the PSUs, we really have to start seeing how parts fit into the Aria to look more closely at the design of the case. Here is the test bed's motherboard with a Zalman CNPS 7000 CU cooler installed to give an idea how tight a fit some parts can be.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
Attaching cables and installing our 6600 GT required a little finagling, but was easy overall. Larger video cards could be a real problem for any case this small, and using all four expansion slots would likely push things too far, in terms of cooling.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
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jmke - Wednesday, January 3, 2007 - link
Do you have a picture of your test room? 15dB (I guess A weighed) seems awfully low :)JoshuaBuss - Wednesday, January 3, 2007 - link
It is very low.. in our old location we couldn't get any lower than 23 dB and now we're further away from the highway. All I know is that's what my new meter says if everything is silent and the dogs next door aren't barking.JoshuaBuss - Wednesday, January 3, 2007 - link
Whoa, I'm sorry.. it was supposed to be 18 dB. Updated.KayKay - Tuesday, January 2, 2007 - link
I built a machine for my brother using the Ultra microfly and it is a great case. The deciding factors for this was the ability to accept a Full-Size Power supply and the removable motherboard tray. They make this in several colours, as well as clear-sided versions. A small box with the ability to put some powerful components in it! 3800x2 with a 7600GT, this thing runs super quietCuriousMike - Tuesday, January 2, 2007 - link
I *just* built a machine three days ago using the Aria (NSK1300) as the basis; I just wanted something smaller than a tower case. I didn't see the review mention the case as being the NSK1300--- the Aria (IIRC) was all black. The case you reviewed is identical to the NSK1300.My build included a Frys X2 4200 "EE" combo deal with ECS C51GM motherboard.
The retail box AMD fan must have been running full tilt all the time (3000rpm sound right?)... it was the noisiest in the case. The CPU would reach 70' under Prime95 load within about 20 minutes, idleing at around 50'.
I replaced the stock HSF with a Zalman CNPS8000, which was reviewed poorer than the 7000 used in this review. The 8000, at anything other than it's lowest fan setting, is as loud as the AMD retail unit; at it's lowest fan setting, it *just* beats the cooling capacity of the stock HSF; running around 50' idle, and 69' with Prime load.
With the 8000 at full RPM, it only knocks a few degrees... 67'. The machine runs hot.
I used a evga 7600GTS and put a zalman 7000 GPU cooler on it (using the slowest fan setting); that made it go from idleing around 54' to 48', and running ATITool for 15 minutes, stock fan was 71', zalman brought it down to 65'.
With the current fan setup, the machine is tolerable noise wise. It's nowhere near silent.
The NSK1300 is cramped... almost impossible to route cables neatly.
It's pretty slick removing all the panels and the drive cage.
Myrandex - Tuesday, January 2, 2007 - link
I have the Lian Li PC-V300 and given its popularity with this crowd, I would have loved to see it included in there. I look forward to finishing the article as it is great so far.JoshuaBuss - Tuesday, January 2, 2007 - link
There are still a few more mATX cases on deck to be looked at soon.. hopefully the V300 will be one of them too.tayhimself - Tuesday, January 2, 2007 - link
I can't for the life of me find a good uATX motherboard with decent overclocking features for a core2 chip. I would like to build a uATX system but I havent gone with one because of the motherboards.Staples - Tuesday, January 2, 2007 - link
Unfortunately, good motherboards are not made in this size or even micro ATX for that matter. There are some decent P965 boards made in micro ATX sizes but the best ones are all in full sized ATX.JarredWalton - Tuesday, January 2, 2007 - link
µATX, uATX, mATX, and micro ATX are all the same thing. (u is the abbreviation used for mu a lot of the time - m already being taken by "milli" and most people not want to bother with the special symbol µ.)