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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chucky2 - Tuesday, January 2, 2007 - link
:) Just asking...AlexWade - Tuesday, January 2, 2007 - link
Dear Anandtech staff:Please do more case reviews.
Signed,
Everyone
microAmp - Tuesday, January 2, 2007 - link
I'd like to see them do a review using video instead of text & pictures. I saw one other website do that and it's make a world of difference. Wish I could remember what site it was. :(JoshuaBuss - Tuesday, January 2, 2007 - link
Besides placing an excruciating load on the web servers, I think highly-detailed pictures are better than videos at least in terms of seeing exactly how things look. It's hard to get colors just right in videos, and resolution is normally low enough that some fine details are lost.. I can see where you're coming from though and we'll definitely consider it.. actually seeing things in motion can help get a better feel for some things.mino - Thursday, January 4, 2007 - link
Maybe host them on YouTube ? and consider them just a bonus to regular review...JoshuaBuss - Tuesday, January 2, 2007 - link
Copy that.. ;)In all seriousness, you can expect this section to get a lot hotter soon.. I just finished my last semester of coursework.. w00t.
SonixSquad - Wednesday, September 7, 2011 - link
Just wanted to post my experience having built my girlfriend a system about 5 years ago using the Antec Aria case.I remember it being a pain as it was so cramped and my first (and only) sff build but I got there and it was adequate. I managed to install the board without removing the PSU.
Once I started to monitor temps (was only using stock cpu cooler at the time) I realised it would need some sort of additional cooling intake and the supplied blower was a bit too loud for our liking.
Eventually I found the best air intake solution (without actually modding the case) was to just put a 120mm fan sitting next to the graphics card pulling air in from the rear.
Anyway, back to today 2011 and she still likes the case but the system needs an upgrade so I was looking at parts and having come across this article and seen the Zalman in there snugly fitting with a few mm clear of the PSU I decided to get the newer Zalman CNPS8000A which is low profile and supposedly quiet. I'll post back if it doesn't fit but I think I am going to have to remove the PSU this time around as this cooler needs to be fitted via backplate so it will have to go on before the board is in the case.
This time round she is getting an i3 2100 cpu which should run a lot cooler than the last AMD x2 one and so I'm hoping it will run a lot quieter aswell.
My criticisms about the case would be the same as noted by others. Very cramped and with a lack of decent routing the air circulation is bad. I would have appreciated some thought given to front air intake even if they didn't supply a fan but just somewhere to put one.
Also the PSU only comes with one SATA connector so I will have to get a molex to sata converter so I can power 2 sata devices.I also had some issues with the front audio inputs, at some point they stopped working properly and I still don't know why.