Micro-ATX Cases - Shoebox Showdown
by Joshua Buss on January 2, 2007 12:40 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Final Words
Smaller and smaller cases are sure to come through our labs as customers clamor for ever more stylish and hidden computers to fit into their homes and offices, and it's nice to say that for the most part, we're still seeing improvements from our perspective. All three cases we looked at here were great examples of putting an emphasis on quiet computing, but in their own right each unit brings a unique offering which deserves recognition.
Priced at an affordable $90, the Ultra MicroFly appealed to us just as much as the Aspire X-QPack, for many of the same reasons. The included 400 watt power supply is beefy enough for most SFF builds, and the noise levels and temperature performance are right up there with some of the very best. If you want to use a different full-size ATX PSU, you can get the case only for as little as $50. The case isn't constructed to the same tolerances as the more expensive models, but for the price paid the quality doesn't disappoint. We have a feeling the option of having the benefits of the Chenming and Aspire layouts without the windows on the sides will become a popular choice for many people.
Available for as low as $100 online, the Antec Aria remains popular probably for its most obvious characteristic: its diminutive dimensions. Such a small size comes with a few tradeoffs, including additional heat and cramped working conditions inside, but nothing says portability like a full-fledged computer that can fit in any decent-sized backpack (we tried). It also includes a power supply powerful enough for its application, and stayed quiet even when heavily loaded. For frequent LAN attendees and recording technicians on the go, the attractiveness of the Aria could be hard to beat.
At the other end of the spectrum is the Rolls Royce of small form factor computer cases, the $275 Qmicra from PC Design Lab. Combining best-in-class manufacturing with a smart layout design, the Qmicra is really the case modder's dream-come-true for a micro-ATX build. Save for the smallest of minor complaints, most of which have already been addressed by the proactive, customer-focused company, the case has hardly anything to complain about besides its luxurious price tag. Considering the fact that the Qmicra doesn't come with any power supply or case fans, its pretty obvious that the market for the case won't be huge and will include mostly enthusiasts very well versed in case design and willing to spend the extra time, effort, and money to build their portable dream machine. On PCDL's website images of modded cases can be found of all varieties, from windows and lights to minimalist designs with stealthy drive bezels made from the aluminum of the drive bay covers. Currently the website allows for a custom configuration of the case for options like thumbscrew and fan grill colors, but the only finish available is a black powder coat which would of course look fairly different from the brushed silver finish on our review sample. You can check all of this out at PCDL's website.
It's great to see variety, and even better to see great values in different price segments regardless of the product type - but for the case industry as a whole, and particularly SFF cases, things are definitely on the right track. Much appreciation should go out to all three units' manufacturers.
Smaller and smaller cases are sure to come through our labs as customers clamor for ever more stylish and hidden computers to fit into their homes and offices, and it's nice to say that for the most part, we're still seeing improvements from our perspective. All three cases we looked at here were great examples of putting an emphasis on quiet computing, but in their own right each unit brings a unique offering which deserves recognition.
Priced at an affordable $90, the Ultra MicroFly appealed to us just as much as the Aspire X-QPack, for many of the same reasons. The included 400 watt power supply is beefy enough for most SFF builds, and the noise levels and temperature performance are right up there with some of the very best. If you want to use a different full-size ATX PSU, you can get the case only for as little as $50. The case isn't constructed to the same tolerances as the more expensive models, but for the price paid the quality doesn't disappoint. We have a feeling the option of having the benefits of the Chenming and Aspire layouts without the windows on the sides will become a popular choice for many people.
Available for as low as $100 online, the Antec Aria remains popular probably for its most obvious characteristic: its diminutive dimensions. Such a small size comes with a few tradeoffs, including additional heat and cramped working conditions inside, but nothing says portability like a full-fledged computer that can fit in any decent-sized backpack (we tried). It also includes a power supply powerful enough for its application, and stayed quiet even when heavily loaded. For frequent LAN attendees and recording technicians on the go, the attractiveness of the Aria could be hard to beat.
At the other end of the spectrum is the Rolls Royce of small form factor computer cases, the $275 Qmicra from PC Design Lab. Combining best-in-class manufacturing with a smart layout design, the Qmicra is really the case modder's dream-come-true for a micro-ATX build. Save for the smallest of minor complaints, most of which have already been addressed by the proactive, customer-focused company, the case has hardly anything to complain about besides its luxurious price tag. Considering the fact that the Qmicra doesn't come with any power supply or case fans, its pretty obvious that the market for the case won't be huge and will include mostly enthusiasts very well versed in case design and willing to spend the extra time, effort, and money to build their portable dream machine. On PCDL's website images of modded cases can be found of all varieties, from windows and lights to minimalist designs with stealthy drive bezels made from the aluminum of the drive bay covers. Currently the website allows for a custom configuration of the case for options like thumbscrew and fan grill colors, but the only finish available is a black powder coat which would of course look fairly different from the brushed silver finish on our review sample. You can check all of this out at PCDL's website.
It's great to see variety, and even better to see great values in different price segments regardless of the product type - but for the case industry as a whole, and particularly SFF cases, things are definitely on the right track. Much appreciation should go out to all three units' manufacturers.
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warthogism - Thursday, February 1, 2007 - link
I know that you guys were able to fit an CNPS7000 in there and that a 9000 would not fit. What I was wondering is if a CNPS7700 would fit. The difference is that the height of the 7000 is 62mm and the 7700 is 67mm. Also, the 7000 has a 92mm but the 7700 uses a 120mm fan. Does anyone have first-hand knowledge? or at least, does it look like the 7700 will fit? Thanks for the help.gool - Saturday, January 13, 2007 - link
I'm the happy owner of a heavily modded Antec Aria - blow holes, sidefans, PSU-fan replacement and so on. It's based on a MSI Micro-ATX 939 motherboard, AMD 64-3200 (Clawhammer), 1 GB DDR-SDRAM, Liteon DVD-CD combo, a 160GB 7200 Maxtor disc, an external (USB2) Maxtor 250 GB disc and a Nvidia 6600GT card. The latter is the one I wish to replace, but I'm uncertain if I'm able to draw enough juice from the standard Antec 300W psu for this purpose? Seen people with a similar setup who uses a 7800GT card without problem. What are you guys advice - could I go down this road?Cheers,
Svend
Patrese - Sunday, January 7, 2007 - link
Great review, but I'd like to see something about the new (and not no new) uATX motherboards on the market, specially the Asus M2NPV-VM and Abit NF-M2 NView...artifex - Thursday, January 4, 2007 - link
I suggest everyone interested in these smaller form factors to look at sfftech.com and mini-itx.com. Plenty of reviews and some nifty case mods, etc.mino - Thursday, January 4, 2007 - link
I like that you made semi-pro noise tests for the cases.However as changing noisy PSU/fan is the easiest thing to do(I have yet to us a case with included PSU/fan)..
It would be nice to complement out-of-the-box testing with controlled-enviroment testing.
It would be more informative, especially to enthusiasts, to make a reference rig (fans, PSU, all coolers, HDD) and assemble it into different cases.
To know that a case comes with a noisy PSU is nice. However to know its ability to dampen the brum of an HDD, or mute the pinch of a GPU cooler is far better.
Nice work otherwise, keep on.
JoshuaBuss - Thursday, January 4, 2007 - link
This is a very good idea, but to a certain extent we believe it's the manufacturer's responsibility to supply a case with fans that work best for its need, not the user's. At the least a manufacturer should offer recommended buys (like PDCL did) so that a user knows what should work well. If a fans that come with a regular case are so bad that it's truly hurting the overall appeal, we normally do try it with a different configuration to see if we can do better. With these micro ATX cases it's often the case that the included power supply is a custom fit and we have to test it 'as is'.Thanks for the suggestion.
mino - Thursday, January 4, 2007 - link
I suggest you take a look at the ASUS TM-21/23/25 series especially the TM-250.I have yet to see a case of this size with better internal organization, such a good cooling performance. As a bonus the case is very sturdy (especially for such a low weight product).
The ability to put 3 HDD's in a 15.6*6.7*14inch box _and_ cool them without additional fans speaks for itself.
Newegg lists them for $50 with 300W high-quality PSU's.
However we bought 100 a month ago in EU and they came with 350W and _without_ that annoying floppy hole...
mino - Thursday, January 4, 2007 - link
One little problem I missed, those on Newegg(provided they sell the exact model as on image) have ATX 1.3 PSU's.While these Bestec PSU units are pretty good - PFC, very quiet(have 20+ of them deployed) - 180W on 12V rail may not be sufficient for a gaming rig.
I hope the new refresh models(350W,no floppy), we bought recently, will hit the US market soon.
artifex - Thursday, January 4, 2007 - link
I'd like to see a review of the power supplies used in some of these, as well as third-party replacements. Heck, I'd even like to see a new version of the old ATX PS roundup/review Anandtech did years ago -- I bought my Antec TruePower 430 after that, and it's lasted through a second system, but I've no doubt it's getting creaky now.IronChefMoto - Wednesday, January 3, 2007 - link
First off, decent article. I would like to have seen Anandtech test different video cards in the cases, though. One of the issues with nice mATX cases like the Lian Li V300 (???) is that longer, high-level chipset cards like the 7900 series hit pieces of the framework in the case. You have to mod your case or your card for the Lian Li model.While folks won't always be dropping a 7950GT into one of these, having that option is nice if you want to build a small, high-end gaming rig. Please try and make that part of your mATX review setup in the future. I've even asked Newegg.com to start adding card length data to their specs (they're opening the cards anyway for product shots) so you don't end up having to send back a card that doesn't physically fit a case by 1/4".
That said, my friend and I built v1 Aria (when it had more front ports) about 2 years ago. It was the toughest build I've ever had to do. It was cramped, the PSU had to come out for assembly, and the CPU cooler was up next to the PSU. The temps idled 60C with a very hot P4 Prescott (???) CPU. My buddy upgraded the unit with a Zalman Reserator and continues to use it today running at about 35C under load.
I would recommend that anyone looking at an mATX case check to see that the PSU is STANDARD ATX or a replaceable mATX format. The v1 Aria will not accept an ATX replacement without some modification and/or loss of space. This holds true for mATX barebones like Shuttle XPCs (I own/am stuck with two (2)).
IronChefMorimoto