that's a good thing i hadn;t bouight that. iw as thinking of getting that case for my system but decided against it becuz i wanted full sized ATX. looks liek it was good decision
I was thinking of using this for a small gaming case for LANs and squeezing an 8800 into there, there appears to be another version that comes with a normal ATX PSU and 550w called the X-Cube cheaper too, anyone had one?
Aspire used to make the same once. Pretty rubish as when fullpacked the handle up front bends like craze. I you guys like the Formfactor check this one. Same size but fully Alu and build in Fancontroller
I am thinking about getting it.
Originally Posted by antiHero Aspire used to make the same once. Pretty rubish as when fullpacked the handle up front bends like craze. I you guys like the Formfactor check this one. Same size but fully Alu and build in Fancontroller
I am thinking about getting it.
Did you even read it? Apevia IS Aspire, and Wil stated that at the very start of the review.
ive built about 15 - 20 pcs using this case. lemme point out a few things about it
first, its best as a build it and leave it case. i build medium duty machines using this case for casual and slightly above average gamers, and power users. as a result, once its together, its done. this negates the flimsiness of the case since once assembled its fairly sturdy. the case is available in a variety of colors besides that icky grey.
the motherboard tray is really thin and wobbly and once the system is assembled the components arent really stable inside, but once again, if you dont want this to be portable or messed with, its not a big deal. a bit of strategically placed newegg invoice scraps will get the wobble out.
the stupid temp display plastic crap wasnt always like that. when apevia was aspire, the cases were actually sturdier and higher quality. for some stupid reason when they changed, they added that plastic on the display and sealed it from the inside. you can take the plastic off, but it requires disasembling the entire front panel, which is just ridiculous. ive already emailed them more than once about this issue (with no response either).
bittech didnt mention its cooling performance (more than passingly at least). the fan isnt a great one, but it works well and isnt loud (id guess around 30 - 35db). the case airflow is pretty good, and that 1 fan does a great job of keeping temps under control. just be sure to dust out your case every once in a while!
one other factor, in pics it looks cute and small, but in reality its bulky and kinda large. this isnt a bad thing, it kinda grows on you, but dont expect a little gamecube
if used as an enthusiast machine that will be disassembled frequently, then you may run into trouble with stuff bending and breaking, as well as slicing your fingers off. otherwise its a decent case, that fits well in the price range, and performs well.
[edit] in case anyone cares ive been building these using biostar nforce410 matx motherboards without a hitch.
Are there mATX motherboards available that support Core 2 Duos? How would this case stand up to running a E6600 + GF8800? Would there be enough space and cooling?
Originally Posted by DeX Are there mATX motherboards available that support Core 2 Duos? How would this case stand up to running a E6600 + GF8800? Would there be enough space and cooling?
In answer to your first question, DeX, yes. I've been on the hunt for them for quite some time, and ASUS does indeed make a mATX version of a conroe board. It's actually part of its P5 line-up, I think it ends with VB.
Keep in mind, the mATX boards currently all use a 965-G chip instead of a 965-P, so they're poor overclockers at the moment. I hope they change that in the future, but most mATX users want an all-inclusive board and so throwing intel's graphics chip on it is a winner for board manufacturers.
There are plenty of 945/965 uATX mobos that support C2d and overclock the performance between the two chipsets is barely noticeable ), as mentioned above you can fix a normal PSU in the XC Cube or you can mod the XQ pack to fit one, the main issue is the size of the GPU but looking at pics it should be doable.
With uATX its just finding one with the configuration of slots you require and deciding on RAID or not, for non raid the Asrock boards whilst cheap overclock C2D fairly well.
Originally Posted by DeX Why don't you try it? Or will they slap your wrists if you break their PSU?
The minimum requirement for a power supply on GeForce 8800 GTX is 450W with a 12V rating of 30A. This power supply has that just about but to be honest, I don't think it's powerful enough, especially with a high-end system assembled around it. Second, there are only four 4-pin molex connectors on the unit, and it turns out that there are no PCI-Express connectors at all, meaning that you're going to have to use ALL FOUR molex connectors to power an 8800 GTX.
You could possibly run an 8800 GTS on the unit, since the minimum you require is 400W with 26A on the 12V line. However, with a decent system around it, you're going to be close to the power supply's rating, which isn't going to do great things for your power efficiency. While it's possible to run an 8800 GTS, I certainly wouldn't recommend it. The case and included power supply are more suited to a mid-range system in all honesty... :)
I have on of those. The thinness of the case has never been an issue. Compared to my previous Thermaltake Xaser III case, this one I feel comfortable carrying to LAN parties.
Ive squeezed a Core 2 Duo in under a Zalman 9500 LED at the expense of the support bar that runs over the CPU socket. Of the two hard drives in the case, one is now secured to whats left of the support bar and the other is in the upper most 5 ½ bay.
Power isnt so much of an issue as I swapped out the PSU that came with the case for an Enermax Liberty. The catch is that the optical drive needs to be quite short, so I went with a standard LG DVD burner.
The other minor issue I had with the case, other than the plastic over the front display was the noise of the case fan. Rather than forking out extra, I just changed the wires in the molex feeding it to 12v / 5v (instead of 12 / ground) to run the fan on 7 volts.
Edit: I guess I should say that it's running an E6600 and Gf7900 and all that goes with them. I'll put an 8xxx in sometine early next year.
The power supply included is junk. JonnyGURU did a test on it, and it wouldn't do anywhere near what it's rated for, without exceeding ATX spec. It would only work up to about the 250w point.
I've built a system in one of these (although I used the all black version WITHOUT the windows). It's not a bad little case and didn't require a mod right out of the box like the Arias I've used (like this) and it certainly has more room inside. The extra 5.25" bay is nice for a SFF case. The handle is a little week but I've used mine with everything installed and it holds up ok. The PSU location limits graphics card options (I was originally going to use a passively cooled card but the heatsink was too high). The three screws in the back (holding the cover on) should be replaced with large head thumbscrews with rubber pads on the backs so they act as feet when you have the handle up. A bigger PSU could be installed but then you need to use a fairly stubby DVD drive. All in all it's not a bad case but it could be better. (I have several ideas to mod mine to use up that unused space )
I took some quick pictures for anyone who was interested. They're not very 56k friendly though.
X-Qpack external showing the final drive placement. Things had to be moved around a bit to accommodate the Liberty and the Zalman 9500. qpack external 1
Another external shot with all the drives visible through the windows. The molex with the X on it comes from the fan splitter and carries 7v. qpack external 2
The support bar cut in half to allow the 9500 to be used on the CPU. The existing hard drive caddy now gives rigidity to the remainder of the support bar with the hard drive being screwed directly to it from the other side. Although the clearance was good, the little notch cut before the 9500 was to ease my own paranoia.. not needed in hindsight. qpack internal 1
Other side of the case showing the Liberty. The original power supply is now used as a doorstop. The card underneath is an Audigy2 with GeForce 7900 and wireless cards behind. Looking at them, an 8xxx with a single slot cooling solution could fit without further modification. Still, there's the Dremel handy if it doesn't. qpack internal 2
The last picture is a silly one. It should give you an idea of the Qpack's size at least. With the shell on, it's fairly strong as testament to having Robosapien riding Roomba, carrying a wakasashi on top (not a real one -_-, though Pintsize would be proud no doubt..) qpack external 3
@ Silver51: Heh, I missed your review & see you had a similar experience. Now that you cut the support piece would you carry that case by the handle? (I don't think I would)
Comments 1 to 25 of 41
ReplyCould be good as a "Build once, never touch again" syste,
Microwave ovens have a use though
I am thinking about getting it.
Damn that is one scarey hand...
Some great ideas though - if they redid it in thicker metal it could be a great case for a bit of airbrushing, which would also hide the plastic
Did you even read it? Apevia IS Aspire, and Wil stated that at the very start of the review.
first, its best as a build it and leave it case. i build medium duty machines using this case for casual and slightly above average gamers, and power users. as a result, once its together, its done. this negates the flimsiness of the case since once assembled its fairly sturdy. the case is available in a variety of colors besides that icky grey.
the motherboard tray is really thin and wobbly and once the system is assembled the components arent really stable inside, but once again, if you dont want this to be portable or messed with, its not a big deal. a bit of strategically placed newegg invoice scraps will get the wobble out.
the stupid temp display plastic crap wasnt always like that. when apevia was aspire, the cases were actually sturdier and higher quality. for some stupid reason when they changed, they added that plastic on the display and sealed it from the inside. you can take the plastic off, but it requires disasembling the entire front panel, which is just ridiculous. ive already emailed them more than once about this issue (with no response either).
bittech didnt mention its cooling performance (more than passingly at least). the fan isnt a great one, but it works well and isnt loud (id guess around 30 - 35db). the case airflow is pretty good, and that 1 fan does a great job of keeping temps under control. just be sure to dust out your case every once in a while!
one other factor, in pics it looks cute and small, but in reality its bulky and kinda large. this isnt a bad thing, it kinda grows on you, but dont expect a little gamecube
if used as an enthusiast machine that will be disassembled frequently, then you may run into trouble with stuff bending and breaking, as well as slicing your fingers off. otherwise its a decent case, that fits well in the price range, and performs well.
[edit] in case anyone cares ive been building these using biostar nforce410 matx motherboards without a hitch.
Keep in mind, the mATX boards currently all use a 965-G chip instead of a 965-P, so they're poor overclockers at the moment. I hope they change that in the future, but most mATX users want an all-inclusive board and so throwing intel's graphics chip on it is a winner for board manufacturers.
With uATX its just finding one with the configuration of slots you require and deciding on RAID or not, for non raid the Asrock boards whilst cheap overclock C2D fairly well.
You could possibly run an 8800 GTS on the unit, since the minimum you require is 400W with 26A on the 12V line. However, with a decent system around it, you're going to be close to the power supply's rating, which isn't going to do great things for your power efficiency. While it's possible to run an 8800 GTS, I certainly wouldn't recommend it. The case and included power supply are more suited to a mid-range system in all honesty... :)
Ive squeezed a Core 2 Duo in under a Zalman 9500 LED at the expense of the support bar that runs over the CPU socket. Of the two hard drives in the case, one is now secured to whats left of the support bar and the other is in the upper most 5 ½ bay.
Power isnt so much of an issue as I swapped out the PSU that came with the case for an Enermax Liberty. The catch is that the optical drive needs to be quite short, so I went with a standard LG DVD burner.
The other minor issue I had with the case, other than the plastic over the front display was the noise of the case fan. Rather than forking out extra, I just changed the wires in the molex feeding it to 12v / 5v (instead of 12 / ground) to run the fan on 7 volts.
Edit: I guess I should say that it's running an E6600 and Gf7900 and all that goes with them. I'll put an 8xxx in sometine early next year.
Whoa why so hostile? Seems like i misted that sentence. Still, what is your point?
X-Qpack external showing the final drive placement. Things had to be moved around a bit to accommodate the Liberty and the Zalman 9500.
qpack external 1
Another external shot with all the drives visible through the windows. The molex with the X on it comes from the fan splitter and carries 7v.
qpack external 2
The support bar cut in half to allow the 9500 to be used on the CPU. The existing hard drive caddy now gives rigidity to the remainder of the support bar with the hard drive being screwed directly to it from the other side. Although the clearance was good, the little notch cut before the 9500 was to ease my own paranoia.. not needed in hindsight.
qpack internal 1
Other side of the case showing the Liberty. The original power supply is now used as a doorstop. The card underneath is an Audigy2 with GeForce 7900 and wireless cards behind. Looking at them, an 8xxx with a single slot cooling solution could fit without further modification. Still, there's the Dremel handy if it doesn't.
qpack internal 2
The last picture is a silly one. It should give you an idea of the Qpack's size at least. With the shell on, it's fairly strong as testament to having Robosapien riding Roomba, carrying a wakasashi on top (not a real one -_-, though Pintsize would be proud no doubt..)
qpack external 3
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