APEX MI-100 Black / Mirror finish Computer Case

Comment:
This case looked great at first glance, but has been nothing but problems for me. First off the psu that comes with this gets very hot and the exhaust fan points directly on top of the cpu/heatsink meaning if you're going to use an i3/i5 with this case, you might want to look elsewhere. Temperatures with stock heatsink on an i3-540 have been difficult to keep below 70C. Furthermore the motherboard tray uses built in raisers, but are just bubbled up metal on the tray. Because of this, the case made squealing and beeping noises as a result of harmonic vibrations due to the contact with the motherboard. In order to remedy this problem I had to use hot glue on the tray to dampen the vibrations. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eDQF52yz_g for video of the sounds.

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I use this for HTPC with Zotac 9300 G-E and Pentium dual core E6500. great setup, I love it.It looks good with the other tv stuff.Tight build but nice size.

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Simple to work with, easily takes 2 3.5 inch and a 5.25. It was a bit warm though, so I'd recommend a small exhaust fan.

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This case is pretty solid and well built for a cheaper case. My DVD drive does hang up on the fold down lid every now and then, but still closes on its own. I do all streaming from my home server, so its not that big of a deal to me. Do take out the PS first and put it in last, makes your build so much easier, and negates taking off the front panel to install drive. Power supply does have two SATA plugs and plenty of room for two drives, three if you wanted to use the extra space in the front. Good value for what it is.

Comment:
No complaints here. Easy to use and plenty of room (for an ITX case!) Easy to work with, finish is great. Remove the power supply first so you have easy acess to the MoBo area to install everything. SATA cables fit are a little snug, may want to get some 90-degree bent connector cables.

Comment:
A great purchase, made this for a friend with an Intel Atom box, a SSD, a generic ODD, a stick of RAM. All in all, for under $300, a solid web browsing option, small and quiet.It looks great on the table, has everything a basic user can ask for!

Comment:
I bought this for my mini-ITX project. it was the least expensive case I could find that still had a reasonably sized power supply. I don't have any complaints about it. I had no problems putting my system together using a Intel 945DGLF, SATA hard disk, and an old full size ATA CD burner. It is very quiet and temperatures are well controled. My only complaint is how the tab for the single PCI slot sticks out from the back of the case. Its not a major issue but it detracts from an otherwise nice design.

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I was able to fit a 120mm fan on the side with ventilation holes. Slips in under the metal crossbar and press fits just right. First tried a 1200rpm Yate-loon. That was a bit noisy. Now run a 1000rpm Nexus at 50% speed. Very quiet. Also changed stock PSU for a 80+ 1u Sparkle 220W server unit. It fits in the spare space under the HD cage. Freed up space in rear would allow a bigger CPU cooler for those who need that.I run a dual core Atom, with custom made passive coolers as a mythtv backend (Hauppauge PCI tuner card) and fileserver.

Comment:
Good small and cheap case for an ITX atom board.Perfect for a hackintosh project. PS is silent enough.1 PCI full height.

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While the case isn't terrible, there are a two major issues, the first being a lack of ventilation, the other being the material used for the front bezel.The case requires that hard drives be mounted vertically (the 3.5" bay does not have the proper holes to mount a hdd) which blocks the grill. Also note that the case does have space for a fan (it might be possible to attach one to the grill if no hdd is present, but that does not appear to be the intent.)The material used for the 'silver' portion of the bezel is a soft, easily marked plastic, with a mirrored backing. In my opinion the manufacturers photos look significantly better than the real bezel, also due to the nature of the material it was also scuffed. Which is unfortunate as the black finish of the rest of the case looks sharp.It looks like the newer Apex MI-008 fixes the issue with the front bezel.

Comment:
This case was larger than I expected. But for what I used for it was good. I used it with the Intel itx MB. Had plenty of room. Installation was quick and easy. I would recommend this board. Next time gonna buy something smaller though..

Comment:
I am about to pickup my 3rd case of this model today. It is fairly easy to work with. You have to pull out the PSU to install the components, but that isn't a big deal since you typically don't go back inside the case once it's initially setup.the PSU can block long optical drives as they will back into each other. While this isn't an issue since I don't use optical drives in my mini-itx setups, this could be an issue if you are trying to use an old optical drive lying around or if you happen to buy a new optical drive that's too long without realizing the size constraint.5 out of 5 because while it does have drawbacks, it is the cheapest option, and it is a true mini-itx case. It's meant to be small and certain accommodations must be made as a result.

Comment:
This is a great little case for a compact computer or project. However, I was hoping to put a full size PCI card into it and it wont fit just a cm too short) - I don't think most people will have a problem with that, but just a warning if you want to do that for eg one of those long VOIP cards. Also if you want to use a dvdrom, make sure its one of the newer shorter ones. Longer ones can hit up against the PSU.

Comment:
I like this little case and its ideal for my ITX projects. Its easy to work on and I plan to purchase more.