Apex DM-317 mATX HTPC Case Silver Black 1X5.25 1X3.5 1X3.5INT 275W Low Profile Front Firewire

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I am quite impressed with this case and have no complaints whatsoever. Although the build quality is lacking it is expected since this case is relatively inexpensive. Be prepared to get cuts from this case since the cheap steel inside is sharp. Also the paint on this case scratches very easily so watch out when you do move it around. Overall, I believe this case is excellent for a budget HTPC.

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This is a pretty nice case for the money. Bought it and an Intel D945GCLF Atom board as a pfSense router. It's deeper than I'd like, but Mini-ITX cases are still too expensive to justify. Just watch out for the sharp edges on the low-grade steel. Construction seems solid enough, but is definitely on the cheap side. Design is not what I'd expect at this price point, this case seems much better engineered than most similarly-priced cases I've used in the past.Includes assembly instructions, and I suggest you follow their suggested order of assembly; if you don't you'll find that e.g. the HDD interferes with the screws for the CD drive. The whole drive section of the case slides neatly out and is easy to work on. No screws required to remove it. Overall though, this module is pretty well-engineered and works well.Didn't even try the included case fan and swapped it for a Vantec 80mm right away. The PSU fan is an 80mm as well, but thinner, so standard fans won't fit (and you'll void your warranty swapping it). The stock unit isn't too offensive, though I'd still replace it if I could.I would buy this again for use as a router or low-power server, but I don't think I'd use it for an HTPC - too unattractive and non-replaceable PSU fan. This review was modfied by poster @ 03-19-09 09:44 PM

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-Excellent for HTPC-275w PSU-Room for one DVD/CD drive & one Harddrive-2 x USB 2.0 USB Front-1 x Audio In Front (HD or AC97)-1 x Audio Out Front (HD or AC97)-1 x IEEE 1394 FireWire FrontI used this cage for a HTPC with an E5200 proc, 4GB of ram & ECS Matx 630i/7150. Machine is relatively quiet (replacing the side fan in the future will make it even quieter)

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I've bought 3 of these cases, 2 for HTPC's and 1 for an office. Everyone loves them as they do their job quiet and take a small footprint plus look alright in their environments. The PSU isn't a high output one so just a basic mATX with onboard everything is all to expect but in knowing this your good to go! I was surprised that the case I just opened today included a Thermally Controlled 80mm fan unlike the last build which had a noisier full speed fan which I replace with a Gelid 80mm PWM fan.I'll give the included fan a whirl and see if it's up to spec on quietness otherwise I have another Gelid fan on hand ready to go! This review was modfied by poster @ 02-28-09 12:10 PM

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for this price, can't complain. looks decent, is small, fits perfectly in any home theatre. has lots of vents so the system stays cool. very important for typical tight area HTPC locations.

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I'm very happy with this case.I'm quite certain this thing can take 2 hard drives + CDROM. (OR 1 HD + 1 Floppy + 1 CDROM). Maybe the people complaining above about their single-hard-drive blues did not find the hidden spot under the cage?If you're doing IDE CDROM and IDE HD you have to use that hidden spot under the cage, and my IDE cable stretched very tight between the CDROM and HD - almost didn't make it.ps. you'll probably need a half-height wireless network card - an ASUS WL-138G-V2 worked perfectly and it includes a half-height bracket!http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=24255 This review was modfied by poster @ 12-31-08 01:46 AM

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I was only impressed by the fact that I got a good price match on this product, so it was cheap and the fact that it was "micro" but it is very long so thats pretty misleading. Lots of wasted space, only room for 1 hard drive and it took me about 2 days to figure out how to close it, very poor build design. Other than that it's okay.

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I've worked with a lot of different cases in the past and this is definately a unique setup. Extremely cramped inside, but works fine if you manage cables appropriately. Most internal cables can be hidden under the removal drive cage, unfortunately the cabling out of the power supply is directly under the one case fan though.The 275w power supply is plenty of power for an htpc using a 780g chipset and not requiring an actual video card. Unfortunately if the power supply does go, the case itself is gone given an extremely unique proprietary power supply design which I can't see replacing.

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Good basic case. Only really room for one Harddrive, can maybe cram another one in the ext 3.5 bay, but mobo only has 2 Sata ports anyways. The only problem i had was the case fan was unbearably loud to the point i had to unplug it as there is no way to control its speed from what i could find. now its whisper quiet and still pretty cool in the 30*c area. Any expansion card need to be low profile with a low profile bracket.

Comment:
For a tiny case this works nicely.. using a standard mATX motherboard. The power supply is only a 275w but for many basic PC purposes that does nicely. The front 5.25 opening should have been a "flip door" imo.. as it's not a perfect fit for many dvd drives. Overall though for a small pc and/or htpc this works nicely.

Comment:
A breeze to install the Gigabyte 780G matx motherboard as case comes with all screws, power plug and non slip pads.Removable hard drive cage simplifies hard disk installations. Plenty of clearance for the stock CPU cooler.Would definitely recommend for budget htpc build, though case fan can be quieter when under load.

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Absolutely great case. Got a bunch of these for a law firms workstations and had no problems whatsoever with any one of them. Will buy many more of these cases. The quality of this case even rivals some of the higher brand names that cost 80 or more with no PSU.

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The one thing I really suggest if you are in the market for an mATX for a HTPC, is DO YOUR HOMEWORK!These cases will pretty much only give you the GPU support of an on-board MOBO, so don't be all thinking you can throw in any Vid Card.Also, the case has one very well placed fan on the side, but the PSU fan is hella weak and there is almost no room for more fans or upgrades. So if you plan to overclock, make sure you get a great low-pro cooling system as the clearance is super low.Research, research, research!I did, so I'm happy!

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Just building a HTPC, and this product is great for my project. Small, good quality and reasonable price. If they come with a better 80mm fan, then it is perfect.

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I bought this case for saving space in tight place. It was a perfect fit for the mATX board with on-board graphic card. Since I did not use any add on cards I do not encounter any problems with it. If you plans to use stock cpu heat sink there are enough space for it and has additional fan on side for cooling.That said. If this case was more expensive than current price, I would not recommend it but cheap price was a big plus for this case.

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It's perfect for what we needed. I am very happy with this purchase and I would instantly purchase this again to meet the same needs. It definitely is not a "Power Users" Computer Case, but for an older casual web surfer I don't think it could be beat.

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Nice little case, but top cover moves around when you pick it up corner-to-corner. Not the end of the world, and for a home-build or a friend it's probably not going to matter much. PSU connections are good enough, construction (other than flexing) is actually pretty good.

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This is a neat little case... Perfect for combination with 62NM Sempron and Asus mATX board. I used this case to build a budget computer to replace a customers 233Mhz computer. Overall price was roughly $330 with tax & shipping.I'm thinking about purchasing a couple more to keep them on hand.