58 out of 58 people found this review helpful.
What a nice little micro-ATX case?
Date of Review: May 1, 2007
The Bottom Line: For a nice looking small micro-ATX system with a single hard drive, one or two optical devices, floppy or multi-card reader, this case really fits the need!
What a nice little case! I got this case for an extremely small-budget desktop PC geared towards education for novice, basically for Internet applications, multimedia work and kids games. I was looking for a small case to house a micro-ATX system that will not require any hardware upgrade in the future. The case should be able to support at least one internal (fixed) hard drive, a couple of accessible optical drives, etc. The motherboard that I use for this system has a built-in graphics, and therefore, a decent power supply in the range of 300 Watts would do, since besides powering up the main board, it only needs to supply power to a single hard drive and CD/DVD-ROM drive.
I came across this case while searching at newegg.com for such a specification on computer case. It was also on sale from the regular $49.99 to $39.99 plus $15.99 for shipping, a total of $55.98. The case itself looked quite appealing and was the right small size for the requirement.
This case is available in black and beige color. I think the black color is quite appealing; it doesn't look cheap.
Retail Package
The retail package comes complete with everything to help set up the system. It includes
-- Case TM366BK w/ 90mm rear fan (pre-installed), 300-Watt Power Supply Unit (PSU)
-- PSU 300-Watt has one SATA power cable, four molex 4-pin power cables, one floppy power cable, CPU 4-pin and 24-pin (4-pin detachable) main power cable.
-- I/O shield
-- Power cord
-- Sets of motherboard stand-offs, internal drive screws, cable holder
-- Single sheet with diagram for installation
-- Two USB2.0 front access plugs
-- One Audio front access plug
Motherboard Compatibility and Installation
This case is specifically designed to support a micro-ATX motherboard, roughly in the 9.5x8-inch dimension. I use a micro-ATX motherboard from Biostar (model K8M800-M7A) and this case fits perfectly with its six screw holes.
The case comes with four expansion slots at the rear (for PCI or AGP/PCI-Express). The side panel has air duct and air vent designed to cool the CPU and AGP/PCI-Express video cards. The nice touch is that the side panel is held by two thumb screws.
Its front panel/bezel is black with metal grill at the lower bottom portion for air circulation inside the system. Front access is available for power-on button, reset button and HD led. Two USB2.0 ports and audio for headsets.
This case is very easy to install and especially since there isn't much to do. For internal hard drive installation, there is a drive cage that basically "holds" the drive in place with screws to secure it either from the side or the bottom. However, the cage has to be removed to install the hard drive by pushing up the lock lever just above it. This lock mechanism is used both for removing internal hard drive cage as well as the two CD/DVD-ROM drives.
Below the internal hard drive cage, another 90mm/92mm fan can be installed to help circulate air flow. This fan can be mounted so that air can be pulled in through the front metal grilled bezel.
I used a Seagate SATA-II 80GB and the cage can hold the drive with its connector side facing the right side panel (inaccessible, though). The inside panel is dented to allow just enough room for power and data cable connection when the cage is inserted back in place. I installed the hard drive so that its rear connector ports are on the inside (when inserted) to help manage neat wiring. In fact, it should be done this way since the small dented area was meant for that – to make room for the cable connection. Cable connections must be done before sliding in the cage completely.
The two CD/DVD-ROM drive bays can support the standard 5.25-inch drive. The case came with one drive bay panel already open. Since I had to use only one drive bay, I did not bother to tear off the other one. Installation was also quite easy, which only required screwing the dedicated screw onto the left side of the CD/DVD-ROM drive, remove the bay lid, remove the front bezel and slide the drive in through the front while pulling down the lock lever. The lever mechanism basically has a notch that when released, it will lock the optical drive(s) in place.
The case supports two floppy drives, or another internal hard drive in place of the floppy. Installation is similar in process as done with the optical drives. I did not use any of these floppy drive slots and they were left as they were. In addition, this floppy bay can be used to install a media card reader.
Performance
All the components that came with this case worked perfectly. The power cables were of the right length. Its front bezel could be opened fairly easily – but care should be taken to prevent an accidental break off of the tabs (I didn't, but it has been my experience with other cases). Its USB2.0 front cable works great, as well as its audio cable. The front HD Led is in big red; power-on and reset buttons were all worked according to their specifications.
This case is excellent in terms of tool-free assembly and its physical appeal, extremely nice front face design for a small low priced chassis. Its side air vent and air duct with air guide to allow fresh air directly to the CPU fan/heatsink is another nice touch, and seems to work well both for AMD and Intel – I had used one case for Intel system and another for AMD.
Its rear 90mm fan is a good size to keep this system cool during operation. However, the fan emits noticeable loud noise during operation. It is not really that loud but you can hear it. This fan operates at a fixed RPM. Although, it uses a 3-pin connector and can be connected to the motherboard's plug, there is no control feature to adjust the RPM. However, the sound is nothing for alarm, since it is not extremely loud. I estimate a sound in the range of 30-35dBA.
However, its 300-watt power supply unit can run a bit warm during extended use. I had this system idling for several hours and the PSU could be noticeably warm (merely for an AMD Sempron 2.0GHz CPU). The PSU also gave out a strange burning smell during my initial software installation and testing. I had used two of these cases and their power supply unit both emitted the same similar (burning smell).
The PSU is on average in terms of deliverance and constant distribution of power. All power are delivered according to the specified values of 3.3, 5 and 12 volts. These voltages stay within their threshold values as I monitored them through the motherboard's BIOS.
The power supply only has a single fan at the rear. The unit is perhaps not made by Apex but by Allied, since that was the label on the unit. Nonetheless, the power supply seems to work quite well for a light load, since I had bought two of these cases for my project. One of them has been in operation for over two months now without any problem.
Sample Variation
Expect sample variation for this case. The first case that I received was perfect in every way--everything fitted and worked perfectly. However, the second one I received, its side panel did not quite fit in place when slided back. This made the front bezel looks a bit uneven, because there is a small gap that the side panel does not slide in completely. A close inspection appears that the whole structure of the case was somewhat deformed, though not obvious; and I believe it was not due to damage during transit, but perhaps directly from the manufacture platform. It does not look that bad; just that it's not perfect.
Warranty/Support/RMA
Apex provides full warranty and workmanship, and at their web site, an RMA can be filed for a replacement of defective products. Inquiries and other supports are available through their on-line links. I visited their web site merely to find out the warranty period and found out all these other good things. But I have not used them; and, personally, I could careless about warranty, since I could use the money for shipping back the defective product to purchase a new one instead and without much hassle.
My Final Thought
The overall structure of this case is quite good for a small and under priced system case for micro-ATX platform. Its front face is quite appealing, with its metal grill to accentuate the well-built and design, combined with its smooth paint black color. Its tool-less assembly makes this case an excellent custom build for a micro-ATX system.
However, its internal drive can get extremely warm during extended use and hot weather since it is encapsulated inside the cage and air cannot really go through to cool it. In addition, there is no way that air will pass through the drive. An additional front fan might be installed to help this, since the rear fan will mostly pull out air that comes in through the side vent and air duct.
For a small micro-ATX system without much demand in storage and power, I think this case is an excellent choice. The case itself is quite nice indeed; the only thing I have concern is the power supply. I recommend this case, nonetheless.
