Beautiful Slim case for $24

[xwinger]

Well, I had been trying to find a beautiful micro/flex atx case for the living room. I think I found one that is super cheap yet looking elegant.

Here is the link:
http://www.pcimicro.com/.sc/ms/dd/1059758685055382/9/nc/Case%20%26%20Power%20Supply--Generic/829/CM-6985%20ATX%20P4^2FAMD%20SLIM%20CASE%20

I had never done business with pcimicro, nor do I know anything about the case. I tried to find more info on this case, but the following link is the closest I can found about its manufacturer:

http://www.099power.com/cm6985.html

Anyway, for $24 it is definitely worth it for the adventure-minded.

 

[eshtog]

no offense or anything but that has to be the ugliest case I have ever seen

 

[masterxfob]

linkified

 

[Zhou]

I REALLY hope you were joking.

 

[AMCRambler]

Yeah, sorry man. It's pretty butt. Maybe you could do some mods on it with all the money you saved? Ground effects, coil overs, and a 4 foot tall wing? Hehe.

 

[cremefilled]

I don't think that the case is necessarily ugly, but it's also not that great. Keep in mind that the price does not include a power supply, and good luck finding one, as even a "micro-ATX" PSU is unlikely to fit in the case. (Also keep in mind that micro-ATX PSU's will cost $24 or more by themselves.) It probably has a very small mounting platform for the PSU and a unique set of screwholes, so you'd really need the one specific PSU this case is designed for.

MicroATX motherboards definitely won't fit in this case. You'll need a flex or itx board. I'm sure you know already that you'll need a special heatsink/fan (either a Cyrix chip with no fan, or a 1U super-thin unit), and that standard expansion cards, including video cards, won't fit in this case. It will also be a pain to run cables and get everything to slide together (nearly impossible -- I've owned a nearly identical case).

So much easier to get a Shuttle-esque cube. . .

 

[gabegarwick]

Inexpensive, yes. Pretty to look at? Not in my opinion.

For a bit more cash, you can get some nicer looking cases IMHO.


In-win Micro ATX (Beige) Desktop Case with hidden external bays

Aopen DeskTop mATX Case Model H340H w/ bay cover

cheers,
Gabe

 

[axskkyline]

agree, not too pretty in my own opinion =p

 

[stealthbob]

The link seems to show it comes with a 150 watt PS

 

[woodscomp]

It shows it as having a 150 watt P/S.

 

[Dug]

I don't see why you guys think its so ugly. It's just a box. It has a cover to hide the front connections, no funny grill in the front, no funky molding, just a plain box.

If anything, you could just paint it black and it would look better than most cases out there.

 

[isekii]

I think it looks better than that AOPen case.

 

[oaaltone]

I've used a bunch of these in black and beige. Nice cases, nice power supplies, well built, and pretty darn good looking when compared to their competition. They've been able to fit every mATX board I've thrown at them.

 

[DollarBill]

Just what I need, a pretty, powerful 150 watt case.

 

[kindest]

Originally posted by: DollarBill
Just what I need, a pretty, powerful 150 watt case.

/end sarcasm

 

[xwinger]

I don't get it. I am trying to find a good deal and share it with other people. If you think this case is ugly while those Inwin or aopen cases are pretty, that is what spray paint are for. If you just look at the outside of this case, it is clear that it will looks virtually identical (if painted black or silver) to that of Inwin or Aopen.

But with the Aopen case charges for $49, you can get two of these cases. Are you guys saying that one Aopen case is worth more than two of these cases?

p.s. I appreciated the posters that offer alternative options (like that of Inwin or Aopen).

 

[slycat]

just ignore the numbnuts...most of these BOOKPC cases are not particularly pleasing to
look at but they do well in small spaces.

 

[cremefilled]

I don't get it. I am trying to find a good deal and share it with other people.

Ah, the plaintive wail of the Anandtech newbie. Welcome aboard, and try to enjoy the locker-room atmosphere here.

 

[Dran]

I don't see anything wrong with that case. If I didn't already have two Compaq 486 desktops in the process of being rebuilt into sporty machines, I'd jump on that one. Lot of possibilities.

Or, at least, lot of possibilities for anyone with a little imagination. More's the pity most of the respondants don't seem to be able to picture anything more than a box. *shrug*

 

[onza]

Originally posted by: olliebg
I've used a bunch of these in black and beige. Nice cases, nice power supplies, well built, and pretty darn good looking when compared to their competition. They've been able to fit every mATX board I've thrown at them.

i agree, black makes things look sleek

 

[Tab]

Antec's Case dominates j00z

 

[pigseye2]

I think most of the slamming is due to the title of your thread, "Beautiful Slim case for $24." I think if you would ahve said, decent looking case for a good price, $24 prople might not have reacted as much.

Anyway, I think it is a decent looking case for the purpose and agree, a little spray paint and this case could look pretty good

Pigseye

 

[woodscomp]

Anyone who would be using this case would obviously be using a Flex board or whatever it takes. 150 watts would most likely be plenty of power, as it is not the watts that makes a power supply good but the rails it maintains. I think Dell proved that point with there recent 400SC server using a 3.2GHZ Intel processor on a 250 watt P/S. If you buy quality parts you will not have to worry about having a 500 watt overpriced power supply. I am using an Antec 350 watt power supply that I have had with 4 different boards, right now I have a P4 2.4C O/C to 3.4GHZ, no power issues at all with 5 fans, 5 drives, 9700 AIW etc... I could probably do this on a 250 if I wanted to.

 

[Dragon365]

It's not bad, but I certainly wouldn't put it in a living room.

 

[TJ69]

The description says its an ATX case. The picture shows multiple pci/agp cut outs. A fullsize ATX mb should fit.

I doubt this cheap 150W power supply can handle a P4 or XP CPU. But as stated above, the rail ampage is whats important. I use a 150W PSU in my carputer to power a 2.4Ghz P4 and peripherals. You can use a power calculator (search google) to find out how many amps on each rail you will need to power the cpu, mb, and peripherals. The 5v rail will probably be the limiting factor.

It a simple looking case. It would probably look better one solid color though.