Slim Micro-Atx case w/145 Watt PS for $20 in Bay Area or online

[vladgur]

I just picked up this CyberMax Micro-Atx case at Computer Surplus Store(formerly known as software and stuff) in Santa Clara. They also have an online storefront, but expect to pay $10+ shipping.
This should be a great case for a home theater pc once painted black. Someone on Viahardware said that it might not fit some of the larger Micro-Atx board, so buyer beware. they sell a few boards in the store or online that do fit the case, so you may just get the whole package.

A very nice store otherwise, lots of little gadgets, cables, thingies etc etc. They have an external serial-port modem for $24, bunch of $4-$6 wide surge protectors that accept AC adapter blocks easily, obsolete K6-366 barebones for $40 that could be made into web servers, etc, etc, etc. If you are in bay area, check them out....

 

[vladgur]

can any1 suggest a quality mobo to fit this case?

 

[cremefilled]

Thanks for posting, but when I read that a case doesn't work with normal-sized floppies and that it requires modifications to expansion cards, including a video card, I look elsewhere. This case looks to be made of plastic, as well.

Newegg has a couple of nice micro-ATX cases that aren't much more than this. The Enlight one is especially recommendable.

 

[dsneidert]

I am currently taking an MCSE class where we get to keep the computers that we use for the class. I am pretty pleased withe the mobo they used in the system. It is an ECS P4VXMS which is of the microATX form factor measuring 244mm x 240mm. It will handle, I believe, any of the socket 423 P4 processors and 1.5 GB of RAM. Also, it has the integrated sound if you just need to hear sounds, ATA100 IDE interface, and an 8X AGP video slot. Seems to be pretty fast and stable running Windows 2000 Professional and Server. Hopefully this gives you something to look into. I think ECS's website is:http://www.ecsusa.com

 

[Red Dawn]

.

<< It is an ECS P4VXMS which is of the microATX form factor measuring 244mm x 240mm >>




Uh that board won't fit in that case. and the PSU would beg for mercy. I've used these a lot and I was the one who posted about this case over at Via. First of all you need to use a Panasonic Floppy so the ejct button with line up with the hole for it on the case bezel. Secondly you meed to use a small MATX Motherboard or even better, a Flex ATX Motherboard.



<< This case looks to be made of plastic, as well. >>



It's actually well built, a lot better than some of those Cheap Plastic Small Form Factor/Book PC's. According the the sight it's 5.25" high,That's wrong. This case is only 3.25" high, a real low profile You can find plenty of Modem and or Nics that will work on this. You might have to cut the backplate of the card down some but we're Anandtecher's and that's a peice of cake right?



<< They also have an online storefront, but expect to pay $10+ shipping. >>



The shipping is around $13.00 to me and I'm a 100 niles down the coast from them in Ca.



<< an any1 suggest a quality mobo to fit this case? >>



I've used the ECS 6IWP-FX and the ASIS CUSI-FX Flex Motherboards with this with P3 933 and 1000s without any problems. These would also work well with the Toshiba 8X8x32X8 CDRW/DVD combo's that are floating around

 

[Coca-cola Bear]

This looks real simular to other flex atx cases I've worked with. Like the Aopen H300A it uses half height cards. I made a LAN box out of that one ran a celly with a GF2MX. Since there are short GF2MX's and that was the best vid card you could get that small. I had to mod the rear plates though.

 

[vladgur]

<< Thanks for posting, but when I read that a case doesn't work with normal-sized floppies and that it requires modifications to expansion cards, including a video card, I look elsewhere. This case looks to be made of plastic, as well. >>


The description doesnt say it doesnt work with normal floppys, it says that it doesnt have the floppy button. I have the case in my hands and it works with normal floppy drives, I will just have to remove the drive face to adapt to the case, as simple as unscrewing 4 screws. In any case, the floppy is not what sells slim cases, but its size. There are very few cases of this size (17x15x5 inches) and those are not cheap at all. At $20 this makes a perfect hobby experiment. Certainly dont get this as your primary PC case.



<< Newegg has a couple of nice micro-ATX cases that aren't much more than this. The Enlight one is especially recommendable. >>



I didnt find any slim cases on newegg. I did find a couple elsewhere, but the cheapest one was $59+shipping....Three times the price of this one.....
I personally like the fact that it only uses 145 watt...Im not going to overclock it or run XP 1800+ on it.. Radeon AIW and a SPDIF soundcard would be great for this HTPC. I just gotta paint the case black somehow

 

[cremefilled]

Here's a page of micro-ATX cases at Newegg. The Enlight #7180 at $39 + $9 S&H seems to be a good deal. It takes full-height cards and has 2 5.25" bays, has the usual Enlight build quality, has better aesthetics IMO (no Cybermax logo), includes such niceties as snap-on drive guides, and has an AMD-recommended PSU (no, I don't know for what processors, but that is a good sign). If you look in the "specials" add-on, you see that you get $10 off of a $10 (i.e., free) Enlight heatsink/fan that looks to be of decent quality--certainly worth $6-8 in its own right.

Again, I don't mean to knock this thread, and $20 for any type of case/PSU is reasonable, but spending a few dollars not to work with a frustrating or idiosyncratic case is worth it IMO. These super-small Flex-type cases also usually have terrible ventilation because of the way that everything is stuffed in there.

$20 + $13 (min.) S&H = $33
versus
$39 + $9 = $48 - $8 (assuming you can use the heatsink/fan) = $40

For my tastes, the $7 difference is well worth it. YMMV.

 

[Red Dawn]

<< The description doesnt say it doesnt work with normal floppys, it says that it doesnt have the floppy button. I have the case in my hands and it works with normal floppy drives, I will just have to remove the drive face to adapt to the case, as simple as unscrewing 4 screws. In any case, the floppy is not what sells slim cases, but its size. >>

You are lecturing the proffessor here I meant you need to use a Panasonic Floppy because the hole in the Bezel for the Floppies eject button is only big enough to work with the Panasonic's eject button. You can do it Ghetto and modify the eject button of another brand of floppy drive I guess. That's not necessarily a bad thing, I was just advising you or who ever might be interested in this case to save you/them a little grief if you do decide to buy it. For the price it's hard to beat.




<< Here's a page of micro-ATX cases at Newegg. The Enlight #7180 at $39 + $9 S&H seems to be a good deal. It takes full-height cards and has 2 5.25" bays, has the usual Enlight build quality, has better aesthetics IMO (no Cybermax logo), >>

Apples and Oranges. The Cybermax is a Small Form Factor Case, where as the Enlight is your typical run of the mill Biege/Black MATX Box. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but in my opinion the Cybermax is much more elegant (even with the logo). What makes this particular case a deal is that most other cases that fall in the same category are usually $15 to $30.00 more. Yes there are some drawbacks, no full size PCI or AGP Cards, poor airflow/ventilation and small underpowered PSU's. These definately aren't Gaming Cases, but for Cyber Surfing, Office Computing, Multi media/MP3 Server and such these are practical and when combined with a LCD Screen, are very Elegant looking.



<< These super-small Flex-type cases also usually have terrible ventilation because of the way that everything is stuffed in there. >>

This case ships with Flat ribbon cables shorter than most and with some careful tie and tucking you can actually create an area free of cables around the Motherboard. You can also use HSF's like the Thermaltake Golden Orb which I used for the higher End P3 933's and P3 1000eb's that I had used in these cases successfully without any thermal problems.

 

[bambam]

I thought 145 watt power supplies were a bad thing ( eg : Emachines etc ). Personally though I like the idea of having machine that consumes less power but I don't want to push the PS to the limit with the impoper mobo processor combination ( whats suible here ? ) - thanks .

 

[busterG]

I bought this case last month and paired it up with a 29.50 Biostar Motherboard i got from compgeeks and a P3 850 running at 1.13 GHZ. I cant run it with the case on as it overheats and I havent had time or used it enough to work on cooling solutions for the setup. I have an ATI Radeon 7000 With TV out. Right now im looking for a 5.1 sound card that will fit in this tiny case. All in all its a pretty good buy.

 

[Red Dawn]

<< a P3 850 running at 1.13 GHZ. I cant run it with the case on as it overheats and I havent had time or used it enough to work on cooling solutions for the setup >>

:Q Hehehe, this definately wouldn't be my choice for a case to run an overclocked system Besides theHSF, the only other fan in the system is the one in the PSU and that one doesn't move a lot of air. I was able to run a P3 700 @ 933 at default voltage with out any problems using a Golden Orb. Of course that's not a P3 850 @ 1.13 ghz

 

[vladgur]

<< Here's a page of micro-ATX cases at Newegg. The Enlight #7180 at $39 + $9 S&H seems to be a good deal. It takes full-height cards and has 2 5.25" bays, has the usual Enlight build quality, has better aesthetics IMO (no Cybermax logo), includes such niceties as snap-on drive guides, and has an AMD-recommended PSU (no, I don't know for what processors, but that is a good sign). >>



These things are all nice, but enlight case is nowhere as slim as the cybermax and for me the cybermax case cost $20+tax, where as the newegg case(which again is not that slim) would cost $40+shipping+tax...
I agree, the $13 shipping kind of ruins the deal a bit, but if youre in bay area, you can pick this case up for a hobby project... Again, this is not a case for your primary computer. I wouldnt even recommend it for a secondary computer if you have one. But for HomeTheaterPC case that fits your audio rack, that could be a great inexpensive project(YOU DO WANT A SLIM CASE FOR THAT). Now if anyone know how to paint this black.......LMK

 

[Red Dawn]

<< Now if anyone know how to paint this black.......LMK >>



Painting it right Also, for the Bezel I would get some black Vinyl dye and use that instead of painting the plastic. You can probably locate that at Kragens

 

[nnnyyy]

Thanks for the link. That is a very useful article on case painting.

 

[vladgur]

Red Dawn, thanks for all your advice....
Do you know by any chance if AIW radeon(PCI) will fit into this case? Otherwise do you know of any geforce cards that have tv-out in them?

Thanks

P.S. Where would I get that panasonic floppy drive? Is there as particular model I need to look for?

 

[Red Dawn]

<< P.S. Where would I get that panasonic floppy drive? Is there as particular model I need to look for? >>

I think Directron Carries them. My local Circuit City had them too but they weren't labeled as Panasonic on the bax they were in. If you go there ask if you can take them out of the box to make sure.



<< Do you know by any chance if AIW radeon(PCI) will fit into this case? >>


I couldn't say.As far as a Video Card goes, these are only 3.25" so you have to find a low profile AGP card. I think there are some Gforce2 MMX's out there that might work. You'll have to mod the back plate to get it to fit. I was able to use a ATI Powered (OEM) Radeon 7000 in some but it was a tighht fit. I think your best bet would be to use a motherboard with integrated Video, Sound and LAN. Like you said these cases aren't for gaming.

 

[vladgur]

I know its not for gaming, but I wasnt able to find a flexAtx/microATX board that had integrated S-Video out or SPDIF-sound out. I mainly want this to play DIVX/DVDs, MP3, do some TIVO-like tv recording,etc...
Some 3D performance would be nice, even if it meant an integrated Savage4 card, but I just cant located a microATX board that had it all. Some have TV-out but no SPDIF out, some are the opposite, but no board has it all....

 

[cremefilled]

*Ahem*, I've down this road already, Vladgur, and you may find that the "inelegant" addition of 1.5-2" in height makes the Enlight case (or similar) worth it. You will also probably have better luck with an Enlight PSU if you are using a decent-powered graphics card. I too was entranced with the "neato" small size factor of the Flex cases, but the hours of aggravation in buying parts and getting things to fit just weren't worth it.

 

[Kostya17]

Why would you need a floppy in HTPC???

You might need it to set-up OS and load all the drivers, but after that... I use my aging 390X IBM laptop to play DivX;-) flicks, mp3 files--don't remember when I used floppy last time on that PC. All the "real" work is done on the other PC. If this is your 2nd (3rd, 4th, etc.) computer--don't even bother installing the floppy. Boot from OS installation CD, plug in network--that's it!

 

[vladgur]

<< *Ahem*, I've down this road already, Vladgur, and you may find that the "inelegant" addition of 1.5-2" in height makes the Enlight case (or similar) worth it. You will also probably have better luck with an Enlight PSU if you are using a decent-powered graphics card. I too was entranced with the "neato" small size factor of the Flex cases, but the hours of aggravation in buying parts and getting things to fit just weren't worth it. >>



I agree this is no simple plug-n-play kind of commitment, but at $20 Im willing to commit my time to it. Its just a matter of finding a right component and I can build a really nice HTPC for less than SV50-SV40 cubes. By the way, the power supply that comes with this Cybermax case(145watt) is exactly the same wattage-wise as the one that comes with the Enlight cases and I believe the shuttle SVXX cubes. People have reported running radeons without problems there...

Regarding the floppy: thats why it was never much of my concern anyways. I could possibly mod the front face and hide a USB compactflash or PCMCIA reader there(or even both). For those times that floppy is needed, I can just "borrow" usb floppy from frys

 

[Red Dawn]

<< too was entranced with the "neato" small size factor of the Flex cases, but the hours of aggravation in buying parts and getting things to fit just weren't worth it.[/Q ] It is if you know where to look and what to use. True you won't get a kick Ass gaming system but you can build a great little Small Form Factor/Flex System with Decent Video (Radeon 7000 works well) and Sound, that has snappy performance. You definately have to tie and tuck Power and ribbon cables but if you take your time it can be done where you can have decent airflow.I have one now that has all the bells and whistles and it would own that overpriced SV24 or 25 from Shuttle with their made by "ECS for Shuttle" FV24 and FV25 Flex Motherboards.


At first I found it somewhat frustrating myself but as I built more I was able to locate components that I know would work, learn which cases were the easiest to work with and which PSU's could handle a Decent Video Card, Sound Card, Fire Wire, etc.I found it a challege but a rewarding one. These types of Computers are the Future and you can rest assured that 3 to 5 years from now the Biege Computer Box as we know it will be a thing of the past. In fact in Asia these types of computers are the rage. I bet if you had access to have the stuff that is available in Asia with regards to Small Footprint Systems, you'd find building one to be a lot less of a hassle.

BTW, if you are looking for a case where you can use full hieght PCI and AGP cards but you don't want to go with the ugly look of the Enlight Desktop Yeon Yang has the YY-A102 and YY-A101 that is smaller than any MicroATX but large enough for those cards. It also comes with a 165 PSU and a P4 ready 200 and 250 watt PSU.

 

[Herr Yunta]

Just put this Asus 7100 into my Burbie, though I had to use a dremel.

 

[Red Dawn]

That video Card cost more than that Burbie You check out those Sleekline systems there? Pricey but nice

 

[vladgur]

I think I just found a perfect board for this case and a perfect flexatx board in itself:
ECS P6STP-FN
SiS 630 Chipset, 4X AGP Embedded
Socket 370 for Pentium®III FC-PGA (Coppermine) and Celeron? PPGA processors
CMI8738 PCI 3D Audio Chip on board
10/100Mbps LAN Chip Embedded

I/O INTERFACE

Supports Plug and Play function
PS/2 keyboard and PS/2 mouse connectors
Dual USB Ports and LAN connector
One - EPP/ECP mode parallel port
TV-out connectors (1 Video out RCA jack, 1 S-Video mini-Din port)
One VGA connector
Audio Ports (Line-in, Line-out, Mic-in, CD-in and game port)
Dual PCI IDE interfaces - support four IDE devices (PIO mode 4, DMA Mode 2, Ultra DMA 33/66)
Supports 360K~2.88M Byte, 3 Mode FDDs or LS120
ATX Power Supply Connector
ports, Headers and Others:
SPDIF In/Out header for digital audio interface (Optional)
IrDA Cable header
COM port headers
Header for Modem DAA module
Green, HDD, power indicator LED headers
CPU and Case Fan headers
LAN Card Wake Up/Internal Modem Ring Wake-Up headers