Chime in: Best MicroATX Case out there!

[BuddyGuy]

Hey hey hey,



I'm looking to build a system around a uATX motherboard, and was wondering what sort of experience people have had with uATX cases.


I found an ASUS case but it doesn't look very high quality.

[toujours]

My MSI Hestia has given me about three (wow three already !) years good service. Looks outdated though ; it's an untrendy beige colour, but it's solid and has undergone two motherboard one optical drive and one hard drive changes.

Before you buy one though, check out the PSU that comes with the case. If you want to run a high performance AGP or PCI-E video card and a few other peripherals, then you may encounter problems with low wattage PSUs...

[BuddyGuy]

My MSI Hestia has given me about three (wow three already !) years good service. Looks outdated though ; it's an untrendy beige colour, but it's solid and has undergone two motherboard one optical drive and one hard drive changes.

Before you buy one though, check out the PSU that comes with the case. If you want to run a high performance AGP or PCI-E video card and a few other peripherals, then you may encounter problems with low wattage PSUs...

Where do you buy MSI cases? Didn't even know they made them.

[willy]

I own a slim mATX case. While it's very neat, you have to pay attention to the following ...

- As mentioned above, the bundled (and worse, proprietary) PS is usually small in size and capacity

- The height of AGP/PCI slot is probably half-height (Choose onboard-everything-mobo to solve this problem)

- Limited HD/ROM drive bays (Use DVD-RW to solve this problem)

- May not have enough headroom to fit large size HSF

- Of course, the airflow is also restricted (SATA helps)

[toujours]

Where do you buy MSI cases? Didn't even know they made them.

They are in fact barebones. Hestia is no longer made, but they sell Hetis and M-Box at the moment. Don't know of any Canadian retailers though. One thing MSI does that looks real kewl is the MPC. I don't know if this is sold in Canada, but here's a link : http://msicomputer.co.uk/Products.aspx?product_id=703642&cat_id=81
But this is a barebone, not a case...

BUT, having said my MSI case is "good", I wouldn't say to anyone "Go out and get one !!". A quick look through tigerdirect and ncix will get you a few dozen different mATX cases with all sorts of styles to suit your taste and budget.

I've got a short to mid-term project to change my case. The Antec Aria and the Minuet II look interesting, but I want to see them in a store before I buy...

[BuddyGuy]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Keep it coming!

[toujours]

- Of course, the airflow is also restricted (SATA helps)

Absolutely, heat can be a big problem especially if you add a video card. My video card cuts the inside space in two and airflow suffers so I popped out a few PCI slot covers to allow air in/out. A case fan is also a good idea.

[JustMike]

Who has a good selection of mATX cases on display in the GTA?

I want to built a diskless MythTV front-end that fits into my stereo rack and doesn't look like a computer. I don't need fancy features, just a plain case that doesn't look gaudy (as most do these days).

[kev*]

I have an asus "tm-231" that I bought at Canada Computers here in the gta (I don't think they carry these anymore) . If you are speaking about this case I disagree about the quality. I think is very well-built. It also comes with a good quality 300w ps. I have bought 2 of these cases and like them alot.
http://www.excaliberpc.com/ASUS_TM-231_300W_ATX_Mini-Tower/TM-231/partinfo-id-552865.html