Reviews for Apevia X-QPack 420W Chassis

cool

Strengths: compact, blue lights, temperature sensor

Weakness: handle can hold 40 pounds? I've seen fisher-price toys with stronger handles.

This was my first build with this case and it was a fun build. I managed to fit 2 optical drives, a hard drive, a Sempron 3400+, an eVGA 6200 card, and a couple other things that all fit in the case. The only problem I had with this case is that the spacers were not all threaded properly. As a result, I have great difficulty screwing the motherboard to the case. The front panel wires are also a bit long but that's not really a con.

A note on the Power Supply: The Power Supply outputs a stable voltage but be aware of the amps. The 12V is split into two (don't know why) one at 14A and the other at 16A. Do not attempt to try to use a high power consumption video card. I think this is the reason that so many people give this PSU bad reviews. As for the 20 or 24-pin thing, this case had a 20 at first but then Aspire made it 24 so it's a guessing game if you get a 20 or 24-pin ATX connector.

Sure I cursed when I built this case and wished I'd purchased a big, roomy ATX case but I'd do it all over again.

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cool little case

Strengths: micro-atx, attractive, light, 120mm fan

Weakness: a bit flimsy & scratchable, power supply?

I bought 2 of these to build a pair of media and gaming PC's. The cases are very light and easy to work with. The front usb, firewire, and audio are great features as well as all the drive space for such a small case. The rear 120mm fan is pretty quiet and moves a lot of air, so cooling is very good.

My only concern is that the 2 cases I received had different power supplies. One had the 20-pin power connector and the other had the 20/24-pin universal connector, so there are different power supplies included with this case. Both work great, though and I will buy another for the next system I build.

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Seemed like a good idea

Strengths: Small and looks attractive

Weakness: Poor power supply, window only comes in blue, scratches easily, difficult to cool.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great case. But the power supply is junk. And if you replace it, you have to make sure the replacement is less than 7" deep and the optical drives are no more than 170MM deep (like a Sony or Lite-On.) Why couldn't they have made the case just 1" deeper? The paint scratches easily and the vents in the front don't allow much air to come in. A small fan in front would've been nice. The case comes in a lot of colors, but the windows only come in UV Blue.

But the case is well made, and is very lightweight. I don't recommend AGAINST it.. I just suggest you know what you're getting into if you plan to build one.

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Aspire X-QPACK

Strengths: Nice form factor, relatively sturdy chassis, mobo tray

Weakness: cheap paint job, HDD tray loose(needed tweaked), flimsy handle

Great little case, surprisingly roomy considering the size. Mobo tray is a nice feature. Would be nice if you could change the temperature readout to F instead of Celsius. (there is no jumper to change)

I was not satisfied with the cooling provided by the case, and I felt the exhaust from the power supply to be too hot for my tastes.

To rectify, with the smallish vents at the front of the case, I recommend reversing the direction of the 120mm fan in the rear. This will actually create a positive pressure in the case to assist the anemic fan in the power supply to do it's job. I then ducted the CPU intake somewhat, to pull in the fresh incoming air. (With my particular board, [foxconn NF4K8MC] the air current created by reversing the fan caused the CPU to recycle it's own exhaust.) The CPU, HDD, and video temps all dropped by 5-7 deg F by doing this. Only took about 15-20 minutes to modify.

All in all, good case, needs a little tweaking on the cooling, and the pathetic handle needs beefed up big time! Especially if you are going to be loading it up with 2HDDs and 2 opticals!

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Apevia X-QPack 420W Chassis

Strengths: Compact Saves alot of Space, Removable Motherboard Tray. Lightweight But Durable.

Weakness: Still Uses the Old 20 Pin PowerSupply. Case Handle doesn't Seem to Sturdy.

It's a Great Case, Saves alot of space. I Would like to see them make the case handle to make it feel more secure and upgrade the powersupply to the newer 24 pin to support the latest motherboards.

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Great case

Strengths: Sharp looking design Lightweight but sturdy Slide-out MOBO tray

Weakness: No documentation included in box

Overall, this is one of the best cases I've ever owned. It looks sharp, was super easy to put together, and very well thought-out. The slide-out motherboard tray makes it easy to update the hardware, unlike some other small form factor cases that you never want to open again once you've managed to cram everything in. This case is surprisingly roomy and easy to access inside.

It handles heat quite well, though the fans are not the quietest (quieter than the ones in the case it replaced, but still quite audible). The case seems to be precisely engineered and manufactured, and is a welcome addition to my living room (as a HTPC).

No documentation came with the case, but a guide with color photos may be downloaded from Aspire's web site.

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By member: mumpkin - Apr 8, 2006

Cool Blue Cube Case

Strengths: Size, LCD temperature monitor, comes in cool colors, carry handle.

Weakness: Cheap little clock, see-through plastic scratches easily.

It's a nice little compact cube case with a cheap little clock on the front that you don't need because your monitor has a clock. Otherwise, you can't beat the size, removeable motherboard tray and the useful carry handle.

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Don't buy this!

Strengths: Not worth mentioning.

Weakness: PSU died within 28 days.

PSU is custom-sized (small); so, buying a standard PSU to use in this case is not an option.

Don't take the risk on this PSU-case combo. You'll end up with a nice looking trash can.

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X-QPLACK Review

Strengths: Nice looking case. I had no problems, but I think it was all luck :)

Weakness: Afer reading the reviews, concluded I got extremely lucky because my PSU came with 24pin connector. I just happened to buy the right sized DVD burner too. Light-On combo drive.

This was my first Micro-ATX venture so my advice is make sure you know what you're getting into. Size matters in this case. I hope I dont run into problems when I pop in a nice video.

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nice case

Strengths: windows do scratch easily and the handle works but its scary

Weakness: easy to work with, plenty of room for a small case, looks great, and i really like the temp display

Great Case for lan partys or to impress your friends, Solid little case, comes with all the essentials. Sufficient USB ports to plug in my existing devices, with additional on-board jumpers for more if needed, or for internal USB devices like a card reader. The stock fan is nice and quiet and does fine keeping the case cool.

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Little Big giant.

Strengths: I got this box a while back and it has more than what the expect say. (2ext5.25", 1ext3.25", 2int3.25", 420w power supply with 24 pin M.B. connector and a good quiet 120mm fan with UV LED.

Weakness: Center inner rail covers half of power supply fan.

I really recommend this box to anyone that's wants a quiet HT-PC with lots of cooling.
You can have of to 3 Hard drive in this little case and 2 DVD-RW.

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Good Micro ATX Case

Strengths: Small, good design, HDD and CPU temperature display in the front, front side USB/Firewire/headphone jack

Weakness: a bit cramped if you want to get back in there after everything is put together to add something new or change/adjust something.

I got this case because I was sick of using my full ATX case, and so I decided to go a lot smaller. The motherboard fits on the slide out tray nicely and its pretty cool that the top, right and left side all have see in windows. Did'nt make a big difference to me personally that it had a handle, but I can bet it would be handy if you need one. I'm not too sure though if it truly is able to handle the weight of a full case. I havent tried using it yet, but I would hope that it would. It barely seemed flimsy to me when I first got it out of the box, but as soon as it had all of its parts inside it seemed much more robust. The fan is relatively big, so I beleive it is doing a pretty good job ventalating the case. It is a big plus for me to move onto a case that has thumb screws instead of regular screws. It makes opening the case a lot easier. The case cover comes off pretty easily, but can be a bit more frustrating to put back on. It is working wonderfully, and fits my needs so far.

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Sony NW-MS70D: iPod Killer or Expensive Paper Weight?

Aspire's MicroATX, X-Qpack case should do any LAN partygoer proud with three, transparent windows to show off what is under the hood. While the carrying handle is flimsy, its small, cube-shaped form factor makes the case easy to carry around as well.

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