Are there any good ITX cases for $50 or less?

I made a thread about this in the SFF section a few days ago, but it didn't really go anywhere so I thought maybe the more general case section might have ideas.

I have a bunch of ITX guts I want to assemble into a utility machine (I have a complete kit, pico psu and all). I'm looking for a simple no-bay no-slot case to throw it in, the only thing it needs is front usb. I really just want a box. I'm willing to spend $50 if it's well made and doesn't look like ass, less if it's less.

Ye Olde Mini-box M350 is out (no front usb), the Morex 557 is out (internal layout too tight for the specific pico+board combo I have). I'm looking around but I can't seem to find many other options. There's one series of cases called "e-Mini" from somewhere in China that look neat. The E-2015/3015 (http://minicase.net/product_E-2015.html) especially looks perfect, I love the external sata+power ports on the side. The problem is I can't for the life of me figure out where the @#$% to buy them. A whole bunch of different companies list these as "their" product, but there's never a buy button. Mini-Box looks like they OEM one of them as the "M250", but I'm not sure if it's actually the same or just a clone or what (they've yet to respond to any of my emails). It looks like I might be able to find some on ebay or aliexpress if I search enough, but I don't want to bite on those until I know it's my only option.

So... any ideas? I find it hard to believe that there aren't good sub $50 cases out there, considering how simple they are to construct.

Thermaltake Core V1

Cooler Master Elite 130, 120, or 110

The CoreV1 is more than I really want to pay, I didn't realize the cube elites had come down in price under $50. I didn't really want a "full size" case with bays and slots though (but maybe beggars can't be choosers).

The fractal node 304 just had a price drop to $65.

It's a cube and probably a bit bigger then you want, but a nice box just the same.

I loke the look of the Cougar QBX.

SiO2 said:

The E-2015/3015 (http://minicase.net/product_E-2015.html) especially looks perfect, I love the external sata+power ports on the side. The problem is I can't for the life of me figure out where the @#$% to buy them.

So... any ideas? I find it hard to believe that there aren't good sub $50 cases out there, considering how simple they are to construct.

Click to expand...

Not sure how well you've scoured the mini-box website but they appear to sell the E-2015 under the model name M250 for $50

http://www.mini-box.com/M250-Universal-Mini-ITX-Enclosure

Pic from the website

Yeah I saw that, see my first post. The thing is I'm not sure if it's legit. Other sites like Realan say that both that case and the E-3015 come with a dc-dc psu board and the external sata ports. Mini-box's site implies it has no psu (they want to sell you one of theirs) and mentions nothing about the sata ports. It also has zilch for information. I emailed them a couple times asking if they had a manual or other pictures of the inside or anything... they FINALLY responded after a week, called me by a totally wrong name, and said 'we have nothing'. I'll pay $50 for a nice case, and I'll pay it for a sorta crappy case with a few extras. But I'm not interested in paying $50 for a gutted shell of a crappy case.

Anyway, it looks like a couple of the coolermaster elite cubes are basically the only other cases out there under $50. Not really sure if I want those. I'm thinking at this point I might as well go down to the hardware store and just make my own shitbox for a couple bucks.

pseudo necrobump with some info for anyone who searches this topic and bumps into this thread:

I got the "M250" from Mini-box. As I suspected it's actually an e-Mini E-2015 (says so right on the box) but they took out the psu and external sata ports. The door for the sata ports is still there, but hot-glued shut. Oh well.

FWIW, the case is much better made than I was expecting based on pictures. It's heavy duty steel with a good construction and paint job. The only annoying thing is that it can't be used laying flat because the usb ports would be on the bottom (and you can't flip the faceplate).