X-Gene Mini SFF Case install pics

Case is steel construction and very sturdy, which makes it heavy.

Plenty of fan mounts to keep this box running cool:
Front bottom: 120mm
Front top: 60mm
Rear bottom 2x80mm
Rear top 80mm

The front top / bottom sections are black / brushed aluminum and the case cover is gloss black (steel). The entire top section swings open allowing for easy access to swap out any components! I rested the top half on the table and have not tried letting it hang loose yet ;)

There is plenty of room in this case for an 8800GTX and dual power cables (if you remove the HD cage).

This was just a quick test build out to gauge what I could fit in this case - I'll likely finish it out this weekend with an SLI setup and try fitting some of my larger CPU coolers :D
 
Thats a very nice looking case! Pretty cool how it opens up but I'm a little concerned about the weight of the PSU as it hangs off the side. Is the top of the case suspended off the case, or just resting on the table, dworley?
 
Nice case dworley :D ! Not much bigger than a Qpack it seems. Just how heavy is it? What MB did you use for your test set up?( is it eVGA?) Is that HS & Fan blocking your first RAM slot? Also there seems to be more room for a bigger PSU.Thanks for your time....EZ
 
burnin8r said:
first and foremost, great looking case.

I have the same and mobo that pic confirms my concerns with getting a zalman 7000 or the Tt orb II. I m running two 7600GS 512s and in my mind I believed at least one RAM slot and the second SLi slot wouldn t work with a big cooler. thnx for illustrating this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v246/dworley/X-gene/X-Gene6.jpg
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I can actually fit the ram in the first slot if I install it before Blue Orb II cooler.

None of the PCI-E slots are blocked.

I just finished installing my Foxconn G965, C2D E6700 with an 8800GTX and X-fi in this case. Everything fit with no mods required. I used three nexus 80mm silent fans for exhaust and a Nexus silent 120mm fan for intake.

The only fan noise I notice is coming from my Enermax Liberty 620W PSU - I assume it's the extra heat and load from the 8800GTX and the somewhat restrictive air path below the PSU fan, causing the PSU to run hotter and ramp up the fan at idle. :(





 
nice. how is the foxconn g965? I'm thinking about getting one. where did you get it from and how does it compare to other c2d mobos?
 
lilming said:
nice. how is the foxconn g965? I'm thinking about getting one. where did you get it from and how does it compare to other c2d mobos?
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I bought the Foxconn G965 from ewiz...it's not much of an overclocker as the PCI-E lock is non functional. The other odd issue I am having is that my Motorola Wireless USB adapter has to be un-installed and then reboot the PC to get it working again. This happens about every other time I boot and can't figure out what is conflicting with it. (I had no problems with it on my 680i or my eVGA nf-44 system.)
 
Are you overclocked? An unlocked PCI bus will affect USB.

Did you recently reinstall windows? I would suspect a bad config or driver issues.

I have had two thumbsticks and both have been a PITA. I finally got this ASUS one working reliably by using Buffalo software. I installed it because I have a Buffalo adapter I use in my car.
 
Hot damn, I have never even heard of this case before, but I think my quest for an SFF is over. I love it!
 
dworley said:
Case is steel construction and very sturdy, which makes it heavy.

Plenty of fan mounts to keep this box running cool:
Front bottom: 120mm
Front top: 60mm
Rear bottom 2x80mm
Rear top 80mm

The front top / bottom sections are black / brushed aluminum and the case cover is gloss black (steel). The entire top section swings open allowing for easy access to swap out any components! I rested the top half on the table and have not tried letting it hang loose yet ;)

There is plenty of room in this case for an 8800GTX and dual power cables (if you remove the HD cage).

This was just a quick test build out to gauge what I could fit in this case - I'll likely finish it out this weekend with an SLI setup and try fitting some of my larger CPU coolers :D
Click to expand...

Wow, very interesting. Hope it will hit Europe too. I'm extremly interested in your findings with largers CPU coolers. Like a lot of SFF owners, I have the trusted Silverstone SG01/NT06 combination. In this X-Gene case, the NT06 would need its fan. But looking at the pics, I can't see how that would fit unless you'd cut out the perforated bottom (why is that there in the first place???) of the top-half. And even then it looks like the PSU would be to wide to allow the 120mm NT06 fan.

Another thing I'm wondering about and can't make out from the pics, is where the front 120mm and 60mm intakes get their air from. Is the front bezel perforated somewhere/somehow?

PS: posted a link to this topic on the Sudhian forum. Hope you don't mind, dworley.
 
Thats a good point Ray-zor, it looks like the holes are for the PS fan, but the problem is its compeating with the CPU fan for air..
 
Hey Dworley, I can't tell too well from the pics but can you remove the optical drive covers to use another type of 5.25" device like a fan controller or LCD? It would also be nice to be able to use my Pioneer A09XL drive and have it visible because it's a good looking drive. Also how many usb ports are on the front?
 
n1ce_hat said:
Wow at $99 its not that bad of a price either..
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I bought my X-Gene from performance-pcs for $79.95

Best thing is that it compliments my PS3 and Viewsonic N2750W monitor perfectly with the black and chrome styling!

PS3.jpg
 
Zero_Distortion said:
Hey Dworley, I can't tell too well from the pics but can you remove the optical drive covers to use another type of 5.25" device like a fan controller or LCD? It would also be nice to be able to use my Pioneer A09XL drive and have it visible because it's a good looking drive. Also how many usb ports are on the front?
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No, you would not be able to remove the stealth optical bay covers as they aren't full size for a drive.

There are 2 USB ports behind the front panel and 2 audio ports

The lowest stealth bay cover flips down to allow access to a full 3 1/2 cutout. However, I have my HD mounted there as I removed the HD bay to fit my GPU.
 
man I dig the case, it just bugs me that I can't use any 5.25" device other than optical with it. sucks because I think the qpack and microfly are utter trash and there isn.t much else around. My dual 5.25" SFF is a Morex Venus case that I modified to hold a shuttle mobo.
 
PING MCS said:
Just getting some ideas together. I want to build one of these beauties into a powerful system, with lots of future "prooffedness". To that end, I'd like to stick 2 x LG GSA-H22L optical drives into one and a Silverstone OP 1000 PSU, among other things. My question being, after mounting the optical drives, how much room will be left from the end of them + 40mm (molex clearance) to the back of the case. In other words, how much of my 220mm long PSU will stick out the back of the case, with these DVD burners mounted? It appears that with this setup, I'll obviously have to use some some alternate method of anchoring the PSU...ideas??? Lastly, I'm assuming that for now, a 7950GTX will fit with no prob/no mod, and an 8800GTX with the HDD cage being cut down, ya?
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I was able to fit my Seasonic M12 but had to use a short optical drive. The hard drive cage would probably interfere with most video card's.

I'm going to sell my X-Gene since I have a Fragbox now...PM me if you are interested! (it's still in mint condition)
 
D.Worley -

I was just about to write out why you went with the Frag Box over the Gene Machine, then realized what I was asking....

I would like to hear any thoughts on this vs the TT Lan Box...aka...cheapie Frag..

my main question/problem with the Lan Box is that the PSU appears to be directly over the CPU, which to me signals trouble.

I have been hunting solid for a few days, and have come down to these bad boys to choose between....

TT Lan Box
Silverstone Sug0
The Lean Mean Gene Machine

I pretty much just need anyone to enlighten me as to why the x-gene doesn't blow away the competition, and also note that all three are available at 80-100 online w/o shipping.

Thanks D.Worley for your time and trouble, I'm happy I held off from the microfly/qpack.
 
octopusprime said:
D.Worley -

I was just about to write out why you went with the Frag Box over the Gene Machine, then realized what I was asking....

I would like to hear any thoughts on this vs the TT Lan Box...aka...cheapie Frag..

my main question/problem with the Lan Box is that the PSU appears to be directly over the CPU, which to me signals trouble.

I have been hunting solid for a few days, and have come down to these bad boys to choose between....

TT Lan Box
Silverstone Sug0
The Lean Mean Gene Machine

I pretty much just need anyone to enlighten me as to why the x-gene doesn't blow away the competition, and also note that all three are available at 80-100 online w/o shipping.

Thanks D.Worley for your time and trouble, I'm happy I held off from the microfly/qpack.
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Each of the SFF cases has their pro's and con's and it really just boils down to your own taste as to the aesthetics, features and cooling performance you desire based on component choices.

The TT lan box looks interesting, I would not be too concerend about the PSU over the CPU. You can always work around this by using a CPU cooler / fan combo that directs airflow upward. It seems to be high enough clearance to work either way though.

The X-Gene is a LARGE, heavy SFF case and would not be as good of a "portable" lan box. It is definitely very easy to work on and and swap out components with the flip top! The only negative was the hard drive cage placement interferes with video cards.

If you get an SG01 - I strongly recommend using an Silverstone NT06 "lite" CPU cooler and a 120mm bottom fan style PSU. This is a very effective and silent cooling solution for the SG01.

Good luck with your decision and if you decide on an X-Gene - I am selling my case :D
 
Dworley is selling his and I will be selling them soon... I wonder if there is a market to sell used cases..hmmm.

Anyway, the X-Gene is big but a solid case (made out of steel).

I don't have a LANBOX yet so I can't speak for it but I suggest telling us what exactly you need the case to do and we can recommend one :)

Dworley, what fans do you have running in the X-Gene?
 
I actually went out and bought an X-Gene last night right after writing. I now wish I would have waited. Actually, I might still be in the market for one or two, after showing the pics around at work it seems a lot of people are interested. Everyone also seems to get a kick out of the "htpc power user" term also.

As far as what I was looking for, mainly hdd storage and the option of two optical drives. I have had both the Aria and the NSK1300 (which I'm actually selling on fleabay atm) but couldn't get past the single optical bay and the fact that while they may hold three hdds, it was a matter of minutes before the temp had me extremely worried.

I've had the SN25P, which I was pretty much happy with, but always wanted something bigger. I seriously spent about three straight days looking at every possible option, and was so suprised when I stumbled onto the X-Gene. I think once people see these they wil want them for themselves. If you guys want to get rid of them, pm me a price with shipping included and I'll get back to you asap.

Thanks again for your time and efforts put in to this. It's nice to know there are ppl out their as obsessive as me!
 
Steeeeve said:
Dworley is selling his and I will be selling them soon... I wonder if there is a market to sell used cases..hmmm.
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Hell, I'm always interested in picking up a used case. Got an NSK1300 or Microfly laying around? ;)
 
Thinking of picking up this case and was curious if any of you that have it can take some measurements for me.

I need to now the useable space of the front bottom area ( where the single 120mm is) from support bar to support bar. I allready have a dual 120 radiator and would hate to replace it if unneccesary. i guess also knowing the depth between the front area and the motherboard would be good too using the standard 9.6? matx standard? sorry first sff build just putting ideas together. Thank you.
 
Actually this one is shorter still but i dont know performance wise.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=200&products_id=4516

Im not concerned loosing hard drive bay since it comes out for video cards anyway it seems, and armed with mighty dremel air flow is never a problem. :)

But thats why i want hard measurements, normally i would just order it piece by piece but im currently in osan,korea and trying to reduce shipping charges as much as possible.
 
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