Antec Aluminum MicroATX Cube

i think that case looks very slick. i think it would be totally compatible w/ any mobo no matter where the cpu socket is cuz it doesnt cover too much
 
They give you room under the PSU to mount some aftermarket HSFs. You will need to check the clearance though. Any mATX board will fit this case.
 
I'm using the Aria as I type this now. It is a tight fit but I put my SLK-800 on there with a 70mm fan.
 
I'm considering getting one to replace my Chieftech Dragon as my primary machine and delegate the Dragon to file server for my HTPC.
 
I've got one too. I like the case overall, but they need to completely rethink the area where you screw down the cards. It's like they had a token retard on the development team and he came up with that monstrosity. It is a bit louder then I thought it would be, but I still like it -- except for that retard thing. :p
 
Pecos said:
I've got one too. I like the case overall, but they need to completely rethink the area where you screw down the cards. It's like they had a token retard on the development team and he came up with that monstrosity. It is a bit louder then I thought it would be, but I still like it -- except for that retard thing. :p
Click to expand...

LOL... I stripped out a screw. You have to take all the screws out just to add one card in it.

Heh, feels so empty on my desk now.
 
i saw this in person, it is a good deal, but it is more plasticky then i would ever want it. heh. great case though. very nice psu design with 120mm exhaust
 
My brother has one, he has a zalman cnps7000a-cu in it. Tight fight (it touches the side panel) but it'll work
 
Neurotic-Turtle said:
My brother has one, he has a zalman cnps7000a-cu in it. Tight fight (it touches the side panel) but it'll work
Click to expand...
Wow, I didn't think that monstrosity would fit. Nice job.
 
I built 15 systems in the Aria case for a local client. We used Intel D865GLCL motherboards, which are 9.6x9.6 inches (biggest Micro-ATX size, IIRC), which fit without a problem. We used the stock Intel heatsinks that came with the P4 2.8Cs that went onto the boards, and they had plenty of clearance. It's pretty cool that it comes with the card reader built-in and has room for 3 hard drives. The optical drive's flip-down cover is pretty swanky.

The problem with this case is the card slot area. The screws strip easily, and it is brain-dead simple to cross-thread the screw holes. I found myself replacing all the screws with the good, solid, hex-headed ones that come with other cases.

The thing I didn't like about the way the case looks is the top. I don't like the "ribbed for her pleasure" top panel ... but that's just me.
 
according to few review i read it doesn't have good air-flow so you'll get a build up of hot air inside the case.. even abit digidice can cool much better let alone aopen or shuttle sff.
 
I'm planning to build 2 machines using that case, from the reviews I've read and the looks of it there's plenty of ventilation.
 
I have one Also...Running a SLK-800 w/ a 70mmTMD fan....And as far as heat consearns...I already Modded Mine for a Blowhole on one of the Side Panels.
Aria.jpg


And its actually Pretty quiet with that 92mm Fan on the side.

My temps stay around 38-40 degrees...And thats with a Load(playing DC for 3-4 hours)
 
Col_Hogan, why did you remove the CD-ROM door? I am using one of these for an HTPC, but I plan on getting another and building a nice LAN Box in one. Probably going with a mATX Athlon 64 motherboard, but I am waiting for either Asus or Abit to release their boards.
 
I've been thinking about doing the blowhole thing to mine too, but one fan on either side in a push-pull config.

I removed my cdrom door too. I saw no reason to keep that thing on there. Personally, I think it looks better without.
 
MIne now sports a Nec-2500a DVD Writer...The door springs fell out...couldnt find them...So what the Heck. I like the way it Looks without the Door...Just wished the Case wouldve been Black...So that it wouldve matched the Bezel of the Nec.

And Im going to also Finish with a Push - Pull Config for the Blowhole setups...And keep both fans a 7 volts...that one Big 120mm fan just doesnt do enough...when you have a PAcked case...

Aria Specs:
Shuttle MN31N
2500 Barton
1 gig of 3200
250 Gig HD
Nec-2500a
ATI 9800 Pro

This is my Quakecon Rig.
 
I agree about the 120mm in the back. I see that only has a PSU cooler only. What did you use to cut your hole(s), btw. Did you shoehorn that 92 there? There's not much space under that optical drive tray.
 
Yeah I just built one of these cases also for a friend...

Same issue..stripped a screw trying to install the Video Card.. pretty brain dead placing the power connector right over the middle PCI slot so you are almost certain to strip that screw trying to remove it an an angle..

Use a MATX MSI KT800 Board with an AMD 64 3200+ and stock heatsink...system stays quiet so far..

I used the included PCI Bracket Fan for some added cooling..

A bit plasticky...but its nice since you have options on the Mobo you want..

I'm going to build one for my HTPC as soon as I find a MATX Nforce 3 250 board.
 
How are the PSU's on this thing? Thinking of building a box like this for myself but was thinking along the lines of A64, X800Pro, 1GB of RAM, 74GB Raptor, DVD Burner, TV Tuner...and maybe a second harddrive...this this box could handle all of that??
 
The PSU is 300W and it does have the extra +12V plug too. I think the PSU could probably handle it, but I think you may end up with a heat problem without some modding. I just ordered a couple of 92mm Enermaxes from the Egg to install into mine.
 
Aztlan said:
how much does that thing weight will all components installed?
Click to expand...

I don't own a scale, but I'd say that it weighs about 10 lbs or so. Maybe a little less. I guess it depends on the size of your heatsink! :p
 
hmm, thats light
but since i am getting into overclocking, is not a good buy for me
I am just going to buy one of those aluminum cases
 
Col_Hogan said:
I have one Also...Running a SLK-800 w/ a 70mmTMD fan....And as far as heat consearns...I already Modded Mine for a Blowhole on one of the Side Panels.
Aria.jpg


And its actually Pretty quiet with that 92mm Fan on the side.

My temps stay around 38-40 degrees...And thats with a Load(playing DC for 3-4 hours)
Click to expand...

Col_Hogan-

Did you remove or cut a portion of the optical drive tray to fit that 92mm fan in there? Looking at the pic I attached (pardon the quality, it's from my phone -- Moto V600 if you want to know), If that tray isn't modified and since it's only about 15mm from the edge of the case, your fan would have to sit under it which would put the bottom of it into the vent at the bottom of the side panel.

Hmm... I may have to think about this... I may go with a couple of 80mm's. I think they should just clear both the bottom of that tray and the vent on the side panel(s). There's not much depth on the other side either, but I think an 80mm will fit perfect on that side too.

06-06-04_2140.jpg
 
Just had a thought about the screw stripping situation. I don't know why I didn't think of this before.

Get some small nuts/bolts/washers and bolt the PCI/AGP cards in there.
 
Pecos,
Yes I had to notch the Optical Drive tray...Just by about 2 inches...Did not affect the way a HD would be mounted...
I need to do the Other side now also...Cause I found that having only one Suck Fan(92mm) Causes the Processor to get hotter...So I am Adding another Fan on the Other side. Fans are Stealth fans...and Both only run at 7volts..so they are Virtually Silent!

Next Mod:
Putting a 3 1/2 inch Fan Bus in the same area as the Card Reader...I already Removed Card Reader..Had no Use for it!!
 
Would you be able to use an open slot to pass through water cooling tubes? I ask because it seems this would be perfect to use an Exos Al on.
Can you buy a bigger P/S and put it in there? 300 watts seems kind of small.
 
Col_Hogan said:
Pecos,
Yes I had to notch the Optical Drive tray...Just by about 2 inches...Did not affect the way a HD would be mounted...
I need to do the Other side now also...Cause I found that having only one Suck Fan(92mm) Causes the Processor to get hotter...So I am Adding another Fan on the Other side. Fans are Stealth fans...and Both only run at 7volts..so they are Virtually Silent!

Next Mod:
Putting a 3 1/2 inch Fan Bus in the same area as the Card Reader...I already Removed Card Reader..Had no Use for it!!
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'm still debating going 80mm or 92mm... Bigger's better, right!? :p Maybe I'll tackle it this weekend. I still have a mobile 2400+ to stick into one of the machines around here too. That may capture some of my time.

That fanbus mod should look cool when you're done with it.
 
Pecos said:
Thanks. I'm still debating going 80mm or 92mm... Bigger's better, right!? :p Maybe I'll tackle it this weekend. I still have a mobile 2400+ to stick into one of the machines around here too. That may capture some of my time.

That fanbus mod should look cool when you're done with it.
Click to expand...

By that logic, you should go all out and put a 120mm 7volted. That would be an impressive feat of engineering.
 
I am about to mount a GlobalWIn Silent Stream H2O kit in my Aria case Link . I'll post some pictures as soon as I get it done and figure out how I'm going to get it all in there. LOL
 
Mad_Pyro said:
By that logic, you should go all out and put a 120mm 7volted. That would be an impressive feat of engineering.
Click to expand...

That would look pretty swank too! A couple of 120's may fit without a mobo in it. I went with a couple of Panaflo FBA08A12M's (80mm). It's a bitch to cut these side panels with a dremel though. They're 1/8" thick plastic panels in between 2 aluminum sheets. I've got one more hole to cut in the puppy.
 
Pwnisher said:
I am about to mount a GlobalWIn Silent Stream H2O kit in my Aria case Link . I'll post some pictures as soon as I get it done and figure out how I'm going to get it all in there. LOL
Click to expand...

6lbs. That thing will almost double the weight of the entire case! :p

Yeah, post some pix of that. I'd definitely like to see it. If I could find a mATX that had all the BIOS options of an ATX (read o/c options), I'd probably never build an ATX sized rig again.
 
It's not even close to 6lbs, more like 2. I just got it assembled, I mounted the radiator an fan on the side like Col_Hogan did his blow hole, and I'm going to mount and intake fan on the other side, it looks like I'll get decent cross ventilation even with the AGP card in it, here's hoping. The only other option was to mount the radiator on the outside of the case which I didn't want to do. I'm snapping pics along the way, I'll have some up by morning.. it's going to be a long night of modding...
 
I had a few parts laying around, so I decided to make my 4 year old daughter her own machine:

P4 [email protected]
Asus P4S333-M
WD400JD
Asus V7100
512 PC2700

34 at idle, hits 50 pretty fast.. my CPU fan is too loud, I ordered a silent 80mm to mount on it..

Wouldn't it be better to reverse the CPU fan? The PSU is right over the CPU fan, and its sucking out, with the CPU fan working with it....

I'll have to experiment a bit..

I like the case, but they need better cooling... hopefully the next rev will be better, I'd love to get my main rig into a wee case as well.

BTW, someone on another site says to use a 3" hole saw to cut blow hole
 
Actually I use a 77mm Hole saw to cut Holes for 80mm Fans...
and I use a 88mm for the 92mm fans...

That how I did mine..One side has a 92mm(sucking) the other side has a Slim-line 80mm(blowing) ...seems to really helped with Cooling off the inside of the case...
temps never go above 40 anymore...Cpu or Case temps!!
 
RIght now on mine, I've got the intake on the right side (looking at it from the front) and the exhaust on the opposite. I haven't tried the other direction, but chose the way I did because the CPU is on the intake side.

As far as I'm concerned, all that 120mm in the PSU cools is the PSU.
 
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