Intro

Well, I seem to be the resident HTPC (Home Theater Personal Computer) freak here, so when the chance to review this case presented itself, I jumped at it. I'm tired of the giant mid-tower I had for a micro-ATX board and two PCI cards. In this case, small cases are more appropriate, and are easier to lug around for both LANs and friends' houses. They're also easier to hide if your woman isn't supposed to know that you have two rigs. I already have a nice big full-ATX rig, with all the normal bells and whistles. It will be nice for a change to have a case that's the same size as my motherboard.

The Package

The first thing I thought when I saw the box was, "The BOX is the same size as the CASE I'm using now. That's a good sign..." It arrived in good condition, and was packed decently well. It was just the standard foam packaging job, and a plastic bag. But, the box was in good condition, so I pulled the case out for inspection. It was in great condition, except for a small dent by the PCI slots. I worked it out with my favorite tool, my trusty ball-peen hammer. It really didn't affect the case closing, so I didn't worry about it.

Model: SimpleMax 101
Dimensions (WxHxD) (inches) 5.25" x 14" x 15"
Drive Bays: (2) 5.25" Exposed and (1) 3.5" Hidden
Main Board Size: P4 Micro ATX & Flex ATX
Accepts full height AGP card
Expansion Slot (4)
Standard USBx2 + mic + spk
(1) 60mm Cooling fan
P4 & AMD Compatible 200W Power Supply

Upon opening the case, all the goodies fell out. (Pinata!) My case arrived with a bracket with a pair of 60mm fans, a power cable, a power supply for the power cable, a bag of screws, a floppy adaptor, and an instruction sheet. The instruction sheet consisted of a exploded view, and a parts list, which was incomplete. It also had the USB diagram, but more on that later. They were really kind, and every possible screw that could be used and more was included. The site also lists only one 60mm fan, but I recieved two. They're generic 60mm fans, but they're really quiet, which is the goal here. I like it when I get more than I expect.

The power supply is a 200 watt Simple. 200 watts sounds weak for most of us, but it's more than appropriate for the application. In fact, average HTPC power supplies average 110 to 140 watts. Once again, more than I expected. I tried to get a pic of the power supply rating sticker, but the gold casing threw way too much glare. After hooking up all manner of stuff in this case, it handles it all pretty well. I had no power problems with any test setups I used.