| Mini-Box.com M300 Mini-ITX Enclosure
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The Basics:
With the M300 removed from the packaging I was quite pleased to see how nice it looked, and just how small it was. The size was even smaller than I had expected, and you never really know what you will get until the packing foam is all removed. As shown in the images below, the main body is black painted metal and the front face is grey and black plastic. The lower portion of the front face is slotted on the outside, giving the initial impression of being a cooling feature, but a solid panel behind the slots rules that out.
 
The door on the left hand side of the front panel opens to reveal a CompactFlash memory slot and two USB ports. The door can be fully closed with a CompactFlash card installed, allowing you to conceal and protect your extra storage or boot media. The panel on the right hand side of the front panel features a power button and a red power LED behind a tinted acrylic window. The power button seems quite prominent and easy to press, which could lead to issues of accidental power cycles!
The images below provide a look at the sides and rear panel. The black surface is painted metal, and the finish is more reminiscent of a home project spray-paint job than a typical computer case finish due to the texture and minor inconsistencies. It looks fine overall, but under close scrutiny and a quick touch you can feel the difference.
 
In the above right image you can see openings for two 40mm fans which would put the cooling air right on the processor and power supply connection on a typical VIA Mini-ITX motherboard. The case only comes with one fan, and that should be just fine for most configurations. On the back of the case we find the typical opening for the rear I/O panel, as well as a single expansion slot located parallel to the motherboard. A PCI riser card is included to make this work, and this may be just about one of the smallest case out there with support for a full height PCI card.
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