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 Posted: December 03, 2003
Author: Spire
Manufacturer: PC Toys
Sponsor: PC Toys
In Use:
With all the goodies packed nice and tight inside the tiny case, I was ready to try out all the doors and case mounted connectors. This case provides some well placed buttons on the outside that trigger the tray open button on optical drives.
  
I tried all three of the optical drives I have and all three worked well with the case button. When the drive tray opens, a spring loaded door on the case is forced open. A little factory stealth action makes for a nice outside appearance. There is a tiny bump on the lower drive door that allows you to manually open the door for access to the floppy drive. While a bit cumbersome holding the door open, it wasn't a big deal. The door over the case connectors isn't spring loaded and has a thumb relief for opening. When I powered the computer up, I was also very surprised when the blue strip along the front of the case lit up!!! It's not too bright like some of the LED's on the market, but a very pleasant soft blue glow. The blue glow fades as the strip widens at the top of the case. A very nice effect for a micro case to have some factory mods.
Conclusion:
This case is perfect for use as a home theater PC, small footprint desktop, or dorm computer. With a few fancy features like a lighted front and stealthed drives, it will fit in great wherever it finds a home. This case, even with its tiny footprint, is very well designed and uses some very creative drive mounting features. If any power hungry devices like huge cooling fans or later video cards that require their own power connector are installed, the 200 watt power supply may not be able to keep upwith the demand. I am very pleased with this case, I plan on ordering another one so both kids can have their own PC's and still have room for homework on their desks. The case goes beyond what is expected in a micro ATX footprint.
Available directly from PC Toys (or from one of the several retailers on their “Where To Buy” list) for $49.95, you can’t complain about the price!
Pros:
• Lighted front display
• Power supply included
• Two 60mm fans included
• Removable Drive Bay
• Fit and Finish
Cons:
• Average Power supply rating
• Tight video card/Drive bay clearance
Special thanks to PC Toys for supplying the SimpleMax 101 mATX case to BigBruin.Com for review!
Please drop by the BigBruin.Com Forum and feel free to discuss this review.
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