Aspire X-QPACK Portable 3 Window Case - Silver WITH PSU/FAN

[qbackin]

http://www.xoxide.com/aspire-x-qpack-case-silver.html

I think it looks great. Nice to see something besides the Aria.
No rebates, free shipping. Comes with psu and fan.

 

[3point14]

Pretty cool looking. Wish I could find a case like that for my regular ATX board.

 

[MarlboroJones]

Seems interesting - this is the first time I've seen this product. I've been thinking about getting the Antec Aria, but somewhat concerned about power and heat issues - SFF is great (I have a Shuttle), but heat/power can be an issue.

PimpRig Review

Short Media Review

From the above PimpRig review, looks like thermal issues may be better with the Aspire over Aria, but wondering how good Aspire (YoungYear) PSU may be? I need to look this up in Anadtech forums.

EDIT: If anyone orders this - and I just may do that - remember to select standard shipping (free). Ground shipping selection is like $15.

Hmmm??? - Forum Post at Nvidia on PSU - Youngyear's not so hot?

 

[Perknose]

Truly beautiful case.

 

[RobsTV]

Originally posted by: MarlboroJones

From the above PimpRig review, looks like thermal issues may be better with the Aspire over Aria, but wondering how good Aspire (YoungYear) PSU may be? I need to look this up in Anadtech forums.

Hmmm??? - Forum Post at Nvidia on PSU - Youngyear's not so hot?

As an Aria owner, I can attest to it's very poor thermals. It is not quiet either.
Aria is NOT made for heavy gaming use, unless you plan on cutting it up and adding additional cooling. Aria also is very tight on space. Workable, but tight. The Aria does have Antec 300w power supply, but it is proprietary, so if (or when) it dies, system will be down. Because of poor cooling, and the fact that I didn't want to cut up case, I ended up using Aria as a spare guest LAN party box, using simple onboard motherboard A/V. It's Antec died after 140 hours of light use. Replacement PS is on it's way, so down time will be about 3 weeks. Looks on the Aria also are not good compared to modern PC's. The black front bezel with card reader looks cheap and plastic, not high end or high tech.

This Aspire on the other hand uses a standard power supply. You can easily replace it with any ATX power supply if desired, or if it craps out. No down time. It I hadn't wasted so much cash on the Aria, and learned a lesson not to spend that much again, I would be all over this Aspire X-Qpack. It appears to address all the shortcominge of the Aria in a great way!

 

[user1234]

Antec ARIA suXXzzzz

 

[user1234]

antec aria is more like an ugly duckling microwave with no ventilation and outside air flow. Also it was a lot more expensive, only had 300W psu, and no side windows. This one is just a little bigger, but still looks manageable size.

 

[Interitus]

Another intelligent post by user....

I've looked at these Aspire cases for awhile. Look decent and look like thermals would be a lot better for a SFF. If anyone buys one, post your findings back here, if not for info, to show user how to act like a somewhat contributive poster...

 

[imported_Kensai]

I hear they're pretty good, now I'm thinking of getting one myself for a frag box.

 

[MarlboroJones]

Sounds like the PSU on this could be somewhat prorprietary (is it - I know this was discussed above on size, but???):

"The PSU is made by Young Year. There are no 420 watt models on the Young Year website so it's obviously a specialty item for Aspire" - ShortMedia

Can anyone tell me if the specs on the PSU are any good??
115V/230V - 60/50Hz
DC OUTPUT +3.3V (20A) +5V (25A) +12V (13A) -12V (0.8A) -5V (0.3A) +5VSB (2.0A)
420W Max Combined

I do not understand PSU specs; 13A on 12V seems low for a 420W unit from what I've seen on other units.

Aspire Specs at Aspire Website

Thanks.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[user1234]

looks like a great LANparty case ! just ordered one. Thanks !!!

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: MarlboroJones
Seems interesting - this is the first time I've seen this product. I've been thinking about getting the Antec Aria, but somewhat concerned about power and heat issues - SFF is great (I have a Shuttle), but heat/power can be an issue.

PimpRig Review

Short Media Review

From the above PimpRig review, looks like thermal issues may be better with the Aspire over Aria, but wondering how good Aspire (YoungYear) PSU may be? I need to look this up in Anadtech forums.

EDIT: If anyone orders this - and I just may do that - remember to select standard shipping (free). Ground shipping selection is like $15.

Hmmm??? - Forum Post at Nvidia on PSU - Youngyear's not so hot?

Thanks for the review links, here's a couple more

http://www.moddershq.net/reviews.asp?reviewid=101

http://www.bleedinedge.com/reviews/case/aspire_xqpack/aspire_xqpack_01.html

 

[Zap]

Aack, silver only. Would have gone for a blue... still, a HotDeal?.

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: Interitus
Another intelligent post by user....

I've looked at these Aspire cases for awhile. Look decent and look like thermals would be a lot better for a SFF. If anyone buys one, post your findings back here, if not for info, to show user how to act like a somewhat contributive poster...

Not sure what you're blabbering about, but I posted links to reviews of this case which I'm sure everyone appreciates. I'm pretty sure it's a very good case for a good price, so I ordered it. I'm also quite certain that the fugly Aria is not even comparable.

 

[MarlboroJones]

It may be that the Aspire PSU specs are incorrect (not sure). The following forum post at Anandtech seems to suggest it's a little better than noted and provides some more feedback on this item:

Anandtech forum info

EDIT: NewEgg also has some reviews on this (for each of the different colors) and it's listed at $89 + $12.99 shipping.

 

[user1234]

I ownZZZ this case, since I already ordered and paid for it, now only waiting for it to arrive. GREAT deal for less then $88 shipped.

 

[KoolAidKid]

This case has interested me. I currently own the Aria but I am concerned about thermal issues. I am hoping to get a fanless 6600GT, but the iffy cooling of the Aria makes me hesitate. If I could find a review discussing the Aspire's cooling performance I would probably switch.

 

[mdetz]

Originally posted by: user1234

Originally posted by: Interitus
Another intelligent post by user....

Not sure what you're blabbering about, but I posted links to reviews of this case which I'm sure everyone appreciates.

innocent bystander here, but in all fairness to interitus, your useful comments came after he criticized you. thanks for the links tho.
I like the handle!
wow, removable mobo tray too.

 

[user1234]

I really like Aspire cases (www.aspireusa.net) - I use their X-Alien case (metallic green!) for about a year for my main rig, and it has been just great. Aspire is not a case manufacturer, rather they design pre-modded cases and use OEMs. Their products are of good quality and are moderately priced. A lot of the cases have won high praises from reviewers, like the X-Alien, X-Dreamer2, etc. I'm glad they decided to enter the cube case market, as it was severly lacking in choices, hence the reason why lackluster products like the Aria was fetching over blown prices. Reality check - even a simple aluminum mid tower case with a 420W LED PSU and 12" LED fan would cost at least $75, and here you're getting a cube case for this about the same price (considering the free shipping as a $15 discount). HAWT DEALZZZZ

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: KoolAidKid
This case has interested me. I currently own the Aria but I am concerned about thermal issues. I am hoping to get a fanless 6600GT, but the iffy cooling of the Aria makes me hesitate. If I could find a review discussing the Aspire's cooling performance I would probably switch.

Most of the reviews linked in my post above mention the cooling performance of the case, and say it is very good. Here's anothere (video) review which talks about the cooling:

http://www.3dgameman.com/vr/aspire/xqpack_case/video_review_03.html

 

[MarlboroJones]

User1234:

Was wondering what microATX board / CPU combo you may recommend for around $150 - $200 for gaming w/o OCing to go with this.

I'd like to build something for my nephew. I was thinking on the low end I could try a Celeron D 335 (2.8GHz) w/ a Biostar (is the Celeron D a decent budget gaming chip?).

Or, move up to a Sempron 3100+ (would it make a big difference using the Paris model - Monarch has the OEM 90nm at 108 and the Paris 130nm at 108 w/stock fan?) paired with, well, not sure on which 754 mATX board. (How good are AMD stock fans and how good is Paris vs. 90nm w/o OCing???)

I would pair either option above with a Sapphire 9800pro for around $125 (as I can't afford a 6600GT right now) or Sapphire 9600XT for $98.

Sorry to sound naive - I've simply always used Intel as I myself don't run games.

Thanks for your help. And, thanks for all the good reviews.

EDIT: I'll likely pick up two of these Aspire cases - one for him and one for me. For me, I am debating on this case or something more conservative (cuz of the power supply) like the antec Slk2650-BQE.

 

[RobsTV]

Just traded my Aria for an XP2200+ CPU, and am now waiting for the blue ones to appear in stock.

Great CPU for mATX are AMD mobile's, at about $70.
2400 or 2500 are very low temperature units, even when overclocked to XP3500+ speeds.
Stock performance is great as well.

 

[MarlboroJones]

How impactful is the CPU on gaming??? That is, if one picks up a mobile amd at 2200 or better with a Sapphire 9800 pro would that work okay for gaming purposes at stock speeds or only if OCing??? (I haven't tried OCing yet when building a system.) Sorry for the bump (and last question.)

 

[mdetz]

wonder if this would be a good replacement case for the emachines d3024 OD deal. I think that is an matx board. you get a dvd burner, mobo/cpu (nforce 2/sempron 3000), 256 ram, 300 watt p/s, xp home, microsoft works for ~236.

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: MarlboroJones
How impactful is the CPU on gaming??? That is, if one picks up a mobile amd at 2200 or better with a Sapphire 9800 pro would that work okay for gaming purposes at stock speeds or only if OCing??? (I haven't tried OCing yet when building a system.) Sorry for the bump (and last question.)

I would say spend a little extra and go with Athlon 64 or possibly Sempron socket 754 CPUs. The main question is wether to choose AGP or pci-express. Again, I would choose pci-express for future upgradability, although I recognize that AGP is not slower, plus there are some good bargains (especially 6800NU for $185, or the 9800pro for $125). In pci-extress, you can get 6600GT for $160, or go for X800XL for $250.

Another question is which platform has good mcroATX boards. For socket 939 I like the FoxConn NF4K8MC-ERS ($79 at monarch) or the MSI-RS480M2-IL which has integrated graphics but zero overclocking.

I do not know much about socket 754 microATX boards, but there are a lot of them. So for best value now I would say get the new core sempron 3100+ plus a good cheap 754 nicroATX board, and the 6800NU or 9800pro.

For future upgradability, get the Venice 3000+ with either the foxconn or msi boards above, and add a 6600GT pci-express. btw, Moarch has this cpu+mobo combo where they test it for you, and you get 2 free games (farcry + HL2).

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant...n=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=80152

btw, for serious gaming I thing the athlon XP's will come up short in current games. So forget Athlon XP. Ditto for celeron D or A-C. Ditto for P4 (overpriced).

btw (2) the only difference that the new core makes (for both sempron and A64) is for overlcocking. So if you're not overclocking it doesn't matter. BUT - don't forget you could get as much as a 30% performance boost with overclocking with the new sempron and A64 cores, as they are very overclocking friendly. But you need to research good overclocking motherboards. In socket 939, the foxConn NF4K8MC board I mentioned above is the only choice for overclocking right now, and it is a little limited too (no voltage adjustment).