Aspire X-QPACK2 alternative?

[arameth]

I was asked by a friend to build a new system. They really loved the Aspire X-QPACK2...and I don't blame them...I've not seen the case in person, but the pics I've seen on the web are pretty sweet. Very cool case, but the limiting factor seems to be the size and the fact that it appears this is a micro-ATX case...so the motherboard will have to be mATX, and the number of internal drives (he does digital imaging work = many drives) may also be limited (I believe there is only 2 x 3.5 internal bays).

SO: Is there a similar cube style case out there that is a bit larger, that can accommodate standard ATX mb's, and have a few extra internal drive bays? Ideally, the case should also have the cool "glowie" effects (a term I've coined) and a front LCD display as the QPACK2 does. I've tried to pitch the standard tower cases, but my buddy doesn't want a normal tower if possible, and liked the cube design a lot.

Other info: CPU will likely be a Q6600, but not OC'd. Noise/cooling is not as important as looks in this case.

Any ideas on this are much appreciated.

 

[AmberClad]

Yes, it only has two 3.5" HDD bays and two 5.25" bays. In theory, there's also the FDD bay, but due to a design quirk, it's a fraction of a millimeter less than 3.5". I could barely jam a fan controller panel in there, so I don't think it's viable to pack a HDD into that FDD slot.

How large is "a bit larger". I suppose I could mention the Mountain Mods UFO since that's a cube case that supports regular ATX...but it's massive in size :laugh:. Same with the Lian Li Modular Cube (which also lacks any sort of "glowie"/bling elements). I think there's the Sunbeam UFO, which is a more reasonable size, but I personally hate the all acrylic design - scratches very easily.

Edit: Actually, the Sunbeam still only has 2x3.5" and 2x5.25", so that's no good.

 

[wwswimming]

i managed to put a hard drive in the 3 1/2" slot. and then one above it.
so, for a total of 4 hard drives and one 5 1/4" optical in one X/Q-Pack.

if i was to re-do it i would drill an extra mounting hole or 2 for the 2
drives that are not in the normal drive cage, on the right, looking from
the front.

 

[Zepper]

I don't recall seeing anything in between the X-QPack/Ultra microFly and the YeongYang small cube server case (YY-0221) - but that's in no way "glowie" unless you make it so:
http://www.directron.com/yy0221bk.html

.bh.

 

[BlueAcolyte]

Couldn't you just put the hard drives in enclosures? Or put them out on a table and run the SATA/ IDE cables into the motherboard through the back or something.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

You could look at the mountain mods double 7 I think it's called, it's a 14" cube but, it's pricey and it's definately capable of being "glowie".

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: arameth
the limiting factor seems to be the size and the fact that it appears this is a micro-ATX case...so the motherboard will have to be mATX, and the number of internal drives (he does digital imaging work = many drives) may also be limited (I believe there is only 2 x 3.5 internal bays).

The NZXT Rogue is a case around the size/layout of the X-Qpack2 but with FOUR internal HDD bays. With every HDD company now making terabyte drives, I don't see this as being limiting.

Why do you feel that a mATX board is a limiting factor? With the exception of no SLI (being that EVGA no longer makes that socket 939 mATX SLI board) what would he want in an ATX board that a mATX board can't do? Are you building a system for HIM or for YOU? Sounds as if you prefer ATX boards (which is fine) but he just wants a small and attractive case (which is also fine). Since he's paying for it and will be the owner of the system, why not set aside your preferences and give him what he wants?

Supports quadcore? Sure, mATX can do that. Support RAID, GBe, Firewire, eSATA, PCI-E 16x, HD audio, digital audio outputs... sure, mATX can do all that. Overclocking? Even though you said the guy won't, sure, mATX can do that.

mATX is just like ATX. You can have good overclockers and crappy/non-overclockers. You can have feature-filled boards, and ultra-budget stripped-down boards. Again, the big limitation is dual graphics (though some current boards can do 16x4 Crossfire like how the P965/P35 does it).

This guy loves overclocking his mATX board, the $130 Asus P5E-VM HDMI. He's running his E6750 at 3.70GHz at 463MHz FSB. I've read reports of people hitting 550MHz FSB on this board.

Besides overclocking, the board is also very feature-filled. Six SATA ports with RAID, 8 channel HD audio, gigabit ethernet, Firewire, SPDIF output, supports all Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad, supports up to 8GB DDR2, has solid capacitors, works with any PCI-E video card... what's not to like? The PCB is even in a sexy black color, fer cryin' out loud! We all know that adds 2% to benchmark scores!

I actually own an older Asus mATX board based on an earlier chipset, the Asus P5K-VM (G33 versus G35 chipset). I'm extremely happy with mine (except the PCB is puke yellow). Got my Xeon 3110 (basically a Wolfdale E8400) to around 3.8GHz, and is in... an X-Qpack2 (modded for even more bling).

 

[arameth]

Thanks to everyone for suggestions so far.

Zap: The NZXT Rouge looks pretty awesome. As far as mATX vs ATX, I was under the impression that mATX offered less features as compared to ATX. So I did some digging on my own, and found several boards (including the ASUS you noted) that will more than do the job...the P5E-VM HDMI is a pretty incredible board. Thanks for making that point about mATX...some of my perceptions are somewhat engrained from old habits, and this is precisely why I love these boards: to get different points of view and maybe find a better way of accomplishing something.

I really want my buddy to be happy with this new system, as he got away from gaming and the PC world, and I'm hoping to lure him back in...muhahah! He will use this for work initially, but I know that won't last very long

SO...this is how the system will likely end up:

CASE/PS: X-Qpack2
VIDEO: 8800GT
MB: ASUS P5E-VM HDMI
CPU: Q6600 (stock speed for now)
RAM: Corsair Tracer or Crucial Ballistix Pro, 4GB (gotta love the glowie)
DISK: 3 x 750GB SATA (not sure on which brand/model)

total cost will come in around 1100 or so, including cables, DVD/CD drive, etc. Not bad, considering the last midrange system we built a few years ago came to over 2k.

Is the default 500W Power Supply sufficient to run this config? Just wanted to make sure that when we put all the parts together that the darn thing is able to power up. If he were to do some OC'ing in the future, do you think we'll need additional cooling for the case?

Thanks!

 

[Tim]

I don't know how accurate this is... but HERE is a power supply "calculator" on newegg.

I put in the specs you listed *it wouldn't let me go up to 4gb of ram, only 2* and it came out to 538 recommended wattage.

Also, I'm sure you know, but if you're using 4gb of ram, make sure you're running a 64-bit OS, as a 32-bit will only see and use up to 3gb's of ram.

 

[Zepper]

I doubt you really need more than what the Antec EA-380s I'm selling can put out, so that lower quality apevia PSU should handle it assuming the power is distributed among the rails properly. OTOH, I'd almost never want to have to depend on what comes with most cases. I'd try to unload the OEM PSU and pick up one of the EA-500s that someone is selling on eBay at a starting bid of $29. There is also an EA-430 there that would likely work too. Starting bid: $10.00.

.bh.

 

[Zap]

I'm more than happy to help people accept mATX as a great alternative form factor to ATX.

I'm even happier to get people into PC gaming.

Originally posted by: arameth
Is the default 500W Power Supply sufficient to run this config?

It might be close, but I wouldn't trust it. The PSU that came with mine is collecting dust. You may want to ask in the Power Supplies forum - maybe get a better answer from JonnyGURU.

I'd go with any Corsair unit that you find on sale or with a rebate (I got a 550W Corsair for $55 after rebate with free shipping last month). I also like the EarthWatts, but don't like using a PSU with an 80mm fan in these cases with your video card choice because hot air may become trapped in the space bordered by the video card, side of case, bottom of PSU, motherboard and rear of case. If you were using a card that exhausted out the rear like an 8800GTS, then the EarthWatts would be a decent choice if you can find one for a good price (I'd aim for the 500W "just in case" you add more drives).

Speaking of drives, why don't you start with a single 1TB drive and add them as you go? Or does the guy already have a ton of data? If you want some ideas about "glowie" effects and an X-Qpack2, I can take some pics of my gaming rig.

Specs:
Xeon E3110 CPU
4GB OCZ Reaper RAM (no lights, but copper heatpipes)
8800GTS 512MB (rear exhaust)
Asus P5K-VM motherboard (G33 chipset)
two HDDs
a LOT of LEDs
two 12" cold cathodes!!!

Guess where I put those cold cathodes?

 

[Skott]

Silverstone makes a short cable 500w psu thats popular with the SFF case crowd. Pretty good unit too from what I hear. You may want to consider it for a psu.

DFI said they were going to make mATX SLI/Cf mobos in Intel and AMD flavors but nothing has surfaced yet. I'm thinking latter half of 2008 sometime. Maybe in time for holidays if we're lucky. Other than their announcement they would start making them DFI has been silent about it.

Edit: Btw, Mountain mods has the new H2g0 case thats geared towards lan parties thats mATX/ATX. Its a little larger than their Bobslay case but smaller than the Twice7 case.

 

[boomhower]

I just have to chime in here. I am running most of the components you are interested in. I absolutely love this thing. You will never be hurting for cooling with five 120mm fans. It also has room for large video cards. If dual GPU's is a future consideration this case will accomate it. There are rumors that DFI is working crossfie and SLI matx motherboards. Another benefit of this case is that is he does decide to overclock you can fit a much larger heatsink in the Rogue than most matx cases, some users are running a TR 120 Exteme.

The only downside I have found with this motherboard is that it does not have e-SATA, but with four internal bays that isn't much of an issue. Another nice feature is that you can add an accellero on the video card without a fan and use the case fan right next to for active cooling on it. It is expensive, about the best price I was able to find it at was buy.com for ~$130. This thing is also built like a tank. It will cost a bit more but with all the features it has you get a lot for your money.

 

[arameth]

Zap, I'd definitely like to see some pics...post em if you got em.

 

[ShockwaveVT]

Hmm that Rogue case looks very intriguing. At first glance it seems to approach Qmicra levels in design & construction. (including being on the big side for a uATX case)

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: arameth
Zap, I'd definitely like to see some pics...post em if you got em.

I'll see about taking some pics tomorrow.