How is this Ever Case E3505B-P30 MicroATX Case?

[neothe0ne]

I have an HP Pavilion Media Center a1314n. As it's summer, temperatures have shot up, and while my CPU idles at a respectable 39 Celsius, my hard drive idles at about 63 Celsius and it's high time I got a new case. (I already bought an HDD Cooler fan to install on my single SATA hard drive but there wasn't room for it.) As far as I know, the Ever Case E3505B-P30 is the only MicroATX case with front fan intake capability, and I'm hoping to set up a nice airflow from the front out the back.

There are only two useful reviews on Newegg, one with detailed information and the other saying the power supply doesn't work with an ASUS P5RD2-VM motherboard. I am a n00b at computer building (I've only upgraded/switched RAM and PCI slots), so I had a few questions:

1. Ever Case's site says the E3505 works for the Pentium 4. If I have an Athlon 64 X2, will it matter?
2. Will I be able to switch this Ever Case's power supply with a new one? I don't see a way of getting the power supply out from the pictures, so I just wanted some outside opinion on how cases usually work.
3. How does the long back panel with the Parallel, USB, Ethernet, audio, etc., port holes work? Does my motherboard have to be able to match the holes in the case, or can that panel be replaced with one which has the proper holes for the mobo?
4. If this case isn't that great, can someone recommend me an alternate/better MicroATX case?


If I think of any more questions, I'll add them. Thanks in advance!

 

[skooma]

Originally posted by: neothe0ne
1. Ever Case's site says the E3505 works for the Pentium 4. If I have an Athlon 64 X2, will it matter?

Not if you're replacing the psu anyway.

2. Will I be able to switch this Ever Case's power supply with a new one? I don't see a way of getting the power supply out from the pictures, so I just wanted some outside opinion on how cases usually work.

Well, one of the eggs reviews mention that he swapped out the psu and you can see at the back of the case in the pics that there are screws holding it in. Whether it comes straight out the back or out the side is hard to tell but it will come out

3. How does the long back panel with the Parallel, USB, Ethernet, audio, etc., port holes work? Does my motherboard have to be able to match the holes in the case, or can that panel be replaced with one which has the proper holes for the mobo?

You're referring to whats called the I/O plate and what you'll do is use the one from your current case. If you buy a new mobo, the I/O plate comes with it. They pop right out with just a little pressure.

4. If this case isn't that great, can someone recommend me an alternate/better MicroATX case?

Well, do you absolutely need a micro case or is it just because thats what you have now? As you said, there aren't many 2x 120mm fan micro cases out there but I have some doubts as to how efffective their cooling solution is, particularly for you and your very high hard drive temps.

 

[neothe0ne]

So if I have a MicroATX motherboard (1 PCI-E slot and 3 PCI slots, 4 total expansion slots), how exactly would I put the motherboard into a case with 7 expansion slots? Would the motherboard just screw in so that it lines up with the top 4 expansion slots and leaves the bottom 3 empty? I've read some good things about the Ever Case 4292B-M35.

 

[skooma]

Would the motherboard just screw in so that it lines up with the top 4 expansion slots and leaves the bottom 3 empty?

Yep. I did it once with an intel board I had. Then I said ta'hell with it and just got a full sized board

Anyway, at least it will open up more options for you. I like mid-towers myself. I don't have any experience with ever-case though. I'm also not a big fan of the side ducts. Just IMO.

One of the best bangs for the buck cases is the antec slk3000-b. Link is for pic's only as you can most likely find a much better price. Add a 120mm fan in the front and you have a very nice cooling and quiet case.

Some people don't like the door, like I thought I wouldn't, but since getting it, I actually don't mind it at all.

 

[Zepper]

Welcome to the AT forums.

Evercase cases have good casitude for the money. Unfortunately, that microATX case doesn't have room enough to put the HDDs behind the front fan where it would do the most good. The 4292 cases (and the rest of the 42x2 series) are nice conservatively styled cases and there is enough room so that the front fan(s) can be blowing across the HDDs. The standard ATX version of the case (4502) you were looking at can do the same - but Newegg seems to be OOS at the moment (and since the listing is entirely gone, it may not be coming back). The 4292 comes in several different versions with different fan mount capabilities - the so called "gaming version" (model GCE or EGC-4292) has more fan options.

The 4292 variants are also sold under the AMS name (at Newegg at least) in some color patterns I haven't seen elsewhere (currently only yellow, red and silver with black - the yellow one is on sale).

As another said, the I/O shield is usually removable, but may not be on HP cases. If it is, then it should be transferable to whatever new case you get. And yes, ATX cases can also take microATX mobos. As you opined, the last three card slots are just left unused.

The micro ATX case you linked can take standard ATX PSUs as well as the much shallower PS/3 type (as noted in the Specs. section at the bottom of the page). Probably goes in either from underneath - or the top panel is removable so it may go in thru there, but definitely can't go in thru the back...

I have a few of the optional HDD brackets for the Evercase models and the HDD vibe damper bushing kits for them at less than you can get them for direct from Evercase, if you decide to go with the Evercase or AMS.

.bh.

 

[wwswimming]

Damn ! a lot more room in there than in the Aspire X-Q Pack case.

- - -

1. Ever Case's site says the E3505 works for the Pentium 4. If I have an Athlon 64 X2, will it matter?

opinion - it'll work.

- - -

2. Will I be able to switch this Ever Case's power supply with a new one? I don't see a way of getting the power supply out from the pictures, so I just wanted some outside opinion on how cases usually work.

yes.

- - -

3. How does the long back panel with the Parallel, USB, Ethernet, audio, etc., port holes work? Does my motherboard have to be able to match the holes in the case, or can that panel be replaced with one which has the proper holes for the mobo?

too many questions. gave me an anxiety attack.

- - -

4. If this case isn't that great, can someone recommend me an alternate/better MicroATX case?

price is right - $60. might even have a better power supply than the X-Q Pack.

 

[Zepper]

The PSUs in Evercase cases are often the budget line of Sparkle (Power Q or something like that). The rating on the 12V rail for the 300W Power Q is only 13A. Better to get one w/o PSU, IMO. I see that ewiz.com has the E3505B w/o PSU for $31. Perhaps one of the Evercase optional HDD brackets could be made to fit behind the front fan on the bottom of the case if positioned as close as possible to the side door (depending on what's on the lower inside corner of the mobo isn't too high).

The yellow/black AMS 4292 is on sale.

.bh.

 

[RallyMaster]

neotehone, like I recommended, the Cooler Master Centurion 534 is much much better. since you don't need a PSU anyway, why get a case with a PSU?