Originally posted by: Zepper
I would say avoid the shoebox (XPC) SFF barebones because they are full of proprietary parts. This makes for a limited upgrade path and expensive out-of-warranty replacements. Instead I would suggest a compact microATX case like the new Chenming 118 cube (or if you like more garish, the Aspire X-Qpack version), the Enermax Venus series (the new aluminum faced version is HOT), the Just PC Gazelle 850 or the Athenatech A100 series. With one of these your upgrade options are much wider while repair costs are kept reasonable.
.bh.