Who Makes this Case?

[21stHermit]

I'd like to know who make this mini-ITX case Intel used for their Clarkdale reference system? I couldn't find it searching Newegg.

Thanks for any leads.

Here's another view.

 

[Zap]

Casetronic C138

You can even see a bit of that handle/bar in the pics. The case is very compact, but 40mm fan on the desktop? No thanks.

 

[dawza]

That is indeed the C138, and my first thought when I saw that pic was how loud the system must be. I have a D201GLY2 in that case, and even that required extensive modifications to keep the system reasonably cool with an acceptable level of noise.

Thermal limitations aside, the case is very well-constructed. It isn't cheap, though, and the included power brick (at least the 120W version) has an annoyingly loud fan that is always on.

 

[Zap]

Wow, that sounds pretty fail. Why is it that the majority of mini ITX cases are noisy? Seems like a really common complaint. About the only small ITX case that isn't too noisy is the Antec, with the Silverstone and Lian Li being much bigger.

 

[dawza]

I have a feeling that the ITX case market just hasn't caught up with the recent increase in socketed, desktop processor-based motherboards. Either that, or the numbers just aren't high enough to warrant extensive R&D. At least not yet.

I think the majority of the ITX cases out there were made to accommodate the TDP of MODT and low-power Via systems; hopefully, the Antec ISK 300-65 is a sign of things to come.

 

[21stHermit]

My Foxconn Atom 330 mini-ITX isn't noisy, you can only hear the fan in a dead quiet room.

I started this thread because I wan to go to a Clarkdale mini-ITX and the Intel reference was drawing ~27W at idle. My Foxconn takes 38W at idle. I suspect the difference is mostly in the PSU efficiency.

I may convert my Foxconn to a Mini-Box PicoPSU to lower the power. I'm solar-electric with a 3KWH daily budget, so even a 10W gain can be significant.

I did a search and Zap has many posts on the picoPSU, do you have experience?

Thanks

 

[21stHermit]

Originally posted by: dawza
I think the majority of the ITX cases out there were made to accommodate the TDP of MODT and low-power Via systems; hopefully, the Antec ISK 300-65 is a sign of things to come.

Agreed!!! Thanks for the Model #, its cheaper w/ the 65W PSU than one of those Mini-box picoPSU's.

My Foxconn takes a full 5.25 and a front 3.5 for a card reader. Hopefully Antec will offer one of those soon.

 

[dawza]

Concerning the Pico-PSU, my experience is limited to a single ITX build using the 120W Wide-input version with a 19V 120W power brick. Here is a link to some pics:

http://img20.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=p1010054l.jpg

Case: Morex T3500
Motherboard: Zotac 9300 ITX
CPU: E5200
HDD: WD Scorpio Black 7200RPM
Heatsink: Dynatron P12G
PSU/Power brick as mentioned above

No power draw values, but Mini-Box recommends that the Wide-input Pico PSU be de-rated 20-40% when using high V(In), and the system has been stable for months even at full load.

SilentPCReview has a great review on that Antec case, complete with power draw values, that might be of interest to you.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: 21stHermit
I did a search and Zap has many posts on the picoPSU, do you have experience?

Not much. I do have a 120W (normal, not wide voltage) that I'm not using right now, but I've only heard good things about it.