Apevia X-QPack

[Tim S]

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...X_Qpack/1.html

[DougEdey]

It looks a lot like a Case Aria (I think) used to do, but Arias was more sturdy.

Could be good as a "Build once, never touch again" syste,

[Fly]

It's a Microwave oven.

[ychamp]

that's a good thing i hadn;t bouight that. iw as thinking of getting that case for my system but decided against it becuz i wanted full sized ATX. looks liek it was good decision

[sandys]

I was thinking of using this for a small gaming case for LANs and squeezing an 8800 into there, there appears to be another version that comes with a normal ATX PSU and 550w called the X-Cube cheaper too, anyone had one?

[DougEdey]

Originally Posted by Fly

It's a Microwave oven.

Microwave ovens have a use though

[antiHero]

Aspire used to make the same once. Pretty rubish as when fullpacked the handle up front bends like craze. I you guys like the Formfactor check this one. Same size but fully Alu and build in Fancontroller
I am thinking about getting it.

[Andy Mc]

http://www.bit-tech.net/content_imag..._X_Qpack/8.jpg


Damn that is one scarey hand...

[Da Dego]

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why Silverstone's SG-01 is still the best mATX case to date. At least in my opinion.

[DarkReaper]

Loving the custom signed 7900

Some great ideas though - if they redid it in thicker metal it could be a great case for a bit of airbrushing, which would also hide the plastic

[Duste]

Originally Posted by antiHero

Aspire used to make the same once. Pretty rubish as when fullpacked the handle up front bends like craze. I you guys like the Formfactor check this one. Same size but fully Alu and build in Fancontroller
I am thinking about getting it.

Did you even read it? Apevia IS Aspire, and Wil stated that at the very start of the review.

[rDr4g0n]

ive built about 15 - 20 pcs using this case. lemme point out a few things about it

first, its best as a build it and leave it case. i build medium duty machines using this case for casual and slightly above average gamers, and power users. as a result, once its together, its done. this negates the flimsiness of the case since once assembled its fairly sturdy. the case is available in a variety of colors besides that icky grey.

the motherboard tray is really thin and wobbly and once the system is assembled the components arent really stable inside, but once again, if you dont want this to be portable or messed with, its not a big deal. a bit of strategically placed newegg invoice scraps will get the wobble out.

the stupid temp display plastic crap wasnt always like that. when apevia was aspire, the cases were actually sturdier and higher quality. for some stupid reason when they changed, they added that plastic on the display and sealed it from the inside. you can take the plastic off, but it requires disasembling the entire front panel, which is just ridiculous. ive already emailed them more than once about this issue (with no response either).

bittech didnt mention its cooling performance (more than passingly at least). the fan isnt a great one, but it works well and isnt loud (id guess around 30 - 35db). the case airflow is pretty good, and that 1 fan does a great job of keeping temps under control. just be sure to dust out your case every once in a while!

one other factor, in pics it looks cute and small, but in reality its bulky and kinda large. this isnt a bad thing, it kinda grows on you, but dont expect a little gamecube

if used as an enthusiast machine that will be disassembled frequently, then you may run into trouble with stuff bending and breaking, as well as slicing your fingers off. otherwise its a decent case, that fits well in the price range, and performs well.

[edit] in case anyone cares ive been building these using biostar nforce410 matx motherboards without a hitch.

[DeX]

Are there mATX motherboards available that support Core 2 Duos? How would this case stand up to running a E6600 + GF8800? Would there be enough space and cooling?

[Tim S]

I wouldn't run a GeForce 8800 off the included PSU.

[DeX]

Why don't you try it? Or will they slap your wrists if you break their PSU?

[Da Dego]

Originally Posted by DeX

Are there mATX motherboards available that support Core 2 Duos? How would this case stand up to running a E6600 + GF8800? Would there be enough space and cooling?

In answer to your first question, DeX, yes. I've been on the hunt for them for quite some time, and ASUS does indeed make a mATX version of a conroe board. It's actually part of its P5 line-up, I think it ends with VB.

Keep in mind, the mATX boards currently all use a 965-G chip instead of a 965-P, so they're poor overclockers at the moment. I hope they change that in the future, but most mATX users want an all-inclusive board and so throwing intel's graphics chip on it is a winner for board manufacturers.

[sandys]

There are plenty of 945/965 uATX mobos that support C2d and overclock the performance between the two chipsets is barely noticeable ), as mentioned above you can fix a normal PSU in the XC Cube or you can mod the XQ pack to fit one, the main issue is the size of the GPU but looking at pics it should be doable.

With uATX its just finding one with the configuration of slots you require and deciding on RAID or not, for non raid the Asrock boards whilst cheap overclock C2D fairly well.

[Tim S]

Originally Posted by DeX

Why don't you try it? Or will they slap your wrists if you break their PSU?

The minimum requirement for a power supply on GeForce 8800 GTX is 450W with a 12V rating of 30A. This power supply has that just about but to be honest, I don't think it's powerful enough, especially with a high-end system assembled around it. Second, there are only four 4-pin molex connectors on the unit, and it turns out that there are no PCI-Express connectors at all, meaning that you're going to have to use ALL FOUR molex connectors to power an 8800 GTX.

You could possibly run an 8800 GTS on the unit, since the minimum you require is 400W with 26A on the 12V line. However, with a decent system around it, you're going to be close to the power supply's rating, which isn't going to do great things for your power efficiency. While it's possible to run an 8800 GTS, I certainly wouldn't recommend it. The case and included power supply are more suited to a mid-range system in all honesty...

[Tulatin]

An 8800 will not fit on that case. The power connectors would be under the rack...

[rDr4g0n]

this is definatly a mid range system kinda case. its great for zippy little computers that will do medium res gaming and a bit of photoshop.