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Hardware Apevia X-QPack 2

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Tim S, 5 Dec 2007.

  1. Tim S

    Tim S OG

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  2. Spaceraver

    Spaceraver Ultralurker

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    Tim, as a frequent user and visitor i advise you to get some sleep. i know first hand that there is always the urge to finish everything up before going to bed, but sometimes it must delay for those 8 hours. :)
     
  3. Tyinsar

    Tyinsar 6 screens 1 card since Nov 17 2007

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    I built a system in one of these cases and honestly thought it wasn't a bad case for the price. Sadly M-ATX cases usually get the same treatment from manufacturers as M-ATX boards - they are seldom flagship products.
     
  4. Nature

    Nature Minimodder

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    Is there a Matx case that you would give to someone you like?
     
  5. CardJoe

    CardJoe Freelance Journalist

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    The V350 at least looks nice but, really, I'd just give someone a mid tower case and tell them to stop whining. I'm still impressed by the CM 690 and it's pretty cheap, so that would be my choice.
     
  6. Woodstock

    Woodstock So Say We All

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    i wouldn't say no to hourbeforedawn's project F.E.A.R
     
  7. Nature

    Nature Minimodder

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    What's the nicest HTPC case on the market? Something silent with good ventilation.
     
  8. Naberius

    Naberius What's a Dremel?

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    I think the king of SFF cases is still the Silverstone Sugo 01, bit pricey though.
     
  9. Tim S

    Tim S OG

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    Heh, that's what happens when one can't sleep. I tried to get to sleep at about 10pm in order to wake up at 6am... that didn't happen last night. :(
     
  10. yakyb

    yakyb i hate the person above me

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    looks like i made a good choice spending the extra on a silverstone sugo
     
  11. RotoSequence

    RotoSequence Lazy Lurker

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    So... did you like it? ;)
     
  12. Jalada

    Jalada What's a Dremel?

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    I've built a Linux workstation out of one of these (I wanted something small to be easy to carry around, and I wanted something slightly showy), and I agree, the build quality of it is pretty rubbish, everything is fairly flimsy. However now that it's built I'm not going to change anything in it, and it works well for what I need. The handle does feel flimsy, but I haven't had it break on me. I also was lucky in that nothing really bent for me, so installation was fairly easy for me. A modular PSU would be useful for it though. Also, the windows are very easily scratched.
     
  13. Da Dego

    Da Dego Brett Thomas

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    Yeah. Honestly the Sugo series by Silverstone is about the only mATX line worth purchasing right now. Which is actually quite a shame, as they are expensive and I don't think they're that fabulous (at least by Silverstone standards). But, they are the best of the best in a niche market. My vote? Just buy a Shuttle, or build a case :)
     
  14. fathazza

    fathazza Freed on Probation

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    ive got a thermaltake lanbox lite which is pretty good, even if it is made by thermaltake....
     
  15. kgwagner

    kgwagner What's a Dremel?

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    I've used a number of SFF cases, including the Lian Li PC-V300, Aspire X-Qpack, Antec Aria, and Thermaltake Lanbox Lite, and quite honestly, none of them are any fun at all. But, the way I look at it, you only build them once. It's not like a goofy keyboard, monitor, or mouse that you're constantly interacting with and suffering any inadequacies they may have.

    The worst part of any of them is if you have to work on them once they're assembled, to either repair or upgrade a part. In all cases, there's an order to assembly that really has to be followed because often one thing makes another inaccessible. That means you may have to disassemble half or more of the case to get at some buried part. It can be a real pain in the shorts.
     
  16. jodah175

    jodah175 Wannabe Modder

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    I built my g/f's comp using the X-Qpack (first version) and yes, it was somewhat flimsy. but nothing 'rattles', nothing bent, nothing was razor sharp.

    I just built my friend a comp using the X-Qpack 2. same thing as the 1st version, just with an added 80mm fan and new front face. nothing rattles, nothings bent. maybe you just got a case that barely made it through quality control? i dunno.

    perhaps you (Mr. Martin) were in a bad mood?
     
  17. Tyinsar

    Tyinsar 6 screens 1 card since Nov 17 2007

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    Hit the nail on the head. :thumb: Welcome to the forums.

    :hehe: No offence intended to the review staff but I think they get a little used to the high end parts that most of us can't justify buying. Sometimes it comes across like a car reviewer who's used to testing high-end cars who's suddenly asked to review a more common mid-range car - they usually hate it.
     
  18. HourBeforeDawn

    HourBeforeDawn a.k.a KazeModz

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    Well thank you for your kind words, ya it was tough fitting all that into that case but I must admit, although I agree with the comments that updating a SFF case, especially in my situation would be a royal pain in the ass, I wont see myself needing to upgrade for a while ^_^ but ya after building that SFF, I am in love with them, I think my HourBeforeDawn MM Cube case once done will be my last large case and that Im going to stick with Mid-Tower or Smaller cases. ^_^

    For those who are curious about my project, heres the link
    http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=133154

    Now back to this case, I would have to agree that this case has a horrid design to it, lol I wonder if they will attempt to make a water cooled version like they did with the last model, I would say look at TT or Silverstone if you want a SFF case, but I really wish Motherboard manufactures would pay more attention to the SFF market, I want some better boards, boards with Quad support and at least dual x16 support >_<
     
  19. Tim S

    Tim S OG

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    I don't think that is the case at all... look at the CM 690 we reviewed the other day - it's 2/3 the price of this and we loved it! If anything, this case just makes the CM 690 look about 10 times better. We loved Enermax's budget case as well, because it had solid build quality and a reasonable set of features at a good price. We had a lukewarm response to the 8600/2600 cards and told everyone that the best buy was the X1950 Pro because the DX10-ness was just a checkbox that you'd never be able to use and performance was sub-par on the new cards.

    We've told you to buy P35 boards unless you need dual graphics support, because the performance difference between X38 and P35 is nothing in single card mode and DDR2 performance is slightly below par across the board. Additionally, with P35 you'll get roughly the same overclocking capabilities as you will with X38 and you'll be saving yourself a decent chunk of money. The IP35 Pro is one of the best P35 boards out there and it's well under £100 - we continue to recommend it, even despite it being a budget board in relation to some of the X38 boards coming out at the moment.

    We have always called it as we see it, regardless of how much it costs. The build quality on the case we were sent was at least as poor as the original QPack, which we still have in the office. The problem is when we reviewed the original, we said that the build quality was its major downfall and that hasn't been improved upon with the newer version.

    It's very easy to get jaded by the slew of high-end products we get to see, but one thing that I constantly ram home is the question of value - is there value in spending £X on something when a different product that's much cheaper does almost the same. It's the key thing I ask anyone writing for me to consider: what are you getting for your money?
     
  20. CardJoe

    CardJoe Freelance Journalist

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    Actually, I was really happy to take a break from reviewing games for a few days. Crysis et al are great, but occasionally I need a break. I also got the sequence of pieces to be installed down on the first try so, although it was a hassle to repair etc, I at least didn't get all the way through and have to start over.

    I tend not to get used to high end stuff as, for every good case/game/peripheral that comes in, I get a crap one which I try but don't review (seems odd to some of you, but question if you'd really want a review of Pro Cycling Manager or Happy's Falling Star when you could read about Bioshock or UT3) or which I give a bad review to. I try to stay as balanced as possible without turning Zen.

    Ultimately, we have to judge the case against all the other cases in that form factor and price range - there are better cases for the price.
     
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