Hardware Apevia X-QPack 2

If thats so why did you mention or compare the CM 690 as thats a Mid Tower case not a Small Form Factor Case???
Im not disagreeing with your review, I do agree with what you said but am curious as to why you picked that case to mention in the review instead of another SFF as a recommendation???

 

I am glad that you have that stance and I have noticed that generally you all do quite well in sticking to that. I'm not trying to be argumentative or disrespectful of any any of the staff - It's just that in this case I didn't have any of the problems mentioned in the review.

Does the 690 (which is an unfair comparison since it's not a SFF case) also come with a power supply? (I didn't see specs for it in the review)

I honestly would be greatly pleased if you would tell me what those other options are (while sticking to the form factor and accounting for the value of the included PSU).

I second that question.

 

Purely because that is another case which is cheap (cheaper in fact), which I had reviewed recently and which I could link to. I could have linked to the Lian-Li V350, which is the only other mATX case I've reviewed with this hardware setup, but it isn't a case I'd recommend either.

 

Well I suppose thats understandable but it still would have been nice to see something compared to its same class of case, but obviously if you have no other case that you can compare to then I guess you would go with what you had on hand.

 

I don't think you are being disrespectful, I was just letting you know that I try not to let the guys get jaded by high-end kit, as that's no use to anyone.

You're right that the 690 doesn't come with a PSU, but then I honestly wouldn't want to use any pre-supplied power supply since my experience in the past has been that they're useless 99 times out of 100. The only case I seem to remember in recent times that came with a decent PSU that you'd likely want to use was the P190.

I don't hold much hope for the unit in this case - it's 'rated' at 500W and if you look at Scan, the cheapest 'good quality' power supply rated at around 500W is £45, with most of the well-respected units costing above £50. If the unit in this case was anywhere near as good as the lowest-priced 'good quality' 500W unit, the case itself would be worth around £30. If you look at the price of specific mATX PSUs, you're looking at more like £30 for a 300W unit, and £70+ for anything above 400W (although the only ones listed are fanless, which obviously increases the price).

As for other mATX cases I'd look at, most have said the Silverstone cases are the way to go and I have to say I agree from my experiences with some of the company's other chassis. Having just seen the SG02W on Scan for under £60, admittedly without a PSU, it seems like much better value to me - I can't speak for you though.

 

yeah, im in no way trying to be disrespectful, Bit-tech is my number one site that i refer to for hardware reviews, and game reviews (just finished my new rig so i can play crysis, w00t!) and i love seeing all the mods that are posted here. i just never had any of the problems you seemed to have had. also, the psu in the g/fs Qpack has been going strong for close to a full year. im still leery of it, but it works and continues to work. i dunno, im just surprised that most of the stuff i buy, i don't have nearly (if any) as many problems as others seem to have. perhaps im just lucky? hehe.

 

Have to agree with jodah175. I have the X-Qpack2 case. I have an E8400 C2D with a Zalman CPU cooler, 2 500GB HDD, an LG DVD burner and an ASUS EN9600GT Top overclocked GPU. all on an ASUS mobo. This is the second setup in this same case. The first had an E4300 C2D with a 500 GB HDD, the same LG DVD burner, a NVIDIA 5200 GPU and an ASUS mobo. My computer runs pretty much 24/7. It has been running with the original PSU now for over 2 and a half years with no problems at all. I also have a laser printer and a Logitech speaker system hooked up plus an external HDD as well. I have no complaints. The case has no dents or any damage at all. In fact it is working so well that I am thinking of reusing it for a 3rd setup in the near future. It just fits so well as I have a studio apartment with major space shortage and this takes up very little room and looks and runs very well.