In the past we've seen the Cubitek Mini
Tank case and loved it, despite the outrageous price of $165, which seems like
a huge amount of money for a mini-ITX case that's supplied without a power
supply.
So ladies and gentlemen, a round of
applause for the new Cubitek Mini Ice case, which supports a mini-ITX
motherboard and comes without a power supply for a price of $180. As it
happens, you can buy this case on offer at Overclockers (which supplied the Cubitek
for this group) for the reduced price of $165, but it does still bring about a
sense of deja vu.
Cubitek
Mini Ice
So what, you may wonder, do you get for
such a huge amount of money? Primarily you get a gorgeous aluminium chassis
that looks simply stunning. The only pieces of steel, apart from the screws,
appear to be the perforated grilles on the fan openings. There's a 140mm fan
inside the top of the chassis and an empty housing for a second 140mm fan on
the bottom of the chassis.
Although the Mini Ice supports a mini-ITX
motherboard, the case looks much larger than that. It measures 230mm wide,
which is wider than most towers, and the sides are roughly square in shape.
That's 320mm tall and 360mm front-to-back, with a large radius at each of the rounded
corners and four solid rubber feet.
Cubitek
has included two expansion slots that are positioned in such a way that you can
install a full-length graphics card.
The two aluminium side panels are each
secured with four cap head screws and sit on rubber inserts that eliminate any
buzzing sounds or rattles.
There's a substantial amount of space
inside the case and while there are no physical divisions inside, it's
effectively separated into different areas. At the front we have the drive bays
with a single optical drive at the top and as many as four 3.5" and two
2.5" drives that slide into place from the side using rubber mounts where
necessary to prevent vibration.
There's plenty of headroom above the CPU to
accommodate a regular cooler, but the power supply sits above the cooler on the
other side of the case. You probably won't be able to use an enormous cooler,
but if you feel the urge, there are two rubber grommets at the rear of the case
for fans of water cooling.
Cubitek has included two expansion slots
that are positioned in such a way that you can install a full-length graphics
card. This means that the Mini Ice is well suited to a mini-ITX motherboard
with a high-end CPU such as Core ¡5 or Core ¡7 in association with a top-class
graphics card. Put it another way: if you plan on using integrated graphics
with a low-power CPU, then the Cubitek Mini Ice has no logical place in your
life.
Building the PC is simple with all that
working space and it looks superb sat under your desk. There's a nice added
touch, as the headphone jacks, two USB ports and two USB 3.0 ports are located
on the top of the case rather than the front panel.
We struggle to recommend such an expensive
case, but honestly, this is an aluminium jewel in a sea of mild steel.
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Details
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Price
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$180
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Manufacturer
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Cubitek
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Website
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www.cubitek.com
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Required spec
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Internal ATX PSU, mini-ITX motherboard
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Verdict
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Quality
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9/10
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Value
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8/10
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Overall
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8/10
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In-Win BL641
The layout of the slimline desktop In-Win
BL641 suggests that it might end up spending its life under your TV as an HTPC.
Alternatively, you will find a couple of stands in the package that you can use
to prop the case up vertically like a very small tower. These two stands are supplied
as four parts that clip together, and while it's a simple job that takes
moments, this is the first time we've ever assembled a stand.
In-Win
BL641
In a way, this sets the tone for the BL641,
as it sometimes seems more like a self-assembly kit than a regular PC case.
The top cover is held In place by a single screw and two plastic clips, which
are easy enough to release, although they're a touch fiddly to snap back into
place.
Once the top cover has been removed, you
can unclip the front panel of the case and then lift two lurid yellow levers at
the sides of the chassis that allow you to lift away the drive bay unit at the
front. This Is a tool-free unit that can accommodate two 3.5" hard drives
and one 5.25“ optical drive but not, curiously enough, a 2.5" drive or
SSD. You can usually find a place inside most chassis where you can tuck an SSD
but the In-Win is very tight for space, so you might struggle on this score.
There's another area where the In-Win shows
it lags behind the times, as there are four USB 2.0 ports on the front of the
chassis, but you don't get any USB 3.0 connections.
Before you can install your motherboard you
need to remove the plastic shroud that sits over the motherboard. This is an
important piece of hardware, as it has a strategic hole that allows the CPU
heatsink to poke through, so that the fan sits in the chamber above the shroud
or duct. In-Win includes a second piece of plastic with the grand name of New
Partition Plate Cooling Tech (New PPCT), which is another shroud with a hole in
the middle. Added together, these shrouds allow the fan to draw air through the
length of the case, but we have to say that the airflow route is somewhat
convoluted.
If you intend to use a CPU with a high TDP,
we strongly recommend that you install an 80mm fan in the side of the case,
just in front of the power supply.
We
like the idea behind the BL641 and are impressed by its low price and compact
design.
Ah, yes, the power supply. This is
significant for a number of reasons. The In-Win is the only case in the group
that is supplied with a PSU, so that immediately saves you some money, and the
PSU is rated at 300W, so you have the option of installing a decent selection
of hardware. Having said that, there are no power connectors for a graphics
card and the four expansion slots are all half-height so any graphics card
will inevitably be a lightweight piece of hardware.
The upshot is that the In-Win is the
cheapest case in this group by a considerable margin unless you already have a
decent PSU that you can install In the Cooler Master Elite 120 case, which
would make the Cooler Master effectively cheaper.
We like the idea behind the BL641 and are
impressed by its low price and compact design. On the other hand, we would have
liked to see some USB 3.0 ports, and there's something rather plasticky and
cheap about the feel of this case
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Details
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Price
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$85
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Manufacturer:
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In-Win
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Website:
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www.inwin-style.com
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Required spec:
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Micro-ATX/mini-ITX motherboard.com
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Verdict
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Quality
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7/10
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Value
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8/10
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Overall
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7/10
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