Further details of the case can be seen on A-Tech's website:
http://www.atechfabrication.com/product ... Client.htm
This time I decided on complete silence...no fans, no whirring HDDs and hence 0dB. I purchased the MC-300 back at the end of June, when first advertised on A-Tech's web site as follows:
Item: MC-300
Quantity: 1
Description: HeatSync Micro-Client 300 Case
Color: Black case with Black faceplate
Rack Mount: No rack mounting
Case Feet: With Black Case Feet - $25.00 HeatSync CPU: With HeatSync Cooling System for ZOTAC 9300-ITX - $120.00 HDD mounting: Dual 2.5" HDD mount - $15.00 MC-300 - $399.00 Price (each): $559.00 Item Total: $559.00 _________________________________________
Item: PS-150-6P
Quantity: 1
Description: 150W DC-DC Converter with 6-pin input Price (each): $59.00 Item Total: $59.00 _________________________________________
Item: PA-120W
Quantity: 1
Description: 12 Volt, 120 Watt AC Power Adapter, 6-pin Price (each): $105.00 Item Total: $105.00 _________________________________________
Item: CA-SLSA
Quantity: 1
Description: Slim-line SATA Cable
Price (each): $10.00
Item Total: $10.00
_________________________________________
Item: CA-SPC
Quantity: 1
Description: Serial ATA Power Adapter 'Y' Cable Price (each): $4.50 Item Total: $4.50 _________________________________________
Item: CA-525Y
Quantity: 1
Description: IDE Power Cable Splitter
Price (each): $3.00
Item Total: $3.00
_________________________________________
Subtotal: $740.50
Shipping (USPS Priority Mail): +$89.50
Grand Total: $830.00 or around £500 GBP
_________________________________________
Comments: Please add 2 x USB ports to the rear ATX panel @ $35 and a green LED for HDD/SSD activity on the front panel, both with the required wiring for connection to motherboard headers as discussed
Shipping took approximately ten weeks, which is considerably longer than the 2-3 weeks specified on A-Tech's web site. Glenn Lirhus, who owns the company, was absolutely superb and replied to each and every one of my e-mails and grumbles, explaining 'We don't make a set number of units a month, we maintain an inventory and ramp up or down as needed. The MC-300 cases only took longer because we had no inventory yet and some items are special order with long lead times like heatpipes.'
The box arrived, extremely well packaged and with no damage whatsoever. I had to pay import taxes and handling of around £80:
Inside the box, everything was neatly packaged or wrapped in bubble wrap:
I had two extra USB ports fitted and a green SSD/HDD LED in addition to the standard blue power LED.
My setup included:
-GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi motherboard
-Intel quad core 9550S 65W processor
-2 x 2Gb DDR2 800 Mhz OCZ memory
-Sony NEC Optiarc BC-5500S Blu Ray Reader & DVD±RW SATA Notebook slot-loading drive
-Samsung PB22-J 256GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive
The whole build took around two hours and everything fitted to perfection, apart from the motherboard header to the power LED. At first I thought I had a duff motherboard and had to plug in the stock Intel processor fan just to check the power was actually on...the silence was (and still is) spooky!
A few hours later and after installing Windows 7 RTM x64:
The temperatures were monitored using HWMonitor at both idle and under load....:
Idle at ambient temperature of 21C:
Core #0 39C
Core #1 39C
Core #2 38C
Core #3 38C
GPU 46C
Full load at ambient temperature of 21C:
Core #0 67C
Core #1 66C
Core #2 66C
Core #3 64C
GPU 72C
The Windows 7 experience index gives subscores (out of 7.9) of:
Processor 7.3
Memory (RAM) 5.9
Graphics performance for Windows Aero 5.2
Gaming graphics 5.4
Disk date transfer rate 7.2
So the base score was 5.2 determined by the lowest subscore....not bad for absolute silence!
The system absolutely flies compared to my old rig and yet again appears rock-solid after two weeks of near-constant use.
I appreciate these cases are a little expensive, but I just can't recommend them enough for anyone wanting a silent (0dB) system