Antec ISK 300 Mini-ITX case

Enclosures and acoustic damping to help quiet them.

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Devonavar

Jay
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2009 12:46 pm
Location: Northern VA

Post by Jay » Thu Sep 10, 2009 1:27 pm

I am doing a build and got the regular Shuirken Rev B to fit with some mods. I used the additional Scythe 775 mounting stabilization kit as well.

To make it fit, the mods I made were:
- Minor grinding on the cooler mounting bracket where it hit the NB Cooler and one of the Capacitors.
- Removed the back half of the drive bracket and added a post to add back in more stability for the remaining front part of the drive bracket.

Now just clears NB Cooler, Capacitors, DIMM heat spreader and the dual stock fan cage all by about 1/8" or less.

Hope this helps others in their attempts...
Jay

Shivansps2
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2009 7:21 pm
Location: Argentina

Post by Shivansps2 » Thu Sep 10, 2009 8:09 pm

Can you post me an screen of the case along with a 3.5" disk over it?

Tell me, a 3.5" disk can be placed in the place of the DC-DC PCB?

Jay
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2009 12:46 pm
Location: Northern VA

Post by Jay » Fri Sep 11, 2009 6:42 am

I just tried it. I have the PicoPSU 150XT on the Zotac 9300. I had the front panel removed. The 3.5 inch drive DOES fit with the front panel off. You could even stack two of them i there if you had enough SATA ports to run them. Unfortunately, the port module on the front panel interferes with the drive. It goes through the metal plate behind the front panel and takes up some of the needed room right in the middle. My thought was to use a Raid card in the PCIe slot and a stack of 4 - 2.5 inch drives. Solves the port problem and space problem.

You could always make a new front panel with a different port arrangement. I really only NEED a USB port for memory sticks and a power button. I am, however, planning to use one of those Aluminum front panel prototyping services to make a custom front panel with something more attractive. I have a slot load DVD and also want to incorporate the guts of the Antec VFD module into it. This will gain me integrated remote capability and still leave room for some 2.5 drives behind.

I can't post image links for photos until I have more posts. I need to retake some of the photos anyhow with better lighting and will try to take a couple with the 3.5 laying in there.

Jay

leifeinar
Posts: 108
Joined: Thu Oct 04, 2007 1:24 am
Location: tromsø in norway

Post by leifeinar » Tue Dec 01, 2009 7:44 am

If u search for " 19V 6.3A 120W " on ebay, there are many compatible powerbricks that can be used. i got one in the mail.

price 25 usd and free delivery all over the planet it should be atractive :)

reboot
Posts: 19
Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2009 3:58 am
Location: Spain
Contact:

Post by reboot » Wed Dec 02, 2009 1:27 am

leifeinar wrote:If u search for " 19V 6.3A 120W " on ebay, there are many compatible powerbricks that can be used. i got one in the mail.

price 25 usd and free delivery all over the planet it should be atractive :)
But... there are a lot of them. Which ones have the plug compatible? :roll:

leifeinar
Posts: 108
Joined: Thu Oct 04, 2007 1:24 am
Location: tromsø in norway

Post by leifeinar » Wed Dec 02, 2009 8:53 am

U need a 5.5mm/2.5mm pin for it to fit most offers at ebay explains the plug

as an example


http://cgi.ebay.com/For-LITEON-19V-6-3A ... 23042886d6

rouxster
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2010 3:49 pm
Location: New Orleans, LA

Post by rouxster » Mon Jan 18, 2010 7:32 pm

leifeinar wrote:If u search for " 19V 6.3A 120W " on ebay, there are many compatible powerbricks that can be used. i got one in the mail.

price 25 usd and free delivery all over the planet it should be atractive :)
I want to run a Core 2 Quad on an Intel DG45FC. It sounds like I only need to replace the power brick with something like the link below, correct?

http://cgi.ebay.com/OEM-NEW-AC-Supply-P ... 3efbfda1a9

mynameisyoung
Posts: 77
Joined: Sun Mar 21, 2004 7:08 pm

Post by mynameisyoung » Thu Feb 18, 2010 11:13 am

Found a HSF that might fit this case with no modding, but unfortunately I can't find a place that sells it: http://www.xigmatek.com/product/air-durind982.php#3

adisega
Posts: 34
Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2010 6:37 am
Location: Romania

Weird experiment :)

Post by adisega » Sat Mar 20, 2010 11:26 am

Hi all,

I've just finished a crazy project: a microATX board inside this case!

Hardware details:
Antec ISK 300-65
Asrock P43ME
Core 2 Duo e5200
ZEROtherm ATOM 30H
2GB DDR2 Corsair
500GB HDD WD
Sapphire HD 5570
150W picoPSU
(total system power consumption is around 110W)

Why microATX boards? Well, let's see:

1) They are less expensive (about two times less expensive, in my country)
2) They are available much faster than the mini-ITX boards, after a new chipset appears (by at least a few months, if not half a year)
3) Bigger motherboard means:
--a) more space for ventilation
--b) more space for connectors
--c) less heatsink compatibility issues
4) There are two advantages as far as low-profile video cards are concerned, because of the positioning (from side to side, versus the miniITX way, along the left side):
--a) you can use video cards which have two-slot cooling solutions;
--b) you can create better airflow to cool the video-card (see pictures below)
5) etc. (let's get to the interesting part: the pictures :) )


Image
What I wanted to do was to modify the case in such a way that I would not damage the mini-ITX mounting option (in order to still be able to install a mini-ITX board in the future, should I want to). For that, I used pieces of another (cheap - 20$) computer case.
On the left side of the picture you can see the four mounting points for the bottom part of the microATX board.
On the right side of the picture there are the two spacers needed for the upper part of the microATX board.


Image
The motherboard installed. Not every microATX board is compatible, the width must be 210mm maximum.


Image
Low profile 5570 video card installed. 2.5" hdd installed (will be replaced soon by a SSD). Original video card fan removed, replaced with two 60mm fans. The bottom one pulls air from the left side of the case (actually, that is the bottom, in my case... you will see why, in other pictures, below) and cools both the video card and the hdd. The second fan is placed on the stock cooler and blows air directly over it. The hot air is pushed to the right side (top, for me, see why below), and evacuated through the original vents of the case, on that side.


Image Image
The cables from the 150W picoPSU extend a few mm off the side of the board, which would be a problem if the case didn't have the vents right in that area. Moreover, the area with the vents is curved outwards, so the cables do not even touch the side of the case.


Image Image

I had to cut a big part of the left side of the case, for the I/O ports. I do not use a I/O shield, because additional cold air comes in through that big hole in the left (bottom) side of the case. Also, I drilled many holes to ensure ventilation for the video card. The big hole near the DVI connector is necessary, without it you wouldn't be able to slide the top part and close the case.


Image Image
The result - the case (sort-of) VESA mounted on the back of my 32" LCD TV.

Noise is almost impossible to hear, AT NIGHT, in a quiet room!!! (the CPU fan is limited to 1500 RPM, by BIOS and software; the 60mm fans are connected to 5V).
Temperatures, under load: CPU less than 60 degrees, chipset around 50 degrees, video card around 65 degrees, HDD around 30 degrees (all Celsius).
Last edited by adisega on Fri Jul 16, 2010 1:05 pm, edited 2 times in total.

hlinde
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2004 5:04 am
Location: The Netherlands

Post by hlinde » Sun Apr 11, 2010 9:39 am

mynameisyoung wrote:Found a HSF that might fit this case with no modding, but unfortunately I can't find a place that sells it: http://www.xigmatek.com/product/air-durind982.php#3
Promising ! But is the height of the cooler of 65 mm with the fan or without ? If it is without then the height is 85mm.

Henk

hlinde
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2004 5:04 am
Location: The Netherlands

Xigmatek Durin D982

Post by hlinde » Wed Apr 14, 2010 5:31 am

http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=103 ... stcount=88

The Xigmatek Durin D982 is reported as a fit without moddin the case.

Henk

ces
Posts: 3395
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2010 6:06 pm
Location: US

Re: Weird experiment :)

Post by ces » Wed Apr 14, 2010 5:43 am

adisega wrote:Hi all,

I've just finished a crazy project: a microATX board inside this case!

Hardware details:
Antec ISK 300-65
Asrock P43ME
Core 2 Duo e5200
ZEROtherm ATOM 30H
2GB DDR2 Corsair
500GB HDD WD
Sapphire HD 5570
150W picoPSU
(total system power consumption is around 110W)

Why microATX boards? Well, let's see:

1) They are less expensive (about two times less expensive, in my country)
2) They are available much faster than the mini-ITX boards, after a new chipset appears (by at least a few months, if not half a year)
3) Bigger motherboard means:
--a) more space for ventilation
--b) more space for connectors
--c) less heatsink compatibility issues
4) There are two advantages as far as low-profile video cards are concerned, because of the positioning (from side to side, versus the miniITX way, along the left side):
--a) you can use video cards which have two-slot cooling solutions;
--b) you can create better airflow to cool the video-card (see pictures below)
5) etc. (let's get to the interesting part: the pictures :) )
Very impressive. Can you show pictures of what the side of the case looks like, with all the IO ports? How did you do the motherboard setoffs?

adisega
Posts: 34
Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2010 6:37 am
Location: Romania

Post by adisega » Tue Apr 20, 2010 1:54 am

Thank you.
You can see the left side of the case (the one where the I/O ports are) in the 7th picture (counting the pictures from left to right and from top to bottom).
For the second question, the answer is also in the original post: I have used pieces of another (cheaper) PC case. With a little cutting and bending, the result can be seen in the first picture from the original post.
Hope this makes things a little more clear.

hlinde
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2004 5:04 am
Location: The Netherlands

E5400 power requirement ?

Post by hlinde » Wed Apr 21, 2010 7:03 am

It's difficult to find an intel E5200 at the moment. Could the stock power converter(65Watt) power the E5400 instead ?

The E5400 is much better to get at the shops but will it be hotter and can it be powered in this case ?

Henk

Trav1s
Posts: 259
Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2008 12:33 pm
Location: CR, IA

Re: E5400 power requirement ?

Post by Trav1s » Wed Apr 21, 2010 7:46 am

hlinde wrote:It's difficult to find an intel E5200 at the moment. Could the stock power converter(65Watt) power the E5400 instead ?

The E5400 is much better to get at the shops but will it be hotter and can it be powered in this case ?

Henk
I am running the e5300 without problems so I would expect the 5400 to also work.

hlinde
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2004 5:04 am
Location: The Netherlands

Post by hlinde » Wed Apr 21, 2010 9:24 am

I am running the e5300 without problems so I would expect the 5400 to also work.
Thank you Trav1s.

Anyone with an E5400 or E5500 ?

Henk

adisega
Posts: 34
Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2010 6:37 am
Location: Romania

OK for 5400

Post by adisega » Wed Apr 21, 2010 10:31 pm

hlinde wrote:
Thank you Trav1s.

Anyone with an E5400 or E5500 ?

Henk
I am using the power brick and the DC-DC converter from the ISK 300-65 in another computer case (because the case itself is used with the pico-PSU 150W and a mATX board, as can be seen in my previous posts).

I can confirm the fact that the E5400 can be powered by the Antec power supply. Here is my configuration:

ISK 300-65 power supply
Intel DG45FC
E5400 CPU with stock cooler, but with fan removed and replaced by a Scythe Slip Stream Slim 120mm 1600rpm fan
2 GB DDR2 Corsair
WD 500GB 2.5"

I've had no issues with stability or heat during normal use (net, media, but only light gaming, due to integrated graphics).
The power brick itself does get warm, but definitely not hot.

hlinde
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2004 5:04 am
Location: The Netherlands

Post by hlinde » Thu Apr 22, 2010 12:31 am

That is good news adisega. Thank you !

Henk

ces
Posts: 3395
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2010 6:06 pm
Location: US

Re: OK for 5400

Post by ces » Thu Apr 22, 2010 1:25 am

adisega wrote:E5400 CPU with stock cooler, but with fan removed and replaced by a Scythe Slip Stream Slim 120mm 1600rpm fan.
How many volts and how many rpms are you running the fan? How do you think it would have worked if you had just left the original fan in place - unplugged, and just added the new fan?

adisega
Posts: 34
Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2010 6:37 am
Location: Romania

Re: OK for 5400

Post by adisega » Thu Apr 22, 2010 1:37 pm

ces wrote:
adisega wrote:E5400 CPU with stock cooler, but with fan removed and replaced by a Scythe Slip Stream Slim 120mm 1600rpm fan.
How many volts and how many rpms are you running the fan? How do you think it would have worked if you had just left the original fan in place - unplugged, and just added the new fan?
1. I have connected the fan to a Molex connector, using the 12V and the 5V lines. Therefor, 7V. I do not know the RPM for this voltage, the specified 1600 is for 12V.

2. First of all, there wouldn't have been enough space, since the case is only 65 mm high! Secondly (assuming a bigger case), the fan and the plastic part that connects it to the cooler would only have been an obstacle for airflow. Hence, I decided to cut the fan completely, living only the plastic circle that holds down the cooler. This way, the air blown by the Scythe fan goes directly to the CPU cooler (it also cools the one on the northbridge, as it is big enough to cover both of them).

hakkafusion
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2008 1:53 am

Re: Weird experiment :)

Post by hakkafusion » Sat Apr 24, 2010 7:49 pm

adisega wrote:Hi all,

I've just finished a crazy project: a microATX board inside this case!
.......
damn thats nice. u're hardcore =)
i like it.

adisega
Posts: 34
Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2010 6:37 am
Location: Romania

Re: Weird experiment :)

Post by adisega » Sun Apr 25, 2010 1:14 pm

hakkafusion wrote: damn thats nice. u're hardcore =)
i like it.
Thank you very much.
I have already changed the hdd for a SSD and upgraded the memory to a 2x2GB kit.

I believe I should make it clear that newer components can be used in order to create a more powerful computer that would look almost the same; here is an example:

Antec ISK 300/310-150 (more ventilation holes, which means better airflow and less cutting required)
Same PicoPSU 150W (with a 12V 12.5A power brick)
Gigabyte GA-H55M-S2H (fits the 210mm width requirement)
Core i3-530 CPU
...some CPU cooler...
...some DDR3 memory kit...
As for the video card...
I am not sure if the Galaxy 9600GT Low Profile Low Power can be powered by the picoPSU, but if it worked it would be great, because the card is longer, essentialy spliting the inside of the case in two separate areas :) Great setup for airflow...
I am also waiting to see what the Sparkle GT240 low profile FANLESS model will be like :) - it will probably still need some airflow, but still...

yetidaddy
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu May 06, 2010 7:22 pm
Location: Louisville, KY

Post by yetidaddy » Thu May 06, 2010 7:25 pm

hi. I'm trying to build a mini itx system and attach it to my monitor. I'm trying to run a system with pci-express and mount. But, every case I come upon either has mount and no pci-express or pci-express and no mounts. What trick did you use to mount your antec isk300 to the lcd tv like that? Also, what brand of cases do you prefer for budget build ($40-$70) case? Thanks.

I'm sorry this is an antec post. But the cost of it just shot up to $90. Any antec mini itx case below this?

What brand out of these would you recommend?
Athenatech
Winsis
Evercase
HEC
Rosewill

adisega
Posts: 34
Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2010 6:37 am
Location: Romania

Vesa-mounting "trick"

Post by adisega » Fri May 07, 2010 7:54 am

There is no trick actually...
Here is what I've done:
You need to go to some hardware store and buy the following:
- 4 Vesa-style screws... I believe they are M4, but I am not sure;
- 2 L-shaped metal parts... I do not know what they are called, but I'm talking about the things used in carpentry, furniture, etc... For example, the kind of L-shaped metals you would use in order to mount some shelves on the wall, except ours have to be straight on the inside (no curves for reinforcement), in order to accomodate the case. If it is still unclear, I will try to post some pictures;
- some "insulating" material, to wrap the L-shaped parts in order to keep the case away from them and the screws. this can be anything, as long as it is thick enough to keep them apart, but soft enough to prevent scratching the case itself;
- velcro tape, used to press the case against the mounting system.

What you have to do:
- make sure the screws you buy are long enough to go through the "insulating" material, the L-shaped parts, the velcro tape, and still be able to screw inside the LCD-TV;
- the L-shaped parts must be about 20cm (sorry, no time to convert the units now) long, on the longer side, and about 9 cm long, on the shorter side. It would be great if you could find ones that have holes drilled 10cm apart from one another, or whatever the distance is for your TV's Vesa mounting holes. If not, you will have to do some drilling...
- To sum up, you must wrap the Ls in the "insulating" material and screw them on the back of your LCD-TV. The screws must go through (in this order): the insulating material, the Ls, the velcro tape, the LCD TV. Make sure you cut a small part from the insulating material, so the screw head goes below its level, and away from the case.

Not sure I made too much sense...
And, after reading it all, I guess you could say it is sort of a "trick" :).

About your second question, the $40-$70 case... I don't have a straight answer, but I did buy my ISK for about 60$, used. If you don't want to buy a used one, just go to ebay, and search for ISK 300-65, the lowest price i saw was 74$, free shipping... pretty close to your target.
Hope this helps :)

leifeinar
Posts: 108
Joined: Thu Oct 04, 2007 1:24 am
Location: tromsø in norway

Post by leifeinar » Mon May 24, 2010 6:43 am

I have installed a 3,5" disk. samsung green 2tb :)

pics here

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1 ... 1035748552

Stereodude
Posts: 66
Joined: Sun Nov 26, 2006 8:00 am
Location: Detroit Metro Area

Re: Antec ISK 300 Mini-ITX case

Post by Stereodude » Sat Jan 08, 2011 6:07 am

revoman wrote:anyone know if this has room for 12.5 mm drives?
Yes and no...

Since I couldn't find an answer to this question anywhere on the web I did my own testing.

You can fit a 12.5mm thick 2.5" HD in one of the two 2.5" "bays" in the Antec ISK 300. As you can see in the picture below it sits just a touch below the metal edge of the case. The cover slid onto the case without any issues.

Image

However, the other 2.5" "bay" will require modifying to fit a 12.5mm drive because there is a lip / flange in the way. Here you can see a standard 9.5mm drive installed in the second "bay" and how the lip overhangs the drive.

Image

The lip could be cut off, or perhaps folded to not extend over the drive.

I hope this helps the next person searching for this information.

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