Aspire X-QPack: A Lanparty Dream
by Joshua Buss on July 2, 2005 1:15 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Introduction
Aspire seems to be a company that does not mind marching to the beat of a different drummer. We have seen more boldly themed cases from Aspire than just about any other case manufacturer out there. This is not a bad thing at all though, as many, such as the X-Navigator we reviewed last year, actually represent a very good performance per dollar niche especially for the gamers out there.
Continuing in their tradition, Aspire has recently come up with a Micro-ATX form factor case dubbed the X-QPack, and let us be the first to tell you, this is by no means a case that only gamers should get interested in.
A quick search through your favorite engines on the web for "micro atx cases" will most likely yield droves of squatty-looking mid-towers with no real features separating them from their slightly-bigger mid-tower brothers. One has to wonder what the point is of getting a case that does not allow the use of larger motherboards if it really doesn't have much to offer over the nicer (not to mention only marginally bigger) mid-tower cases.
Well the X-QPack definitely aims to change all that. After a couple days of working with the unit, here is a brief summary of how we feel about the new chassis:
| Aspire X-QPack | |
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- Excellent layout (good expansion) |
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| - Rounded edges - Tool-Less Features (minor) |
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Much to gamers' delight everywhere the case comes in red, yellow, green, blue, and silver, and the model we received for review was of the blue variety.
More information on the X-QPack on Aspire's website.
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dderidex - Thursday, July 21, 2005 - link
Came across this and was wondering on this one...Anyone know if a 7800GTX can *fit* inside it? I know that was a problem with a lot of the Shuttle boxes.
jndietz - Tuesday, August 16, 2005 - link
I barely fit my 6800 GT in my X-Qpack. Granted, I had to put the card in while the motherboard tray was half in, half out, I did get it in. You would probably have an even harder time getting the 7 series in there. Great case though, power supply is a lot more solid than people believe it to be. I've got juice going to my DVD+/-RW, 36GB Raptor, 200GB Hitatchi, floppy, BFG 6800 GT. Great case, great buy.Gioron - Saturday, July 9, 2005 - link
"Power Supply Spec.+3.3V +5V +12V -12V -5V +5VSB
20A 25A 20A 0.8A 0.3A 2.0A "
66W 125W 240W 9.6W 1.5W 10W
Straight addition of the watts on the +3.3, +5 and +12 volt rails makes for 431 watts. With the incidentals added in its around 450W. There's no way this thing can actually give 420W total at any one time. Definately a dodgy power supply since the straight addition is too close to the specs. I'd guess its more along the lines of a 350W power supply, and I consider the fact that they're lying as a bad sign for reliability.
However, that being said. You're not likely to ask this thing to put out 420W, especially on a small case like this. Its probably a servicable power supply if you only ask for 300W from it, and thats what most people need. I'd rather they didn't lie about the specs, but thats all too common recently.
Jynx980 - Friday, July 8, 2005 - link
That carpet makes me want to ralph. Put it on a table or something.stromgald - Wednesday, July 6, 2005 - link
Although I haven't done or seen a comparison between the Aria and the X-qpack, from this review and reviews of the Aria, I think that the Aria can be quieter but generally runs hotter. The Aria is slightly smaller and also has a custom strangely shaped 300W PSU that probably cannot be swapped out. Some users have also complained that the Aria PSU ramps up pretty loud under heavy load. But that may be compensated by the special double aluminum/plastic case material which dampens sound very well. I found an old review of the Aria which reports 50ºC idle and 65º under load.leousb - Wednesday, July 6, 2005 - link
Has Anand released any mATX MoBo review (shootout)?? Thx (links appreciated)SonicIce - Tuesday, July 5, 2005 - link
1st!!!!!!!! wait aw man :(ElFenix - Tuesday, July 5, 2005 - link
all that cable clutter really makes one wish it came with a set of cables.anyone else think case windows are getting played out?
JNo - Tuesday, July 5, 2005 - link
I agree on needing to know more about what microATX boards are out there, which was one thing that made the Aria uninteresting when it came out (no NF3 mATX boards existed so what was the point if you wanted decent A64 setup?). That's the major drawback in fact - even if the Foxconn is a decent mATX NF4 board now, when the next socket type comes out, owners of this and Aria will be probably be waiting 6+ months before they can upgrade - how frustrating....IronChefMoto - Tuesday, July 5, 2005 - link
Commenting on mATX motherboards -- it would be nice to know if and when Socket 939 mATX motherboards are going to become a wee bit more abundant. Or are manufacturers holding off on mATX models in anticipation of changing socket setups next year?If I wanted to build an mATX setup with the Socket 754 processor I have now, I'd be fine. If I wanted to go to Socket 939, however, I'd be hard pressed to find a decent selection of Socket 939 motherboards.
IronChefMorimoto