Apevia X-MASTER-BL/500 ATX Desktop/Media Center/HTPC Case, Fits Standard ATX/Micro ATX Motherboard, 500W ATX Power Supply, 2 x 80mm Fans, USB2.0/Firewire 1394/HD Audio Ports - Blue

This case looks good (slightly industrial, but sleek black). It fits perfectly in my media cabinet. It has great air flow and room for more fans. It's large enough for a regular atx board. I want to play some games, so I installed a graphics card. I couldn't fit a high-profile card (HD7750 or HD7850), but did get a low-profile card (HD6670)to fit nicely. I also have a tuner card installed and there is room for several more cards. The power supply @500W works perfect for my graphics card. It is very quiet and would be even quieter if you used on-board graphics for simply watching TV and Movies.

I got this case because it was 6" or less in height, and came with a PSU to save money. What a disappointment!For a case that's advertised as an HTPC case, you'd think that it'd be quiet, right? Despite the computer itself being lower-power system, the PSU fan runs at full speed all the time, and is pretty noisy. There are no connectors to make the fan speed adjustable by the computer.For a case that's advertised as an HTPC case, you'd think that it wouldn't be flashy, right? It's got a blindingly-bright LED in front. Who wants this nonsense?The case successfully fits in a 6" opening under my entertainment center. However, the case is otherwise quite bulky. You'd think that an HTPC case would be on the smaller side. All this has going for it is the height (when laying flat).When I first attempted to use the case, I thought that it was DOA. As it turns out, there is a switch for the PSU hidden behind the front panel. After switching that on, it still didn't work. The power cable going to the PSU was loose as well! After fixing that, the computer would power on.The faceplate for the 5.25" optical drive is too close to the drive itself. As-is, it presses into the drive and makes the eject button constantly pressed in. As a workaround, I have the faceplate partially backed out, which looks ugly. But at least I can use the eject button that way.Thin, cheap metal. Cheap brittle plastic. Disposable expansion slot covers. This thing is cheap in all senses of the word. Look elsewhere if you want something nice.*UPDATE*If you're handy, and the PSU noise is bothering you, there is something you can do about it! Get a pair of 1W zener diodes. Start with 4.7v ones (the higher the voltage rating, the slower the fan will go, as you subtract the zener diode rating from 12v to get the final voltage that reaches the fan). Wire them in parallel to ensure they can handle the load (not 100% sure if this is necessary, but it can't hurt.). Open the PSU to remove the fan, and cut a length of the red wire after you've slit the clear tubing around it. Solder the diode pair inline so that the stripe is on the connector side. Wrap it up and you'll now have a fan that spins at a slower speed, and therefore is quieter. If you have a high-draw system, don't go too slow or the PSU may overheat. Also, be careful with screwing the fan back in. It's very brittle.*UPDATE #2*Even after successfully lowering the PSU fan RPM with zener diodes (I ended up at using 6.2v zeners), I still had noise problems. Why? The remaining noise wasn't from the RPM of the fan, it was from the crummy bearing (if it even had one). Even at low RPMs, it would rattle, which was quite annoying. Having had my share of noise annoyance, I ended up purchasing a fanless PSU that I will mount in this case. Which totally negates my cost-saving goal of getting a case that comes with a PSU. This is garbage!

The media could not be loaded. Overall this is a nice computer case. I looked at a lot of cases before deciding on this one for my build. I'm using it for my main pc not for a home theater pc. I probably wouldn't recommend running a full ATX motherboard in this case because it doesn't leave any extra room and I can't access all of my motherboard's features because it is such a tight fit. You'll want to make sure you are running a LOW PROFILE cooler with this case since many coolers will not fit. The first cooler I bought was too tall so I went with a Noctua NH-L12 Low-profile cooler which fits nicely but was more expensive than the one I wanted to use. The front panel looks really nice but do note that the LED's are waaaay too bright and should be addressed before starting your build. I didn't notice this until my build was completed, so to solve the issue I cut circles from painters tape and put several layers over them to dull the light. A better option would have been to replace the LED's or cover them with something before finishing the install. I didn't attempt to use the included PSU due to the reviews saying that it's not very good. Instead I bought a nice PSU to swap into the case from the beginning. Also the case did not include enough motherboard standoffs, so make sure to buy some extras just in case (it takes the standard 6-32 size standoffs.)Pros:-Looks great-Very compact external dimensions for a full ATX case-Can be purchased in vertical or horizontal configuration-Lots of cool colors to choose fromCons:-Very cramped when running a full ATX motherboard (it's difficult or impossible to access certain ports)-Must use a low-profile cooler-The front panel LED's are blindingly bright, so much so that they are simply not practical-Included PSU is not very good quality-Did not include enough motherboard standoffsIn closing, I like this case and would recommend it for anyone that won't be running a full ATX mobo. It is a nice compact case that looks great and can be used for your main pc or would certainly be perfect for a Home Theater case (just make sure to do something about the LED's or they will distract you from being able to see the movie.)