This is the interior with a system installed. As you can see, even with just a basic system it’s very cramped. This case only allows one optical drive and one hard disk, which is fine for a media PC.

The hard drive is mounted on its side at one end of the case, thankfully near a vent. It’s quite difficult to fit because you have to screw it in from both above and below. Once it’s installed it seems secure and away from anything else.

In order to keep the case small they have put the PCI/AGP cards on their side using riser cards. We tried a few types of motherboard and some would fit both an AGP and PCI card, while some wouldn’t fit if you had to use the larger AGP riser. This meant you could only use one AGP card and no PCI. This is due to the location of the AGP slot. Once again, for most media PCs, this shouldn't be a issue.

A notable feature of the case is it's weight. When you take the cover off for the first time it makes you think it's been made out of cardboard. In fact, it is thin (although very strong) aluminium sheet. The usefulness of this is debatable for a media PC.

Final Thoughts

Overall, this is a great case - well made, small, attractive and enough features for its intended use. Our main concerns are of cooling power, so make sure you choose your equipment carefully.

As with almost all the best products, it does carry a hefty price tag. This case is £154.99 including VAT from Kustom PCs. Although this is a lot, this is a niche market and Similar HTPC cases are around the same price.

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