Good value and nice product for the price

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	• Athenatech A3701BB HTPC Media Center ATX Desktop System Cabinet - Retail Athenatech Athenatech average customer review:based on 21 reviews view larger image
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Good value and nice product for the price

First and foremost this is a good value. I would recommend this for anyone that wants an inexpensive HTPC case. I liked the layout of the case and the nice finish overall and especially on the front. Of course it would be nice if they didn't put their logo in big white letters on the front but I can "fix" that. It doesn't come with a power supply. I know that I shouldn't expect one at this price point but I would at least like it mentioned on the description. I did like that it came with three fans that are fairly quiet but they don't have the temp controlled option. One feature that I really didn't like is that the "feet" for the case are attached with adhesive and can be accidentally removed by sliding the case. Of course doing a quick mod with a drill you can fix this but I would expect the manufacturer to take care of this instead of passing it onto the customer. Especially since if I fix this myself I can damage the nice finish. In conclusion I would buy this again and I may do just that to replace my other PC's case.

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Decent for a low priced case.

Not a bad case for $68. I would have given 4 stars rating for construction if the 4 feet were screwed onto bottom and not stuck with double stick tape.
Be careful when you are building your computer inside this case by placing a mat or some soft surface, also be careful if messing with it inside of the compact space of a tv stand as the outside finish is a gloss black and easily scratched.
There is plenty of room for a full sized ATX motherboard to fit in, but it may take a couple tries figuring where the cables are going to end up after install. There isn't a whole lot of space and the bottom drive cage is a bit harder to get at. You have to take the bottom panel off to be able to mount a hdd with screws. This was a pain for me as I had trouble with the first sata drive I put in and ended up having to put an IDE hdd in. You end up with both panels off, and the front panel off, but you have to be careful with the front panel because the front panel connector wires do not come off so you have to keep it within a couple inches.
The case is a bit heavy, which I like because it more sturdy, not flimsy. The front panel is the heaviest part and sturdiest part as well.
I hooked up the power to the led on the power button. Quickly I removed that as this blue led is WAY TOO BRIGHT!! No good if you are using this for your TV. Even the hdd activity light is too bright, however it is not nearly as overpowering.
As another reviewer stated, the product description does not show the EVO logo that is painted in the upper left hand side of the front. The letters are about an inch tall and painted on. Not removable. Not a big deal, but who the hell is EVO?
I put in a fan on the side panel inside next to the cpu, I recommend doing so.
Overall this case is worth it. I was trying to go cheaper and put in my old desktop that I had upgraded from.

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Athenatech A3701BB HTPC Media Case

Clean looking, could pass for a much more expensive case. Installed an ASUS Micro ATX and worked out great. One exception and this didn't affect my build. If I needed to use the EIDE input on the ASUS board I could not have done so. Part of the case structure blocks the board connector.
If this is your first build I would rethink this purchase. Since there are no instructions supplied a first timer would find it difficult.

great value case, unique for HTPC cases

I bought this case under another brand 2 years ago. overall, it gets the 4 stars on value if you want to get into the HTPC thing but don't want to spend $150 on other versions that offer more.

good:
· aluminum front fits right in for AV in the living room. spouse approved. the rest is shiny black steel. entire top and bottom of the case slides off. AV stick on feet.
· interior is best for a narrow ATX board and not for a squarish m-ATX (DVD drives can hang over memory), can fit lots of large TV and Video cards.
· sides have 120mm fan grills. ditch the included rear fans and get 2 silent 120mm version to make a silent wind tunnel.
· can supply your own power supply.

bad:
· is very long. longer than any stereo or twice as long as a set top box. make sure you have an open back AV cabinet, mine hangs 1" out of the front, mostly because I have to bend lots of PC type cables in the rear.
· it's shallow inside, only 1/2" above PCI cards, not a problem with standard cooling and long Video cards.
· hard drive arrangement is crazy, have to remove the bottom to get to one, then one is in the side. however the side vents allow surface mounting drives too, that's neat. get short (anything new) DVD drives.
· have to supply your own power supply... as mentioned, requires a bottom fan supply (mounts upside down). it's an odd layout but works. I had to splice in a P4 power extension to reach the other side of the motherboard. the power is in the front. I installed a fan below it to suck air out. make sure there's plenty of room above the case or it gets really hot. I deducted a star for how annoying it was to have to make a P4 extension.

other:
· there are complaints that the front blue power button is too bright. it connects to standard Molex power and is very bright. I hacked it to connect to the motherboard's power pins and it's just right.
· in retrospect I would have bought a better case. but this got me in the HTPC game cheaply, so no regrets.

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Great HTPC case for the money

This is a great & beautiful case for the money. Installed a uATX GigaByte motherboard with HDMI port and G45 chipset combined with an E8400 processor. Nice!!
I had absolutely no problems with cooling. The side fans are cheap & quiet 120mm Coolermaster fans blowing in and all the other fans are 80mm SilenX iXtrema fans blowing out. Including the one below the PSU. The SilenX fans are quieter than the stock fans.
The 250GB WD Caviar Blue drive was mounted in the 3.5" bay beneath the 5.25" bays, a fan blowing down on the metal top of the HDD from the lower 5.25" bay. I don't blow on the electronics because there is some salt in the air being close to the ocean. The upper bay holds a LG DVD writer with Lightscribe.
I connected all the fans with a Sunbeamtech Multifan Powerport to one molex connector. Neat!
CPU Cooler is a Thermaltake ISGC-100. Power Supply is a PC Power & Cooling PPCS370X Silencer 370 ATX.
I live in a hot tropical environment and the processor reaches 46 degrees Celsius while being used which is about 14 degrees higher than ambient. (no gaming)
I had no problems with the drive doors as described by others.
Display is a Sharp 46SE94 LCD TV connected with a HDMI cable to the onboard HDMI port. Plays 1080p HD material perfectly. Just make sure the display is on while booting otherwise the system will default to VGA.
Cons: the ugly logo, stick-on feet and no means to install sensor for IR remote. These are minor and easily fixed with a sticker and a drill.
Other thought: there was barely enough space between the motherboard edge and the HDD for the SATA & power connector of the drive. I was lucky enough to have cables that fitted in between.
Overall very satisfied and looks good in my setup.
Edwin

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Detail Specifications Type: ATX Desktop Color: Black Case Material: Aluminum Face Plate / Steel Chassis Power Supply: No Motherboard Compatibility: ATX / m-ATX / Flex ATX With Side Panel Window: No Expansion External 5.25" Drive Bays: 2 External 3.5" Drive Bays: 1 Internal 3.5" Drive Bays: 1 Expansion Slots: 7 Front Ports: 2 x USB2.0 ; 2 x Audio Cooling System: 2 x 80mm rear fan Dimensions: 13 .8' x 7' x 15' ( W x H x D ) Weight: 18 lbs Warranty: 1 year

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