Aspire X-QPack: A Lanparty Dream
by Joshua Buss on July 2, 2005 1:15 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Internal Design
Removing the cover of the X-QPack is as easy as unscrewing the three thumbscrews in the back and sliding it off. In this shot you can still see the protective film covering the inside of the three transparent windows.
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Another of just the cover, this time with the protective film removed.
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This is one of the most useful shots of the X-Pack, as it gives you the best overall idea how the case is arranged internally.
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We can immediately see the two distinct areas of the chassis; the higher of the two for the drives, power supply, and exhaust, and the lower for the motherboard, add-on cards, and, as we found out after we put a system into the unit, excessive cable clutter.
Before the power supply is taken out, the case seems like it'd be impossible to work in, and in practice we found this to be quite true.
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Once it's taken out though, there is actually quite a bit of free space inside the QPack. Here we can see all of the possible locations of the computer's drives. There's space for two hard drives, two 5.25", and one more 3.5", be it external or internal. It even looks as though a courageous modder could squeeze another one or two hard drives on the opposite side, or possibly components for a water-cooling setup.
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stromgald - Saturday, July 2, 2005 - link
The dimensions of the included PSU are unique, but there does seem to be some space between the PSU and the installed DVD burner. The height and widths are the same as a standard ATX according to the article so the screw holes are probably in the same place, but the depth may be a problem. I think that's what #11 was asking, and I'm wondering the same thing. I've been looking to build a new mATX computer, and have been looking at the Aspire and its OEM version, the Chenming 118 (has a 300W PSU and is less flashy) for awhile. Great review, the article and the nice pictures will help alot if I use this case for my next build.Olaf van der Spek - Saturday, July 2, 2005 - link
It's also a shame it doesn't have independent cover parts, which makes me think of those old minitowers where takes of the cover was almost a disaster.Olaf van der Spek - Saturday, July 2, 2005 - link
> We should note how if our motherboard had supported external USB and Firewire connections, some of that cable clutter would be greatly reduced.What exactly are external USB and Firewire connections?
Spacecomber - Saturday, July 2, 2005 - link
From the Aspire website:Power Supply ATX 420W power supply
-High-gloss mirror finish
-1*80mm built-in UV blue LED fan
-Wire management:all wires are sleeved
-Size:116 x 149 x 87 mm
Power Supply Spec.
+3.3V +5V +12V -12V -5V +5VSB
20A 25A 20A 0.8A 0.3A 2.0A
(They don't list the 3.3v+5v combined power rating. Just that the maximum is 420w.)
Power Supply Connectors
1 x 20pin Main Power
1 x 12V (P4)
4 x Peripheral
1 x Floppy
1 x SATA
Those dimensions seem a bit unique; it certainly isn't a standard full-size power supply.
Space
Cygni - Saturday, July 2, 2005 - link
I agree, the PSU is the question. At $90 WITH a 420wt PSU, it sounds like a really really good deal.. but i get the feeling its not exactly a true 420.BTW, i noticed the HD thing too. In one view we clearly see the PATA cables, and from the other side, i see orange SATA cables running up, haha. :D
RaNDoMMAI - Saturday, July 2, 2005 - link
Can you put a normal PSU in?Spacecomber - Saturday, July 2, 2005 - link
I like this review, but I have to agree with #9 -- we need more information on the power supply. How does it stack up against good quality power supplies in terms of amps per rail? Are there two 12v rails? Does it come with a 24 pin main power connector and with the new square 4 pin video card connectors? Is it of standard dimensions? What options would there be for changing it out, if you feel this one is not adequate?Basically, I hate to pay the extra cost of getting a power supply and a case when it turns out that the power supply is a low quality generic model which I'll have to replace.
Space
JustAnAverageGuy - Saturday, July 2, 2005 - link
What were the amps (5V, 12V, etc) on the 420W power supply?One oddity.
In all of the pictures it shows a Western Digital hard drive. It states you used a Seagate on page 8 though.
DarkKnight - Saturday, July 2, 2005 - link
great review, case looks awesome. I wish this case had come out before I bought my aria :(. Had to mod the hell of out it to get acceptable temps.KristopherKubicki - Saturday, July 2, 2005 - link
Pannenkoek: Look in the comments section of the Sun article.Kristopher