Moneual Sonamu G100: Back to the Future
by Dustin Sklavos on June 7, 2011 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- mid-tower
- Moneual
Introducing the Moneual Sonamu G100
One of the joys of doing case reviews is getting to see more exotic designs from smaller vendors looking to make their mark. Some of them are like ASRock has traditionally been with desktop motherboards, innovating in new (and often strange ways) and adding features or going after markets bigger names don't traditionally gun for. Such is the case with Moneual's Sonamu G100, an enclosure designed specifically to reduce standby power consumption of not just your desktop, but reduce or even eliminate the power consumption of the peripherals plugged into it. That's the theory at least, but how does it work out in practice?
Judging from the press pamphlet, Moneual's claim to fame with the Sonamu G100 is that it can substantially reduce the amount of wasted power drawn by peripherals connected to it. This is handled by a power outlet on the back of the case and toggled using the "Green Button" at the front top. And yes, I said "power outlet." As you'll see later, there's the usual input power, but there's also a three-pronged power outlet that allows you to effectively put the Sonamu G100 directly between the wall and your peripheral hardware.
| Moneual Sonamu G100 Specifications | ||
| Motherboard Form Factor | Micro ATX, Mini ITX | |
| Drive Bays | External | 1x 5.25" |
| Internal | 3x 3.5" | |
| Cooling | Front | - |
| Rear | 1x 60mm exhaust fan, 1x 60mm fan mount | |
| Top | - | |
| Side | - | |
| Bottom | - | |
| Expansion Slots | 4 | |
| Front I/O Port | 2x USB 2.0, mic and headphone jacks, SD/MMC card reader | |
| Top I/O Port | - | |
| Power Supply Size | Micro ATX; 300-watt power supply included | |
| Clearance | 8" (Expansion Cards), 105mm (CPU HSF) | |
| Weight | 11 lbs. | |
| Dimensions | 16.5" x 5.75" x 14" | |
| Price | $139 | |
The Sonamu G100 includes a 300W Logisys brand micro ATX power supply, rated for "250W average, 350W peak," which can be swapped out and replaced with a bit of work. This power supply is honestly pretty dire, and you'll see more once we really get into it.
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Myrandex - Tuesday, June 7, 2011 - link
Loved the lolwatts, someone needs to come up with a formula to go from lolwatts to actual watts :)bobbozzo - Tuesday, June 7, 2011 - link
ILS ratings work well too... "If Lightning Strikes"Colin1497 - Tuesday, June 7, 2011 - link
I have one on my home theater that I have set up to turn off several things when the TV is switched off, and on my PC it turns of some accessories when the PC goes off or into standby. No extra switch touching required, and I think the difference in cost wasn't that much from a similar UPS without the functionality.jdonnelly - Tuesday, June 7, 2011 - link
http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Strip-Protector-Autosw...And you could get a better case for the remaining $110.
Icabus - Tuesday, June 7, 2011 - link
Looks more like a gaming console than a computer case to me.mlcloud - Tuesday, June 7, 2011 - link
I'm just surprised the editor didn't snap halfway through and start raging over the case. Glad he kept his cool.Dustin Sklavos - Tuesday, June 7, 2011 - link
You weren't there when I was working on the review. My personal Facebook is littered with...well, take a guess and then make it twice as graphic.Gabriel Torres - Wednesday, June 8, 2011 - link
I made a in-depth review of the power supply that comes with this case. The efficiency is between 71% and 78% and it can deliver only up to 220 W, above that the unit burns. A real piece of junk... So much for a "green" case. Check it out:http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Logisys-PS3...
Zap - Friday, June 10, 2011 - link
Thanks, Gabriel. I'll go read it for the lulz.Seriously though, the actual layout of the chassis isn't too terrible. I have two similar cases that I purchased through Athena Power a decade ago that are almost the same layout except with two differences. One is that they were aluminum (with plastic face). The second is that nothing blocks the slot area, so you can use however big a graphics card as you can find an SFX PSU to power. At one time I was running a GeForce 7900 GTO in mine, with an Enermax 320W SFX PSU (20A +12v continuous, 24A peak) and an overclocked Athlon 64 4000+.