Rosewill Line-M Case Review: Wherefore Art Thou Micro-ATX?
by Dustin Sklavos on February 26, 2013 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- MicroATX
- Rosewill
Introducing the Rosewill Line-M
Vendors are always very quick to send us their biggest, best, and brightest. Rosewill's own top-selling Blackhawk Ultra has been with us for a little while, but while we rework our testbed for high end cases, we thought it might be worth looking at one of the workhorses in Rosewill's stable. Looking at enthusiast kit is fun, but it's interesting to see what's floating around in the budget sector, too, as many of us are often on the hook to build and maintain desktops for family and friends. With that in mind, we requested the micro-ATX Rosewill Line M.
While the Line M is worth checking out in its own right as a compact, $55 case with USB 3.0 connectivity, it also highlights a disparity in the current industry: Micro-ATX motherboards are still incredibly common, but case designs are stratifying within two extremes. Full ATX and larger cases are going stronger than ever, but the smaller case designs have largely been usurped by Mini-ITX. There's still a place in the world for a good Micro-ATX client, though, and we think the Line-M might just help deliver it.
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It's only fitting that just as I'd tweaked the case testbed to handle Micro-ATX and ATX cases with a single bed, Micro-ATX cases started to vanish from the market. That's a shame, because I'm not really convinced there isn't a place for Micro-ATX in the current market. It's true that for many builds even Mini-ITX will be adequate, but that form factor precludes multi-GPU or ever adding any expansion cards (I have a personal, persisting need for FireWire.) I'm a prime candidate for Micro-ATX, but there just aren't very many compelling cases out there in the form factor.
That's part of why I wanted to check out the Line-M. This is pretty clearly a workhorse enclosure, but as a long time proponent of some of Cooler Master's Elite chassis I have a continuing interest in good budget enclosures. The Line-M was kind of quietly tucked away in Rosewill's suite at CES 2013, but I felt like its older style ATX design might still have plenty to recommend it. As it turns out, I was right.
| Rosewill Line-M Specifications | ||
| Motherboard Form Factor | Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX | |
| Drive Bays | External | 2x 5.25", 1x 3.5" |
| Internal | 1x 2.5", 2x 3.5" | |
| Cooling | Front | 1x 120mm blue LED intake fan |
| Rear | 1x 120mm exhaust fan | |
| Top | - | |
| Side | 2x 120mm/92mm fan mount | |
| Bottom | - | |
| Expansion Slots | 5 | |
| I/O Port | 2x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0, 1x Headphone, 1x Mic | |
| Power Supply Size | ATX | |
| Clearances | HSF | 160mm |
| PSU | 160mm | |
| GPU | 300mm | |
| Dimensions |
7.29" x 14.37" x 15.74" 185mm x 365mm x 400mm |
|
| Weight | 8.82 lbs / 4 kg | |
| Special Features | USB 3.0 via internal header | |
| Price | $55 | |
You can see from the spec table that the Rosewill Line-M is pretty spare. This is most definitely, most definitely a budget enclosure. Construction is fairly thin SECC steel with a plastic fascia and the whole thing is as barebones as it gets. But realistically, basic users aren't going to need more than what Rosewill has on offer here, and they at least made an allowance for an SSD mount.
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Retrophe - Tuesday, February 26, 2013 - link
Not a bad case. Would be fun to mod with a small window, sound deadening and better fans.Nice review as always.
Oh and nice wiring job Paul!
iTzSnypah - Tuesday, February 26, 2013 - link
If you casually look at cases on newegg by number of reviews (and thus purchases), all the top reviewed cases have LED fans. AKA people are attracted to bright lights.It's weird though as the Rosewill's Line (ATX version) is offered in both LED and non-LED versions.
My only gripe with this case besides it's price is that I hate stacked side fan vents, I would much rather have horizontal ones.
DanNeely - Tuesday, February 26, 2013 - link
The non-LED version is probably intended for the same (business) customers who want the padlock loop on the back. It's a trivial alternative to let them target two markets at once.ahar - Tuesday, February 26, 2013 - link
I think the title would make more sense if wherefore meant where.beemeup - Tuesday, February 26, 2013 - link
Yeah, wherefore means "why" and not "where" as most people would think.It's a very deceptive word.
Silverkinggames - Tuesday, February 26, 2013 - link
Really? So when Shakespeare wrote "Wherefore art thou Romeo?" Juliet was asking Why he was named Romeo and not where Romeo is? I understand this is a tech site but you may want to expand your knowledge some to understand the reference of the title.A5 - Tuesday, February 26, 2013 - link
Yes, asking "why" he is Romeo is EXACTLY what she was doing.If he were not Romeo Monatgue, their relationship would not have any barriers or complications.
You should really learn the material before making fun of other people for not knowing it. Even the most basic reading of it would have taught you this.
thermopyle2 - Tuesday, February 26, 2013 - link
Actually, Juliet wasn't asking why he was named Romeo, but why he IS Romeo. Basically her question was about why Romeo had to be who he is, instead of somebody not in a family hers opposed. "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" was a lament about her heart's poor choices, and the family he unfortunately belonged to.http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/262200.html
adityanag - Tuesday, February 26, 2013 - link
"I understand this is a tech site but you may want to expand your knowledge some to understand the reference of the title. "Indeed.. you might even want to read Romeo & Juliet. It is why, not where.
This line made me laugh out loud. Silverkinggames, there is an expression that is extremely apt: "Hoist by his own petard"
:D
Sweepster - Tuesday, February 26, 2013 - link
Type in wherefore in Google and you get:Adverb
For what reason: "she took an ill turn, but wherefore I cannot say".
As a result of which: "truly he cared for me, wherefore I title him with all respect".
Synonyms
why
So I believe an apology is in order here.