PC Peripherals CFI Mini-Itx Case pictures.

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obama

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Just received the package containing the CFI-A8989 mini-itx case ordered from Primeabgb, Mumbai.
Please note this is not a review of the product but just detailed pics with my preliminary observations about the case. I hope it helps many potential but latent HTPC system builders here.
Product: CFI Mini-Itx Case with 150W SFF psu
Link @ mfgr's website: [URL="http://chyang-en.so-buy.com/front/bin/ptdetail.phtml?Part=CFI-A8989&PreView=1"]CFI group -- CFI-A8989
MotherBoard: Intel DG45FC , mini-itx FF, size 6.70 inches by 6.70 inches
Link @ mfgr's website:Intel DG45FC
Cpu:E5200 / E7300
Click to Enlarge the images.
The package arrived in double box packing by Primeabgb as seen below.


The Case has a nice glossy finish with high reflectivity. reminds me of the fine Antec Sonata series case finish, i have purposely included the ruler so that members get an idea about the dimensions of the case. The case has very light sheet metal material, to keep its weight low + mfgr's profit, as can be seen by the bent while transportation in the right most pic below.


I applied feeble pressure with my thumb and made it straight as seen below.


Some more inside pics from the sides and top.


The psu is 150W SFF. It has a 60mm intake Fan to suck in fresh air from the front bottom grill of the case. The power Ratings are shown below. WTH:huh: !! only 5A on 5V and 8A on 5V !!, i hope it is sufficent for the m/b + 4GB GSkill pi black rams.:no: The psu connectors are also shown below. The psu looks robust with good quality components, beefy transformer. I will open it shortly to analyse it in more detail and do mods to it, especially the input filters + secondary caps to make it more reliable.


There is just one 2 wire 80mm fan at the rear of the case so no rpm sensing of the case fan.

Some more pics of the m/b bay area , Optical/ HDD bays. The hdd fits below the optical Drive. I think with some effort more than 2 hdd's can be fitted in the case (1 below the ODD + some at the sides of the case as there is enough space for slim hdd's), i will try it out while assembling the unit.


With provisional m/b fitted, just to give you an idea about the fit and dimensions. I have fitted an intel original h/s on the SB chip which gets very hot indeed. surprisingly intel tried to save a few bucks by not putting a h/s over the SB which gets very hot and temps of >90C is typical for this m/b. my fitted h/s is the top one in the first picture and the lower one on the 2nd pic.



With ODD attached, Top View.

I have used the older and taller type intel cpu cooler, the copper base one, from my E6600. this will help at better cooling of the cpu thus lowering the rpm of the cpu fan which will reduce the noise levels.


The odd tray door is spring loaded as can be seen in the pic below.


Conclusion: for anybody planning a mini-itx HTPC this is an excellent choice. much better than other brands available locally from zebronics, Iball and others. it is small but with ample space inside for painless assembling, good cable management and airflow.
One can even use other brand low profile heat-pipe cpu h/s in it without any problems.
For a price of Rs.2450/- Including shipping from Mumbai to Rajasthan this is a VFM deal imho.[/URL]

EDIT: 2 corrections made.
1) The psu does have a 60mm intake fan.
2) The 80mm case fan is normal 2 wire one.
 
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WTH! Just Rs. 2450 for this enclosure? :O

Damn that seems to be too good for HTPC users!

Sorry if I missed out, but what processor are you planning to pair this motherboard with? Do let us know how 1080p fairs on this one!

Cheers! :D
 
either E5200 or E7300, have both so lets see which runs cooler and quieter for similar tasks and performance.

BTW guys can you suggest which software should i use for this. MS windows Home server or FreeNAS or plain old XP sp3. my main usage will be Media storage and Playing of movies / songs via the HT receiver in the Drawing room so i need a good front end / player for the same. will be setting up wifi soon to connect / share all the pc's in the house.
 
I've been waiting for this thread. I bought a 42-inch 1080p LCD TV two weeks back and yes I'm excited. Currently, I'm using my old Athlon 64 2800+ as my temporary HTPC and it's just about sufficient for 720p. It's also noisy and hot. I'll be giving this away to an office boy at work a week or two later.

My biggest concern has been the case and I've been looking at the one you bought for a while. I THINK I've seen this case in real life :P

I don't want to spend a lot on the config except for that case maybe. I'll be using the setup as a HTPC-download rig and I know that pretty much any dual core processor with 2GB of memory will "aaraam se" run 1080p on any graphics solution :P I'm thinking of a cheap compact solution like the one you're going for. I just need HDMI with audio from the board and I need it to be quiet, low-power and compact. This case lets me do that from the looks of it.

I've also been thinking of a 610i ITX, a NVIDIA 8200 if I go AMD and a NVIDIA Geforce 9300 ITX. They're all going to be expensive (~6k for just the board) but I get a decent onboard graphics solution. A cheap 780G ITX if possible would be nice as well. I want to see how far behind the Intel onboard lags in comparison to these chipsets. Remember that some of the HTPC software have some fancy 3D-ish animations and transitions which MIGHT need some driving force by the graphics solution. One of the 9300 ITX boards even has a PCIe x16 slot IFFF I ever want to add a decent graphics card to it but I don't think the cabinet will let me.

Edit: I just realized the board you have is also around the same price! :O!

If you mean HTPC software, I highly suggest you try XBMC. It's free, pretty, light and plays almost everything. Themes are sweet and I like how it downloads album covers for you and lets you view your collection as a cover-art-flip thingie like the Apple interface. It can access and play the entire database of shoutcast streams and stuff from network drives....and it runs OK on this old AMD Athlon 64. I setup my X360 controller to work with it :P

Check out some of the screenshots here:

Flickr: XBMC Media Center's Photostream

Another option is Media Portal,
 
Anyone have experienced problems with the chassis fan?
I have a dg45fc motherboard in a cfi-8989 case but the chassis fan doesn't work.
I have tested separately the fan and I have double checked the pinout (1-red, 2-black, 3-empty) and all seems good.
Is there something I have missed in the cabling or configuration?
Thanks
 
I'm building a htpc with this case. Mine is an "Aywun A1-8989", apparently Aywun is the regional distributor.

It's a beautiful case. The only wrong note is that the psu in mine is mounted in such a way it's sucking air from over the board, rather than the front intake vents. I suspect remounting the psu facing the opposite way will solve the airflow issues, lower the temp and quieten the psu (which can get loud)

From the OPs photos it looks like his is mounted correctly. The psu looks slightly different as the power cables in mine exit the psu case on the same side as the fan, rather than the end.

I also replaced the supplied case fan with an Antec 80mm Tricool, as it was excessively noisy.

The other issue is obviously power. Finding a higher rated psu in that size is difficult, if not impossible. On paper the power situation in my system is hideous, however I've had it running for over three months and it's passed every benchmark and real life test without missing a beat. Of course that says nothing about long-term reliability....
 
Folks, Im also getting this same case for a HTPC build. The PSU looks like a odd shape, is it the standard size PSU or is it a custom size ?
 
It's a SFF (small form factor PSU) which the enclosure manufacturer bundles with the case.
 
Thank you so much. Im worried about what happens when the PSU decides to blow up and the case becomes useless as a SFF does not look like commonly available. The CFI cube is now available for Rs 1699, so it is very tempting.

Anyways, got a E5400, looking for a cheap mini-itx motherboard to go with it.
 
I'd say don't risk it since the OEM of the power supply is unknown. Better hunt the local streets and see if you can find yourself some Delta OEM SFF power supply bundled with Dell desktops since those are some good ones and can easily power a HTPC. :)

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

Damn this thread have raked quite a few linkbacks. That too from some foren nation. :\
 
better yet try to get DC-DC PSU.. It will be slightly expensive but very low heat output... Zero noise as there is no fan..
 
good cabby .. btw zebronics anna :lol: similar cabby costs around 1.5k with 250w psu and internals are same and looks quite decent also . the power supply for that can be found easily if needed later .
 
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