IntroductionWhen my system first started out its life; it was a low-end model from CTX. It was a mid-tower unit that housed a blazingly fast Pentium II 233MHz processor and a whopping 32MB of RAM. It was a decent computer for its day, but that was before I started realizing how much fun you can have by playing with these machines.
When I realized that more power could be gained by overclocking, I was right there. With overclocking, however, came a lot of extra heat. I started installing some fans to the old case, but that just didnt cut it. Especially when I finally made the plunge and started using the AMD Thunderbird processors. With the heat that these chips produce, I was unable to keep the mid-tower case cool enough.
After doing a bit of research, I decided on an Antec SX1030 case. I chose the case for a number of reasons…
1 - its a tower case but not so tall that it cant be placed under a desk.
2 - It offers as standard equipment the PP303X 300w Power Supply Unit. This unit is consistently being rated in AMDs certified list of PSUs.
3 - It offers some very good cooling options without having to perform case mods.
SpecificationsCase TypeSOHO File Server
Case Dimensions20.6"(H) x8.1"(W) x18.6"(D)
Drive Bays10
Front Accessible4x 5.25" ; 2x 3.5"
Internal4x 3.5"
Expansion Slots7
Cooling System4x 80mm Fans
1 Front (Optional)
2 Rear (Standard)
1 HDD Bay (Optional)
Mainboard SizeUp to 12" (W) x 13" (L) - 305mm x 330mm
Power Supply UnitPP303X 300w unit
Material1.0mm SECC
Net Weight30.7 Pounds
MotherboardsFits any standard ATX and Xeon
Special FeaturesSwing out side panel with handle
Quick release drive bays
Snap in fan mounts
Large front panel vent