Specifications, Availability and Pricing

Microcools Banchetto 101 will arrive about 95% assembled. The shelves or layers of the Banchetto 101 are made from 8mm thick Methacrylate pieces and are clear as glass. The middle section, frame and removable tray sections are all made from aluminum and then anodized black. Standing out against all the black, the chromed steel thumbscrews are easy to locate for removal. Overall size of the entire unit is slightly larger than a full ATX motherboard in all directions and composed of 3 layers; the floor, the top support shelf and then the motherboard tray. All components included, the Banchetto 101 weighs in at just under twelve pounds.

Being a tech-bench, things are laid out differently and most times there is less room for optical and hard drives. This is not the case here, Microcool left room for three 5.25" devices, or a reservoir if you choose. To one side of the 5.25" bays the 101 offers room for four 3.5" drives and on the other side there is a rack to hold the power supply in place. That pretty much sums up the majority of the font and major components of the chassis, but there is still one thing to cover.

Cooling! While the chassis can work with any air cooler, as there is no roof or door to cause issues with height or air flow, Microcool offers a better idea built right in to the back. How about water cooling? As I mentioned, you might choose to set a reservoir in the 5.25" bays. That is because the Banchetto 101 offers a rack in the back that can house a 3 X 120mm radiator. This plate is pre-drilled for mounting to one side of the radiator, has water tubing holes to keep the tubing clean and also offers holes to pass the fan wires through. On top of this, Microcool knows that there is usually no direct air flow on the components, as there are no fans with this chassis. They do, however, offer a plate for dual 92mm fans and is mounted near the CPU and RAM on the motherboard tray to offer a bit of "spot" cooling.

Checking locations and pricing as I usually do, via Google Shopping I have found that the Banchetto 101 is a bit limited as to where you may get one. Sidewinders, Heatsink Factory and FrozenCPU all offer it and relatively all at the same price. Low end is $255 USD with the cheapest shipping to me being at another $21.29, so actually around $276 and some change. On the high end, the pricing is about $260 with another $20.25 for shipping. So if you do want one, you know now where to get one and the size of the dent it is going to put in your wallet. Hopefully along the way I can answer weather this is your solution, or if you should pay a similar price for something like the 700D.