[Pc_Support] Re: Chenming 118 Series 11"x9"x14" MicroATX "box" -- Aspire X-QPack ...

[Bryan J. Smith]

On Sat, 2005-07-02 at 01:06 -0500, Bryan J. Smith wrote:
> The Chenming 118 Series ...
>   http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811125485  
> There are several resellers selling all sorts of "mod" kits for this.
> Frankly, I went with the "stock black aluminum" version with the
> standard 300W PS, and I'm glad I did.

As I mentioned, several resellers are selling all sorts of "mod" kits
for this.  One of them is the Aspire X-QPack:  
  http://www.anandtech.com/casecooling/showdoc.aspx?i=2464  

I had seen it prior and decided to go with the stock Chenming 118.  Why?
Several things, one being the EMI/cover issues and other being the power
supply.  I could care less about the Windows, and it will only hurt the
overall case stability, EMI protection and EMF generation.

The power supply is even more interesting.  It's so-called 420W is an
ATX 1.0 with a 20-pin connector + 4-pin P4, while the Chenming is a
300W, ATX 2.0 with a 24-pint connector (convertible to 20-pin) + 4-pin
P4.  The ratings are even more of a shock.

Both the Chenming ATX2.0-300W and the Aspire ATX1.0-420W are rated for
25A on the +5V.  The Aspire edges out the Chenming on +3.3V with 20A to
17A, but the +12V is only a _single_ 20A +12V line for the Aspire, while
the Chenming has a split +15A and +10V on its two +12V lines, the nice,
added, full ATX 2.0 standards-compliant bonus of an _true_ ATX 2.0 power
supply.

This is why I went with the Chenming, and why it's so-called "measly
300W" handles my GeForce 6800GT just fine alongside the CPU and 3 drives
in it.  I definitely would _not_ buy the Aspire for the P.S. (let alone
for an ATX 2.0 mainboard, even one that is ATX 1.0 "tolerant"), and buy
another ATX 2.0 compliant power supply with dual (or even triple) +12V
if I really needed it.

On the newer PCI-Express MicroATX mainboards, the video card can suck up
to 75+W from the mainboard itself (better than all except the top-of-
the-line AGP Pro 50-75W).  So having an ATX 2.0 mainboard and power
supply is the most stable setup IMHO, which is why I went with my
Foxconn mainboard and, later, the Chenming 118.

But if you still like the look of the Aspire, especially with an older
ATX 1.0 MicroATX mainboard, go for it.  But if you go with a new, PCIe
solution, you'll probably want to replace the P.S.


-- 
Bryan J. Smith                                     b.j.smith at ieee.org 
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