Apex MI-008: A Cheap Quiet mini-ITX Case?

THE INTERIOR

On the inside, the MI-008 looks very much like a Shuttle barebones system, only shorter, and with the power supply hanging over the motherboard tray. Most of the edges on the inside are only 1.2-1.3 mm thick.

The drive cages at the front have no support beneath them so they feel somewhat flimsy — you can bend them easily by hand. The 5.25" bay has plenty of holes, making it easy to set up a suspension system for a hard drive. Surprisingly, most of the edges on the inside are rolled to prevent injury. This is particularly important inside the smaller space of a mini-ITX case. There are still a few places where you can cut yourself, so be careful, especially at the very top and bottom of the drive cages. The motherboard tray has risers built-in, so there is no need for brass standoffs. The front bezel can be removed by pushing four plastic tabs on the interior side. It comes off easily and snaps back on tight. The power supply is an Allied AL-8250SFX, a 250W SFX power supply rated for 16A on the +12V rail. It has the following connectors: one 20+4pin ATX, one 4-pin ATX12V, one SATA, three 4-pin molex, and one floppy.