Antec ISK-300 Mini-ITX Case

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EvoFire
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Post by EvoFire » Sun Nov 29, 2009 3:00 am

I am building this exact same build (ION board with Core 2 Duo). Would a Shuriken without fan on top, be able to cool a Core 2 Duo by just the case fans?

Jayrock
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ISK 300, Zotac 9300, Celeron 3200, Big Shuriken

Post by Jayrock » Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:24 am

Hello,

here's a confirmation for anyone planning a similar built: I have a Zotac 9300 and a Celeron 3200 together with a Big Shuriken in an ISK 300. It all fits fine. I removed the case fan completely. A Fan Mate throttles the Shuriken to close to miniumum speed. It's actually mounted at the slot where the TriCool switch was located before.

Temperatures are ~50 °C on the CPU and ~65 °C on the GPU. Out of the box. Impressive! (I actually don't trust the GPU reading fully because the figure is so low.... on the other hand, the heatsink gets just "very warm", not "hot".)

The loudest component now it an old 60 GB WD 2.5" hard disk which I still had lying around. Maybe I'm going to suspend it just for the sake of it.

A bit more details and photos is posted at the MP forums: http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/compl ... tup-74339/

Cheers,

jayrock

EvoFire
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Post by EvoFire » Tue Dec 15, 2009 4:03 am

So I've started building my ISK-300 with a 9300ITX. So far so good except foe the snag I'm in with the brace/drive cage that goes from front to back on the case. The cage hits the Shuriken 3 I'm using.on it. I'm currently deciding whether to cut the case or the sink.

One more thing to note is, the Shuriken 3 will fit with the fan cage on the case, so you can have your exhaust fans to take advantage of the built in airflow. You can build the Big Shuriken in, however you cannot have the fan cage as it juts into where the fans would normally sit.

Jayrock
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Post by Jayrock » Tue Dec 15, 2009 4:58 am

EvoFire wrote: So far so good except foe the snag I'm in with the brace/drive cage that goes from front to back on the case. The cage hits the Shuriken 3 I'm using.on it. I'm currently deciding whether to cut the case or the sink.
I'm sorry, forgot to mention this *minor* :wink: detail. I also cut the drive cage. Cutting the backet didn't have any noticable negative impact. Can be seen here: http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/attac ... c00682.jpg

A futher not, I don't have an optical drive, an I'm uncertain whether it can acutally be mounted. From just measuring it it seems to fit when things are mounted and connedted, but I'm not sure if there's enough space to actually move it in with the plugs connected.

/jayrock

blaster5k
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Post by blaster5k » Tue Dec 15, 2009 9:52 am

Any idea what the best heatsink might be for this case without making any modifications? I'm planning to do a build using it once the new Westmere chips and ITX boards come out. (Hopefully that'll be before the end of January.)

EvoFire
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Post by EvoFire » Tue Dec 15, 2009 12:27 pm

Probably one of the sinks that they used in the review. If the Shuriken doesn't fit without modifications, there really isnt much you can pick from considering how small it is.

And I can confirm an optical drive will fit, there is plenty of space even after you cut the bracket.

Jayrock
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Post by Jayrock » Wed Dec 16, 2009 12:32 pm

EvoFire wrote:And I can confirm an optical drive will fit, there is plenty of space even after you cut the bracket.
Can you take a photo of the optical drive mounted together with the Shuriken?

Thanks,

jayrock

EvoFire
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Post by EvoFire » Thu Dec 17, 2009 1:42 am

I can't yet as I haven't modded the cage to fit yet. Probably in the next few days I can.

iakovl
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Post by iakovl » Sun Dec 20, 2009 11:52 am

had any one seen a mod to fit a 3.5 hdd inside the ISK?
i have a pico PSU so i don't really need the stock psu

leifeinar
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Post by leifeinar » Mon Dec 28, 2009 2:54 pm

had any one seen a mod to fit a 3.5 hdd
Removing the psu opens room for a 3,5 i think. its probably harder to fit it ifu have a standing case. Ill check it out when i get mine in 2 days :)

leifeinar
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Post by leifeinar » Sat Jan 02, 2010 4:21 pm

I think its a thight fit with a 3,5" disk. it can be done with some modding, removing some metal (seen in picture 4 in the link) in the front I THINK would make room for as an example a tripple 3.5"drive bay that can be fitted where the psu was.

digitalcoder
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Post by digitalcoder » Thu Jan 28, 2010 5:45 am

i would like the pair this case with the H55-ITX

Trav1s
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Post by Trav1s » Thu Jan 28, 2010 7:12 am

I agree... if you removed the PS you could easily mount a 3.5" drive in there on the bottom of the case. I had one mounted above the PS (using velcro and some wire ties) but did not like how it fit in relation to the other components. As others have suggested, there are ways to make it work. The most obvious to me is leaving out the slim CD/DVD drive as well as the 2.5" drive caddy and sitting it in the open space. But even that would take some work.

FWIW - I got this case a week ago from buy.com for $62.00 and free shipping. They are still available :wink:

loefet
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Post by loefet » Fri Feb 19, 2010 2:21 pm

I wonder if it's possible to fit a Scythe Samurai ZZ inside that case (when using a non atom board) looks like it would be the ideal CPU cooler for that case. Since most of it can be fitted to the rear and all the fins line up perfectly with the fans.

http://www.scythe-eu.com/produkte/cpu-k ... ai-zz.html

It says that it's 94 mm tall, but judging from the images then it must be including the fan, so it's just 69 mm tall in reality.

Great review, and this is a perfect contender for a future Atom+Ion HTPC...

faugusztin
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Post by faugusztin » Mon Mar 29, 2010 3:12 am

This case proved to be my most silent build, ever.

Asus AT3N7A-I with the original 4cm fan thrown out, stock fan replaced with two 8cm Noctuas running at minimum RPM via Zalman Fanmate plus a SSD =WIN. I use it as HTPC with Arch Linux and XBMC, which plays movies and music from my fileserver.

With those two Noctua fans and no other moving part, the case is dead silent. I had problems with fan noise with every case and fan i tried so far - but few times i found out that my HTPC in this case was running overnight, and i didn't even noticed :D .

The CPU/GPU (whatever it measures) runs a bit hot at 50C when playing videos, but since it doesn't have problem with that plus i never put a 24/7 100% load on it, i honestly don't care.

What i dislike on it is length (could be a lot less longer) and the cable lengths could be a lot shorter, except the power cable which would be better 2-3cm longer.

Mats
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Post by Mats » Mon Apr 05, 2010 5:24 pm

This case would benefit from an intake above the CPU area, where that "Antec Design" part is, which seems to be just as wide as the ODD.
Image
Mod that part for a 120 mm fan, and cut a hole in the top. Make a shroud between the fan and the CPU, I bet even the stock HS will work pretty good this way. The fan frame on the side can be removed.

iancalderbank
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Post by iancalderbank » Wed Jun 30, 2010 8:35 am

been building a system with the 150 version of case, jw minix 785g mobo, amd sempron 140.

some points to note

scythe big shuriken does fit - the heatsink part anyway, with the drive tray in place. The fan in in its standard position clipped to the top of the heatsink does not - it fouls on the drive tray. currently I have moved the fan so that its underneat the cutaway in the drive tray, towards the back of the case. as the previous poster mentioned, that space is exactly right for a 120mm fan, so I may mount the scythe fan (or a fatter one) to that tray instead. And/or, the shuriken should fit in the original position with either the corner of the fan cut off, or part of the drive tray snipped away.

there's one big point to note - I got the 150w version of this case. it was a mistake. The 150psu version has an IEC connector coming into the back of the chassis, right in the middle of where the heatsink / fan of any decent cooler is. In the pictures in the review, its blanked off (because its the 65w version). the 150w versions PSU is a lot more like a "small atx" psu (it even has a fan) than the pico-style one that appears in the 65w review.

fool that I am I built the rig with that connector unscrewed (because it was in the way), and then put it back together and then "oh heck, where can this go!".

at the moment I have a BUW (Butt Ugly Workaround) of unscrewing the internal IEC lead from the case back, leading the external IEC in through the hole, and making the internal->external IEC-IEC connection inside the case.

I may buy a pico PSU, and use the 150w in something else.

oh, and I ditched the antec side fan frame entirely. seems unneeded.
CPU temps of 44 (less than 20 above ambient, hot day here today) CNQ disabled (some bluescreens, not found the cause yet).

MtnHermit
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Post by MtnHermit » Sat Jul 17, 2010 7:41 pm


Trav1s
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Post by Trav1s » Sun Jul 18, 2010 4:50 am

MtnHermit wrote:FWIW the Antec Mini ITX Case ISK300-65 @ $43 from Amazon
You beat me to it. I am going to order another one...
Last edited by Trav1s on Wed May 04, 2011 7:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

MtnHermit
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Post by MtnHermit » Sun Jul 18, 2010 6:15 am

Trav1s wrote:You beat me to it. I am going to older another one...
So how good is the 65W PSU?

I have no interest in the case, slim DVD. But I have a Foxconn mini-ITX/Atom 330 with a 5.25 and 3.5 bay with a dreadful ~200W PSU. $43 for a 65W PSU is a good deal.

Trav1s
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Post by Trav1s » Mon Jul 19, 2010 6:00 am

MtnHermit wrote:
Trav1s wrote:You beat me to it. I am going to older another one...
So how good is the 65W PSU?

I have no interest in the case, slim DVD. But I have a Foxconn mini-ITX/Atom 330 with a 5.25 and 3.5 bay with a dreadful ~200W PSU. $43 for a 65W PSU is a good deal.
What do you mean by "how good?" It is fine for what I do. I am running the following system set up for almost a year. It is my workstation/file server and has not missed a beat. My wife does not even realize it is turned on unless she sees the blue light on the face. She has even been doing some desktop publishing with CS3 on this system. It is crazy slow but does the job. I originally had the mobo/proc/memory/slim drive in a shuttle k45 that lost the mobo but the power supply in the K45 sounded like a small airplane. This is MUCH nicer and much smaller.
-Zotac mobo (I forget which one)
- e5200
- 2 gigs ddr2 800
- two 2.5" sata laptop drives (one = OS, one = data)
- leftover slim DVD from an old laptop

merlin
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Re:

Post by merlin » Wed May 04, 2011 3:16 pm

sluk wrote:FYI, Antec reply the DC-ATX board of this case support up to 100W power brick.
This is awesome to read. I think this may make my decision to get the ISK300-65 clear since I also have a 90w power brick I can try if the power isn't sufficient.

wayner
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Re: Antec ISK-300 Mini-ITX Case

Post by wayner » Wed Nov 27, 2013 9:08 pm

Anyone have any suggestions on what heatsink to use with this case? I want to build a system with a i7-4770K CPU which has a TDP of 85W.
Of course I will use the ISK300-150 since a 65W PS is not enough for this CPU.

According the review the max height in this case is 65mm or 75mm if you remove the HD cage.

Here are a few ideas:
Noctua NH-L12 with top fan removed (66mm)
Arctic Cooling 11LP (53mm)
Scythe Kozuti
Scythe Big Shuriken
Scythe Shuriken w/o fan

I will likely use a mobo like an Asus H87I-Plus.

Anyone have any advice on these coolers with that case?

Abula
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Re: Antec ISK-300 Mini-ITX Case

Post by Abula » Wed Nov 27, 2013 9:36 pm

wayner wrote:Anyone have any suggestions on what heatsink to use with this case? I want to build a system with a i7-4770K CPU which has a TDP of 85W.
Of course I will use the ISK300-150 since a 65W PS is not enough for this CPU.

According the review the max height in this case is 65mm or 75mm if you remove the HD cage.

Here are a few ideas:
Noctua NH-L12 with top fan removed (66mm)
Arctic Cooling 11LP (53mm)
Scythe Kozuti
Scythe Big Shuriken
Scythe Shuriken w/o fan

I will likely use a mobo like an Asus H87I-Plus.

Anyone have any advice on these coolers with that case?
If you are getting the H87 motherboard go with i7 4771, the iGPU should be the same, and you can save some. The 4770K is hot running CPU, even with the HR02 macho or HR22 i reach 70C+ under load, a small cooler should struggle more, personally i don't think its such a good idea to throw in a 4770K into a ISK300, i would recommend something like Fractal Design Node 304 $49.99 that will be able to fit almost any tower, or even Antec has a similar case coming, Antec ISK600 Mini-ITX Enclosure.

Good luck

wayner
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Re: Antec ISK-300 Mini-ITX Case

Post by wayner » Wed Nov 27, 2013 9:43 pm

Thanks Abula, I might wait for the ISK 600. I wish there was something between the breadbox size cases like the 600 and the smaller cases like the 300.

In my opinion with processors like Haswell (or even SB and IB) you don't need a discrete GPU. And I only need room for an SSD in the case as I have a server where I store all of my large files. Therefore all I need inside a case is a miniITX mobo, a heatsink, an SSD (or even an mSATA drive), RAM, and maybe an optical drive. I don't need a case that can hold several 3.5" drives and a Graphics card.

All I want is a case large enough to hold a decent sized heatsink that doesn't get in the way of the optical drive.

Abula
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Re: Antec ISK-300 Mini-ITX Case

Post by Abula » Wed Nov 27, 2013 9:56 pm

wayner wrote:All I want is a case large enough to hold a decent sized heatsink that doesn't get in the way of the optical drive.
You could try something like Lian Li Q11 + PicoPSU 150XT (or 160XT) + 150/190 W bricks, you can install a really big cooler on it like the HR02 macho, and should not interfere with the optical drive (as long as the CPU socket is right next to the PCIe slot) and you still have room on the bottom to install the ssd.

wayner
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Re:

Post by wayner » Thu Nov 28, 2013 11:51 am

iancalderbank wrote:there's one big point to note - I got the 150w version of this case. it was a mistake. The 150psu version has an IEC connector coming into the back of the chassis, right in the middle of where the heatsink / fan of any decent cooler is. In the pictures in the review, its blanked off (because its the 65w version). the 150w versions PSU is a lot more like a "small atx" psu (it even has a fan) than the pico-style one that appears in the 65w review.
How did you deal with this on a permanent basis? Did you use the pico?

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