ROSEWILL Micro ATX Mini Tower Computer Case, Black Steel and plastic computer case with 1x 120mm front fan and 1x 80mm rear fan, Front I/O and 2x USB 3.0 with transparent side panel (FBM-X1)

I thought of keeping a dedicated computer for streaming and watching movies and that should be near to my AV receiver and considered the below pointsa. The HTPC size should considerably the same size as my AV receiver. When I searchon Internet I come to know that HTPC cases which accommodates miniATX, miniITX mother boards that is suitable for my space.b. Also I have 7.2 Ch home theater system and decided that the mother broad should have 7.1 Ch output with 4 K Video support over HDMI.c. I want to upgrade the RAM later and want 4 DIMM slots.d. If I want to upgrade the storage then I should have option to add internal hard drive inside the case.e. Don't want to over clock the CPU and decided to go with H170 intel chipset motherboard with 1151 socket.f. Front panel USBg. Economical but don't want sacrifice the featuresConsidering all the above I compared Asus, Gigabyte, ASRock and cost and feature that I was expecting I end of choosing the below parts1. Motherboard: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B012N6LM1Y?ref_=pe_584750_33951330This above mother board is a MicroATX board has 4 DIMM slots. This H170 intel chipset with 1151 socket board has HDMI with 7.1 Ch Audio and 4K video support along with 2 more display ports for computer monitor. Totally 3 display support. Doesn't have WIFi and Bluetooth and will not support over clocking.2. Case : http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004EMSH9Q?ref_=pe_584750_33951330This case supports MicroATX mother board and comes with 300W FlexATX power supply and one case fan. The case is strong and good quality has space for CD drive and internal hard drives. The power supply cpu connector has only 4 pin, Still it is suitable for the mother board's CPU's 8 pin connector(just plugged in only 4 of 8 pin)3. CPU: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0136JON7M?ref_=pe_584750_33951330The above CPU is Intel's 6th generation processor, Supports gaming and 4K video. This CPU comes with the Intel cooler. I think we no need any third party cooler for my purpose.4. DDR4 RAM: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MMLUYQK?ref_=pe_584750_33951330As per the above mentioned motherboard that supports only DDR4 on 4 slots, better to go with DDR4 which will give faster processing of the application tasks. I bought 8+8 2 DDR4 RAM as above and kept in 2 slots for now, later I can upgrade to another 8+8 DDR4 RAM later when price drops. Mother board manual says there 4 DIMM slots supports up to 64 GB, But the processor manual says it supports 32 GB max. So I decided to stick with 32 GB max.5. SSD M.2:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NY4VIPA?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s04The above SSD is very tiny and go with mother board itself with m.2 connector. For better booting and rebooting and faster application response M.2 SSDs are very good and this is latest compare with SATA/eSATA.6. Operating System - Ubuntu 15 (Linux based)This OS is free and open source. It has nice look and navigation. No need to install any driver software for the above components or motherboard. The OS detects all of them fine. The media player comes with the OS doing great and able to install and play with Kodi and Plex.

I have to say I am impressed with this little case, especially for the price. Was building up a new machine for a family member, just a simple system to do basic office work and internet browsing. Two key factors were cost and case size (wanted to be about same as existing older system). Size wise this fit the bill and the price was very good as well. Given the cost I was not expecting, nor does it have, all the crazy bells and whistles you may find on some modern cases, but everything fit in it well, it is sturdy and all the accessories with the case (USB ports in front) worked without issues. Have to say it looks pretty nice too. This is likely not the case for a high end gamer, or just a tech guy, but if you are doing a simple build looking for good functionality this certainly seems to fit the bill at a very reasonable price.Any buyer should be aware on this you will be needing to remove things like the back plate covers and plates inside of the drive bays. The metal is stamped out but (in what I assume was cost saving) the actual final process of removing these was not done. It is simple to do, just need to use a screwdriver in most cases, but it will be required. I would strongly recommend that you consider what you are putting in and the layout and remove the ones you need to before you start bolting in the motherboard etc.... You can do it after but it is easier to do when you are not worried about the electronics.Another note is that this does not include removable backplates, if you take out the factory ones you will have a hole unless you mount your PCI board or purchase a set of blank back plates and screw one in. This really is not uncommon, seen many cases like this over the years, including more expensive ones, but just a note.

Ok so this is honestly a really really tough review to write. I think the best way I can fully express my thoughts about this Rosewill SRM-01 case is in a list of things I personally think are pros and cons. You may agree or disagree these are my honest opinions.Pros:1. Shockingly good build quality for such a cheap case. I paid only $20 and was amazed how sturdy the side panels were.2. I actually really love the simplicity of this case. It comes with one 80mm fan in the rear of the case and you can add up to three more, one 120mm in the front of the case, one 80mm on the base of the case, and one 120mm on the side panel if your not installing a large CPU fan. I also like how the insides of the case are painted a semi matte black to match the rest of the case.3. Looks very sleek. I love small cases and this has a very clean and simple look. This is definitely not going to win any awards but I personally like the look of it.4. Did I mention I spent $20 bucks on a case?5. I think for the $20 it’s a no brainer to break out the spray paint and make it your own. It’s not a huge investment if you mess it up and everything disables rather nicely. I honestly wish I had committed to that idea before doing my build. I would love to see this in white or a nice red/black. Really possibilities are endless it’s a $20 canvas.Cons:1. Not the easiest case to build in. It’s small. It’s a mATX case. That’s to be expected but it is still annoying to deal with.2. The way the hard drives are mounted. This is actually both something I like and something I hate. The hard drives are mounted on a “door” to the right of the case which swings open and gives you more room to work which I like. However mounting them was a major pain. Also if you have a larger GPU you may not be able to use the second mounting area as your GPU will collide with your hard drive. I guess you can use the fan option on the bottom of the case to mount a drive but you’d most likely only be able to get a screw or two at most in, or you can place the drive in the cage under the disc drive. Lastly this door makes it nearly impossible to have a clean cable management as you will need a long enough sata cable to connect to your motherboard and the drive when the door is completely open.3. Cable management. I understand it’s a closed build but clean cable management is nice for rebuilds or swapping out parts, it just makes things easier for you in the future. Also I feel like if you were to sell your system, nice cable management would increase the price as you can tell the owner took its time and cared about the machine. Non the less it’s near impossible to properly cable manage this case. I’d highly recommend a modular PSU for this case. I’m not using my cd drive bay and that’s where most of my unused cables have gone to hide. The other side panel on this case does remove but the holes in which you are supposed to run cables through are way to tiny and the width between the wall and the side panel is way to tight for many thick cables.4. It only has one usb 3.0 on the case and it’s placed in a very interesting place.Things I’d recommend if you buy this case:1. Purchase a magnetic screwdriver if you don’t have one this one will come in handy more than you think.2. I’d suggest a modular PSU3. Make sure you install that PSU before your motherboard as once your motherboard is in with a third party CPU fan it’s a hasle to maneuver.4. Buy atlest one 120mm fan and use it as an intake fan in front of the case.5. Make sure your take off the expansion slot covers before you install your motherboard or you make risk damaging it.6. Be creative with it. It’s only $20 bucks and if you’ve been in the mood for a case mod this is the one to do it on.Closing thoughts. If i were to buy this case again would I? Yes I would. I really do like it, minus all the issues I have with it. You really can’t beat a case like this for the price.