  V.5.0 LITE-ON ST050. ST-050 - an mATX case suitable for hot-rodding! 
As some of you know, I am always looking for new cases to consider for us to sell. When the LAN party case needs hit a while back, I thought an mATX setup would be the only way to fly--who wants to lug a 7896 to a LAN party; the monitor is bad enough.The early/Intel mATX standard pretty well eliminated mATX systems for the real hardware geek--that built-in video without an alternative AGP slot really wasn't appealing--and the SFX PS limited the power as well. Now, however, Lite-On has started doing a new mATX. It is similar to the ST030 shown at this link-- http://www.liteonenclosure.com/products/atx850/st030.htm with this exception: the ST-050 takes a standard ATX PS! Further, the chassis stamping has been changed to incorporate an 80 lower front fan and an 80 backboard fan mount. These two changes open up a whole new realm to us case geeks, and with the emergence of some performance-oriented mATX motherboards--the ASUS A7VI-VM, for example, and other ones on their way--it now looks feasible to build up a decent performance AMD system in an mATX case. This case is lightly built, of course, but well-engineered at first take. It even appears strong enough to do a handle mount at the Upper Back--I just have to find a suitable handle with about 6.5" centers for mounting. SIZE: 14" High by 7.1" Wide by 15.4" Deep. DRIVES - exposed: two - 3.5; two - 5.25; hidden: none. FAN MOUNTS - Lower Front: one 80x25 direct mount Backboard: one 80x25 direct mount MODIFICATIONS: I've spent the last few days analyzing possible PS and fan setups for this case. If one uses the Enermax 365 PSs, then both quiet operation and decent airflow should be available with the Panaflo L1A fans. Here's the mods list so far: 1. LF 120 P&D, 120 Fan. 2. upper LF P&D80, 80 fan (may ruin the structural integrity of the case) 3. BBd 80 Punch 4. BBd 90 Punch (I think this can be done cleanly) 5. grommet mounting 6. BBd slot vents enlargement 7. Left side rear exhaust PRICING AND PACKAGES: Until I am certain I can get continued supply of this case without buying a PS with it, I am holding off on offering the bare case unmodified. Otherwise, the "any PS with any case" policy applies. BASE PRICING: case, NO PS, NO fans, parts kit, coolcases.com finishing kit ................................$ 37.00
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