iStarUSA D-313SE-MATX Black 3U Rackmount Compact Industrial Chassis – Black Bezel

Pros: Fits in 18″ Short Rack on wall.
Takes standard ATX power supply (but get short depth PS).
Uses nice quiet 120mm case fan. Cons: like all mATX cases, things are a little crowded.

Pros: Really love iStarUSA products. This is my second case from them, my first was a 2U model that looks very similar to this one. I wanted a 3U one because I got tired of trying to find low-profile graphics cards for my 2U one – yet loved the case I had and how well it was constructed. This 3U fits my needs well. If you are shopping for a data center and doing custom builds, these will work well. For my home use, the SFF of this works perfectly. It is just slightly longer in depth than the 2U one.
Like any micro atx case, things will fit snugly. I like the ability to connect up so many fans if needed. I went with 2x 60mm ones for my needs and that provides ample cooling. I’m replacing a Silverstone htpc case that had 2 120mm fans (was apprehensive at first, but the design of this case facilitates air movement). My PS vents towards the bottom (there is an air gap for me so it in turn vents out the back through the holes based on how I pull air in). Cons: The blue LED on the front is very bright! Definitely lets you know its got power 😉
Only thing I wish I could find in a case of this style (or the 2U variant) is front accessible 3.5 slots so you could use trays or in general, have more flexible mounting options. In mine I ended up filling the available external slots with a 5.25 bluray, ICY DOCK 6 bay 2.5 enclosure, and a media reader in the 3.5 slot. So even though I can fit everything nicely now, it would be better IMO to have more front-facing areas for mounting stuff (same for my 2U enclosure – I prefer externally accessible slots – you usually see these in ATX or EATX-based rack mount enclosures only though). Not enough to take away any eggs… I know what I was buying based on research and pictures here. Overall Review: Looks great in my living room lol 🙂 you don’t need a server room to appreciate a good rack case and the higher degree of construction you get 😉
Be sure to pay attention to the bag of parts you get in the box!!!!! I mounted my motherboard in (just like my iStarUSA 2U) and noticed things didn’t look right – I then noticed in the bag there are “risers” I had to use to elevate my motherboard so it would be the right height. Struggled with this for a long time, even went to open up my 2U case since it was similar. The 2U one didn’t need those risers, the 3U one does and it wasn’t till after taking things apart for the second time (two different motherboards) I thought, hey… where is that bag of extra stuff I got with this thing…. duh, didn’t feel so smart after that and when I used the risers, my MB fit beautifully…. maybe I can save someone else the frustration if they read this….

Pros: Price. Bought 3 paid $52 each with free shipping. Solid construction. Rebuilt my NAS and PfSense firewall with more energy efficient hardware decided it was time to go with server chassis. Very happy with my purchase. Screws and standoffs came with the cases as did zip ties for cord management. Build went together pretty easily with no problems other than those listed in cons. Its a very “clean” solution as I had desktop cases before. Looking to potentially move my workstations into similar cases. Cons: Not really a con but you will need a longer screwdriver as you will need to remove the HDD cage to install Hard drives. They are close together so makes it hard to screw/unscrew them onto the case. I had an 8″ ratcheting screwdriver so it was not a big deal. One case came with a faulty power switch, would not depress to turn on the machine. I sent it back (on their dime) and got a working unit back in a few days. Overall Review: I bought 3 of these, very happy with my purchase. All low energy systems so didn’t need to add any fans, but there is definitely room. Knowing what I know now I would definitely make the same decision again. If I decide to move my workstations into similar cases iStarUSA will be the first place I look.

Pros: Steel
Matx
Standard psu Cons: Design Overall Review: Not fun to build in, but it gets the job done. As others have mentioned, you will need a long, narrow screwdriver to remove the hdd/5.25 cages.
Also mentioned are the included “risers” (they’re just standoffs) that allow different mobos to sit properly. I ended up having to use them, and had do several takes to install my mobo. Initial issue was the mobo was sitting on top of the rear expansion slot keys, which caused the mobo to not sit on top of standoffs toward rear.
You need to remove the hdd cages, then the fan plate, to install the front fans. If utilizing hdds, they will press down on the psu power cable (dependent on where your power pin is on mobo).
Included some pics since stock ones don’t do justice for visual. Note the overhang of hdds to the mobo. There is no way you can fit 4 hdds in one cage. I used the top two, and left other cage out of build.
If I could do it again, I would’ve spent the extra few bucks for a better chassis.