Antec Minuet 300 Review

24 Apr Review No comment

Review for Antec Minuet 300

Antec Minuet 300 Specifications:

Minuet II slimline piano black Micro PC case with chrome accents
220Watt ATX 12V power supply, 20 pin main connector
Internal 80mm TriCool fan with 3-speed switch control

Low Profile, small form factor:

3.8″(H) x 12.75(W) x 16.8″(D)
9,4cm(H) x 31,9(W) x 43,9(D)

Front Ports:

2 USB
1 IEEE1394
2 audio jacks

3 Drive bays in easy-to-install unified flip-out drive cage

1 x 5.25″ external
1 x 3.5″external
1 x 3.5″internal

Motherboard: up to micro ATX (9.6″x9.6″)
Top panel with vents for maximum cooling of latest CPUs & VGA cards
Gross weight: 6.4Kg/14.2 lbs.
Net weight: 5.7 Kg/12.6 lbs.
2 stands included for upright positioning
AQ3 - Antec Quality three-year Warranty
HOW TO TEST:

For this Micro ATX Build, I installed a PC Chips M825LU motherboard with an AMD 3200+ processor and a 2 gig of DDR Ram. Both video and audio is handled by the motherboard. The build included a CD Burner, 30 Gig hard drive and a standard floppy drive.

I installed the drives in the cage. With the drives installed cable management becomes more critical. Placing the cabling under the cage can result in pinched or damaged cables. I connected the cables to the drives and then connected them to the motherboard after the cage was securely in place.

With the install completed, I made an effort to bundle the wiring to allow the single 80mm fan to work more efficiently. We always recommend clean wiring but in a micro case airflow is even more critical

The completed build.

The black drives really accent the color scheme nicely. For a HTPC build I would recommend forgoing the floppy and installing a multimedia display controller. After running the PC for about two hours I noticed the surface gets warm but the 80 mm fan keeps the heat from effecting the components. On the plus side, the Antec Minuet 300 is very quiet even at load. The temptation to switch the fan to low and remove most of the rest of the noise is high.

Conclusion:

The small size and exceptional looks would go well next to my home theater components and the size would make the PC blend in to the system nicely. The half size expansion slots do require you to shop for a video card that may not be cutting edge or opt for onboard components as we have here. The size and cooling all make this case perfect for a tight environment or for on the go. I can’t stress enough how tiny this case really is, its almost exactly the size of two of my laptops stacked together! If you have been shopping for a Micro ATX case, the search is over. Antec has made every effort to save space and the result looks as good as any full size case I have seen. Building a Micro is not for everyone, but there is no better way to save space and add portability. With Antec’s industry leading AQ3 warranty you can buy with confidence.

Antec Minuet 300 images: