Exterior:

Front Bezel

Drives bays/LCD

Handle  Front I/O

    The front bezel of the second generation Qpack has been redesigned with a much more stylish look. The front bezel is in a two piece format, with the color front panel slightly raised and in the shape of an X. Within the colored X are two 5.25" and one 3.5" bays. Next to the 3.5" bay is the LCD temperature display. Below the drive bays is the steel carrying handle, which comes in handy for the LAN trips. Also in this X area are the front panel connections, which included two USB, one IEEE, and Audio ports - not to mention the power and reset buttons and LED's. The last thing worth mentioning on the front bezel are the vented openings on either side of the X.

Top window

Left window

Right window

Back panel

    Here I'm going to tackle three sides at one time, and this is the cover that is removed when installing components in the enclosure. All three sides have an acrylic window, and toward the front some vents holes are present. The back panel has an 120mm fan opening, four PCI expansion openings, the motherboard I/O opening, and an installed power supply.

Interior:

Inside	Rear 120mm fan	500W PSU
Temp probes	Mobo tray	HDD Tray

    To get inside the X-Qpack2, a few thumbscrews on the back side of the cover are removed and the cover slides off. The X-Qpack2 is also equipped with a removable motherboard tray for easy installation: to remove the tray, 2 additional screws need to removed. The interior structure is constructed from aluminum, just like the exterior. Up front is one 80mm intake and two internal 3.5" bays for hard drives which sit on a removable tray. On toward the back is the included 500W power supply with an 120mm exhaust fan which accompanies the included 120mm blue LED fan.

20+4	4pin 12v	PCIe
Molex x6	Floppy x2	SATA x2

    A little on the power supply; the included power supply (PSU) is a 500w unit. The great thing about it is it's a standard size PSU and if users want to upgrade to a more powerful PSU, they can use ANY standard size power supply on the market!

   The power cables on the included 500 watt PSU here are the 20+4 pin mobo connector, 4pin 12v connector, 6 Molex, 2 SATA, 2 Floppy and 1 PCIE connector. All of the cables are sleeved in black mesh and secured with heat shrink and cable ties.

Installation:

Optical installed	Front view	HDD in tray	HDD installed
Mobo on platter	LCD temp	Rear a glow	3/4 front

    For installation, I removed the tray for the hard drive and then installed the optical drive. After the optical drive was installed, it was time to install the hard drive into the tray and then reinstall the tray itself. With the drives installed, it's time to remove the removable motherboard tray and install the motherboard. Since this is a micro enclosure, the space is going to be tight; take your time and hook up all the wires properly the first time around and fire up the system. With the system running, the included three internal fans could barely be heard. I think those days of loud, noisy fans are behind us.

Conclusion:

    The overall internal design of the X-Qpack2 is the same as the first generation units; the real change is on the front bezel and a additional inch added to the length. One other change was to the included PSU. The first generation had a 430W PSU and no PCI-E while the X-Qpack2 comes with a 500W PSU and one PCI-E cable. Once again though it's a standard size ATX power supply which leaves practically unlimited options for power upgrades should you want to run SLI or Crossfire in this little beast.

    The colored X shape on the bezel really stands out and looks sharp. The steel carrying handle is spring-loaded to help keep it tight to the bezel, and getting a hand behind the handle is easy.

    The dual temperature LCD display is a nice feature that allows you to monitor CPU and hard drives, or leave the CPU temp probe freely hanging in the enclosure to get case temp readings - the options are up to you. The enclosures with the windows allow a 3-sided view of the inside and gives the end user the option to install some case lighting.

    The LAN addict or the Small Form Factor guru will love the features of the X-Qpack2, along with its lightweight aluminum construction and easy installation features. The quality, price, and included power supply should draw the attention of anyone in the market for a m-ATX enclosure. If you choose to get the X-Qpack2, the choice will have been wise. I would like to thank Apevia for sending out this product for VH to review.

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