Apex DM-339 case
Who exactly is Apex? We are not sure ourselves, but they make a pretty good case for a decent price. One of their products is the DM-339 Low profile mATX 275W case, a compact and discrete black case which can fit behind an LCD screen without being noticed. It includes a 275W power supply, full front panel I/O (USB, Audio), and some innovative solutions for mounting internal components which rivals all the major case manufacturers.
Most cases that are reviewed today are manufactured by major brands such as Antec, but these cases are not exactly affordable to most people. While computer enthusiast may say a $150 price tag for a case and power supply is the norm, Joe User will give you a look as if you were burning a $100 bill. Case in point (no pun intended), a computer case is the last thing most people want to pay a premium for. Enter the Apex DM-339: for around $50 USD, you get a full case and power supply which will satisfy most home and office users.
Design
The design of the case is quite discrete, meaning that it won't be that noticeable once installed. In fact, putting it behind an LCD monitor makes it practically hides it from the front.
The front panels does a great job of hiding the CD drive and connectors. The bottom of the case features a hood to cover up the USB and audio connectors which does a great job of hiding them. The CD bay has a push button on the panel, which presses the CD drive eject button internally and opens once the CD door hits the panel. There is a spring mechanism to ensure that the CD panel closes once the CD door does. As for the floppy drive, there is a locking front panel which you must manually open and close. The floppy sits quite far internally, making it annoying to use frequently (who still uses floppy disks anyways?).
The case can be opened by turning a large screw on the back. The case is quite easy to open and the front drive cage flips out backwards, allowing for fast repairs and hardware swaps. One issue we had was putting the panel back on, as it seems to bend easy and deform mildly (meaning you need to use two hands to hold it down).
The case can be put on both its side or upright when using the included plastic holders. Most people will want to put it upright, as most desktop cases take up too much space on a desk.
Internal Overview
Internally, the case is average. Designing for a mATX platform which is also low platform is no easy tasks, and we had a bunch of minor issues with the installation. However, this was mostly due to the use of older hardware, with IDE cables cluttering the case. One annoying issue was the installation of the backplate. It took 30 minutes of forcing it in with a hammer to allow the motherboard to fit inside the case. This is probably due to the case deforming somewhat. Another issue was the placement of the front drive cage, which forced us to bend the ATX power connector to allow the cage to fully lock into place.
Drive cage is easily opened for quick replacement
A replacement power supply is hard to come by
An exhaust fan which uses the 3-pin fan header connector is included
Power Supply
The 275W power supply included is of a generic brand. It is also low profile and height, making it quite unobtrusive. It has a single fan inside the case which blows air out of the case.
It has 1 SATA connector, a couple of MOLEX, and the ATX 24 pin connector. A floppy power cable is also provided.
Drive cage
The drive cage can hold a Floppy, Hard Drive, and CD/DVD drive. The hard drive is held in place with only 2 screws on one side, as the other side of the drive goes into 2 metal bits. Ironically, this system generates the least amount of noise we have seen in a case (except when a floating drive unit was used).
The cage locks into place when lowered, and we didn't notice any issue with the design (cable management to allow the cage to lower was another story however).
Value
This case is dirt cheap when compared to other cases of this class. Although definitely not the highest quality case, once it is set up it just works. For $50 you get a case and power supply, which is hard to come by nowadays for anything smaller than a full sized ugly tower.
Conclusion
Overall, a great value case which is both sleek and practical.
Value: 9/10
Design: 7/10
Overall: 8/10