all posts

Can I get a Mulligan on the case order?

Published to Blog on 21 Oct 2008

This is part 5 in a series about building an Eco-Friendly Economical Windows Home Server.
Part 1: In search of an Eco-Friendly Economical Home Server
Part 2: In search of an Eco-Friendly Economical Home Server 2, Electric Boogaloo
Part 3: A Cheap and Green Windows Home Server
Part 4: Ordered parts for Eco-friendly Economical Windows Home Server
Part 5: Can I get a Mulligan on the Case Order?
Part 6: Adding a 1TB Drive to my WHS

After some post-mortem review of my order I’m feeling some buyer’s remorse. The case that I ordered for my eco-friendly economical Windows Home Server box wasn’t as small as I remembered to be. At 15.4” x 7.1” x 14.8” (HxWxD) it is a little smaller than the case of my Dell Dimension 5150 but it is nowhere near the size of the HP MediaSmart servers at 9.8” x 9.2” x 5.5”. But it was still cheap at $39.99 and free shipping!

If I were looking for something a little more compact and a little more stylish while still fitting into my budget theme (and if I had a Mulligan) I would probably opt for something more like one of these Athenatech cases:

 athenatech_a100sc200

Athenatech A100SC.200 Black/ Silver Steel MicroATX Desktop Computer Case 230W SFX Power Supply – Retail 
13.5” x 5.8” x 14.5” (HxWxD)

$42.99
Shipping: $11.99

athenatech_A100bb270

Athenatech Black Steel A100BB.270 Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case – Retail
13.5” x 5.8” x 14.5” (HxWxD)

$49.99
Shipping: $11.99

athenatech_A106SB

Athenatech Silver/ Black Steel A106SB.200 Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case – Retail
14.5” x 5.8” x 15” (HxWxD)

$62.99
Shipping: $15.99 

The A100SC and the A100BB are both 2 inches shorter, more than 1 inch narrower, and about the same depth as the CompuCase 6K28BS and I think they look a little sleeker, too. Swapping for either of these would increase the build price by $15-$20. The A106SB is not quite as diminutive as the other two but it still comes in 1” shorter and 1” narrower than the CompuCase 6K28BS, but looks a lot nicer for a $35 price increase. Any of these three cases would look just as good set horizontally or vertically. I like the looks and reviews of these cases, I may keep them in mind for a future budget Media Center/HTPC build. Or I might just go ahead and order one of these now for my WHS box and store the previously ordered case for a future project.


Dan Hounshell
Web geek, nerd, amateur maker. Likes: apis, node, motorcycles, sports, chickens, watches, food, Nashville, Savannah, Cincinnati and family.
Dan Hounshell on Twitter


  • On 23 Oct 2008 "redsquare"" said:
    To be 'eco' friendly I would have thought the best option is to walk to a shop and buy a desktop rather than relying on shipping which means more transportation, fuel usage etc etc
  • On 24 Oct 2008 "Dan Hounshell"" said:
    Redsquare, touche. Unfortunately there is no shop within walking distance that would have everything that I needed or I might have considered it. The closest would be a MicroCenter that is about 10 miles away. My goal is to be economical as well as eco-friendly. NewEgg's prices are a little better than MicroCenter's so my shipping cost was probably offset by the savings. Everything was shipped UPS, so my boxes were just a couple of additional boxes on trucks and planes that were already making the trip anyway. They created no additional fuel, etc. costs for UPS. Even for the delivery to my house - the UPS truck drives by my house every day. So I really don't see any additional transportation costs being created. Remember there are transportation costs for parts to be delivered to a store, too. Besides I was more than glad to fork over $20 to save the 20 mile round-trip walk.
  • On 1 Aug 2009 "Building a Eco-Friendly Economical WHS « MS Windows Home Server"" said:
    Pingback from Building a Eco-Friendly Economical WHS « MS Windows Home Server