This is a video review of APEX's DM-387 mini home theater PC (HTPC) case; this chassis is meant for budget HTPC builds and is spec'd as such. Full review: ht.
Open Box: Images shown are from the NEW version of this item and are for reference only. The actual Open Box product may differ in packaging and included accessories, but has been tested to ensure basic functionality.
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- Overview
- Specifications
- Warranty & Returns
- Reviews
Apex’s DM-387 case is a great choice for instances where you don’t have a lot of space for a system. It would work well in kiosks or as a video wall controller. You could also use it to control information signs in a hotel or airport. Its small size would also make it a good choice for an HTPC.
The drive bay housing tilts up for easy installation. There are two external bays, one 5.25” and one 3.5”. There is also a 3.5” hard drive bay. The front panel also has two audio jacks and two USB ports. Once everything is installed put the lid back on and you’re good to go.
- Stands Horizontally or Vertically The Apex DM-387 can be laid horizontally on your desk or vertically on the floor with the included stands to fit your working space.
- Convenient Front I/O Panel The Apex DM-387 features a convenient front I/O panel for easy access to two USB 2.0 and two audio ports.
- Built-in 275W PSU The Apex DM-387 is equipped with 275W power supply unit to handle typical power consumption for most MicroATX systems.
Learn more about the APEXTECHUSA DM-387
- Warranty
- Limited Warranty period (parts): 1 year
- Limited Warranty period (labor): 1 year
- Manufacturer Contact Info
- Manufacturer Product Page|
- Website: http://www.apextechusa.com/|
- Support Phone: 1-626-912-1894
- Support Email: [email protected]|
- Support Website|
- Return Policies
- Return for refund within: 30 days
- Return for replacement within: 30 days
- This item is covered by Newegg.com's Standard Return Policy.
Ownership: more than 1 year
Looks great, Power supply actually still fine after 5+ years. (See below)12/3/2018 11:47:55 AM
Pros: Very nice looking case, with well working layout.
I don't usually like doors, but this one looks good, and (with a slim slot-load DVD), the door pops right open when the disc ejects...
I don't usually like doors, but this one looks good, and (with a slim slot-load DVD), the door pops right open when the disc ejects...
Cons: Though the power supply IS still fine after 5+ years, the FAN has been replaced TWICE already.
Power supply fan seems to last about 2 years before it starts howling. (Sleeve bearing)
Needs a ball bearing fan in this (horizontal, facing down) position. - NO sleeve bearing fan will last long in that position.
Proprietory power supply size, with fan 1/4' too close to fit a TFX
Needs a little more ventilation-Some holes on the bottom would definitely help.
Fans have sleeve bearings---Lousy for horizontal positioning....(on top)
(That's WHY they're loud and don't last)
Power supply fan seems to last about 2 years before it starts howling. (Sleeve bearing)
Needs a ball bearing fan in this (horizontal, facing down) position. - NO sleeve bearing fan will last long in that position.
Proprietory power supply size, with fan 1/4' too close to fit a TFX
Needs a little more ventilation-Some holes on the bottom would definitely help.
Fans have sleeve bearings---Lousy for horizontal positioning....(on top)
(That's WHY they're loud and don't last)
Other Thoughts: Asus M4A785-M, Regor 240, Xigmatek cpu cooler, with Bytec 5-1/4 bay adapter, holding 2, 250G WD laptop drives, and a slot-loading DVD.
CPU idles at 29c, M/B at 36c (nothing ever breaks 50c)
Still going strong after 5+ years.
Running Win7 and LinuxMint 10.
Presently modding the case for a Seasonic TFX P/S
CPU idles at 29c, M/B at 36c (nothing ever breaks 50c)
Still going strong after 5+ years.
Running Win7 and LinuxMint 10.
Presently modding the case for a Seasonic TFX P/S
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
Pros: *No nonsese, slim mATX case
*Solid build quality
*Tinted, magnetic door to access drives
*Simple, minimalist design
*Compact design that's still easy to work with
*Solid build quality
*Tinted, magnetic door to access drives
*Simple, minimalist design
*Compact design that's still easy to work with
Cons: *Side door is quite stiff getting on and off
*Swiveling/removable drive cage thing is take or leave
*Feet for vertical placement are take or leave
*Included 80mm fan is meh
*Swiveling/removable drive cage thing is take or leave
*Feet for vertical placement are take or leave
*Included 80mm fan is meh
Other Thoughts: Overall I love this case. Once together it's very solid feeling and confidence inspiring. The side door is a pain to get on and off (stiff) and the vertical feet are a little annoying to work with but both of these are fine once you get it set, so not worth deducting a star.
After reading other reviews I swapped the included 80mm exhaust fan for a Noctura right off the bat. I also have two 30mm intake fans mounted in an optical-to-hard drive rack, and a GT 1030 with its own small cooling fan. In a completely silent room sitting right next to the rig you can hear a low hum, which I believe is mostly the stock intel CPU cooler and/or the intake fans.
End of the day, this made the perfect home workstation. Specced out as below it can run esports titles and pretty much any previous-gen game at 2k (fyi I'm running a 2k + 1080p dual setup on this). 2K video and standard home office tasks are a non-issue.
FYI, run a decent quality surge protector. An IT guy on the web built up 60+ of these cases and had minimal PSU issues...some going 6 years every day...again with a surge protector (not a power strip!).
End of the day, keep your expectations reasonable. Aim for ~150watts system total or less with the pedal to the floor, using a GPU that runs off the PCIe slot only (75watt max, 1050TI range).
End of the day it was a tossup between this case and the Rosewill R-379M. From my reading, the Rosewill version has a cheaper front face, but includes the questionably better SL-300TFX 300 watt PSU (direct fit replacement for the PSU in the Apex, should it ever be needed).
I like the looks and function of the front door on this one more, so I've rolled the dice. Time will tell if it was the right choice, but I think going into it with both eyes open and taking some common sense precautions will yield years of solid service.
Apex DM-387
Intel Pentium Gold G5500
Gigabyte H310M A
8 gb Corsair DDR4
Evga GT 1030 SC
Intel 320 SSD 600gb
After reading other reviews I swapped the included 80mm exhaust fan for a Noctura right off the bat. I also have two 30mm intake fans mounted in an optical-to-hard drive rack, and a GT 1030 with its own small cooling fan. In a completely silent room sitting right next to the rig you can hear a low hum, which I believe is mostly the stock intel CPU cooler and/or the intake fans.
End of the day, this made the perfect home workstation. Specced out as below it can run esports titles and pretty much any previous-gen game at 2k (fyi I'm running a 2k + 1080p dual setup on this). 2K video and standard home office tasks are a non-issue.
FYI, run a decent quality surge protector. An IT guy on the web built up 60+ of these cases and had minimal PSU issues...some going 6 years every day...again with a surge protector (not a power strip!).
End of the day, keep your expectations reasonable. Aim for ~150watts system total or less with the pedal to the floor, using a GPU that runs off the PCIe slot only (75watt max, 1050TI range).
End of the day it was a tossup between this case and the Rosewill R-379M. From my reading, the Rosewill version has a cheaper front face, but includes the questionably better SL-300TFX 300 watt PSU (direct fit replacement for the PSU in the Apex, should it ever be needed).
I like the looks and function of the front door on this one more, so I've rolled the dice. Time will tell if it was the right choice, but I think going into it with both eyes open and taking some common sense precautions will yield years of solid service.
Apex DM-387
Intel Pentium Gold G5500
Gigabyte H310M A
8 gb Corsair DDR4
Evga GT 1030 SC
Intel 320 SSD 600gb
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
Decent case for the purpose - Terrible power supply8/16/2018 5:57:37 PM
Pros: Currently housing a Ryzen5 2400g so it has plenty of room for the stock cooler and full height ram as well as a GPU if so desired (with a slim bracket)
thin, easy to work with, mostly rolled edges
I expected to slice my hands many times, but was pleasantly surprised that it didn't happen
decent price for what you get
thin, easy to work with, mostly rolled edges
I expected to slice my hands many times, but was pleasantly surprised that it didn't happen
decent price for what you get
Cons: terrible terrible power supply
tests fine when put on a tester
as soon as I plugged a motherboard in to it, the magic smoke started to fill the room
tests fine when put on a tester
as soon as I plugged a motherboard in to it, the magic smoke started to fill the room
Other Thoughts: the case itself is worth the price if you need the slim form factor
immediately throw out the power supply and get something worth your time
immediately throw out the power supply and get something worth your time
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
Not a bad case. Garbage power supply!12/10/2017 1:39:56 PM
Pros: Case is a reasonable size, looks nice, has adequate space if you're building a simple HTPC, has feet so it can sit vertically or horizontally, flip-up drive bay bracket is VERY handy, but a little difficult to lay flat once all your drives are installed.
Cons: Power supply, power supply, power supply! USB 2.0 ports on the front instead of 3.0, only provisions for a single fan in the case, door hinge interferes with the surface it's sitting on if you have it laying flat and you try to open the front panel. Must hang over the edge of the shelf it's on by an inch or so
Other Thoughts: I read the reviews on this case and knew the power supply was a weak point, but I built this HTPC for my parent's beach house and thought it would be fine since it only gets mild use. They don't maintain an internet subscription there since no one's there most of the time, but I thought it would be nice to have this there with a whole bunch of movies loaded on the hard drive, and figured the low usage interval would stretch the life of even a sub-par power supply. Well, it didn't. After about a year of VERY intermittent use, the power supply still gave up. What a piece of cr@p. If you buy this case, just replace the power supply right off the bat. It may in fact still be under warranty, but I don't even want another one of these! I'm going to pay 40 bucks for a Seasonic and hopefully be done with it. If this computer were used daily from new, the power supply probably would've lasted about 2 months. Really disappointing.
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
Pros: - Small size, not too big to place next to TV.
- Vertical orientation
- Clean looks
- Not too bland
- Detachable/swinging drive assembly, makes it easy to install the hard drive.
- Solid construction(at least the metal bits), it's pretty heavy too, which I consider to be a good thing(I'm not going to be carrying it in my pocket).
- Looks like power supply is replaceable, which is nice to know when this one blows up
- Vertical orientation
- Clean looks
- Not too bland
- Detachable/swinging drive assembly, makes it easy to install the hard drive.
- Solid construction(at least the metal bits), it's pretty heavy too, which I consider to be a good thing(I'm not going to be carrying it in my pocket).
- Looks like power supply is replaceable, which is nice to know when this one blows up
Cons: -Plastic bits, however few, look cheap and breakable.
-Potentially defective alignment. I had to RMA the first case because expansion slots didn't line up with motherboard PCI and PCIe ports.
-Potentially defective alignment. I had to RMA the first case because expansion slots didn't line up with motherboard PCI and PCIe ports.
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
Pros: What makes this an 'HTPC' case? It actually looks nice and compact in the product image but it's seriously big a clunky and heavy.
I'm trying to find a 'go to' mini and micro case but almost every case I've ordered from newegg has let me down.
I give it 2 stars because it works but the image feels misleading.. They need to throw something in these pics to get an idea of the scale..
I'm trying to find a 'go to' mini and micro case but almost every case I've ordered from newegg has let me down.
I give it 2 stars because it works but the image feels misleading.. They need to throw something in these pics to get an idea of the scale..
Cons: It's too large for an HTPC.
Other Thoughts: I wish there was a store with reasonably priced customizable cases. Even if it's just a large selection of 'bare bone' cases. Cases that your just dropping the motherboard and power supply in..
I need a small/compact case that can fit the mobo, hard drive, power supply and maybe a fan.. Nothing else.. Oh and if it could be $50 (or less) it would be a miracle!
I need a small/compact case that can fit the mobo, hard drive, power supply and maybe a fan.. Nothing else.. Oh and if it could be $50 (or less) it would be a miracle!
Pros: Great case. Love that it comes with a power supply. Easy to work with.
Cons: If you plan on putting this into a TV stand (like you would a cable box) CHECK THE DEPTH. most TV stands are 15 ' deep and this is 17' deep, plus cords.
Other Thoughts: I cut open a hole on the back of my TV stand, but I really did not want to. I would buy again if not using it in a stand.
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
Pros: slick HTPC case, its small and tight... so yea get ready installing stuff could be a little strange, but that is a given with small mATX stuff.
The manual says you gota pop the front face off for optical drive install.. you DO NOT, just take it easy and it will slip right in with a light push without having to pull the face off.
The manual says you gota pop the front face off for optical drive install.. you DO NOT, just take it easy and it will slip right in with a light push without having to pull the face off.
Cons: none.
I will say when i pulled all the cables out my board power cable was a complete rats nest....but no biggie when its all put together you are shoving the cables in anyway :-P
I will say when i pulled all the cables out my board power cable was a complete rats nest....but no biggie when its all put together you are shoving the cables in anyway :-P
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