Rosewill Mini ITX Tower/ Desktop Computer Case

Rosewill Mini ITX Tower/ Desktop Computer Case

Rosewill Mini ITX Tower/ Desktop Computer Case

ColorBlackCase MaterialSteelWith Power SupplyYesPower Supply250W (Model:AL8250SFX)Power Supply MountedTopPSU Main Connector20+4PinMotherboard CompatibilityMini-ITXSide Panel WindowNo
ExpansionExternal 5.25″ Drive Bays1External 3.5″ Drive Bays1Internal 3.5″ Drive Bays1Expansion Slots1
Front Panel PortsFront Ports2 x USB 2.0 / Audio
Dimensions & WeightMax GPU Length Allowance270 mmMax CPU Cooler Height Allowance45 mmDimensions (H x W x D)5.10″ x 8.70″ x 13.00″Weight8.50 lbs.
Additional InfoFeaturesMini ITX Tower Desktop Computer Case with 3 Drive Bays

1 x 5.25″ External 5.25″ Drive Bay, 1 x 3.5″ Internal Drive Bay, 1 x 3.5″ External Drive Bay

Large Vents on Side Panels for Optimal Air Flow

Equipped with a Built-In Mini-ITX 250W Power Supply Unit

One 20 + 4-Pin PSU Main Connector

Maximum GPU Allowance of 270mm and Maximum CPU Cooler Height of 45mm

Convenient Front I/O Panel for Easy access to Two USB 2.0 and Two Audio Ports

Brand

RosewillModel
RS-MI-01 BKColor
BlackCase Material
SteelWith Power Supply
YesPower Supply
250W (Model:AL8250SFX)Power Supply Mounted
TopPSU Main Connector
20+4PinMotherboard Compatibility
ITX, Mini-ITXSide Panel Window
NoExternal 5.25" Drive Bays
1External 3.5" Drive Bays
1Internal 3.5" Drive Bays
1Expansion Slots
1Front Ports
2 x USB 2.0 / AudioMax GPU Length Allowance
270 mmMax CPU Cooler Height Allowance
45 mmDimensions (H x W x D)
5.10" x 8.70" x 13.00"Weight
8.50 lbs.Features
Mini ITX Tower Desktop Computer Case with 3 Drive Bays
1 x 5.25" External 5.25" Drive Bay, 1 x 3.5" Internal Drive Bay, 1 x 3.5" External Drive Bay
Large Vents on Side Panels for Optimal Air Flow
Equipped with a Built-In Mini-ITX 250W Power Supply Unit
One 20 + 4-Pin PSU Main Connector
Maximum GPU Allowance of 270mm and Maximum CPU Cooler Height of 45mm
Convenient Front I/O Panel for Easy access to Two USB 2.0 and Two Audio Ports







Rosewill RS-MI-01 BK - Mini ITX Tower/Desktop Computer Case


Small in size. Big on capabilities. Build your own powerhouse with the Rosewill RS-MI-01 BK Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case.

The Rosewill RS-MI-01 BK comes in an ultra-compact size of 5.10" x 8.70" x 13.00", perfect for any tight space. Despite its miniature size, it provides roomy interior space to accommodate the desktop components. In addition to support for a Mini-ITX motherboard, it can accommodate graphics cards of up to 270mm in length and CPU cooler of up to 45mm in height.


The Rosewill RS-MI-01 BK offers one internal 3.5” drive bay and one external 3.5” drive bay to hold your drives. It’s also furnished with one 5.25" external drive bay. Additionally, one expansion slot lets you better take advantage of your motherboard’s expandability.


The Rosewill RS-MI-01 BK is preloaded with a 250W power supply, which delivers stable, clean power for your system. The side panels feature large vents to provide optimal air flow, thus helping keep your system cool and guaranteeing excellent reliability.

PROS

Cheap. Comes with a power supply.

CONS

Shoddy construction. Generic power supply. Weak internal cooling. 

BOTTOM LINE

Though its internal layout is serviceable, too many weak points make the Rosewill RS-MI-01 BK Mini ITX Tower PC case a poor option.

The Rosewill RS-MI-01 BK Mini ITX is a barebones mini-ITX chassis built for customers on a budget. The internal layout is serviceable, albeit not brilliant. The smaller the case, the more important it is to be able to move your hands efficiently and access parts with a minimum of fuss. For , the MI-01 is pretty good. Building a mini-ITX system is not unlike baking a cake—you have to put layers in the proper order, and cable routing has to be done in a certain way, but there's room enough to work. This is especially true if you don't plan to install a DVD—without an optical, the case is almost roomy.

There are two internal limitations to be aware of. First, the system is limited to a single-slot PCIe x16 slot. Given that the included PSU is 250W and doesn't have any PCI-Express power connectors, however, this may be less a limitation than a practical necessity. Most double-wide cards are going to draw more power than we'd feel comfortable running through a generic power supply. The PSU itself is listed as 65% efficient. That's not a major problem for a low-wattage PSU, but generic units are often capable of much less total output than their wattage ratings indicate.

The second limitation is the height of the case. The Rosewill MI-01 is 5.7 inch tall. The power supply sits directly over the CPU fan, and takes up roughly 50 percent of the available height. This leaves the PSU's intake fan sitting directly on top of (as in, just barely touching) the top of the CPU exhaust fan on a stock Intel heatsink for an Ivy Bridge or Sandy Bridge processor. The power supply fan pulls hot air upwards and exhausts it to the outside, while the CPU fan pulls air downwards and over the CPU. This means there are two fans pushing air in two opposite directions, sitting right on top of each other. As cooling arrangements go, it's not ideal.

If you want to build a system using anything but a stock Intel cooler, you'll need to opt for a low-profile heatsink with a clearance of 40mm or less. We tested CPU temperatures using the Intel Core i7-3770K at Amazon with the case open and closed, using Prime95's Torture Test in a ten-minute loop. Idle temperatures were 34'C (case closed) and 30'C (case open). Under full load, the 3770K hit 85'C with the case open, but 105'C with the case closed. That's the upper limit Intel defines as safe for this particular chip—at this point, the CPU's own thermal protection mechanisms kick in to keep the CPU from overheating.

We want to stress that the case-open 85'C temperature isn't abnormal for an Ivy Bridge 3770K when using an Intel stock cooler. The problem here is that Ivy Bridge tends to run hot under full load, period. While this isn't Rosewill's fault, the case simply isn't designed to handle the full heat output of a high-end chip.

It's possible to ameliorate this problem through the use of a higher-end low-profile cooler. We also tested the case with a Noctua NH-L9i; a diminutive heatsink with a 37mm profile. Using that heatsink, we were able to keep the chip below 90'C, but the cooler itself is at NewEgg. While that's a fair price in and of itself, it doesn't make sense to drop nearly on a heatsink while scrimping on both the case and power supply.

The bottom line is this: If you want to use this case and power supply as shipped, we recommend a lower-power dual-core chip that won't generate as much heat or put as much of a load on the PSU.


Finally, there's the state of the case's front panel. When our review sample arrived, the small plastic door that covers the USB2 ports and front audio panel wouldn't latch properly. A check of the NewEgg reviews for this unit shows that this one of the most common problems—reviewer after reviewer noted that the housing covers for the DVD drive, the USB2 ports, or both wouldn't latch. That mirrors our issue—even after careful manipulation, we can't get the smaller drive door to lock shut.

When you add up the flaws, the Rosewill RS-MI-01 BK Mini ITX isn't a case we can recommend. If you're really hard-up for cash, already have a mini-ITX motherboard, and desperately need an enclosure + PSU for under , it might be serviceable. Otherwise, we'd recommend saving up more money, and opting for a higher-end product.

Rosewill Mini ITX Tower/ Desktop Computer Case

Examination:

The Rosewill RS-MI-01 is a rather classically designed mini-ITX case. The case itself is designed mostly of steel but there's plastic on the front-panel to conceal the 5.25-inch external drive bay and front panel connectors (USB 2.0 + audio).



On the sides of the case is plenty ventilation but unfortunately there's no fan filters on this case.



At the back of the case is the motherboard rear I/O area, the pre-installed PSU, one expansion slot, and additional ventilation holes.



When opening up the case it remains to be a rather traditionally laid out chassis. There really isn't much to get excited about with this case besides its low cost.



The drive bays aren't tool-free but come just like most lower-end enclosures and overall it's rather simplistic, but then again most people will buy the Rosewill RS-MI-01 over simply needing an affordable enclosure.

Installation:

For this build I used an AMD Athlon 5150 APU, 4GB of DDR3 system memory, and an ASUS AM1I-A motherboard.





Assembling the system went very smooth around this socketed AMD Kabini APU hardware. For the disk drive was a standard Serial ATA hard drive. No optical drive was installed given that most Linux systems don't need a DVD/Blu-ray drive for day-to-day use any longer with most Linux distributions being hybrid ISO compatible for USB installation, Amazon Instant Video providing movies to Linux systems with Flash, etc.





The overall assembly of the system was very straight forward and took only a few minutes. While there's nothing extraordinary about this sub-mini-ITX computer case, it's nice overall and so far the power supply has been acting fine.


Conclusion:

Normally I am very hesitant about using any computer case that ships with a pre-installed PSU since normally they are of low quality and tend not to be too reliable, but for carrying out an AMD AM1 Kabini APU build I really was indifferent. When the highest-end AM1 APU costs just over , AM1 motherboards can be found for just over , and the other hardware is nominally expensive these days, I decided to go ahead and buy the Rosewill RS-MI-01 after having extra AM1 APUs around. This system is going to be commissioned within the Phoronix continuous integration benchmarking farm, so over the coming months if there's any PSU problems I will be sure to make it known on Phoronix. In terms of the case itself, it was fine although there's nothing special about this mini-ITX chassis -- just the nice fact that the steel case plus the 250 Watt power supply retails .





Rosewill RS-MI-01 BK Mini ITX Tower/ Desktop Computer Case with 250W PSU
Mini-ITX system with 3 drive bays

Featuring one external 5.25 inches drive bay and two 3.5 inches drive bays (one external and one internal), the Rosewill RS-MI-01 provides sufficient expandability as a mini-ITX case.
Built-In 250W PSU

The Rosewill RS-MI-01 is equipped with a 250W power supply unit to handle ample power consumption for most mini-ITX systems.
Convinient front I/O panel

The Rosewill RS-MI-01 features a convenient front I/O panel for easy access to two USB 2.0 and two audio ports.

Rosewill Mini ITX Tower/ Desktop Computer Case

amazon affiliate link below