As motherboards get smaller and CPUs run cooler the demand for smaller cases grows. The idea of the small form factor case is nothing new but these days awe find the number of these is growing as well. The idea is simple; stuff a motherboard (complete with CPU, GPU etc), optical drive and some type of storage into a small area while keeping things cool, pretty easy right? We take a look at one entry from ThermalTake; The Element Q. This is a small form factor case that has a few nice things to offer (like a 200 Watt Power Supply). So let’s take a look that the Element Q and see how it handles a system built around the Intel Core i5 661 CPU.
The Box and Goodies -The box, like the case is small. I was a little surprised at the size of it when it showed up on the doorstep. The front has an image of the case with a slight glow around it to make it stand out from the black background. At the lower left hand corner there is a small tag line saying “Compatible with Intel Atom Platform”. We have to wonder if this is a cooling issue or a power issue; we will find out either way.
The back of the box has some nice shots of the outside and inside of the Element Q along with an air flow diagram (these are becoming standard on cases). There really is not much more to talk about on the outside of the box. Inside the box we found just the Element Q; at least that is all we found until we pulled the case cover off of the Element. Inside were all of the goodies that we were looking for in the box.
You get the usual compliment of screws and mounts, a few brackets and a simple manual. Also you can see that 200 Watt PSU we talked about. Not a bad little add in.
