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G-Alantic 610i Review
Posted on August 9, 2002
Introduction
G-Alantic Enterprise Co., Ltd. are a Taiwanese
manufacturer and exporter of all sizes of computer cases and
associated components. The 'Starex' series 610i case is their
first foray into the microcosmic world of Mini-ITX. They kindly
provided us with one of the first cases to come off the production
line, which we review here.
Contents
- First
Impressions
- The
Power Supply Unit
- The
Front Panel
- Fitting
the Hard Drive
- Fitting
the Motherboard
- The
GA610RS PCI Riser Card
- Putting
the Case Back Together
- Conclusion
- Gallery
Page 1
- Gallery
Page 2
- Gallery
Page 3
First Impressions
The GA-610i measures (WxHxD): 13.38"(340mm)
x 3.78"(96mm) x 10.83"(275mm). It weighs approximately
5.5Kg, according to the packaging.
The case is of a solid steel construction,
and comes in 2 colours. We had the SG (silver) model - actually
a dark grey colour. The PL (pearl) model is the whiter flavour,
though we haven't seen one of those yet.
The plastic front panel is colour-matched
to the case and flips open on the left to reveal 5 differently
shaped cutouts and a removable floppy-drive sized front panel.
The cutouts look like they will fit 2 audio sockets, a Firewire
socket, an infra red module and 2 USB sockets. G-Alantic will
be providing the USB and IR modules as an option. We suspect
the audio and Firewire sized cutouts are either leftovers
from initial Mini-ITX board specifications or anticipatory
of future (CLE266) Mini-ITX boards. Either way, they'll come
in useful at some point and are all obscured by the left panel
when it is closed anyway.
Behind the aforementioned removable floppy-drive
sized front panel is a floppy-drive sized space complete with
mounting points. The EPIA motherboards currently available
do not have a floppy drive connector, and future models probably
won't either. But the floppy drive is an industry standard
form factor and other things can be fitted here instead, such
as G-Alantic's own 115A 3.5" "Travel Flash Card
Pocket Disk" or knowing our readers - LCD displays, miniature
VU meters or racks of blue LEDs...
Now's probably a good time for you to have
a quick peek at G-Alantic's product page before we install
a Mini-ITX motherboard.
G-Alantic's
product page
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