Note: I originally intended to try out some thermal testing on this case. It turned out that the PSU (Apevia 250w flex atx) that I bought, was a dud. Unfortunately this means that this review will not include thermal testing! Maybe in the future I may try it again…

Geeek A10 review

Sections
Intro
Features/Specs
First Impressions
Exterior
Interior
Conclusion
Extra
Additional Pictures

Features/Specs

The A10 is on the lower end of the spectrum when it comes to size and price, however in features it is not. Some of the specs and features that come with the A10 are:

-Dimensions: 271mm[H] x 234mm[W] x 100mm[D]
-Support for 2x 2.5in HDD
-Front panel: 1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0, power,reset,audio jacks
-Supports flex ATX or DC-DC ATX power supplies
-Supports small (low profile) graphics cards
-Supports 1x 80mm fan
-Can be placed upright or laid flat
-Lightweight acrylic chassis
-Aesthetically pleasing white and black exterior

 

First Impressions

One of the first things I noticed about the case was that it came in very simple, small packaging. As a lightweight acrylic case it made sense, it doesn’t have much weight on it to damage itself. The case was wrapped in a simple half-inch thick foam sheet, and although this may make a few people feel cautious about the integrity of the case, I assure you the foam was more than enough to keep the exterior of the case intact. Another important measure that kept the case in good shape was the plastic sheeting that covered just about the entirety of it. The sheeting was precisely placed, and gave a very satisfying feeling when being peeled off and exposing the shiny acrylic below.

The case came with an owners manual, which is just instructions printed out and stapled together, but nonetheless it came in handy when it was time to screw everything into place. Being that it is an acrylic case, and a very small one at that, the design has some limitations, which means that just about everything in the case is put in or put together using screws. The case comes with every screw necessary and the instruction manual does a decent job of pointing out which screws are used for what, so the whole process of screwing everything in didn’t really feel too fatiguing or annoying.

Overall the case is very easy on the eyes, especially after all of the plastic sheeting is pulled off, and although the included accessories and manual seem very simple and possibly underwhelming, they are useful and in the end that’s all that matters.

Exterior

The case is primarily white, but sports a black front/top panel, black base panel, and black fan grill. Three stripes on the front end of the case mark the area where power and reset buttons, and blue power and HDD lights all sit. In my opinion this looks very clean and elegant, and the buttons had a satisfying click. Also on the front panel sit the USB ports and audio jacks. They are placed in an ambiguous manner which is great because they work well while the case is placed in either orientation. My only complaint is that it does not have 2 USB 3.0 ports, but considering the price of the case I suppose this is understandable.

The side/top panel is a tinted see-through black acrylic with sets of vent slots on the top and bottom ends. It is very minimalistic and resembles tempered glass, and is held into place only by 4 screws. The panel covers the entire side/top of the case.

The base panel is also black and has two sets of vent slots, but it also features a “cut out” in the middle that allows for two things: the cutout can support two 2.5in HDD’s using screws, the cutout allows the builder to get to the area behind the motherboard. As you can see above, there are many screws on this panel. These screws hold together various things including the motherboard stand-offs, the feet for the case (horizontal layout), the panel itself, and the cutout piece and HDD’s as well. Please note that I decided not to remove the plastic sheeting on this panel, this is why it looks as if it is peeling around the edges and near the screws.

The I/O panel is quite simple. Just enough space to fit the motherboard I/O, flex ATX PSU power port, dual slots for a GPU or other extension card, and a set of vent slots along the length.

The top/side of the case features the only fan support for the entire case. An 80mm fan slot with an attractive black hexagonal grill. Note that I did not take off the plastic sheeting on the grill. I find it interesting that there is only one 80mm fan slot, and it is the major reason I wanted to test thermals in the case. I feel that, considering the amount of vent slots on both side panels, as well as the I/O panel, that the fan placed here might be most useful as an intake fan, seeing as most likely, making it an exhaust fan would create negative air pressure which would suck in dust through the vent slots throughout the case.

Interior

The interior of the case is very simple, yet quite intriguing. Right off the bat I noticed that the cables are not very attractive in regards to color, but being a budget case that is not meant to show off the interior all that much, I feel this is fine. The one interior layout feature that most intrigued me is the use of tall motherboard standoffs that allow about an inch of space behind the motherboard. This allows the 2.5in HDD’s to sit comfortably behind it, and even allows enough space for a few cables to easily pass behind the board as well.

Above you can see one of the tall stand-offs in its location. I’d like to point out that the picture does not do a good job at showing the length of the stand-off in comparison to the depth of the HDD. There is more space than can be assumed through this picture.

As shown above the layout is quite simple. Flex ATX power supply fits firmly on the lower end, motherboard almost directly in the middle, and at the top there is a gap of space large enough to allow a small GPU. Geeek advertises that the case can only fit 1-slot low profile GPU’s however from what I noticed it is possible to fit a dual slot GPU as long as: 1. it is not too long, 2. it is not too wide as the case is rather slim (even my Asus Radeon HD 6670 was too wide), and 3. You have to sacrifice the 80mm fan. This being said I don’t think it will be very easy to find any graphics card with any significant power to put into this case. The only ones I can think of are maybe an Nvidia Quadro as many of them are generally smaller/slimmer and possibly some sort of small GTX X50 or Radeon R7 card.

For the sake of cable management I decided to slide a few cables behind the motherboard. I decided to tape them down in certain areas to keep them away from the motherboard. This seemed to work well and I was able to place the motherboard into its rightful spot without much effort. This is a good indication of the height of the stand-offs.

I noticed that the interior has a bit of extra real estate that may allow for additional 2.5in HDD’s. Most notably the front panel area and even the top panel next to the 80mm fan. Of course if you choose to use an external power supply, there is also space in the area where the flex ATX PSU sits. Something to keep in mind.

Conclusion:

Overall I was very pleased with this case. Everything from the simple but pleasant aesthetics, to the interior layout, to the measures used to keep the acrylic in quality condition, impressed me. Geeek definitely seems wise beyond it’s years and definitely did a great job despite being a newborn company.

I want to address a few things regarding layout and support. The two things that come to mind are mostly the GPU and PSU support.

First off the dual expansion slots seem a bit misleading because the case simply does not do a great job at supporting dual slot GPU’s. It seems as though they made one too many compromises somewhere along the design process. However after considering things like the size, form factor, and price of the case, it is pretty clear that this case IS NOT necessarily an enthusiast gaming case. So knowing this, that this case is most likely targeted more towards the living room experience/HTPC/workspace market, the possibility of adding a GPU should be considered an added bonus, in my opinion! I think this case would do great with an AMD APU at the heart of it.

In regards to the flex ATX PSU it may be a bit discouraging to have to track down a reliable one, as it seems there are not too many high quality options in the marketplace. There are some I am aware, but they seem to all be units that lack aesthetics. Ugly grey metal and red/yellow cables plague the flex ATX PSU market, and the only half decent looking one I could find turned out to be a dud. Despite this, to be honest, after seeing that the black panel is not very transparent, I think it wouldn’t be too difficult to track down a reliable unit, regardless of looks. An external PSU is also a viable option.

As mentioned before, personally I find this case to be a great option for anyone looking for an aesthetically pleasing HTPC or simple workstation PC. An AMD APU or even an Intel CPU with integrated graphics would feel right at home in this thing, and if you can find the right GPU, more power to you! The options in orientation and overall size make it a very versatile chassis that would look great displayed in just about any setup.

Taking into consideration what this case is best utilized for I rate the case a: LOVE IT

Important

As you may have already seen on my Instagram page, I have partnered with Geeek and am preparing to raffle out this review unit to one of you guys soon! So please keep an eye out for the post and be prepared to follow the rules to enter the raffle if you are interested in winning the case!

PLEASE NOTE: I will ship to a US winner on my wallet. With the price of international shipping, I cannot exactly afford to ship internationally. However, I AM WILLING to split the shipping cost with the winner if they are international.

In the meantime check out Geek’s Instagram page HERE
or check out their website HERE

Thanks for reading! Make sure to give me feedback on this review by leaving a comment on my Instagram pics!

Hector
@mitxlove

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Additional Pictures