Hardware Review: VoomPC-2 Case

TravisT · 08-15-2007, 08:41 PM

I just got my shipment which will soon by my first carpc, and wanted to review the products (since I couldn't find reviews for much of it). All items were purchased from the MP3Car.com store.

1. Initial receipt of the VoomPC-2 (by mini-box.com) case:

A. Weight surprised me. It was heavier than I expected, which is not a bad thing, but for an aluminum case I expected it to be lighter.

B. THE CASE IS BLACK! This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I have been looking at pictures of this thing online for several months now, and to me the body of the case looked grey and the ends looked black. The entire case and ends are black. Let it be known...

C. No manuals included whatsoever - hope you have a computer handy if your planning to follow the instructions (or print them out, but read on before you do!).

2. Assembly:

A. Everything was pretty self explanatory except for one bracket. It took me a minute to figure out where it went. I read through the manual and installation instructions, and there is only one picture of this bracket, and it is a very non-detailed picture. Trial and error was on my side and I figured it out. The "mystery bracket" held the slim CD-ROM drive and 2.5" hard drive. It slides into the upper groove in the case.

B. The CD ROM bracket mounting holes did not line up on one side of my drive. There were holes in both the drive and the bracket, but the holes did not line up. I don't think this will cause any problems, and everything may line up with other drives (mine is a Panasonic CW-8124 Slot Load)

C. The installation instructions were not too helpful. They seem to have been based off a older model of the case, where the hard drive is attached to the case under the power supply. The "Manual" seems to be specific to the VoomPC-2, but the "Installation Guide" is based on the original VoomPC case.

D. The molex connector that protrudes from the rear of the case is of poor quality. It pushes back through the case easily when you push against it. I was able to get the connectors together, but it should not have been as hard as it was.

E. SATA Hard Drives beware! Because of how the "mystery bracket" is designed, the connector on SATA hard drives is a little too close to the RAM on my motherboard (Jetway J7F21G5D). It does fit, but be careful when sliding everything into the case to ensure it doesn't permanently remove your RAM from your mobo.

Overall I think this is a great case (so far). I will say that I believe that this case is a bit overpriced at the MP3Car.com store as compared to competitors. On the other hand, MP3Car did ship this out very quickly, and I applaud them for that. I placed my order on Monday night, and I received my order on Wednesday afternoon. If they only would have responded to my emails, I would have been able to add the adapter cable for the slim CDROM drive to my order...

Once I get everything installed and running, I will update this thread if there is any relevant information.<br /><br />

DaddyLikeTrucks · 06-09-2008, 03:33 AM

I have one of these, and while for the most part I agree with you here a few of my opinions to add

1) the way the top or the case "slides" on the the motherboard tray is TERRIBLE, its very easy to dislodge cables, jumpers etc, screws would have been nice imo. Very dangerous way the two pieces attach, you almost have to HOPE you aren't pulling anything once you slide the top on

2) the fans are terribly loud imo, not a great choice for SQ sytems, im searching for replacements at the moment, if this unit is inside your car, they will be heard

3) the fact that it doesn't fit the opus psu cards is very limiting imo. the max powerful MATX is 160W

4) I was able to fabricate a external 12V/110V converter to run on my test bench, but WHY is there no onboard reset or power button, this is ridiculous lol

5) air flow is very limited, so make sure you have it in a ventilated area

6) it VERY heavy, and there is no way to outout an external sata cable or audio cable

for example you have two sata cables on most boards. most will use a slim optical drive which is ata

(rolled ata cable come in handly thats for sure, but id recomemend a SINGLE ata--as the second ide cable will only get in the way of closing the case)

then you have two sata cables, most will have either and external sata hard drive, or maybe even a second dash mounted dvd drive. there is no place to outlet the sata cable or molex cable.

also you can fit a slim sound card, but the same problem arises, where do you release the 1/8 mini to rca cables to?

basically you have to drill your own holes through the motherboard i/o plate

I havent tried a pci riser yet, since it looks so tight inside

and fyi there is no way this can fit behind your dash, the heatsink its too large

ill be back in a few days with more updates

TravisT · 06-09-2008, 02:34 PM

All good points. I currently have mine mounted inside the console on my sierra 2500 HD where the stock bose sub was. I haven't had any problems with overheating yet (and I'm sure it gets hot down there). The one option that I have is to punch holes in the A/C duct that runs through the console to the back seats, but then when the heat is on it will just heat everything up even more. I'm going to stick with what I've got until I start having problems.

Good luck with your install!

petec · 06-10-2008, 07:16 AM

I also purchased a Vroom II case. You do have to be very careful putting the halves together. I bench tested my setup before putting the case together. I have posted pics of my VroomII case here on another post. At this time I am not sure what cables are pushing down on the motherboard and what I may be breaking. It is working though and has a pleasant eye appeal. My case also came with no instructions but the assembly was pretty intuitive. I am currently evaluating the setup and comparing it to using another CarPC (MiniPC) in a BMW X3. May go with the MiniPC because of its size and ability to install the computer with the rest of the Car's components in the rear storage area. This I cannot do with the VroomII case.

skuller · 07-11-2008, 01:09 AM

I just got one of this case.

Pros:
It looks very nice, quite small and comparable to a small amplifier.

Cons:
1. the fan cable (the one from front panel to motherboard) is way too short. I ended up splicing and extending the wire.
2. As the other guy above said, the fan are loud, horribly loud. Fine if you install it in the trunk.

petec · 08-01-2008, 12:08 AM

Decided to replace motherboard in mine today and took case apart after testing for a few months. Noticed that while I was very careful in placement of the motherboard cables/power cables a couple of the cables did get pinched a bit too much. These cables over time may have shorted out.

si_romin · 01-30-2009, 06:06 AM

i think the weight of the VoomPC-2 is a good selling point for the unit.

if it's heavy, it's durable. i have one of these installed in my boot, and it's been through some pretty tough times and it's not in the least bit dented. And yes, it is loud, but when it's sitting in my boot, i don't hear it.

User Name		Remember Me?
Password