VoomPC-2 and Mo-Co-So personal review

BlackStealth · 08-25-2008, 02:45 PM

Having purchased these two cases, I'll point out the strength and weakness of these cases.

VoomPC-2:
1. Not enough space for power connector on SATA hard drive with D201GLY2A or D945GCLF motherboards, forced to use IDE hard drive.
2. Too cheap to include extra wire for connector, you have to order these separately.
3. M2-ATX power supply fits perfectly.
4. The CPU or chipset fans on the D201GLY2A/D945GCLF only have about 1mm clearance from hitting the top of the case, this certainly won't allow good airflow. No clearance for my PCI serial card.
5. Super noisy fans (40mmx40mmx20mm, 8000rpm, 10.28CFM, 32.92dBa), had to replace both with 14dBa 40mm fans instead.
6. Super heavy, a car could run over it and probably have no damage, very strong.
7. Fit and finish good overall, but couldn't get my CDROM/hard drive caddy to fit, had to grind that sucker down before it would go in.
8. Found my power supply wires getting chewed up from the sharp edges inside the case, had to use tape on the sharp edges. Assembling the case together is difficult because it's too compact.
9. Comes with a built in LED that lights up VoomPC, can be used to notify if your motherboard is powered up, or power supply led indicator, or whatever.
10. Provides support for CDROM drive in an already tight case.
11. The connector on the case can be pushed in easily, but with care you can connect it. I wish they made the hole smaller.

Mo-Co-So:
1. No clearance problems for SATA/IDE hard drives.
2. All wires present, and includes extra long wire for powering up monitor.
3. Had to drill two holes for M2-ATX power supply, fortunately aluminum is easy to drill and tap.
4. A good centimeter or more clearance on top, providing good airflow. Also provides clearance for my PCI serial card.
5. Noise is moderate, not quiet or loud. Only 1 fan, 50mmx50mmx10mm, 6000rpms, 6+ CFM.
6. Light weight, and strong enough (a car running over it would certainly flatten it into pancake though... lol)
Edit: I'm wrong, apparently it does survive a car running over it. See this link

The Black Box Survives

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7. Fit and finish okay, I find the screw holes outside on the case a little too close to the edges, a little concerned about it snapping.
8. Plenty of room for power supply wires, no concern for wire getting chewed up. Assembling/disassembly is easy.
9. No LED.
10. No support for CDROM drive. Go with an external USB CDROM drive instead.
11. The connector can be pushed in easily, and there was no way to connect unless you shove some object in between the connector to prevent it from collapsing. Again the hole should have been made smaller.

Overall I like the look of the VoomPC-2 case better, but the Mo-Co-So case is more practical which is the one I'm keeping.

blackcobra487 · 08-26-2008, 09:45 PM

I am quite happy with my Mo-co-so case. The main reason I went with it is because the assembled PC they had. I got their cheapest one and it included an external CD/DVD drive (I think CD-RW, but not sure. Never tried to burn in the car). I also like the extra USB ports on the back of the case. Overall, I couldn't have built it myself for the price I paid for it.

AcidPunch · 08-27-2008, 01:59 PM

I have a mo-co-so case as well. I like it alot, but i was a little concerned with cooling. There is an extra fan port on the jetway motherboard, so I did some heavy modifications to the back plate to add 2 fans. Now there is only little bit of the back plate left to hold a nylon screen in place.

surtr · 08-27-2008, 09:02 PM

I've got a mo-co-so case and love it. I didn't have to drill to get my M2-ATX to fit, but IIRC I may have only used 2 mounts for it. Cooling is adequate, haven't had any problems with it whatsoever. Love the header for powering the LCD.

nobb · 08-28-2008, 11:36 AM

I have the Mo-Co-So case. Main reason I went with it over the voompc is because it looks better and is less flashy.

There are pre-drilled holes to mount my M2ATX, but it was positioned in a way that made it difficult for the cabling, so I had to drill my own holes. Good thing aluminum is easy to drill. Bad thing that aluminum holes are also easy to strip.

No led, so drilled another hole in the front and put my own led in.

Cooling for this case could have been better thought out. The power supply and hard drive are well cooled, but the only fan in the case does not circulate air around the motherboard that well. The CPU sits in stagnant air. Due to the design of the case, very hard to drill another hole to mount more fans. Had to make my own cardboard ducting for intake and exhaust just to keep my M10000's processor cool. Otherwise it would hit 75C+ on a 30C day.

Chris (the guy who sells the case) has great support and was very willing and fast to help me with some cold weather issues I was having with the M2ATX I bought from him. Very good and honest guy to buy from, in my opinion. Andrei, the guy who designed the M2, didnt seem as willing to work with me. Mostly just told me to return the M2 if I wasnt happy.

theonlykid · 08-29-2008, 11:26 PM

Thank you for the review and your feedback. It is a big part of what allows us to improve our products. We have just redesigned our case to address all of the negative aspects that have been mentioned including:
#1 Making the hole for the harness slightly smaller to prevent it from popping out. We are also working on a "C" clip that will work as a retainer. We are also wrapping the wires of the harness in heat shrink tubing to prevent any single pin from being forced out. It also addresses the pins not seating properly the first time. By bundling all six wires the pins are firmly held in place preventing one of them from floating off to the side, preventing all 6 pins from seating. .

#2 We have added another set of holes to the mounting plate to support the M1/2 with all motherboards. Currently some people are required to re-drill the holes with some boards when using the M1/2.
http://www.mo-co-so.com/~photos/case...%20PSU%20holes
#3 We have added nuts to the bottom of the PSU posts/standoffs to prevent any stripping issues.
#4 Added both hard drive and system LED power lights
#5 Moved the fresh air intake to allow air to be pulled directly over the CPU.

#6 Our complete systems have been shipping with RCA outs for a few months now. The new cases will also start to include the RCA jacks.

The redesigned cases are already on the way to us and we should begin shipping them starting the end of September/1st week of October.

timr · 09-09-2008, 07:49 AM

I purchased the Xenarc MP SC10, 840 TSV touch screen and wireless keyboard.

The MP SC10 was rubbish. The 1GB chip didn’t work on arrival and had to be replaced (took ages to diagnose, why don't they QA before shipping?), the hard drive skipped on bumps, the CD player rattled and it lasted 4 months before breaking down completely, after several shutdowns. I’ve thrown it away. Basically they tried to get too much in too small a space.

The keyboard no longer works via the USB connection.

The touch screen is great, fits perfectly in a C5 Corvette.

I replaced the Xenarc MP SC10 with the MCS Pre Built Carputer with 1.33GHz Intel Celeron CPU. Fantastic. OK it’s big and doesn’t fit behind the car seat, it needs to go in the back. It’s noisier than the Xenarc but I’ve an aftermarket exhaust, so who cares. It came with Microsoft SP3 which caused it to collapse. Reloaded XP Professional with SP2 and no further problems (i.e don't load Norton). It’s got an external CD drive which might seem off-putting but is actually better – no rattle. It’s easy to disconnect, take inside the house and hook up to the internet. It took me well over an hour to download Centrafuse 2.0 this weekend. I wouldn’t have wanted to do that in the drive, given that it’s always raining in the UK.

MCS. Good product, great customer service.

BlackStealth · 09-10-2008, 01:59 PM

Well I noticed my Mo-Co-So case is getting hotter, 70C, about 10C hotter than my older VoomPC-2 case. Although everything is working fine, I'm not comfortable at that temp so I did some research. My case came with a 50mmx10mm fan, Colorful CF-12510M, DC=12V, 0.15 AMPS, Ball bearing. According to a korean website, the specs come out with:
CFM=12
Noise=32 dB
RPMS=5000

This doesn't match up with the specs provided by Mo-Co-So website, they said it's 6000 rpms and 6 CFM. Hmm. There's plenty of 50mmx10mm fans out there in the 9-12 CFM range and Mo-Co-So points out the 50mm is much superior over the 40mm (I have one rated at 6 CFM) counterpart in terms of CFM so I'm beginning to think there some sort of typo there. I may have to find a better fan with more CFM.

http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate...rUrl=Translate

In the meantime I've drilled over a dozen holes directly above the D945GCLF's chipset fan and repainted the case black as I don't want the silver colored holes to be visible.

SKiTLz · 09-23-2008, 05:02 PM

Does anyone know if the DSATX will fit in the Mo-Co-So case?

Looking at ordering asap.

FusionFanatic · 09-26-2008, 09:43 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by SKiTLz

Does anyone know if the DSATX will fit in the Mo-Co-So case?

it might, but it will depend on the motherboard you choose. in the mo-co-so case, the PSU mounts above the HDD (next to the motherboard).

on my Mo-Co-So case's motherboard tray is an Intel D201GLY2A, a standard 2.5" laptop HDD, and an M2-ATX-HV.

a standard laptop HDD is 100mm x 70mm. the M2-ATX is 160mm x 45mm, the DSATX is 106mm x 99mm.

the DSATX is more than twice as wide as the M2-ATX. with this motherboard, the DSATX would overlap the motherboard and possibly hit the RAM stick; so it may not work for this board, but you might be ok with a different motherboard.

BlackStealth · 09-26-2008, 11:22 AM

Update: Drilling holes in my case directly above the fan reduced overall temperatures 10C, it went from 70C down to 60C during the same one hour drive. I have speedfan 4.34 installed and noticed if I change the fan % it makes the fan run harder -- I'll have to look into this more.

blackcobra487 · 09-27-2008, 11:22 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by SKiTLz

Does anyone know if the DSATX will fit in the Mo-Co-So case?

I think that I've seen someone do it, although I could be wrong. It may have been an Opus. Either way, the guy had to get another aluminum plate, like the one the Mobo is mounted to, and slide it into the top part of the case. I wish I could find the link to the thread.

nobb · 09-27-2008, 11:27 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by BlackStealth

Update: Drilling holes in my case directly above the fan reduced overall temperatures 10C, it went from 70C down to 60C during the same one hour drive. I have speedfan 4.34 installed and noticed if I change the fan % it makes the fan run harder -- I'll have to look into this more.

Any pics? I dont think I would know how to drill holes evenly without a drill press...

Ive also managed to lower the temp by 10C, but I used cardboard ducts on the inside so that the cpu fan sucks from the outside air.