It has been a while since we last reviewed a Mini-ITX component at Bigbruin.com, and with so many interesting new products released in this field, it is time to start paying attention again. One of the companies that has caught my attention with their innovative Mini-ITX components is Mini-Box.com, a Fremont, California based company that serves as the main online outlet for many of their own creations.

We first became familiar with Mini-Box.com at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show, where they were passing out samples of their new picoPSU-120 12V DC-DC ATX Power Supply. A year has passed since that positive first impression, and we have another Mini-Box.com product to evaluate in the form of the M300 Mini-ITX Enclosure. As pictured in the promotional image below, the M300 is an attractive case that sports some useful features in an extremely small space.


Before taking a look at the ins and outs of the actual case to be reviewed, let's take a look at some of the published data on the M300 Mini-ITX Enclosure as taken from the Mini-Box.com website.

Features:

» Universal embedded mini-ITX enclosure
» Light, Alu construction
» Front Door with USB and Compact-Flash
» Allows PCI card (riser included)
» Bootable (IDE) Compact-Flash
» Up to two 2.5" drives
» PWR button and LED
» Works with any picoPSU (not included)
» Size 20cm (w) x 7.8 cm x 24cm
» Area for custom logo
» Manufactured by Mini-Box.com
» ROHS compliant

In case you are not big on metric units, the dimensions of the case translate to less than 7.9" x 3.1" x 9.5"... Not much bigger than a typical external hard drive / optical drive.

Packaging:

The M300 does not come in a retail style package, and the plain white box is most likely all that anyone should expect from Mini-Box.com. The case is wrapped in bubble wrap and suspended in a foam frame for protection, and the only other information inside the box is a brief manual that could really use some more detail and/or illustrations.