Antec ISK 100 / ISK 110 HTPC Chassis

The Antec ISK 100 (now superseded by the ISK 110) HTPC chassis is a worthwhile consideration for HTPC enthusiasts. It measures only 222 x 78 x 212 mm making it small enough to be mounted on the back of a LCD display that has accessible VESA mounting holes.

A small desktop stand and VESA mount adapter (not shown) are included with the case.

As you can see it is a very compact case that will fit low profile Mini-ITX boards. The case is supplied with an external mains adapter similar to the type provided with a laptop, which produces an output of 19V. The internal power supply board which can be seen inside the top of the chassis converts this into the standard motherboard voltages. There is also space inside the chassis for a very slim fan as can be seen, and for up to two 2.5” HDDs under the motherboard (accessible via a removable side panel). The back panel takes standard I/O shields.

I will be interested to see if the Gigabyte boards I have will fit inside this chassis and approximately what power usage they normally have. Hopefully they can be put into this chassis so that I can make a nice portable HTPC at home, or a tiny computer for work.

Some reviews

UPDATE: I have checked and found my existing Mini-ITX based system with the Gigabyte GA-350N WIN8 board consumes no more than 50 watts from the mains, running off an old inefficient desktop power supply and driving a desktop HDD. I expect the internal power usage to be in the range of 30-35 watts, well within the 80 watts or so that the internal power supply in this chassis will be able to produce.

UPDATE2: I was pleasantly surprised to find there are a considerable range of Mini-ITX boards made, many of which have a CPU socket instead of an embedded chip. Still, the onboard unit was significantly cheaper and has done everything needed of it.