The SX is one of two models in ThermalTake’s Mozart series media centre cases. We’re looking at the SX case, which at nine centimetres high resembles a sleek aluminium faced CD player. In spite of this it can accommodate a full ATX motherboard and is built to fit unassumingly into a stack of home theatre equipment.

Despite its diminutive 9 centimetre height, two PCI cards and a single PCI-e 16X graphics card can be used. This is done with an included right angled riser PCB, which stacks expansion cards parallel to the motherboard. The downside is that as your expansion cards plug into the riser port, they are positioned over the top of other expansion slots on your motherboard.

It’s also worth noting that due to the design of the riser card, there isn’t enough space between the PCI-e 16X slot and the base of the motherboard to accommodate dual slot graphics cards, and the hard drive bay towards the front of the case prevent 8800GTX and larger sized cards from fitting.

The hard drive bay can accommodate two drives, both of which are cooled by a side intake fan, specifically a Molex connected, 12 volt, 0.1 amp Thermaltake TT-8025A. Although there is no distinct fan intake port, the chassis is riddled with holes for ventilation, so cooling isn’t a problem. The only other fan is another identical TT-8025A, positioned in the front centre of the case and blowing over the RAM and CPU.

The right side of the case is hinged to conceal whatever optical drive and 3.5” card reader (or potentially floppy drive) you choose to mount behind it. You won’t have to open this to access the optical drive, as it will simply push a spring loaded flap out of the way when ejected. One of the few flaws we have with the case is that the workmanship of the hinged section of the case is sub-standard, and the hinged flap would never sit flush with the rest of the case thanks to the locking mechanism. Bonus points go to anyone who takes the time and effort to replace this with their own magnetic locking system.

A 430W Thermaltake power supply is supplied with the case, and it sits in the back right hand corner of the case behind the optical drives. It’s a nice touch, and very quiet, but it only supplies one (1) SATA connector, which compared to its nine (9) Molex connectors is a bit baffling. Still, PCI-e power is provided and you can tuck the extra Molex cables away underneath one of the drive caddies.

It’s an excellent case, just be aware that you’ll have a minor cable management battle on your hands if you stick with the included power supply, you’ll need to use a low profile CPU cooler and the hinged door isn’t quite as well machined as it should be. There is another model available (the VC7001SNS, RRP $375) which is essentially the same, but ships with added media buttons on the chassis, a pre-installed VFD and Media Center remote control.