Honey, They Shrunk The Skeleton

With enough space for an ATX motherboard, PSU, and multiple optical and hard drives, as well as a mounting bar to support PCI cards, the Skeleton also has a large three-speed, 250mm "Big-Boy" fan above the structure that provides airflow throughout the case. When asked what market the company was targeting for the chassis, representatives simply stated that the case sells itself to those who will buy it. There is no extreme; You either love it and have to have it, or hate it and don't see the point. The mixed reactions to the system we built with it in October seems to support that statement.

Now the model's younger sibling is getting ready for its debut. The Test Center recently worked with a prototype of the soon-to-be-released Mini-Skeleton.

Looking exactly like a Skeleton that had been left out in the rain to shrink, the Mini-Skeleton is an exact miniature of the larger chassis. Supporting the Mini-ITX platform, the Mini-Skeleton has a component tray that slides out from the rear, on top of which is the motherboard tray. Although our prototype didn't have a power supply with it, the production models are expected to feature an internal 90-watt PSU.

With all the open space, cooling is not a concern, but a relatively large 140mm top-mounted fan, and a 70mm rear fan make sure that air continues to flow across all of the components. Beneath the motherboard is space for a 5.25-inch optical drive and two, 2.5-inch hard drives. In similar fashion to the larger model, two additional 3.5-inch drives can be "hung" on mounts that attach to the side panels, one on each.

While pricing and availability have not been announced yet, we're sure that there are many who are already watching for its release with baited breath. As with the original Skeleton, it's going to be another love-or-hate-at-first-site moment but, as for us, we think the little guy is kind of cute.