28-Oct-2020

Objectively speaking, this is not a very good mini-itx case. It's small and the air flow is not very good. On the other hand, it does have a built in keyboard.

But non of that matters. The important thing is: it looks like an old Commodore breadbin computer - either the C64 och Vic-20. This is the my-little-pony of itx cases for middle aged men with reclining hairlines and a mid life crisis.

The only difference between the Vic-20 and C64 models is the color. Next to my original and now yellowish Vic-20 this new one looks almost paper white but I think it is quite close to how the original looked 35+ years ago. The function keys however are orange while the original had brownish ones. Still, it is obvious that this is a Vic-20 replica and the orange makes the case look more interesting and even more retro as it reminds me of 1970s’ terminals and calculators with orange buttons. The actual shape of the case is spot on, even the opening for the back plate and the 40mm fan is made to look similar to the openings on the original case.

At a first glance the keyboard looks like the original since the keyboard retains a similar outer shape as the original. When you look closer you notice significant differences as they have fitted modern buttons such as ctrl, alt and real cursor buttons on the same row as space. As a European used to an ISO layout with that large inverted L-shaped enter button this ANSI inspired layout is difficult to use but then again the breadbox design is unergonomical anyway and this is not going to be my primary computer.

The marketing images show USB and memory card slots on the right side of the device. My device came with just a ventilation grill and a hole for mounting the barrel jack for a PicoPSU power connector and I think that makes more sense. I dislike the power led that acts as a power button and wish they could have retained an original style switch. I still remember how that V shaped button felt agains the tip of my finger and how it felt to flip it on and off. And it would have been nice with metal inserts in the screw holes. The plastic only screw holes are likely going to wear out quickly and that is a shame for something that is probably going to be used for many years.

All in all, however, this is a wonderful niche product and I am happy someone has gone trough the trouble of bring it to market