INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   With more and more people turning towards small PCs to cover their needs it's no wonder that the popularity of mini-ITX and mini-ATX compatible cases has been on the rise all over the world for quite some time now. What i never understood completely was the reason as to why PC case manufacturers didn't design small ATX compatible PC cases for people who want the extra features offered by such mainboards without having to worry about having a midi or full tower on their desks. HTPC cases have pretty much offered the solution to that for a long time now but judging by their current popularity it's safe to assume that the majority of consumers still prefers the "traditional" tower design when out to get a new case. Cooltek is one of the very few manufacturers out in the market currently who have managed to fit a full sized ATX mainboard inside small towers which up until today people thought were only compatible with mITX and mATX models. One such tower design PC case is the aluminum UMX2 by their Jonsbo brand which is here with us today.

   Cooltek offers you high-quality PC cases and accessories at an outstanding price-performance-ratio. Our products meet internationally recognized quality standards and are distinguished by their durability and exceptional value for money. Our main area of expertise are a broad variety of PC cases, ranging from small HTPC-formats- like the award winning Coolcube family - to full-fledged Midi-Tower chassis that offer outstanding features for small costs. Besides our line of PC cases, we offer you selected products from the areas of noise reduction, PC modding, cooling and high-end power supplies. By choosing Cooltek products you opt for innovative technology and leading designs.

   For the UMX2 Cooltek has followed a strange yet effective path (according to them that's what's Jonsbo is all about). They've used a 1.8mm thick steel interior cage and dressed it with 2.5mm thick anodized aluminum (side plates are 2mm thick) so although you're getting a small, nice looking and light case it's actually very sturdy. Of course although the UMX2 can accommodate up to full ATX sized mainboards due to its small size Cooltek had to make certain compromises so the last PCI slot can only be used with single slot cards and unfortunately there's no room for forward fans. Still the UMX2 comes ready with three preinstalled fans (two 120mm ones at its base and one 140mm at the top), has room for two extra 80mm fans at the rear and can be outfitted with a total of 5 drives (3x3.5"/2x2.5"/slim 5.25"), up to 150mm tall CPU coolers and 280mm long graphics cards.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The UMX2 arrived inside a regular cardboard box with a drawing at the front, a list with the main product features and the Jonsbo logo and URL.

 

 

Some of the features are also mentioned on both sides.

 

 

A drawing of the UMX2 completely dismantled is placed at the rear of the box (used to showcase all of its parts).

 

 

The case is wrapped inside a protective bag and placed between two thick foam spacers.

 

 

Included in the box is the user's manual, two adhesive rubber feet, 5 cable ties, mainboard speaker, small bag with mounting feet for the drives and another small bag with all the bits and pieces required to mount a mainboard in the UMX2.

 

 

THE UMX2 EXTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The brushed (anodized) aluminum body of the UMX2 weighs just 7.4kg and measures 445mm in height, 421mm in depth and 200mm in width.

 

 

Both side panels are entirely made out of aluminum and as you will see later on are not screwed to the main body of the UMX2.

 

 

The simplicity of the fascia along with the brushed aluminum used give the UMX2 a very elegant look.

 

 

A slim optical bay is visible at the front along with the on/off power button and LED, 2 USB 2.0 ports, 2 USB 3.0 ports and the headphones and microphone ports.

 

 

At the rear top we see a 140mm exhaust fan.

 

 

What stands out at the rear are the 7 PCI covers which are silver/nickel and not black as one would expect.

 

 

Here we also see the two 80mm fan spots and a 3pin power plug which means that the PSU is not placed at the rear of the UMX2.

 

 

Straight from the factory the UMX2 sits just on its aluminum base but if you want for improved stability you can mount the two 3M adhesive feet found in the bundle.

 

 

THE UMX2 INTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Interior of the UMX2 may not be on par with those found in Midi and Full towers but for such a small tower I’d say it has plenty.

 

 

At the very top there's a bracket which allows you to either install a slim optical drive or a 3.5" HDD and right beneath it we find the 3x3.5" drive cage.

 

 

The PSU area seems a bit cramped but according to Cooltek you can fit regular ATX sized models in there (up to 160mm long).

 

 

To remove the PSU cage you will first need to remove 4 screws found at the front and rear.

 

 

The mainboard tray has 3 holes for cable routing/management, 8 rubber coated holes used to mount two 2.5" drives at its rear and a very large hole underneath the CPU area for swapping backplates with ease.

 

 

Cooltek has placed two 120mm fans at the base of the tower which probably make installing a regular ATX mainboard a bit tougher.

 

 

With the side panel removed you now have access to the two removable air-filters placed right beneath the fans.

 

 

Regular thumbscrews are used with the PCI expansion slots.

 

 

This is the 140mm fan at the top of the tower.

 

 

There's a total of 23mm of space right behind the mainboard tray so you should have zero issues with cable management.

 

 

BUILDING THE SYSTEM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As always the purpose of this section is not to build a functional system but rather to showcase what you can expect from the case at hand in terms of interior space.

The only tiny problem when placing an ATX sized mainboard inside the UMX2 is that the lower end is very close to the two fans but if you mount the cables before you install the mainboard that shouldn't be a problem.

 

 

You can mount CPU coolers up to 150mm in height so you have plenty of such models to choose from in the market.

 

 

A very nice feature is the holes made on the side of the chassis via which you can easily access the thumbscrews with a screwdriver (which if you want can replace with regular screws).

 

 

Cooltek claims you can mount graphics cards up to 280mm long but that would probably mean it will almost touch the PSU.

 

 

The PSU area is a little bit tricky so although installation is not hard you can mount PSU models only up to 160mm long. Anything more and it will just not do the trick (our 165mm long PSU did not fit).

 

 

NOISE LEVEL TEST

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After giving it much thought we decided on performing noise tests with each PC Case we receive by placing our ExTech HD600 vertically ontop of each case to measure the noise levels emanating from the pre-installed fans at both 50% and 100% with the help of a fan controller (if the case doesn't have one we use our own).

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   The Cooltek Jonsbo UMX2 is the very first case to arrive in our lab which even though many of you are well aware that I’m not much into small cases I’d actually use to house one of my systems (if space was an issue). As a matter of fact this is one of the very few mini-ITX cases i can easily classify as special not only because you can place a full sized ATX mainboard inside but also because it features good airflow levels from its 3 pre-installed fans and its exterior is made entirely out of aluminum. Needless to say that i was somewhat disappointed to see that our 900W PSU didn’t fit but to be completely fair I doubt many people would put such a high wattage unit inside a small case like that especially since a small case like the UMX2 was obviously not designed with serious gamers in mind. Build quality is also great and are its looks but the fans are somewhat audible when at full speed but since the UMX2 doesn’t feature any noise-absorbing coating this isn’t something we didn’t expect.

   With a price tag set currently at 169.99Euros inside the EU (PC-Cooling.de) the Cooltek Jonsbo UMX2 is certainly not one of the cheapest mini-ITX towers around. Of course the fact that this isn’t just compatible with mini-ITX and mini-ATX mainboards but also ATX ones makes all the difference in the world. If however that wasn’t enough the anodized aluminum exterior, 3 pre-installed fans and available interior space are features which certainly help make the UMX2 one of the best mini-ITX cases in the market currently which is why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality (anodized aluminum exterior with steel Interior)
- Design
- ATX Compatible
- Size (for an ATX compatible case)
- Rubber Anti-Vibration Coating For The Side Panels
- Three Pre-Installed Fans (plus room for two more 80mm ones)
- Interior Space (150mm tall CPU Coolers, 280mm long graphics cards and a total of 6 drives)
- PSU Area Positioning
- Screwdriver Holes Over The Expansion Slots
- Available In Silver & Black (side window versions are also available)

 

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- SSD Mounting Spots (can't remove/mount drives without removing the mainboard)
- No Forward Fans
- PSU Compartment Size (only fits PSUs up to 160mm long)