Antec MicroFusion Remote 350

Testing and Results

When we tested the SilverStone Sugo SG03 last month, we had to draft in a low profile Zalman CNPS4000 because the minnow-sized chassis didn’t have the space our regular test kit cooler.

To give us a little room for comparison, we used the same cooler but unfortunately the Nvidia GeForce GTX 280 graphics card we used in the Sugo was too way too big. As a result, we opted for a half-height ATI Radeon HD 3450 with a passive cooler, as it is more likely to appear in most people's HTPC systems anyway.

Despite using just three 80mm fans, the chassis impressed us with its cooling prowess in thermal testing even if it didn't do so in silence.

CPU stress testing was carried out using Prime 95 and GPU testing was done with a continuous loop of the GPU tests in 3DMark 06 for about an hour; this was then repeated three times and we're reporting an average result here. Because this is an HTPC, we tested with the fan speeds on their lowest speed setting. The ambient temperature in the labs was a mild 23°C at the time of testing.

As you can see from the table below, with the labs at a frankly rather chilly 23°C, the MicroFusion maintained case ambient temperature at room temperature throughout testing.


Firing up the small FFT test in Prime95 to put the CPU under full load our Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 maxed out at a very respectable 60 degrees centigrade. This is an especially good score considering the SilverStone Sugo, for all its charm, was unable to provide sufficient air for the cooler to do its job and the CPU reached a roasting 82°C.

Our passively cooled Radeon HD 3450 peaked at a very reasonable 52°C while running continuous loops of 3DMark 06’s GPU tests, which is also an impressive showing with all things considered. The set up wasn’t about the break any benchmarking records but the MicroFusion did a great job of keeping the components inside cool.

Final Thoughts

Many HTPC cases on the market, despite their good looks, are actually very big due to their full ATX nature. The fact that the Antec MicroFusion 350 is a micro ATX case allows your home theatre system to be considerably more discrete will appeal many potential owners. With media PCs, aesthetics are always very important as it’s likely to be on full view when the Jones’ come over to watch Free Willy and we were particularly fond of the retro style fascia of the MicroFusion so it scored well here too.

While cooling was equally a strong point for the chassis, it did well in this area at the expense of golden silence which was decimated by the 80mm fans even on their lowest speed setting. Being able to maintain room temperature in the case while we were subjecting the hardware to considerably more load than it would likely see in real world use is impressive for any case, but the last thing you want is for it to be whizzing away in the background. I mean, what would the Jones' think?

We’re not sure why exactly the MicroFusion is as expensive as it is, but £130 is far from cheap for an HTPC chassis. If you’re on the market specifically for a micro ATX HTPC chassis then you could do worse than the MicroFusion provided you swapped out the fans for some quieter models. With all that said though, the Antec Fusion boasts similar styling, is cheaper and, with its two 120mm fans, is also a damned sight quieter.

• Build Quality
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• 8/10

• Features
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• 7/10

• Performance
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• -
• 6/10

• Value
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• -
• 6/10

• Overall
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• 7/10

Score Guide