2003 Winter Case Review Part 1: MicroATX Case Madness

Yeong Yang - Casper YY-A204

From Yeong Yang we received their latest MicroATX offering, the YY-A204, which is part of Yeong Yang's Casper Series. Yeong Yang has put significant effort into designing its new Casper Series, which features several new innovations that translate into a smaller and more compact case design. At the same time, these features create a thermal environment that is quite conducive to keeping the case temperature cool. What surprised us was the size of the Casper solution. Let's take a closer look at how this tiny tower solution competes with some of the "big boys."

The YY-A204 was among the most compact of the MicroATX form factors that we tested that also offered full-height PCI/AGP slots in the rear of the chassis. While the YY-A204 is somewhat short on expansion potential, featuring a 1/1/1 design, it makes up for this shortage by offering the most compact MicroATX form factor that we have seen to date, plus offering a full-height PCI/AGP card solution. Yeong Yang refers to its Casper Series as their "Tiny Tower Series." Yeong Yang has trimmed nearly every possible inch to reduce the overall size of the YY-A204. We would be remiss in not mentioning that the Casper Series is available in six other front bezel designs that all use the same internal Casper chassis platform. The design of each of the bezels is somewhat different, but they easily and interchangeably fit the Casper MicroATX chassis platform.