Despite being an ITX build certain aspects of the design limited my ability to quickly install components.

The most notable was the proximity of the huge 150mm tri-cool fan to the motherboard. Indeed, the Akasa heatsink (standard Intel size) would not fit as a result so i removed the fan from the heatsink and relied on the tri-cool to cool the bare sink.


The CPU cooler would not fit with the fan in place.

You could fit a low profile heatsink (45nm wolfdale CPU style) if needed but i liked the idea of a larger unit.

Again i found that the 4-pin atx 12v connector could have done with being a touch longer too as i had to stretch it over the motherboard to get it to the socket – see image above! The same can also be said about the front panel connectors which were all quite a tight fit.

Once the board was in and connected the tray was slid carefully back in place. Be particularly careful not to snag or badly bend any of the cabling as it has a tendency to do this.

I tried both mount versions for the HDD’s deciding in the end on the external mount. This was quite straight forward and the drive is quite secure in this position.


HDD mounted on the side panel.

Unfortunately i did not have a spare 5.25” drive available to install into the Mini Skeleton-90’s lower bay but i’m sure you’d have no issues. As long as you are careful and methodical while cabling i would say that you should find it acceptable (if a little fiddly at times) to install into.

All that said, the Mini Skeleton 90’s aim is not one of ease of install – it’s all to do with the crazy looks combined with the thermal performance of the enclosure.


Build complete and powered up.