I bought a Apevia Q-XPACK 2 of these as a replacement to a Q-XPACK (i.e., the first model). Was pleasantly surprised to find a lot of the hardware is exactly the same as the Q-XPACK: motherboard tray, drive assembly. Install was really fast as a result. The sides/top of the case is the same size as the Q-XPACK, although I think the Q-XPACK’s is a little sturdier. I bought a refurb with sharp gouge on the outer case, so I just used my old wrapper.
The extra inch of depth is mostly in the front of the case and in how the parts fit within the assembly. The design is nicer than it looks in photos. Fan LED is definitely much brighter than the Q-XPACK. How much brighter? Well, my next purchase is probably going to be a fan.
Lack of power cable management is one downside here. The cables are wired directly into the power supply, so unless you’re willing to cut them you’re probably going to end up with at least one that you’re not using. That’s pretty typical, but it hurts a little more here; There’s more cables than the Q-XPACK, and not much space to hide them away.
Of course, it’s much too early to see how the power supply stands up.
I was very pleased with the Q-XPACK right up until the power supply started wavering. The Q-XPACK2 seems to have everything I liked about the Q-XPACK, plus the (theoretically) more robust and standard power supply. Even if the power supply isn’t as robust as I’m expecting, being able to swap it is a major benefit.
Other problems? Well, this was a refurb, and it had some problems from that. The handle wasn’t very well attached, and it didn’t come with a couple cables that it should have. Neither of these was a problem for me, though.