Opinions: HTPC Cases

[[JiF]Mike]

I'm looking for a new HTPC case to sit with the rest of my equipment and look like it fits. I've been looking at a ton of them online and thought I would see what others were using.

Couple things I'm looking for:
1. Good cooling
2. Standard ATX
3. Gotta look good.
4. Some sort of display panel would be nice to display time or other various info.
5. Priced in the $200-$300 range or less, no power supply required.

The one I am most interested in atm is this one. Though I think the ipod dock is a little gimmicky it's still kinda neat. I don't know...any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you for lookin.

[m0ng00se30]

I've bounced through lots of different cases... Are you putting capture cards/Harddrives in this case? or is this just a client and all the "hot" items going some where else? The reason I ask... I've never seen a HTPC case that can keep a full box that cool without being loud or normal temps above what I'd like.

I finally went with a non windowedSilverstone TJ06 , and still moved HDs into another case else where in the house. This has worked well for Mississippi summers where summers can be brutal sometimes. Granted it won't fit in a rack or under your tv, but I decided that finally I wanted everything rock solid and running 24/7, and not always worried about component failure from heat. 120mm fans and tunnels seem to keep things runnings daily for a long time now!

This is probably way off topic from what you were really looking for, but its just really an observation!

--Mike

[[JiF]Mike]

I appreciate the info, it's good to know I'm not the only one with high temp problems. Right now the new hardware I just bought is in an old tower sitting on top of the entertainment center...wife loves that...but there was no way I was waiting to decide on a case before I got the new hardware up and running.

This case will be for the SageTV system with one tuner card and one usb tuner. I thought about getting an HD extender now they are available again, but I like the idea of browsing the web on the TV if I want too. My plan for local HDD's are one for the OS, and another for TV watching and recording. I will also have an unRAID server setup in the basement for other media and archival purposes using 1Gbps Ethernet. For keeping my temps in check I am considering a water cooling system.

[lobosrul]

I'd stay away from water cooling, unless your willing to go high end (over $300). Most of the cheaper stuff actually does little better than air-cooling and the pumps can be noisier than expected.

In my server/workstation/gaming PC I have several 120mm case fans that are nice and quiet, and I just installed an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro. At 66% RPM its nearly silent and keeps my overclocked Intel Core 2 Duo at 32 C Idle. And its stable after 12 hour encoding jobs. Now I just need something for my loud ass Geforce 7900GT. Thinking about http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186016 if theyre ever in stock.

As far as a HTPC, my preference is to stay away from gadgets/LCDs/Lights in the front, as I think they're distracting, but to each his own.

[Spartan]

I went with this one:



The Antec NSK2480. It's cheaper (about $80+) but Antec does make more expensive models with the same design.

Things i like about it:

- Silent. There are 2 120mm fans on the side which rotate very slowly yet pull alot of air thru the case. My harddrive is way louder than this case will ever be.
- The airflow thru the case is exceptional. My CPU (X2 5000+) paired with Scythe Mini-Ninja requires no CPU fan. The fans on the side pull more than enough air through the case.
- Finish. The silver looks nice and the LEDs are not bothersome.
- Capacity. It has 2 external and 2 internal bays. The internal bays feature silicone grommets to keep your hard drives from vibrating the case.

Things I would change:
- I wish the cheap version would have come in black.

All in all, by far the nicest case I have purchased. Highly recommended.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...34&Tpk=nsk2480

(Newegg's price is high on this case -- I got mine from buy.com and other vendors have sales on it periodically)

[flashbacck]

I have the NSK2400 (older model of the 2480) and I like it. I agree with Spartan's pros. A few cons I have are:

1) no stealthed 5.25" drive bays.
2) even though it's a microatx case, it's not really that small. I think this has to do with the layout of the drives and psu.

I think the antec fusion is virtually the same model, but has a VF display, which you mentioned you wanted.
http://www.antec.com/ec/productDetails.php?ProdID=08738

[[JiF]Mike]

I appreciate the suggestions, but I have a standard ATX motherboard which won't fit in a microATX case.

[dflachbart]

Originally Posted by [JiF]Mike

I appreciate the suggestions, but I have a standard ATX motherboard which won't fit in a microATX case.

Yeah, I am also looking for a nice ATX case, since I need to put both a video card and a sound card into the board. I like the Antec cases, I wish they would make them for ATX too. Any other suggestions ?

Dirk

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by flachbar

Yeah, I am also looking for a nice ATX case, since I need to put both a video card and a sound card into the board. I like the Antec cases, I wish they would make them for ATX too. Any other suggestions ?

Dirk

For your client or your WHS server?

I'm putting these together for a WHS SageTV server.



Newegg has the case for $159.

Gerry

[[JiF]Mike]

The biggest selection of HTPC Cases I have found is at http://www.pcalchemy.com/index.php/cName/htpc-cases don't ask me which one is good cause I have no idea. It's rather irritating how expensive htpc cases are compared to 'regular' tower case. They don't seem that different to me, but I guess the only people doing this right now are people with cash, and we're buying. :/ Now the ones with the touch screens I can understand being expensive, but some I am just shocked at the price....

[attaboy]

I have a Silverstone SST-GD01B-MXR HTPC case and have been very happy with it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811163076

Takes a standard ATX mother board, holds 6 internal 3.5" drives, and has good airflow. The LCD display is nice but hard to see across the room. It is a nice looking case and seems well built.

[Polypro]

I love the HD135. If you *DON'T* set it up something like I did, you *WILL* have heat Issues...but if you do, your cores and HD's will idle around 38'C. It's the most AV looking case I could find...but it's all subjective. Good luck.

P


http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...ro/Zalman1.jpg

[dflachbart]

Originally Posted by gplasky

For your client or your WHS server?

For my living room client, so I need something AV-like looking...

Originally Posted by Polypro

I love the HD135. If you *DON'T* set it up something like I did, you *WILL* have heat Issues...but if you do, your cores and HD's will idle around 38'C. It's the most AV looking case I could find...but it's all subjective. Good luck.

Wow I agree, that's a really nice case. Just don't know if I would shell out over 300 bucks for a case... Will there also be heat issues if it's used as a simple client (dual core, passively cooled 7600GT, soundcard) ?

Dirk

[JonTom]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811163065

this is mine. it's not bad, a little boring looking but i'm ok with that. be careful if you have a long video card, and it has very bright blue leds, which i plan to change at some point eventually. it's also really big, but seems cramped inside.

[paulbeers]

Just throwing this out there....


Most nice cases will run 200 bucks or more right? Why not just get an HD Extender...and build a true server in a cheap(er) case? Plus you don't have to mess with an expensive video card that will give off heat.....My server runs a crappy 6200LE vid card only because the motherboard I bought didn't have integrated video.....

[Oats]

I used a Silverstone LC-17. I liked it a lot and it kept my computer cool with 2 100mm intakes and 3 80mm exhausts. I had two hard drives and two tuners in it.

However, I did what paulbeers is suggesting. I didn't see a point in having my SageTV PC under my TV and another PC for more storage. So I went with an extender and combined the SageTV PC and storage PC into one. Now I'm trying to find somebody who wants to buy the case, but I'm not having much luck.

[MeInMaui]

I used a Silverstone LC-14 when I built my client.

Aloha,
Mike

[dflachbart]

Originally Posted by paulbeers

Just throwing this out there....


Most nice cases will run 200 bucks or more right? Why not just get an HD Extender...and build a true server in a cheap(er) case? Plus you don't have to mess with an expensive video card that will give off heat.....My server runs a crappy 6200LE vid card only because the motherboard I bought didn't have integrated video.....

Winamp/Milkdrop, bit-perfect audio, Internet applications - for me these are a must, so Extenders are (and probably will always be) out of the question...

Dirk

[Polypro]

Originally Posted by flachbar

Will there also be heat issues if it's used as a simple client (dual core, passively cooled 7600GT, soundcard) ?

Dirk

If you use what Zalman thought was the ideal fan placement, yeah. They had one thin 80mm intake on the floor in front of the PSU, and one exhaust on the top cover. If you used 1 big laptop HD, using the floor of the case as a heatsink, you could probably get away with a 120mm intake on the left side, and the PSU as the exhaust...blowing diagonally, each component should get some air. BTW, mine is silent as it is...the 120mm Noctua's are at 60% and the 80mm is at 80%, with Speedfan.

[phelme]

nMediaPC.

I have a couple of their 288's and love 'em as client/encoders. Though NewEgg doesn't seem to carry them any more for some reason. Could be they've been superseded by the model 500.

http://www.nmediapc.com/