Suggestions for HTPC case...

  • Thread starter Flerbizky
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Flerbizky

Flerbizky

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Flerbizky
I know who knows more about cases than I do.... YOU !!!! /* Imaginary finger pointing at YOU !*/

I'm redesigning my HTPC, and the most important part is the case. I currently use the Antec Overture II-UK - And I'm not happy... Though very black and shiny, it still looks like a computer and I simply can't reach the level of silence I want with it..

I'm mostly leaning towards the OrigenAE H5 which I find very attractive - but I would like a load of recommendations from you !... So what is has to do is :

Room for Full Size ATX motherboard,

Room for 3 PCI cards (2 x Analog TV Tuner and 1 x DVB-T)

Room for 1 PCI-E card (TV out - Currently passively cooled 6600GT)

Preferably room for a full size ATX PSU... (This is an issue with the H5)

And basically that's it... Please let me know what YOU will buy for your next HTPC !... Thanks :-)
 
Thermaltake Mozart
http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/product/Chassis/desktop/mozart/vc4000sns.asp

Thermaltake Tenor
http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/product/Chassis/desktop/tenor/vb2000bns.asp

Silverstone LC03
http://www.silverstonetek.com/products-lc03.htm

Silverstone LC20
http://www.silverstonetek.com/products-lc20.htm

Those are just a couple from each of those two brands. Both TT and Silverstone make great HTPC cases. They offer quite a few different designs besides those I suggested. Give them a look, and see what you think.

Hilg

Thermaltake (Desktop Series)
http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/product/Chassis/chassis_index.asp

Silverstone (Lascala Series)
http://www.silverstonetek.com/product-case.htm
 
Do you want a Horizontal or Vertical case? Also, where will the case go? Near your other components? Rack mount? Got pics of your system where the HTPC will reside?
 
Flerbizky, I actually built an HTPC from the ground up as a little summer project. I spent a lot of time choosing components, and I paid special attention to the case. Although the Thermaltake's and Silverstone's are nice, I fell in love with Ahanix cases from the first time I saw them. I ended up going with the Ahanix D-Vine MCE601 in silver, and have been extremely pleased with it. As long as you are not digging in to the case very often to swap out drives, it's very functional and provides good airflow. Another concern for you may be the included 350w power supply. It fit my needs perfectly and is also very quiet, so I couldn't really have asked for anything more. Anyway, take a look at it - I'll post up some pictures of mine this weekend. 👍
 
3 years later, I'm considering going the same route. I have a PC in my living room now, but it could use some refreshing. Has anyone successfully made a computer out of something like this?

http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=NzEz

I don't need the LCD screen, but I found a similar product for much cheaper. I've already got the bluetooth keyboard and mouse, which work great. But I'm looking to build a quiet HTPC that can play a blu-ray. I'm also considering a small SSD - something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227393

Not sure exactly what I have to do to get components to fit into that case. Hopefully there's a video card out there with HDMI out that fits it. Hopefully someone else out there has gone down this road and has some wisdom to share with me...
 
WEEEE - Thread revival FTW :-)

Anyway - I did end up with the OrigenAE H5, which I still have today, and am very happy with.

It's been upgraded over time, as you do, and the final thing needed (as it plays anything HD I can throw at it), will be a BD/HDDVD combo drive. Currently it only has a HDDVD drive - The PS3 does BD nicely..

Specs are:
CPU: Ahtlon X2 64 4600+
Ram: 4 x 1Gb something - Doesn't really matter.
HDD: 1 x 60Gb 2½" 7200 rpm.. Very quiet indeed.
Gfx: AMD 4550 with HDMI output.. Lovely..

Pics here: (though it doesn't make a big fuzz - middle shelf to the right.)
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showpost.php?p=3361071&postcount=189

I can't hear it when it's on from one meter away.
 
Looks like a nice system. Maybe I'm jumping the gun a bit with the SSD, but it seemed like the best way to get a quiet, fast, elegant solution.

I'm hoping for something with a little more of a VCR profile than yours, but it's not a deal breaker. Mostly just something small that I can tuck away.
 
Danoff
Looks like a nice system. Maybe I'm jumping the gun a bit with the SSD, but it seemed like the best way to get a quiet, fast, elegant solution.

I'm hoping for something with a little more of a VCR profile than yours, but it's not a deal breaker. Mostly just something small that I can tuck away.
Click to expand...

If you, as I did, suspend the 2½" drive with some foam, you seriously can not hear it..

SSD, Hmmm.. Still a couple of generations away for me methinks..
 
Danoff
Looks like a nice system. Maybe I'm jumping the gun a bit with the SSD, but it seemed like the best way to get a quiet, fast, elegant solution.

I'm hoping for something with a little more of a VCR profile than yours, but it's not a deal breaker. Mostly just something small that I can tuck away.
Click to expand...

SSD's are about 2-3 dollars per gigabyte, and even higher. A Normal 3.5 inch 7200RPM drive is silent enough to not be heard over any of the fans, and its much much cheaper.

As for HTPC cases, I could tell you anything else that hasn't already been mentioned.
 
Danoff
3 years later, I'm considering going the same route. I have a PC in my living room now, but it could use some refreshing. Has anyone successfully made a computer out of something like this?

http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=NzEz

I don't need the LCD screen, but I found a similar product for much cheaper. I've already got the bluetooth keyboard and mouse, which work great. But I'm looking to build a quiet HTPC that can play a blu-ray. I'm also considering a small SSD - something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227393

Not sure exactly what I have to do to get components to fit into that case. Hopefully there's a video card out there with HDMI out that fits it. Hopefully someone else out there has gone down this road and has some wisdom to share with me...
Click to expand...

From what I see it would be fine. You just need to plan out what components you need. Such as the motherboard, cpu, HDD, RAM(2GB or more with vista), and the blu-ray drive. If I were you I would not worry about SSD's because you can get more space for your buck with HDD's. For the motherboard you need to get a microATX motherboard for the case. I believe retail CPU's come with small enough heatsinks to fit into the case also.
 
Zalman offer excellent build quality and are built for silence (as thats what their company is all about). Here are some models which would suit your needs...

HD160XT - http://www.zalman.co.kr/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=192

HD160XT_01_b(2).jpg


HD160 Plus - http://www.zalman.co.kr/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=281

HD160Plus_01_b.jpg


Robin.
 
Ok, here's what I plan on building. I'd appreciate it if people here would give it a look over to make sure I'm not buying stuff that doesn't work together/won't fit.

Antec NSK2400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129034
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article591-page1.html

ASUS P5N7A-VM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131348
(I'm gonna have to use the DVI rather than the HDMI because my monitor doesn't have HDMI)

Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072

Crucial 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 800 (1 stick for now)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148164

Seagate Barracuda ST3160813AS 160GB 7200 RPM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148397

ZALMAN CNPS7000B-AlCu LED 2 Ball Cooling Fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118118

ZALMAN ZM-CS1 Clip
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118219

~$400 pre-shipping/tax

The issue I'm working now is whether I can get the CPU for less without the fan.

Any thoughts on this setup? I've already got a SATA DVD player at home. Blu-ray won't be added until I get a 1080p TV with HDMI. Also, part of me is still tempted by SSDs.
 
Last edited:
Well it looks like everything checks out fine. You should be alright with that setup and Antec is a awesome brand for cases. If you plan on using Vista I'd recommend that you get 4GB(2x2GB) DDR2 800 RAM and with heatsinks to make use of those massive fans on the right. Also don't worry about getting a SSD as the HDD you currently have will do the job nicely.
 
nick09
Well it looks like everything checks out fine. You should be alright with that setup and Antec is a awesome brand for cases. If you plan on using Vista I'd recommend that you get 4GB(2x2GB) DDR2 800 RAM and with heatsinks to make use of those massive fans on the right. Also don't worry about getting a SSD as the HDD you currently have will do the job nicely.
Click to expand...

I'm looking to avoid Vista as long as possible (as I have done with every release of windows since 95). I figured I'd try to get by in XP with 2GB (which, based on past experience, should do the job nicely), but if I have any trouble with memory I'll just get another 2 gig stick. Thanks for looking it over.

If anyone else has any comments or suggestions, I'm still interested.
 
2GB of RAM should do XP fine then. When you get a blu-ray drive make sure XP can support the software to play the movies.
 
Why only one stick of ram? At the price of DDR2 Ram these days, you could run dual-channel with two sticks and improve your performance, even if it's two 1gb sticks.

I have really enjoyed Vista 64-bit by the way. It's a very solid OS as long as you have the hardware to run it. No issues here so far. It is leaps and bounds beyond XP 64-bit, even with all the updates, but I fully understand your hesitation.
 
Pako
Why only one stick of ram? At the price of DDR2 Ram these days, you could run dual-channel with two sticks and improve your performance, even if it's two 1gb sticks.

I have really enjoyed Vista 64-bit by the way. It's a very solid OS as long as you have the hardware to run it. No issues here so far. It is leaps and bounds beyond XP 64-bit, even with all the updates, but I fully understand your hesitation.
Click to expand...

I had mistakenly thought I only had 2 ram slots. I decided to go with a 2 gb stick to preserve the ability to eventually get 4 gb without having to replace ram. Now that I see I have 4 slots to deal with, I might go with 2 1gb sticks instead.
 
If 4gb is the max Ram you anticipate, that sounds like a logical choice. 👍
 
Danoff
Ok, here's what I plan on building. I'd appreciate it if people here would give it a look over to make sure I'm not buying stuff that doesn't work together/won't fit.

Antec NSK2400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129034
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article591-page1.html

ASUS P5N7A-VM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131348
(I'm gonna have to use the DVI rather than the HDMI because my monitor doesn't have HDMI)

Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072

Crucial 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 800 (1 stick for now)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148164

Seagate Barracuda ST3160813AS 160GB 7200 RPM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148397

ZALMAN CNPS7000B-AlCu LED 2 Ball Cooling Fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118118

ZALMAN ZM-CS1 Clip
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118219

~$400 pre-shipping/tax

The issue I'm working now is whether I can get the CPU for less without the fan.

Any thoughts on this setup? I've already got a SATA DVD player at home. Blu-ray won't be added until I get a 1080p TV with HDMI. Also, part of me is still tempted by SSDs.
Click to expand...

This setup (with slight modifications to the ram) worked very well. I have a stable, fast, quiet, low-profile HTPC now, and I love it. Combined with a bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and a wireless g nic - it makes me want to cancel my cable service forever.

On hulu, netflix, southparkstudios, etc. I can pull up tons of movies or TV shows for free. Right now we don't have cable and are still struggling to keep up with our netflix discs due to all of the content available online. With some strategic bookmarking of important sites, all you need is a mouse (which I use on the arm of my couch, or jeans, or anywhere).

Unfortunately I don't think we're going to live without cable forever. Eventually it will be football season again, and I imagine we'll have to spring for every football package under the sun. But it has been nice during the off-season to not pay the cable company. If football were available online, I would never have a cable subscription again.

I would definitely recommend this configuration to someone who wants to build an inexpensive HTPC.
 

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