HTPC / Desktop case for ATX psu?

t31os

t31os

t31os

Soldato
Joined
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Surrey - UK
Hi guys,

Looking at buying a desktop or HTPC style case to move my 2nd system into.

Now the only problem i have is that i have a perfectly functioning ATX psu i would like to keep for the system.

Other factors to also consider are that it needs to be able to also house an x1800gto fitted with a zalman, 2 sata HDD's, 1 sata DVDRW (no ide devices).

I'm not picky about the size or the price, this is purely a consideration... if nothing can match the requirements i'll keep it in the atx case and work on silencing it some more, damn thing is too noisy. Would be nice to sit the system under my AMP (or on top) though.... :D would look nicer then just having it sat under the desk.

EDIT::
james.miller said:
silverstone lc17:) afaik its still the only decent desktop htpc that'll fit an 8800gtx/quad core system in addition to two optical drivers and 3 hard drives, and has the capacity for 2x 80mm rear fans, 1x80mm side fan (cpu area) and 2x 92mm front fans. oh and a full atx board. it might be a little on the big side depending on your expectations though.
Click to expand...

lol timing....

Yes indeed does look ideal.... and the design looks gorgeous....


The system will be getting upgraded soon with a Micro-ATX s775 board and a cheapo Core2, if a suitable case is found...

So are there any cases out there that meet the requirements?
 
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silverstone lc17:) afaik its still the only decent desktop htpc that'll fit an 8800gtx/quad core system in addition to two optical drivers and 3 hard drives, and has the capacity for 2x 80mm rear fans, 1x80mm side fan (cpu area) and 2x 92mm front fans. oh and a full atx board. it might be a little on the big side depending on your expectations though.
 
Think i'll stick to ATX then and grab a Silverstone....

How are noise levels for you with the hardware you have?
 
its very quiet. i have 4 case fans installed, the rear two and front two. they are all running as slow as my ip35pro will let them. the psu (corsair hx) makes no noise, neither does my gtx lol. my thermaltake orb cooler spins so slowly you can almost read the label on it lol, and thats a 120mm fan so thats silent too. overall.....its very quiet:p

ive got an e2160@ 3.1ghz in mine, but i do know at least one person here, Ulfhejinn , has a quad core in his with no problems whatsoever:)
 
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bare in mind - if you go with the lc17 you wont be limited to matx boards and so you'll have awider range of cheaper board to choose from. i have an ip35pro in mine for example. not a cheap board but about as feature-rich as it gets and one of the most clockable too:)
 
I am also looking for a HTPC case at the moment. I have spent the last couple of weeks researching things and thought I might list some of the things I found out:

Zalman cases (HD160/170 etc.): Nice finish, supports ATX motherboard/full size graphics cards/ATX PSU, you have to glue on a cosmetic front to your DVD drive, fiddly to build, internal sound dampening implemented badly and doesn’t work very well, problems with case screens in Vista (but this problem common to most HTPC cases).
Personally: I like it, only the bad sound dampening and descriptions of extremely fiddly fit of the DVD drive and fixing of cosmetic DVD cover putting me off.

SilverStone LC20/17/16 etc: Unconventional layout (PSU south of mainboard), supports ATX motherboard/ATX PSU, problems fitting larger graphics cards in the LC16, Not the quietest of cases, also uses the glue on DVD front design.
Personally: I don’t like the unconventional layout across the range, routing of PSU power can be a problem in some builds.

Thermaltake Bach: Case finish not consistent on all black Bach, Mozart looks better but has design issues on front panel, supports ATX motherboard/full size graphics cards/ATX PSU.
Personally: I like the Bach internally, but externally it’s not much of a looker. I would avoid the Mozart.

Antec Fusion: Quality feel, supports micro ATX motherboard/full size graphics cards/ATX PSU, flip down DVD cover, good sound dampening, available with and without PSU (supplied PSU has reliability problems – many failing).
Personally: My current favourite. Doesn’t support full ATX, but this is the only thing making me hesitate from buying. It’s available with and without PSU, I would recommend buying the case without PSU and buy your own.

I have been mainly focusing on cases with small displays. Theres a plethora of cases now with their own large LCDs but they seem to have a lot of software problems, especially with vista and am currently excluding these as options.

My search goes on...
 
james.miller said:
its ok, the bezels only use double sided tape:p
Click to expand...
I know its tape, but on the Zalman for example you have to remove the front plastic lip of the disk tray and then stick on their cosmetic replacement. Personally I prefer a well designed flap that lets my drive remain intact.
Ive read a couple of comments about people having problems removing cosmetic drawer fronts when switching drives and so aim to just avoid that all together if I can (I forget which manufacturer it was).
 
james.miller said:
its ok, the bezels only use double sided tape:p
Click to expand...
That's the reason I didn't buy the Silverstone LC17, having to sticky tape a drive beisel on is not so high end, pity they didn't incorporate a flap into the case.

I've done two builds using the Silverstone LC20 which has a double sized flap for the optical drives built into the case.
 
Another LC17 user here (on james.miller's recommendation). It is an excellent case that I would recommend easily but there are a few things it'd be worth pointing out:

Cons:
- The PSU is on the 'wrong' end of the case, therefore my ATX cable has to trail all the way across the board. I tied it using cable ties to the 'crossbar' on the top of the case so that it clears all of the components.
- Being a HTPC desktop case, it is quite cramped to work in, so be patient with it. It was extremely difficult to put the Scythe Mini-Ninja onto the motherboard as one of the mounting holes was right in the corner of the case.
- If I'm being pedantic, the LED lights are too bright :D

Pros:
- It looks gorgeous.
- The case fans are very quiet (though to make it even quieter I replaced them with Sharkoons).
- It fits full size components.
- It can fit six hard drives and two optical drives (more than my mini-tower).

Today it has 2x80mm Sharkoons, 2x92mm Sharkoons and the Scythe's 80mm fan. Noise-wise it is whisper quiet and easily unnoticeable over general noise (I would have no reservations about leaving it on while I was in bed), though still audible over a silent room. It is quiet enough that it is inaudible during even quiet talky bits in movies and is drowned out easily by my Xbox 360 or my old P4. In fact it is so silent I'm investing in some more fans for the old P4 beast as it's too noisy!
 
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Xerai said:
Antec Fusion: Quality feel, supports micro ATX motherboard/full size graphics cards/ATX PSU, flip down DVD cover, good sound dampening, available with and without PSU (supplied PSU has reliability problems – many failing).
Personally: My current favourite. Doesn’t support full ATX, but this is the only thing making me hesitate from buying. It’s available with and without PSU, I would recommend buying the case without PSU and buy your own.
Click to expand...

It may be worth pointing out that when I was evaluating what case to buy, as I understand it the cheaper no psu/VFD model (NSK something rather than Fusion) doesn't have the flip down DVD cover, but blanking plates instead.
 
Xerai said:
I know its tape, but on the Zalman for example you have to remove the front plastic lip of the disk tray and then stick on their cosmetic replacement. Personally I prefer a well designed flap that lets my drive remain intact.
Ive read a couple of comments about people having problems removing cosmetic drawer fronts when switching drives and so aim to just avoid that all together if I can (I forget which manufacturer it was).
Click to expand...

oh i see. no, on the silversone you just stick it to the front of the tray:)
 
Thanks for all the comments guys, all the cons for the Silverstone to me seem very very minor in comparison to the cons of cases i've worked with.

PSU placement is fine with me, same as sticking the front on the DVD drive, i don't mind at all, it's hardly going to take much effort by anyones standards.

Here's what i plan to put in the system, with some parts coming from the current system that is getting the upgrade....

Core2Duo E2140/E2160
1gb of spare PC4200 (until i upgrade my main rig with 4gb then the 2gb in here now will go in)
MSI P35 Neo2-FR iP35
Sata 2 Western Digital 500gb
Sata 2 Western Digital 250gb
Sata Samsung DVDRW
Thermaltake TR2 RX 450W Modular PSU
X1800GTO with Zalman cooler

Any suggestions regarding fans for the case?...... i have a few spare volt mod cables if necessary for the fans.
 
There is not much wrong with either the LC17 or the LC20, I do prefere the look of the LC17 but for some reason I don't think the stick on bezel is good enough, all the pics I have seen show the bezel being badly applied and wonky with the beige optical drive visible, probably me just being a stickler for detail but it kills the illusion of *class* for me.

If someone has a pic of the bezel attached perfectly I may be swayed. One major selling point of the LC17 is that its cheap for what it is, add in a Corsair modular PSU and you have the same amount as an ANTEC Fusion.

The PSU is in a good place as long as the 4-pin/8-pin +12v Cable is long enough on the PSU. I built two identical systems using the LC20s and an ENERMAX Liberty, one PSU had no problem reaching the +12v socket but the second (identical) PSU had a shorter cable and it was a real tug to get it attached and the cable pushed quite hard againt the top of the graphics card. This can be sorted by picking up a 4/8-Pin extention cable for a few pound.

Secondly although you can in theory fit up to six hard drives it will be a bit of a squeeze with the wiring and the drives will run quite warm. Two drive bays each contain 1-3 drives. The drive bays on the left are quite snug against the bottom of the PSU so there will be some wire squish, the second drive bay on the right lines the drives up to collide with the GPU slot. If you have a longer graphics card you will not be able to install any drives in the central drive bay.

Apart from that its a really nice case, I prefere the silver alu to the black alu though.

Yeah just make sure you get a nice modular PSU like one from Corsair, that will help keep everything neat and tidy. You will be able to route the case wires/usb connectors under the motherboard so they appear below the motherboard and plug right in.
 
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