HTPC Case - Full ATX

jezscott

jezscott

jezscott

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Joined
18 Oct 2002
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Location
North London, UK
Please recommend me some good HTPC cases, which can except a Full ATX motherboard.

  • Desktop/Hifi style
  • Small as possible
  • take full size graphics cards
  • good airflow
  • quiet
  • simple design

thanks!
 
silverstone lc17. or a *new* style lc13 if they are on sale yet. they have best internal layout ive seen from a htpc case of that size far, and they are reasonable cheap too
 
I prefer the look of the silverstone lc17, no need to flip down a front panel.

theres a pretty big selection of cases on the Silverstone website, also had a quick look through the Thermaltake website.

too much choice, this will take me a while.
 
james.miller said:
i do own a 17 (as do quiet a fe people on here lol), so if you have any questions, fire away!
Click to expand...

I'm tempted by the 17 because of the price compared to other similar looking cases.

I guess the main question is what fits in it - many htpc cases seem to have limited options for larger components.
What's the maximum height CPU cooler you can fit in the 17? Are there any coolers that work specifically well with the 17 (maybe passively?)
Will an Arctic cooling accelero s1 r2 gpu cooler fit?
can you fit full length graphics cards?

Also, are the drive covers stuck to the front of the trays? If so, do they stay in place?
 
what fits in it - everything lol. a couple of guys here were running quad core intels and 8800gtx's in theirs. ive personally got an [email protected] and an 8800gtx. along with 4gb ram, 2x optical drives, 2x hdd's, ip35pro motherboard.

the cpu cooler - towers will not fit. the thermalright ultra's will not fit, neither will the scythe ninja, any tower coolers like that. zalman flowers and other coolers in that style will fit fine though!

Accelero s1 r2 - yes, no problem that should fit fine but double check that

full length graphics cards - again, no problem as long as you are willing to sacrifice a drive cage for it, which will limit you to 3x internal hdd's.

drive covers = they are stuck on with a sticky pad, but yep they stay in place no problem.

here's a pic:

IMG_1119_small.jpg


IMG_1118_small.jpg
 
Last edited:
I went for the Grandia GD01, as it has a different HDD cage layout.

One long cage with the drives on their sides. I have 5 HDD and a 8800 in mine, and I reckon I can fit another hdd to the other side of the gfx if I tried. The GPU essentially takes the space of 1 HDD.

The Accelero does NOT fit in any of the Silverstone, its a few mm proud. I did however fit mine briefly (was on my 7800) by taking the plastic off and bending the ends of the heatpipes with some pliers so they lay flat, then it fit and was fine.
 
jezscott said:
I have a scythe ninja in my other pc. I wonder if the scythe ninja mini will fit using only case fans for cooing.
Click to expand...

Hi, I`m runnning the Scythe Mini Ninja in my LC17 and managed to sqeeze the fan between the cpu cooler and the mesh vent to bring fresh air onto the CPU.

Rob
 
So, I either need to find an aftermarket cooler for my Radeon HD 3850 that fits into a standard HTPC case.

I believe these coolers are compatible with the HD 3850:
  • Arctic Cooling Accelero s1 r2
  • Thermalright HR-03-GT
  • Thermalright HR-03 rev A
  • Cooler Master CoolViva Z1 RV-UCH-NNU1-GP
  • Thermalright V2 VGA Cooler
  • Thermalright HR-11 Backside VGA Cooler
(these all look taller than the graphics card)


or, I need to find an HTPC case that will fit any of these coolers (preferably the cheaper AC Accelero without modification)

any recommendations for cases that fit any of these coolers?
 
With the LC17:

What is the best cooler that will fit in then for a q6600 or similar?

Also, is there anyway to fit more than 3 hard drives in if you use a large gpu?

What ports are on the front of the case?
 
Why are you fitting a quad in a HTPC? You only need a quad if you're recording from a tuner and playing back HD at the same time. For Blu-Ray a 2.5ghz+ dual is suitable for 1080p.

btw my HTPC is the opposite side of the room, no need to clutter up the AV area. USB dongle , DVI-HDMI and digital audio cables going to respective units.
 
***F1ZZY*** said:
Look at the thermaltake DuOrb coolers, they will probably not overhang the card.
Click to expand...

Thanks F1zzy
It looks like a safe choice for any HTPC case
It fits the HD 3870 so it should be OK on my 3850.
...twice the price of the Accelero though :-/

I would still would like to see what options there are for more flexible HTPC cases though.
 
he wants a full size graphics card, im pretty sure its for gaming too. my only pc is my htpc, thats why it has those components installed.

suitcase said:
With the LC17:

What is the best cooler that will fit in then for a q6600 or similar?

Also, is there anyway to fit more than 3 hard drives in if you use a large gpu?

What ports are on the front of the case?
Click to expand...

scythe mini, probably.

more than 3 and a full size gpu? no. not sure i d want to though, youd be better off mounting additional storage as a nas drive or something.

ports: 4 usb, headphone,mic, firewire. you can get the card reader model too.
 
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