HTPC Case - Full ATX

Cheers James,

The scythe mini will be pretty loud though wouldnt it?

I would be using it as my main pc also- and yes would want it for gaming too so would be cramming a lot in there.

Storage is important to me so would most likely put 3 hd's in- not sure how feasible going the nas route would be- what's the best setup for that... an old pc running something like freenas?

Must say am a fan of your build- Is your's fairly quiet? Any bad points to the case that might cause problems with my proposed setup:

quad core cpu
4870 / 280
3 hd's
blu-ray drive
corsair 620w

Cheers!
 
no, no reason it would be loud with a 92mm fan on there. you can always go the orb route like I did. that 120mm fan on my orb spins at about 600rpm - i cant hear it at all and it does my 3.2ghz e2160 just fine. its only a cheap orb though, there are better out there.

you could fit 3 drives in the left rack easily enough. i chose not to purely so i knew id have plenty of airflow. i have 2x 500gb drives in there which i havent filled yet, but i have a few spare caddies i can use if i need more space. the case itself can be made to be very quiet. mine isnt that quiet atm but thats because i have some cheap sleeve bearing 92mm fans in the front which are whining a fair bit. i have some 92mm sharkoon silent eagles sitting here to sort that out today.

all of your hardware will go in there fine, if your using 3 hdd's you should have no problems cooling a 4870 or gtx280 because of the fan that would be mounted to the middle rack channeling air straight to the card. i dont really know of any bad points about the case, except that being a htpc, it IS cramped in there and takes a bit more planning of the layout. but it all goes in just fine :)
 
I'd try and find a case where you can go passive. With my HTPC (P182)

Fan 1) Seasonic S12
Fan 2) HD fan on low
Fan 3) Exhaust fan on low

CPU and videocard is passive. Would have bought a Silverstone HTPC case but not with the 2x92mm fan arrangment, they have a new one with a single 12cm exhaust.

Problem is you want a quiet HTPC and gaming rig, so only way is to go WC, or huge case with large low rpm fans. I could mod my gaming rig for a HTPC but involve quite a bit of work, also if a HTPC is on 24/7 use far more power than a HTPC which usually is toned down in spec.
 
2x92's is fine. the only reason i can hear mine is becasue they were cheap and i was a scrooge lol.

Problem is you want a quiet HTPC and gaming rig, so only way is to go WC, or huge case with large low rpm fans
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this isnt true. im not the only person with this case using high end components and they will say the same - its quite quiet enough. i used to own a big case with lots of fans - the biggest in fact: a thermaltake mozart tx. i stuffed all those components in to a lc17 and it works just as well. the only thing that bugs me is the whine from those cheap fans. not for much longer. im not saying an lc17 is going to be absolutely silent because it wont. but it is very very quiet and unlike a p182 its a case you want to put on show, not hide behind a sofa or something similar.

also if a HTPC is on 24/7 use far more power than a HTPC which usually is toned down in spec.
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this is true. It's a compromise you have to make when building one pc instead of two seperate ones.
 
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but it is very very quiet and unlike a p182 its a case you want to put on show, not hide behind a sofa or something similar.
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P182 is black and have disconnected LED. Granted it's big and won't fit in av racking, but fine beside it- what other quiet HTPC case allows 5+ 3 HD plus optical drive, all running passive CPU? With fan assisted HD cooling with the fan in the middle of the case (reduce noise) It's not like a X-Blade case, and with sandwich type side panels?

I upgraded from a MATX Silverstone to full tower on the HTPC worth it, more bulky but who cares? At least I can fit things without twisting my wrists.

A gaming rig in a tower WILL be lower in temp. than a compact HTPC case, and since you're going to overclock CPU/GPU need extra cooling, which requires extra space and bigger fans, or more cfm which means more noise. Your HD don't have direct airflow, mine do, max 30 temp.

You're just compromising the gaming rig by squeezing it into a smaller case. For a gaming rig you'll have quad core, and a fast or even dual card system total over the top for a HTPC.
 
mozart_tx_1.jpg



that was my old case. who cares if the temperatures are lower or not? they still operate perfectly fine within parameters. And no, i wouldnt want a p182 stood beside my av rack. it wouldnt in my rack, and it wouldnt fit in the op's either.

A gaming rig in a tower WILL be lower in temp. than a compact HTPC case, and since you're going to overclock CPU/GPU need extra cooling, which requires extra space and bigger fans, or more cfm which means more noise. Your HD don't have direct airflow, mine do, max 30 temp.
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fail. ive already mentioned my cpu is overclocked (by 70%). i already mentioned i use a budget 120mm fan cooler that is silent (as quite as my corsair psu). i dont need any extra cooling.

you havent looked in to this too much have you? they have a 92mm fan mounted to the drive cage. whats that if it isnt direct cooling?

pcrightnowwh2.jpg


yep, i think they're fine.
 
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Well atm i'm running an antec aria with A64 3000, and a 6600gt and 3hd's- so im used to having a cramped case!! It extremely loud also so i'm hoping a highend rig in a larger case like the lc17 would be much easier to live with.

I've been playing with the idea of either a lc17 or a lian li a17 - mainly as my room layout suits both. Would they both be similar in cooling and noise or is the Lian li massively better on both fronts? To be honest I would prefer something that fits in with my other bits so a htpc cases is ideal, but want to be sure i'm not sacrificing too much performance..
 
you say my hard drives dont have direct cooling? they have a 92mm fan mounted to the drive cage. you havent looked in to this too much have you? whats that if it isnt direct cooling?
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So your case has three x 92cm fans, but mine has two x 12cm. So yours will be louder, with less airflow.
 
badbob said:
So your case has three x 92cm fans, but mine has two x 12cm. So yours will be louder, with less airflow.
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2x92mm fans at the front an 2x 80mm fans at the back. have you looked at the case at all? you dont seem to know anything about it.....i dont need more airflow, understand that. and it is quite quiet enough. give it up badbob.

i dont know why you are trying to convince me that you have more airflow. big whoop there. my tx had 10x 120mm fans, so that had more airflow than yours. nerr:rolleyes:
 
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Sigh still not getting it. For the same amount of noise, I have more airflow. Or to put it another way, for a quieter system same level of airflow. Plus the Silverstones don't have the sandwich layer which reduces HD seek and some fan motor noise.

I looked into this a while ago, checked all the Silverstones but not really perfect, wanted high case (tower cooler) with single large intake/exhaust. Silverstone has recently released that big one but that wasen't available at the time. Spotted yours with little fans it's going to be noisier than the previous case (2x12cm fans)
 
no you arent getting it. I dont NEED more airflow. seem the temperatures, see that i am correct. its that simple. ive owned a whole host of different cases and i have had no more problems with heat in this case than any other - that is to say none. i really dont have to tell you its more than quiet enough....do i?

your're wrong about me needed more airflow, that the drives are directly and sufficiently cooled, that i have problems with temperatures and that its too loud. Thats pretty much everything you've said in this thread.
 
With 3 x 80mm/92mm fans spinning away it will be, louder than the TJ-08 and P182. CW02 is the best design for quietness/cooling, would have preferred a single 12cm intake though.
 
james.miller said:
what fits in it - everything lol.

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.
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I wish I'd gone for the LC17 now, my HD3850 wont fit in my LC16MR! Had to fork out for a HD3650. :( :mad:
 
I have a Zalman HD160 for my HTPC, with a Zalman ZM500 PSU and a CNPS-7500Cu, plus the two 80mm case fans and it is really very very quiet. The hard drive cage is awkward to get access to but really seems to help with drive noise, and IMO it looks great.
 
bam0 said:
I have a Zalman HD160 for my HTPC, with a Zalman ZM500 PSU and a CNPS-7500Cu, plus the two 80mm case fans and it is really very very quiet. The hard drive cage is awkward to get access to but really seems to help with drive noise, and IMO it looks great.
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I like the look of the Zalman HD160
what graphics card and what GPU cooler do you have in it?
 
Guys- with the Grandia GD01, is it the same size as the Silverstone lc17? I.e. can you only fit 3 hard drives in if using a long graphics card such as a 280?
 
badbob said:
With 3 x 80mm/92mm fans spinning away it will be, louder than the TJ-08 and P182. CW02 is the best design for quietness/cooling, would have preferred a single 12cm intake though.
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:o yes, the cw02 is also £230 (>4x the price) more expensive than the lc17. tripe.



the gd01 - yes, you'll get a fill length card and at least 3 drives in there. possibly 4. be aware of the front flap though - i owned an lc03 which is the same front design and the pins holding the flap in disintegrated. http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews....one_grandia_gd01s_-_mxr_atx_matx_htpc_chassis gd01 reivew.

re: the zalman hd160 series, the hard drivers are mounted parallel with the front edge of the motherboard (see here: http://www.dvhardware.net/reviews/zalmanhd160/23.jpg). it doessnt look like a large card will fit, without dropping to 1 hard drive at the least.

edit: actually, it'll fit a another hard drive above the optical drive (or below in the hd160plus)
 
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Ah right- so really it's no improvement over the lc17- just a different take on a very similar design.

I realise no-one can give me names, but is there actually anywhere to get a Lc17 with the card reader? Nowhere seems to do them strangely!

Thanks
 
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