Recommendations for a Media Centre case

Freddie1980 · 17 Nov 2011 at 10:07

I've been meaning to build a HTPC for sometime but I'm not sure what case to use. I want the case to sit on under TV and be fairly quiet but I'm not sure what to get.

paradigm · 17 Nov 2011 at 10:12

Size? Style? Price range?

To be fair, my eBay bargain Coolermaster ATCS 600 (£9.99) made for a wonderfully quiet HTPC, although I do need to update the project thread!

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18290666

Jay794 · 17 Nov 2011 at 10:18

Have a look in the SFF case gallery, I got a few ideas from there to build mine, but I ended up getting a Dell Optiplex 745 for free from work, thankfully it will fit behind the 41" TV

Freddie1980 · 17 Nov 2011 at 14:35

So is the way forward then to pick up an old desktop style PC case and work with that?

paradigm · 17 Nov 2011 at 14:38

No, the way forward is to have a specific set of requirements and work out the solution based on how appropriate any given case is in relevance to those requirements.

Hence asking you for information regarding:

Size?
Style (colour, layout, form factor)?
Price?
Features?

The case in my last post wasn't a "desktop" case at all, it was a very early attempt to fulfil the requirements of an emerging "media PC" market. The case itself lends itself to stacking with hi-fi separates/amps/high-end AV equipment, but also lent itself at the time for being a decent DVD player/VCR player replacement.

Freddie1980 · 17 Nov 2011 at 23:21

Well I lost my head and ended up winning the auction for this bad boy.

Phoen1x · 18 Nov 2011 at 10:44

I have this case and it's awesome

Jay794 · 18 Nov 2011 at 12:45

Looks very nice, I get the idea of a media centre PC, but I already have a blu ray player so I'm looking for a case with a smooth front, most of the blanking plates on normal PC's stick out too much for the smooth look I'm after