View Full Version : Elegant HTPC case
Would like some advice on this please, I am after an elegantly styled HTPC case that will sit nicely alongside full size AV seperates in my lounge.
Price is quite an important factor but I am a little flexible on this. Something nearer the £100 mark rather than £200 +
I have had a look at the Thermaltake Tenor VB2000 HTPC case which seems quite nice but am a bit unsure of the IR implications - for example, where do you put the IR receiver out of site without having a flap open!
Any pointers would be very much appreciated :thumbs:
That doesn't look nice! http://www.tweakzone.nl/extreviews/5779
What colour are you after (it's important!)
That doesn't look nice! http://www.tweakzone.nl/extreviews/5779
What colour are you after (it's important!)
:lol: It would not be an ideal choice against my other AV kit but for the price, it doen't seem to bad!
I would be looking at silver.
Will have a look around when I get back from work... only as i'm interested in bulding a htpc as well. :razz: :)
btw, there's a really nice thin-ish one from a british company, they sometimes advertise in extreme pc. Begins with R I think...
The Silverstone LaScala LC11 is very nice, and uses an upside-down layout for better cooling and stackability - I've built several of these. USM do a similar version which can also integrate the Media Center remote receiver - http://84.9.159.140/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=67. Both of these are limited to mATX boards, though. The LaScala LC03V will take a full ATX, and I think has a onboard IR receiver (but it may not be MCE compatible)
Mark
Dean[SAS]
02-09-2005, 12:17
I've ordered one of these: http://www.caseclosed.co.uk/enlight_7473.htm Can be had for around £50-55.
btw, there's a really nice thin-ish one from a british company, they sometimes advertise in extreme pc. Begins with R I think...
You're not thinking of these (http://www.hipergroup.com/English/products/media.html) are you? Nice and compact (I've built about 30 of these in the last 4 months).
']I've ordered one of these: http://www.caseclosed.co.uk/enlight_7473.htm Can be had for around £50-55.
Thats brilliant. I think I've found my next PC case. Allows full size components, but looks like AV seperates when you slot it in to your furniture.
cooooool :clap:
Dean[SAS]
02-09-2005, 13:16
Thats brilliant. I think I've found my next PC case. Allows full size components, but looks like AV seperates when you slot it in to your furniture.
cooooool :clap:
Thats exactly the same reason i ordered it.
I got mine from http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/product.aspx?code=CAE-MCI-SI but its was all scratched up (ex-display i think) so i RMA'ed it. They are currently out of stock, so at least I know i'll get a new one this time. I'm not too bothered about the wait, as they are the cheapest I could find.
You're not thinking of these (http://www.hipergroup.com/English/products/media.html) are you? Nice and compact (I've built about 30 of these in the last 4 months).
:thumbs: thanks that's the one. I take you would recommend it then? Post some specs, post some specs plssss!
tv card in particular.
The Icebun
02-09-2005, 13:35
:thumbs: thanks that's the one. I take you would recommend it then? Post some specs, post some specs plssss!
tv card in particular.
:shrug: It's only a case. :shrug:
:lol:
MSI RS480M2 motherboard
AMD Socket 939
Athlon 64 3000+
1GB RAM
160GB SATA HDD
Pioneer slot-load DVD-Writer
Compro VideoMate DVBT200 TV card
Windows MCE and remote
NVIDIA DVD Decoder
Quiet, quick and high WAF.
Mark
This looks quite nice here (http://www.coolermaster-europe.com/index.php?LT=english&Language_s=2&url_place=product&p_serial=RC-260&other_title=RC-260CM%20Media%20260)
Can't seem to find a UK supplier though :shrug:
:shrug: It's only a case. :shrug:
What were you able to put inside them?!
visualunderground
05-09-2005, 07:55
Wife would love this, until she found out how much it cost :thumbs:
http://www.visualunderground.co.uk/online/dign-x15-front-right.jpg
droooool
http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop/customer/product.php?productid=967&cat=162&page=1
NicolaUK
05-09-2005, 09:04
Would like some advice on this please, I am after an elegantly styled HTPC case that will sit nicely alongside full size AV seperates in my lounge.
:suspect: Given up on your XBMC? :p
:suspect: Given up on your XBMC? :p
:D Not at all, just fancy building one, especially as it will be better to integrate with my Xbox 360 when I get it.
Still love XBMC, can't live without it!
How are you getting on with yours?
Wife would love this, until she found out how much it cost :thumbs:
http://www.visualunderground.co.uk/online/dign-x15-front-right.jpg
droooool
http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop/customer/product.php?productid=967&cat=162&page=1
Looking for where the IR receiver goes.... :shrug:
I am swaying towards one of these right now...nice! (http://www.silverstonetek.com/products-lc14m.htm)
NicolaUK
05-09-2005, 10:37
:D Not at all, just fancy building one, especially as it will be better to integrate with my Xbox 360 when I get it.
Still love XBMC, can't live without it!
How are you getting on with yours?
Mine's been excellent since I installed the new build, no wireless woes at all :thumbs:
Just need to master the iTunes thingy now :nuts:
visualunderground
05-09-2005, 11:11
I was looking at the DIGN and silverstone cases for a while but at >£200 the cost of the entire PC starts to get a little pricy.
Then youv'e got the problem of noise, silent PSU, GFX, CPU cooler etc. In the end I went for a mac mini as the front end with an old shuttle running win server 2k3 for the backend/file serving duties. Currently my Hard drives are housed in a 4 bay firewire caddy and one minimate (external 250GB drive with the same finish and form factor as the mini). Eventually the shuttle will be replaced with something like the coolermaster stacker case full of hard drives (can take 14 hard drives without modding) connected to the mini via eithernet or firewire and housed in another room/loft. The bonus of having your storage removed from player is the significant drop in noise coming out of your HTPC.
The one thing I've noticed is that you always underestimate the amount of storage you are going to need. You get your PC set up and looking nice next to your AV gear, a couple of weeks later and you need more space, the hard-drive bays are full, or non-existant in the case of the mini, so you buy an external drive. Youv'e now got an extra powerbrick and a load more cables to hide behind your AV stand, then that runs out, so you buy another external 250Gb, then you buy a 4 bay firewire caddy, then that gets full.... :help:
I wish I had the foresight to see how much space I was going to need. With all the money I've waisted on drives and caddies I could have bought the stacker from day dot, never mind, live and learn.
The mini has enough grunt for HiDef @ 720 (my TV's maximum out-put anyway) and there is nothing on TV worth recording so I'm not bothered about PVR functionality, so it's perfect for what I need. It's the quietest PC I've ever (not) heard as well. As for looking good next to other AV equipment, it looks great next to my Cyrus gear :thumbs:
I was looking at the DIGN and silverstone cases for a while but at >£200 the cost of the entire PC starts to get a little pricy.
Then youv'e got the problem of noise, silent PSU, GFX, CPU cooler etc. In the end I went for a mac mini as the front end with an old shuttle running win server 2k3 for the backend/file serving duties. Currently my Hard drives are housed in a 4 bay firewire caddy and one minimate (external 250GB drive with the same finish and form factor as the mini). Eventually the shuttle will be replaced with something like the coolermaster stacker case full of hard drives (can take 14 hard drives without modding) connected to the mini via eithernet or firewire and housed in another room/loft. The bonus of having your storage removed from player is the significant drop in noise coming out of your HTPC.
The one thing I've noticed is that you always underestimate the amount of storage you are going to need. You get your PC set up and looking nice next to your AV gear, a couple of weeks later and you need more space, the hard-drive bays are full, or non-existant in the case of the mini, so you buy an external drive. Youv'e now got an extra powerbrick and a load more cables to hide behind your AV stand, then that runs out, so you buy another external 250Gb, then you buy a 4 bay firewire caddy, then that gets full.... :help:
I wish I had the foresight to see how much space I was going to need. With all the money I've waisted on drives and caddies I could have bought the stacker from day dot, never mind, live and learn.
The mini has enough grunt for HiDef @ 720 (my TV's maximum out-put anyway) and there is nothing on TV worth recording so I'm not bothered about PVR functionality, so it's perfect for what I need. It's the quietest PC I've ever (not) heard as well. As for looking good next to other AV equipment, it looks great next to my Cyrus gear :thumbs:
I hear what you are saying, without a doubt it is going to cost some to do properly but may well be worth it in the long run, for me anyway.
I have a DVD player and a freeview box on one side of my seperates shelf at the moment, the HTPC would replace both of those and be ready to hook directly to my Xbox360 when it arrives. That is the plan anyhow.
I must admit, the prices of the cases does send a shiver down my spine!
I already have two Macs as it is, I stream all my stuff off of my PowerMac to my Xbox into XBMC which works great!
I went for an Antec P160 case. (see pic)
Wonderful aluminum construction, its so light to pick up and runs very very cool and quiet. I am overjoyed with this case 5 stars from me.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a106/pushmetwice/pc.jpg
So do you have a case with *no* HD`s in it with a wire running into another room with a pc with all the HD`s on it?
Well, I bought the Silverstone LC16M in the end, it wasnt cheap and is nowhere near as well made as I have read in some online reviews, but it looks good under the TV and seems to work fine.
The cable routing and cooling are proving to be a nightmare though :D as expected.
Quite pleased with MCE 2005 too, better than I thought but I have still managed to kill it a couple of times :D
Northern_Dragon
21-09-2005, 18:54
']I've ordered one of these: http://www.caseclosed.co.uk/enlight_7473.htm Can be had for around £50-55.
:gag: Have you actually seen this thing in the "flesh" or received yours yet? The main PC shop in town sells HTPCs in these and they look awful - really cheap and tacky like a bad bargain basement video recorder from a supermarket.
Personally I'm going for a Silverstone LC14M. Pricey, but it's a standard ATX case, build quality is superb and it looks the business too. :luv:
Dean[SAS]
21-09-2005, 20:53
oh yeah, i have it and i love it
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/9827/image10zz.jpg
I'm going to try and get an LCD screen in there aswell.
tacky like a bad bargain basement video recorder from a supermarket.
Therefore matching the rest of my equipment :lol:
visualunderground
22-09-2005, 08:40
So do you have a case with *no* HD`s in it with a wire running into another room with a pc with all the HD`s on it?
No the Mac has an 80 gig internal (lappy) drive. The OS and some odds and sods are stored on that. It's just all the media thet is remote..
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