HTPC Cases

[twelve]

Does anyone know of anywhere that sells decent HTPC cases in the UK.

Most that I look at are for Micro-ATX. But I'm planning on building a HTPC from my current PC as all I'll need is the case and TV card.

Preferably I want it Horizontal so it can sit on the TV stand. Basically I want this criteria met:

• Standard ATX case
• Doesn't need a display but dont mind if it does
• Preferably Horizontal
• Good airflow is a bonus
• Nothing hideous

I found a Toms Hardware roundup from February last year that had a Lian Li case that looked promising but they dont make it anymore.

[Moose]

I take it there is no price range?

Anyway, I found this site; KustomPCs.co.uk

Looks pretty good, imo. I'm not really a genius when it comes to computers, so I thought I'd let you look at the whole range instead of me picking a few out.

I found these ATX cases:

• No. 1
• No. 2
• No. 3
• No. 4
• No. 5
• No. 6
• No. 7
• No. 8
• No. 9
• No. 10
• No. 11
• No. 12

[PopeOfDope]

My nomination: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=480656

Originally Posted by Phil

• Standard ATX case - Yes
• Doesn't need a display but dont mind if it does - It has one
• Preferably Horizontal - Yes
• Good airflow is a bonus - Zalman is known for good airflow and silence
• Nothing hideous - I don't think it's too hideous

Another option is to go for Silverstone HTPC cases, they should be just as good.

[Moose]

A lot of the cases I posted were Silverstone.

[twelve]

Originally Posted by Moose_Island

I take it there is no price range?

oh yeah

i'm looking to spend around £150 but ideally under £100.

I found that site but didn't find all those cases, thanks.

@Pope: I completely forgot about Scan. lol



Just as a side quest I might also look at micro-ATX mobo's as the cases seem to be better looking (and smaller of course ).

[PopeOfDope]

Originally Posted by Phil

Just as a side quest I might also look at micro-ATX mobo's as the cases seem to be better looking (and smaller of course ).

Then I recommend the Antec Fusion. It comes with a great power supply which is near silent.
Here is a review: http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...37861&hl=en-CA
Here is the page on Scan: http://scan.co.uk/Products/ProductIn...oductID=593639

If I was building a HTPC, I'd use this.

[twelve]

Originally Posted by PopeOfDope

Then I recommend the Antec Fusion. It comes with a great power supply which is near silent.
Here is a review: http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...37861&hl=en-CA
Here is the page on Scan: http://scan.co.uk/Products/ProductIn...oductID=593639

If I was building a HTPC, I'd use this.

That looks awesome!

I'm thinking of pairing it with this mobo:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=434319

[Moose]

Phil, that would be amazing. The case looks really nice (the one Pope showed you) and the mobo looks good too. Just my opinion

[PopeOfDope]

Originally Posted by Phil

That looks awesome!

I'm thinking of pairing it with this mobo:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=434319

1) Are you limited to socket 939?
2) Are you planning on using the integrated graphics on that mobo?

If you give me a budget, I'll work out something nice, including some fans and extra materials to keep it silent and cool.

[twelve]

Originally Posted by PopeOfDope

1) Are you limited to socket 939?
2) Are you planning on using the integrated graphics on that mobo?

If you give me a budget, I'll work out something nice, including some fans and extra materials to keep it silent and cool.

Here's what I have atm:

• AMD 64 X2 4400+ (skt 939)
• 2GB DDR
• HiS Excalibur ATi X800 GTO (pci-e) (if this doesn't fit, cos its huge, then I'll have to use the onboard gfx)
• 200GB SATA HDD
• 160GB IDE HDD
• 120GB IDE HDD (which will be removed for space reasons and built into my old PC below)
• ASRock ATX mobo

Spoiler for old pc:

• AMD Athlon 2800+ (skt a)
• 1GB DDR
• ATi 256MB 9550 (agp)
• PCChips mobo
• No harddrive (will get from current PC)
• No case (will get from current PC)

Ideally I don't want to upgrade a lot as the current spec is plenty good enough for what I use my PC for (which is media and internet).

My budget is pretty much endless but I don't wanna blow a lot on this when in theory all I need is a TV card and case (and mobo cos all the best cases are micro ATX).

[PopeOfDope]

I'd recommend against the onboard VGA, your CPU will be used a lot more which will lead to your CPU fan being loud during playback.
The best VGA card for a HTPC is this: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=587921
It has nVidias PureHD video decoding which means your CPU utilisation will remain low. On top of that, it's passively cooled so that's even less noise. Also a 8500GT will let you play your old ROMs on a big screen.
Finally, if you decide to switch to a linux based media center, the nvidia card will give you less headaches.

[twelve]

I was toying with the idea of going to a nvidia DX10 card about 2 months ago, I decided against it as the X800 does everything I need it to. I'm not a PC gamer in the slightest so high power gfx cards are pretty much wasted on me.

I could get that card but it's £55 I don't need to spend as the X800 works great, the heatsink and fan are huge but silent. This is the GT version which is identical to the GTO that I have (barring the core clock being 75MHz faster as standard):
http://www.hisdigital.com/html/product_ov.php?id=188

Obviously if it's too big for the case then I'll have to look at replacing the HSF or the whole card.

[BBundy]

Originally Posted by PopeOfDope

Then I recommend the Antec Fusion. It comes with a great power supply which is near silent.
Here is a review: http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...37861&hl=en-CA
Here is the page on Scan: http://scan.co.uk/Products/ProductIn...oductID=593639

If I was building a HTPC, I'd use this.

Same, i was going to build one, with that case, but meh.

[PopeOfDope]

Originally Posted by Phil

I was toying with the idea of going to a nvidia DX10 card about 2 months ago, I decided against it as the X800 does everything I need it to. I'm not a PC gamer in the slightest so high power gfx cards are pretty much wasted on me.

I could get that card but it's £55 I don't need to spend as the X800 works great, the heatsink and fan are huge but silent. This is the GT version which is identical to the GTO that I have (barring the core clock being 75MHz faster as standard):
http://www.hisdigital.com/html/product_ov.php?id=188

Obviously if it's too big for the case then I'll have to look at replacing the HSF or the whole card.

The main reason I recommended it was to reduce CPU utilisation, but I guess you could invest in a silent heatsink so even if HD videos do increase CPU load, you won't hear it. The passive nVidia card is a better solution, but as you said, it's £55 more expensive.
This is probably the best heatsink to use for a HTPC: http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/pro...elcooling/mine

[twelve]

I'm actually swaying more towards this now:
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...uct_uid=129526

Ok the fans it comes with may be noisy so I'll replace them with my whisper fans, its not hideous, its cheap (which I always like )

edit: that heatsink looks good. I had actually forgotten about that as the stock AMD HSF is pretty noisy (probably the noisiest part in my current PC).

[PopeOfDope]

Originally Posted by Phil

I'm actually swaying more towards this now:
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...uct_uid=129526

I can't find any reviews on that case. It would be a bit of a gamble to buy it.

Also in a HTPC, the noisiest part is going to be the hard drives. Since they are going to be constantly accessed whether you are recording or playing, silencing them is a big task.
The Antec fusion case mounts them on rubber which reduces the noise considerably. The description of your case doesn't mention any sort of mounting system.
If you really want to be crazy, you could get an Antec P150 which suspends hardrives in rubber bands so they make no noise at all: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article272-page4.html
Then again, this case is expensive and can't be used horizontally.

[twelve]

Pope I just wanna say a HUGE thank you. I've got the case set up and it's perfect. I bought a Zalman CNPS 7700-Alcu and now it's completely silent and about 10 degrees cooler.

These are the temps:


I think the most amazing thing is how cool the CPU is considering how low the fan speed is. Absoultely amazing HSF.

[PopeOfDope]

Yeah, Zalman have great heatsinks. I used to have the Zalman CNPS 9500 which is a little too big for a HTPC but great for a desktop. It cut me a few times though

Any pics of the final setup?

[twelve]

Will do next week. I've only got the camera on my phone until my parents and sisters get back from Australia, they took all three of the digital cameras.
-= Double Post =-
Ok they didn't take all 3 cameras. I found the old one.





As you can see the X800 just about fits (there's about 2mm clearance from the top of the case).