Best HTPC cases?! (Tenor) (1 Viewer)

[jcee]

I am going to buy a new case. There are lots of reviews in the www, but most of them do not say anything about noise. So I thought you guys could share some experience..

Which cases to you like (and use)?

Specially I was looking at the Thermaltake Tenor. Any ideas on that one?

- MSI Mega PC seems too audible (at least for my ears).
- Silverstone LC11 is relativly small => small fans => more RPM => noise, hard to keep cool.

http://www.bytesector.com/data/bs-article.asp?ID=493&page=2

 

[Slider]

I was thinking about buying the Thermaltake Tenor case, but there is 1 big problem with it.
I liked the special dvd-drive tray flap in the lowest 5,25" bay. But Thermaltake says in their own manual that you can't use the lowest bay, when you use a normal ATX mobo. There's simply no room for both :? And I will be using such a ATX mobo, so this case is of the list for me.

Personally I want the LC-10 from Silverstone. It lookes nice and can house a normal ATX board.

But asfar as the noiselevels go, those small fans are really loud. (for a HTPC). You could always give them only 5V, instead of 12V. That should help allot.

 

[Callifo]

Ive got a Coolermaster cavalier which looks similar to the TT one. Instead of curning in though it curves out and it comes with or without a sound meter dial. Only gripe I had with it is the HDD cooling ability, which only has a vent nearby to cool it. I ended up cutting out the vent and installing a very low speed 80mm.

 

[fathead]

THe tenor is an amazing case for the price. When compared to my LC-10M I was seriously impressed! Its not got the same finish to it as the SIlverstone, but when you consider the silverstone is around £150 & the tenor is nearer £50, its not a tough choice.

The Tenor bottom drive problem wasn't really an issue for my build. It can still be used to house a hard drive or VFD kit (Which is what is supposed to go in there), it just can't fit a optical drive due to the motherboard behind it.

The fans that come with the Tenor are nice and quiet & have the same cooling effect as the LC-10 (Mainy due to design).

I'm quiet desperate to get hold of the VFD kit from somewhere, but haven't found a supplier yet.

Thermaltake also offer the mystic HTPC which might interest you:

http://www.thermaltake.com/xaserCase/mystic/mystic.htm

heres a picture of that VFD:

 

[fathead]

I was thinking about buying the Thermaltake Tenor case, but there is 1 big problem with it.
I liked the special dvd-drive tray flap in the lowest 5,25" bay. But Thermaltake says in their own manual that you can't use the lowest bay, when you use a normal ATX mobo. There's simply no room for both :? And I will be using such a ATX mobo, so this case is of the list for me.

Personally I want the LC-10 from Silverstone. It lookes nice and can house a normal ATX board.

But asfar as the noiselevels go, those small fans are really loud. (for a HTPC). You could always give them only 5V, instead of 12V. That should help allot.

Just to reitterate, the flap is not for optical drive use. Its designed to hide the VFD kit which can be bought as an extra.

 

[Slider]

hmmm....didn't realize that. I would have liked al "flap" that comes down when the optical drive behind it opens. And comes back up again by spring or something when the drive closes.

I want a ATX case, with the option to "hide" my DVD drive, without any manual labour to get it open. I don't want to flap something open manually before I can eject a disc.

That's why I'll take the LC10, which can do this.

 

[PLeblanc]

What about the ahanix MCE301/302? The limitations are that you need microatx, and the expansion slots are low profile only. Otherwise, it's got space for four cards, two hard drives, a full size dvd (hidden or not depending on whether you pick the 301 or 302). Pretty expandable for something that looks like my DVD player. The LVD screen that comes with it (2x16) connects with a parallel connector out the back, which is kind of wierd, and it doesn't have a built in IR receiver (or at least a space for one), but otherwise, this case seems very nice.

 

[Edelct]

Best HTPC cases

I bought my Silverstone HTPC case, and after that I feel that nothing compares to this one. Of course, it was a little expensive, but it has style, very silent powersupply (came with this one, which is not so common among Silverstone cases), two silent fans, and the space is used well inside.
It is micro-atx, but -not- low-profile, which suits me just great, since I use Hauppage pvr 350, and I do not think they have made those into low-profile yet

Again, it is a bit more expensive, but I look at my "tivo" as a funiture, and the finish is just wonderful!

 

[TVKiwi]

It all depends on how much you are willing to spend. I have gone through several cases which I tried to make do with but I was never 100% happy.

In the end i did lots of research and saved my pennies. I have bought this case from Uneed. It is expensive but what more could you want from a case! Unfortunately it is on back order with 3 week wait.

 

[TVKiwi]

Ooops - forgot link to case....

http://www.htpcnews.com/main.php?id=x15