Ongoing HTPC with Silverstone LC11 Case (1 Viewer)

[PJ]

They had pics of the LC11-M on the SilverStone website a few days before CES. It was pretty much the same case but with an integrated VFD/IR, similar to the one used in the LC10-M. They've since removed the pics, I should've bookmarked it when I saw it.

It might be on one of the many sites that had reports on CES.

I don't think they were showing the case (LC11-M) at CES, but they had a pic of one on their site. Probably just a prototype or a nice photoshopped image.

The only thing that concerns me about having the board upside down, and that has been mentioned in several reviews I've read, is whether the CPU cooler will cause any additional stress because of it's weight and hanging upside down on the board.

The board I was planning on using is based on the intel CPUs and it has a metal brace on the back side of the motherboard. No worry about it hanging upside down. I'd rather use a board based on the newer ATi chipset but there are no enthusiast boards shipping and it has PCI express slots... so I might need to go with a different case if I do,

I would worry about coolers that hang from the socket. I had a couple taps break off one and it's tough to find a cooler that uses three tabs on both sides. The only one I found locally for a decent price is noisy.

I've only just built my HTPC, based on an iDeq 200T, so I'll probably wait until the LC11-M is released (if ever).

If they were showing it at CES it's closer to shipping than they let on with me.

I've been looking at the Via Epia SP board which sounds like it will suit HTPC's quite nicely, and fit pretty well inside the LC11.

I think that will be more expensive than a MicroATX setup and you need to make sure the proper codecs are available if you want to use MP. I think ith LC11 case would dwarf that board. (you are talking about the MiniITX board right?)

The Epia SP, supposedly has onboard Mpeg2 and Mpeg4 decoding. It that's true then it may be possible to put in a fanless Eden cpu and still have the grunt to run MP. I guess that would get rid of the heavy cpu cooler :wink:

The Epia SP is a MiniITX AFAIK, there's a few other board manufacturers who are producing board based on the new Via CN400 chipset. Anybody who's interested in a pre-built system might want to have a look at Tranquil PC

I should probably work on finishing off my current project before I start thinking about the next one. By the time this one's finished who knows what will be possible.

I wouldn't have though codecs would be an issue, maybe I'm wrong.

 

[jdiffend]

I don't think they were showing the case (LC11-M) at CES, but they had a pic of one on their site. Probably just a prototype or a nice photoshopped image.

Yeah, I looked all over the net and only found mention of the one that's shipping now or other silverstone products. You wouldn't happen to remember where they positioned the LCD readout would you?

The Epia SP, supposedly has onboard Mpeg2 and Mpeg4 decoding. It that's true then it may be possible to put in a fanless Eden cpu and still have the grunt to run MP. I guess that would get rid of the heavy cpu cooler :wink:

We got a little sidetracked on that. BTW, if you look around you'll find MiniITX boards covered almost entirely by heatsink... so the support chips might still need it. With a MiniITX board you could build a tiny system..

I wouldn't have though codecs would be an issue, maybe I'm wrong.

Just cause the hardware is there doesn't mean the software is. I'm sure it will be there eventually but who knows what state it's in at the moment.

It would make for a cool system in some of the small cases I've seen. I don't think I'd go smaller than half the size of the LC11 though... slimline DVD drives aren't that great and that's what you'd be stuck with if you got too small.

 

[jcee]

Does a standard ATX-Board fit also?

Im looking for a proper Athlon 64 board that supports cool and quiet, but I can only find a small selection of boards..

Though everybody says that it uses microATX, it looks like (from the pictures) that a standard ATX could fit also!?!?... There seems to be some space next to the PCI slots..

What are the restrictions? Could someone comment who has one?!


It seems to me that the maximum size of a mobo is 34cm width x 24cm depth..

Thanks in advance

 

[Anonymous]

I too have been looking at Silverstone HTPC-cases. At first, I was seriously considering LC02 (still by far the best looking case in my opinion), but decided against it because it needs a slim optical drive and some reviewers have reported of quite serious airflow problems.

At the moment I'm trying to decide between LC04 and LC11 - basically it comes down to full size ATX support vs. one extra PCI-slot. Right now I'm leaning towards LC11, as I could definitely use two digi-tv tuners in my HTPC/PVR.

There are pictures of the CES models in this thread, including LC11M (LC11 with VFD):
http://www.homecinema-fr.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=168527790

I don't think a standard ATX-board fits into LC11 (at least not without modding), otherwise they would advertise it as ATX and MicroATX -compliant. However, there seems to be quite a lot of extra space in the case..

 

[jdiffend]

Does a standard ATX-Board fit also?

Im looking for a proper Athlon 64 board that supports cool and quiet, but I can only find a small selection of boards..

Though everybody says that it uses microATX, it looks like (from the pictures) that a standard ATX could fit also!?!?... There seems to be some space next to the PCI slots..

What are the restrictions? Could someone comment who has one?!


It seems to me that the maximum size of a mobo is 34cm width x 24cm depth..

Thanks in advance

It's definately MicroATX. The mounting holes for the board wouldn't support ATX and I think you'll run into space issues on that end of the board. There is some there but I doubt if it's enough. You can't use the slots anyway. Cool and quiet is a new thing and if you wait till the end of the first quarter you'll see a lot of new boards. That appears to be when several of the ones I've read announcments about will be available.

The LC11M is labled as LC13 if you look at the filename. They didn't even know what to call it.

The LC12 would be good for Mini Component stereos, custom in wall applications, etc... but it probably needs a smaller motherboard and slimline drive too.

I didn't care for any of the other new cases they pointed to on that web page. Too big, too plain, too gaudy...

On the other hand... Ahanix now has this model:

http://www.ahanix.com/ahanix_product.asp?pid=26

It has similar features but doesn't use the slot robbing riser card. Instead, it looks like it might require low profile cards. You could use this TV tuner with it if that's the case:
http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/products/data_pvr150lp.html

I don't like the cooling layout as well as the LC11 but it appears to use a standard ATX (MicroATX?) power supply. It's only a 150W though and I see no reset button. I'm sure one could be added behind the door but that should be standard. Other thanat th it looks pretty functional.
The only website advertising it lists a price of $199 and an ETA of 02/03/05. So expect to pay less at Newegg but at least as much as the LC11.
The LC11M has to be more expensive than the LC11 so they should be about the same price.
*EDIT*
The Ahanix web site says the power supply is 350W ATX.

 

[Anonymous]

Today I got my Hardware except for the case. So I ripped off my old case and built it temporarely into this one. And It runs just perfect. No stocking or something. Now I only have to get my Hauppauge Nova-T working with 0.1.0.7 again. It worked already on my old PC.

And I bought a new 200 GB Maxtor Harddisk, which holds all my stuff on a 130 GB Partition and records tv on an 70 GB Partition.