Streacom FC5 fan-less HTPC case (3 Viewers)

VdR

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  • October 17, 2006
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    The Streacom FC5 HTCP case is getting quite some attention on different forums. I wanted a fan-less HTPC and really liked the minimalistic design of the FC5 so I built a client with it. Here is my experience with this case.

    It was shipped in a brown box, with a really nice black box inside. I wonder about that because it got about 3 seconds of my attention. The packaging is solid, with foam and a protective bag to make sure the case get's to you in perfect shape.

    Unpacked, in real life, the case looks just as cool as on the pictures. I have the WS version without the ODD slot. The summum of minimalistic design. It just keeps bugging me that the on/off switch is in the front on the right, I would really expect that to be on the left side.

    Small things I noticed about the build while putting this client together;

    The all black finish is beautiful. Even the cooling blocks to fix the heat pipes are black rather than silver as shown in the Streacom gallery, but the plate for the PCI card is silver. OK it is on the back of the unit, you will never see it, but ... I still replaced it with a black one!

    The studs to fix the MB are forced into the bottom plate, one of them was under a slight angle. The MB screw had to be somewhat forced in. Not a big deal, but that shouldn't happen for this expensive a case.

    When picking the components for this build it became very clear that there are simply not enough mini-ITX boards compatible with this case. I did not find one that met my criteria so I had to go for a micro-ATX. A shame. On the other hand I'm really happy with the Intel board I choose and the fit of the passive cooling system is perfect.

    Since I also used a SDD rather than a HDD, there are no moving parts. When I first powered it on I thought it wasn't working, no sound what so ever. Installed in the living this total silence is a real blessing, more so even then I had thought.

    While in use with MP for hours the maximum core temperature gets to around 48 C. You can barely feel the heatsink in the outside of case being warm. I'm just a little weary of the chip set temperature. The standard Intel cooler is under-dimensioned for a case without airflow. The Zalman replacement I bought can not be fixed to the MB and is about 2 mm too tall. I'm looking for a way to use to the heat pipe cooling.

    All in all I can recommend this case!
     

    Jay_UK

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  • October 6, 2009
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    Hi there,

    Thanks for the feedback.

    I am trying to locate a supplier in the UK.

    It appears the main UK resellers dont/wont stock the WS (no slot version).

    I have tried contacting streacom but they have not replied. :(

    J.
     

    VdR

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    Same in Belgium. That's why I had it shipped from the Netherlands. See link below. Also lowest price and low shipping cost (sending the PicoPSU cost me twice as much as sending the case (n) ). For some reason they do not list Streacom under the HTPC cases, but if you search on Streacom you will find. Good luck. Recommended. Pictures of my build after I'm back from vacation.

    http://www.informatique.nl/zoeken/?q=streacom
     

    VdR

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    The pictures of my build with the FC5

    P1080660 HD.jpgP1080661 HD.jpgP1080672 HD.jpg

    I spend half a day customizing the wiring it looks cool. My wife just asked why I did that; "it worked before" ...

    For the keen observer; I did properly insert that memory again before powering up !
     

    Jay_UK

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    Hi there,

    They have started to become available in the UK - so I've ordered one :D

    FC5WS in black
    Internal IR
    150W PSU
    M4 64GB SSD
    4GB Corsair 1600 RAM
    AMD A6-3500 (wanted an A8-3800 but they arent available, neither are A6-3600) :(
    ASUS F1A M Pro (A75 chipset)
    Netgear Dual band N wireless USB dongle
    Panasonic TX-L32ET5

    Should be up and running within 2 weeks :)

    J.
     

    VdR

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    You went for AMD. The only reason I did not is because I'm totally unfamiliar with their processor line up. From reading the comparisons it is a bit of a wash and in any case both the i3 and the AMD are more than good enough. The graphics capabilities for AMD may be a bit better. Interesting enough in none of my builds it has ever been the graphics capabilities that bothered me, it is the processor capacity needed to provide a crisp MP GUI experience and fast boot.

    You also ended up with a u-ATX board, is there as little choice for AMD m-ITX as there is for Intel m-ITX to fit the Streacom case?

    Will you be using an external supply? Will you rely on wireless for streaming?

    Keep us posted on your build.
     

    Jay_UK

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    Hi there,

    At present the AMD F1 socket is due to be replaced by the F2 socket later this year, so I know its short lived.

    I know the i3/i5/i7 CPUs are better as a CPU, but I believe AMD have it with graphics - plus they are/can be cheaper :)

    I haven't bought an intel myself for several years - although my work laptop is an i7 (and it rocks) :)

    I'm just more familiar with AMD (ATI)

    The choice of boards was OK. I normally buy Asus anyway (although recently had a few issues). As I wont be asking much of the board (no extra cards, just two DIMMs, only one disk) - it didnt really matter.

    I will be using an external PSU, but inside the case :)

    Yep - wireless streaming...wish me luck ;)

    J.
     

    psykix

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    Where did you order from?

    Thinking of getting one of these for the living room - do they have a PCIe riser and will it take a discrete GPU?
     

    Jay_UK

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    Hi there,

    I got it from QuietPC

    You only get the case and heatsink/pipes.

    A riser will need sourcing/ordering separately (along with PSU, IR remote, etc)

    I haven't opened the box yet, so can't comment on the quality - but I'm assuming its great :D

    There is room for one card, but as to what will fit when you have heatsinks on the GPU to deal with I'm not sure. Once I've open the box I'll have a look for you.

    J.
     

    psykix

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    Thanks! Just looked again, and it's bloomin' expensive once you factor in all the other bits and pieces!

    What was the delivery time from them?
     

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