Hi,

I'm looking for a great htpc case to put my pc with my audio/video equipement. My full tower with knoppmyth is working well but take too much place and make too much noise.

I'd like to have yours recommandations. My wish are:
--Nice look
--Low noise
--Audio video / usb and firewire front panel
--IR receiver/transmitter on front panel (if it's possible)
--Standard PSU
--ATX format for my Asus mobo
--place for 2 hard disk and 1 DVD writer
--Available in Canada online stores

Maybe a very great christmas gift...

Thanks for your input
Bob

The MozartSX from Thermaltake seems to fit the bill.
Though the case fans are a little bit noisy, I dont have them connected at all at the moment and it seems fine. But with an Australian summer coming soon I think the HDrive could be cooler so I will be replacing them soon with some nexus fans.

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I bought an Antec Oveture II. They're a little bit cheaper than some of the other home theatre cases (but more expensive than the average pc case) but they're quiet. You get the feeling you've bought something good. It made me realise that the case is something that's worth spending a bit extra for. I've had alot of bad luck with cheap pc cases so when putting together a new linux box for everyday use last week I bought an Antec tower case rather than the usual cheap cases I buy where the power supply goes after six months and are really noisy.

I have to ditto silentmic's comments regarding the Antec Overture series. I have had no problems at all with the box. Tom's Hardware gave it a favorable review, as well. The one thing that I like a lot about this case (and a lot of Antec's cases in general) is that you get a lot of flexibility regarding the fans. The power supply is proprietary (i.e. if it fails you will have to replace it with one designed for the Overture) but quiet and reliable. The remaining fans are for the hard drive bays. The case comes with three fans for the hard drives, but you probably can get away with running just the one variable-speed exhaust fan. The case should be able to handle any motherboard that conforms to the ATX spec, though an eATX board will be a tight fit at best. The case is lacking the IR transceiver, but has FireWire, USB, and audio ports in the front. The FireWire and USB ports will handle wide (i.e. physically large) devices - something many cases neglect.

I realize you are looking for a case for a frontend/backend combo, but if you (or anyone else) need a case for a machine operating just as a frontend, the Overture will be overkill. I also have had a lot of success with the Antec MInuet series. The Minuet, like its big brother, is very quiet. The current incarnation of the Minuet has a 300W power supply, which should be more than adequate for a frontend. It is surprisingly roomy for a mATX case...but it also is a bit larger (deeper) than other mATX cases.

An alternative to the Minuet is the Apex/Supercase DM-318 (or any of the other cases in their DM-300 line). The power supplies are a bit smaller (220W in the case of the DM-318) but still should be more than adequate for a frontend, particularly if it is using PXE boot and, thus, not requiring a hard drive. They are approximately the same size as the Minuet with extrememly similar features, but lack the rigidity of Antec cases. They also are a bit noisier. At roughtly $40, though, it's not a bad case.

I bought the NMedia HTPC 180 and love it. I haven't set up the IR yet, but that's only because I haven't found the remote. I packed it up when I moved and finding it has been low on my priority list. I've spoiled myself with the RF keyboard.

I am using a Silverstone LC10M and really like it. How quiet you make it will depend entirely on the fans you use (CPU, PSU, VGA, HD, case, etc.) This is my frontend box (backend is in the rack in the basement) so I don't need many fans running in it.

Not inexpensive, and they have a lot of selections http://www.silverstonetek.com/product-case.htm

I too have the Silverstone LC10, and while it looks very nice in the livingroom, I would not recommend it.
I had bought an Antec case from CC to use for the build, while I waited for the Silverstone to ship. It was a MUCH nicer case, on the inside anyway.
The Antec had nicer cabling, a nice tool-less drive cage with rubber mounts, and nice tool-less slides for the DVD racks.
The SilverStone didn't even have thumb screws. Screwdrivers all the way, no rubber mounts. And the front air fan is partially blocked by the electronics (USB ports, LEDs, switches), so although they used a nice fan, it's too loud because it's sucking against a grill that's 50% blocked by crap.
No place for a second DVD drive or card reader.
IMO, it's built with "form over function" in mind. Nice and solid, looks great, but it lacks features found in $80 "regular PC" cases.

Hi,

Thanks, for your greats input. I'm looking for a great case and the price is not an issue under 200$CAN. The Antec Overture specifications look good but i don't want to go with a propriatory PSU and the look is ordinary. The Thermaltake is not available here. The NMedia (180 or 280) accept only mATX mobo.

The Silverstone name seam to be very good. The KRP Dragon 1.1 is also using the LC-10. The problem is LC-10 is no more available . I was thinking to buy the Silverstone LC-20 with a Seasonic S12-380HB 380W for the minimum dba. But after the Thornsoft reply i'm screw up...


I continue my investigation for the greatest htpc case!
Bob

I was probably a little harsh when I said I "wouldn't recommend" it. I'm just kind of bummed that it wasn't as nice on the inside as on the outside, compared to the Antec.

?? First hit on Google for "silverstone LC10":
http://www.pcalchemy.com/product_info.php/products_id/143

I can't make any comparisons because I have only used the LC10M. I agree it's disappointing to find that a screwdriver is still required for the LC10M. I don't need the front fan supplied as I only have the 1 HDD (it's just a frontend) and the back fan (only using 1 of the 2) moves enough air to keep that cool. Coupled with a Zalman CPU heatsink/fan and a quiet Antec PSU I have been very happy with the case in terms of looks and noise. I have seen posts from others who did not like it's size (it is rather large) but I wanted something for a full-size ATX board. Also, running Myth 0.20 gives me some nice features on the VFD.

I don't doubt you could spend less money and get comparable features now, I purchased this case about 1.5 years ago. Haven't really looked into what is currently available.

Hi again,

On my way to find my perfect htpc case i discovered the Antec Fusion. It's a great case with VFD, Seasonic PSU and is 200$Can. just mATX mobo

My actual best choices:
-Antec Fusion (just mATX)
-Silverstone LC-20
-Zalman HD-160 (very expensive)
-Nmedia 280

thanks
Bob

Just to add a thought - now exactly case related, but to get 'almost' silence I have watercooled my Mythbox with a Zalman Reserator1 v2 Fanless Water Cooling System. The only (I mean only) thing I can hear is the feint sound of the harddrive when everything in the house is silent. Otherwise, it's nigh on impossible to know it's on. I have the reserator behind my TV so it's not seen either.

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Looking for some other stuff and saw this- gotta post for a few reasons.

First- The Antec Overture II is an excellent case, though perhaps a bit larger than strictly needed.
It is well built and has some handy features.

I use one, although NOT for my backend rig. (Frontend does run on it though.)
A note on the power supply: I make a lot of demands on power supplies(more on that later), and did not expect to use the included one. But it is plenty strong and I think unlikely to be a long-term concern.
If it is, modding a fairly standard power supply to fit should not be too horribly difficult.

The other reason I had to jump into this thread is the mention of Water Cooling.
My backend machine is watercooled, and so is the one in my Overture.
Most of my machines are.
They are also fairly heavily overclocked.

My Overture houses an AMD A64 San Diego socket 939 cpu overclocked about 400mhz and is passively watercooled (mostly- psu blows through the radiator a bit).
System also contains an overclocked NVidia video card (6600gt), dvd combo drive, two hard drives and a card reader that reads just about everything.
This is an easily transportable pc.

It often gets worked VERY hard and it almost never gets shut off.
Had it running a year or so.

The case and power supply are still perfect and I have no concerns for longevity of the psu.

It may not be the fanciest case ever, but it is clean, attractive and well made.