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Thread: HTPC Case Options

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    HTPC Case Options

    Hi Guys,

    I'm currently putting together a HTPC build including the following...

    AMD A10 5700 APU
    16gb (2x8gb) Crucial Ballistix VLP 1.35v DDR3
    Asrock FM2A75 Pro4 Motherboard
    Samsung 128gb 840 Pro SSD

    I also have a Pico-PSU 150XT, which I may or may not use, depending on if you guys can help...

    I was planning to use the Streacom FC10 chassis, meaning a fully passive system, but I'm now considering going for a case with some air cooling, to provide a helping hand with temperatures, and possible hardware upgrades in future, including video cards. This is why I'm a little doubtful about the PicoPSU.

    I'm looking for a pretty specific case, something that is full AV width (approx 435mm), has a slot load optical drive slot thingy, has plenty of room for a passive CPU cooler, and possibly room for an ATX power supply... most importantly it must be black!

    Anyone have any ideas?

  2. #2
    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
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    Re: HTPC Case Options

    I'd be a little doubtful about a Pico on a full ATX board anyway, TBH, you'll be running it fairly hard and from what I've heard they can get pretty hot.

    I recently specced a build for a friend with a Coolermaster Elite 361, but I think in desktop orientation that'll be a little narrower than you want.

    I wouldn't worry about the slot-loading drive requirement: if you were ever considering the FC10 budget clearly isn't a huge concern so you could always get a drivebay adapter to convert a standard 5.25" drive bay to slimline optical drive (finding slot-loading optical drives is a bit of a pain ).

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    Re: HTPC Case Options

    ATX PSU means it would need to be a chunky case - have a look at Antec New Solution NSK2480

    This also looks the part http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/JONSBO-S1-...873#vi-content
    Last edited by kmac; 29-01-2013 at 04:30 PM.

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    • shortie87's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte GA-F2A85XM-D3H
      • CPU:
      • AMD A10-5700 APU
      • Memory:
      • 16gb (2x8gb) Crucial Ballistix VLP DDR3
      • Storage:
      • 128gb Samsung 840 Pro SSD
      • PSU:
      • Pico-PSU 150XT
      • Case:
      • Fractal Designs Node 605
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 8 Pro x64
      • Monitor(s):
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    Re: HTPC Case Options

    Would the Fm2a75m-itx be a better option to go with the Pico-PSU? It seems to still have all the features I need, but I'd need the streacom CPU cooler riser to get over the memory... lucky its low profile!

    with regards to the slot load... i HATE it when the optical drive and case colours don't match... and its difficult to achieve is the finish is brushed! Oh, and the FC10 is nearly half the cost of the system... the optical drive I'm planning on buying its the Sony BD-5850H.

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    • shortie87's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte GA-F2A85XM-D3H
      • CPU:
      • AMD A10-5700 APU
      • Memory:
      • 16gb (2x8gb) Crucial Ballistix VLP DDR3
      • Storage:
      • 128gb Samsung 840 Pro SSD
      • PSU:
      • Pico-PSU 150XT
      • Case:
      • Fractal Designs Node 605
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 8 Pro x64
      • Monitor(s):
      • 32" 720p LCD TV

    Re: HTPC Case Options

    What about the Moneual 320?

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    Senior Member Ulti's Avatar
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    Re: HTPC Case Options

    Apparently the A75M-ITX isn't the best, check here for the newer version that should be due soon: http://forums.hexus.net/pc-hardware/...3-0-ports.html

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    Anthropomorphic Personification shaithis's Avatar
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    Re: HTPC Case Options

    Quote Originally Posted by shortie87 View Post
    What about the Moneual 320?
    Ooooo, that nice.
    Main PC: Asus Rampage IV Extreme / 3960X@4.5GHz / Antec H1200 Pro / 32GB DDR3-1866 Quad Channel / Sapphire Fury X / Areca 1680 / 850W EVGA SuperNOVA Gold 2 / Corsair 600T / 2x Dell 3007 / 4 x 250GB SSD + 2 x 80GB SSD / 4 x 1TB HDD (RAID 10) / Windows 10 Pro, Yosemite & Ubuntu
    HTPC: AsRock Z77 Pro 4 / 3770K@4.2GHz / 24GB / GTX 1080 / SST-LC20 / Antec TP-550 / Hisense 65k5510 4K TV / HTC Vive / 2 x 240GB SSD + 12TB HDD Space / Race Seat / Logitech G29 / Win 10 Pro
    HTPC2: Asus AM1I-A / 5150 / 4GB / Corsair Force 3 240GB / Silverstone SST-ML05B + ST30SF / Samsung UE60H6200 TV / Windows 10 Pro
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    • shortie87's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte GA-F2A85XM-D3H
      • CPU:
      • AMD A10-5700 APU
      • Memory:
      • 16gb (2x8gb) Crucial Ballistix VLP DDR3
      • Storage:
      • 128gb Samsung 840 Pro SSD
      • PSU:
      • Pico-PSU 150XT
      • Case:
      • Fractal Designs Node 605
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 8 Pro x64
      • Monitor(s):
      • 32" 720p LCD TV

    Re: HTPC Case Options

    The FM2A85X-ITX looks promising... I bet it will be ridiculously expensive when it becomes available though. Plus, the A85X draws much more power than the A75...

    The Moneual does look gorgeous, I worry about cooling it though... The Streacom will be silent, but I think getting a CPU cooler that fits in the Moneual might be interesting...

  9. #9
    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
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      • Battery/Dell brick
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      • Dell Inspiron 5570
      • Operating System:
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    Re: HTPC Case Options

    tbh it's more the APU I'd be hesitant about using with a PicoPSU, although a mini-itx board should have less additional features and therefore draw a little less power. If you're thinking about possibly adding a graphics card at some point I'd definitely avoid a Pico PSU, although that will limit your case choices (unless you're happy to embark on some interesting modding).

    The issue with Pico PSUs is that they're really designed for use with low-power embedded components, where the total load will only rarely go over 50W. They also don't have much space for cooling, and while some of the heat is generated in the separate power brick, the Pico part still has to do some voltage regulation and provide a lot of current, and that produces heat that it isn't well equipped to deal with - it doesn't really have any space for heatsinks etc. A 65W APU, full-featured ATX motherboard and discrete graphics card could easily pull > 100W, and that would put a lot of strain on the Pico-PSU. Even the low-power APU and a mini-itx baord, without the discrete GFX, would pull a reasonable amount of power, although it'd be more suited to a PicoPSU (IMNSHO, anyway). Of course, they are making Picos with higher power ratings now, so you might find you'd be OK with one, but I'd still be rather concerned about the heat issues: you'd need to make sure you had good case airflow (again, IMNSHO).

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    Anthropomorphic Personification shaithis's Avatar
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    Re: HTPC Case Options

    Quote Originally Posted by shortie87 View Post
    The Moneual does look gorgeous, I worry about cooling it though... The Streacom will be silent, but I think getting a CPU cooler that fits in the Moneual might be interesting...
    The Scythe Shuriken and Kozuti both come with Fm1/2 mounts (which are the same as AM2/3 etc). Choosing a cooler shouldn't be an issue.
    Main PC: Asus Rampage IV Extreme / 3960X@4.5GHz / Antec H1200 Pro / 32GB DDR3-1866 Quad Channel / Sapphire Fury X / Areca 1680 / 850W EVGA SuperNOVA Gold 2 / Corsair 600T / 2x Dell 3007 / 4 x 250GB SSD + 2 x 80GB SSD / 4 x 1TB HDD (RAID 10) / Windows 10 Pro, Yosemite & Ubuntu
    HTPC: AsRock Z77 Pro 4 / 3770K@4.2GHz / 24GB / GTX 1080 / SST-LC20 / Antec TP-550 / Hisense 65k5510 4K TV / HTC Vive / 2 x 240GB SSD + 12TB HDD Space / Race Seat / Logitech G29 / Win 10 Pro
    HTPC2: Asus AM1I-A / 5150 / 4GB / Corsair Force 3 240GB / Silverstone SST-ML05B + ST30SF / Samsung UE60H6200 TV / Windows 10 Pro
    Spare/Loaner: Gigabyte EX58-UD5 / i950 / 12GB / HD7870 / Corsair 300R / Silverpower 700W modular
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    Re: HTPC Case Options

    Quote Originally Posted by shortie87 View Post
    What about the Moneual 320?
    Very nice but also very expensive - the Jonsbo I linked to earlier is very similar but a lot cheaper.

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    Senior Member Pob255's Avatar
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    Re: HTPC Case Options

    I'd like to say you'd be surprised what you can power at the low end, not sure on the pico side of things.
    we've got a bunch of core2duo's mini-itx in the compucase 8k07 cases at work http://www.compucase-hec.co.uk/pccase_mini-itx_8k.htm with the 160w flex psu's no additional fans and a single 3.5" hdd
    The problems would start to come if you added in a graphics card.

    Oh and I don't think you can say anything about that asrock motherboard when you're looking at the Moneual 320 which costs £250

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    • shortie87's system
      • Motherboard:
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      • CPU:
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      • Memory:
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      • Storage:
      • 128gb Samsung 840 Pro SSD
      • PSU:
      • Pico-PSU 150XT
      • Case:
      • Fractal Designs Node 605
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 8 Pro x64
      • Monitor(s):
      • 32" 720p LCD TV

    Re: HTPC Case Options

    Pob, I had considered the fact that PC will barely ever be running at full power, the most it will ever be doing is encoding video.

    You have a point when it comes to the Moneual price, buts my pount was more that the price will be higher than necessary due to it having an A85X, which I really wouldn't benefit from...

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    Senior Member Ulti's Avatar
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    Re: HTPC Case Options

    Just for reference, I'm running an i3-2100 and 7750 off a 150W pico PSU in a streacom F7C. No problems at all.

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    Re: HTPC Case Options

    I have a Silverstone GD05. I highly recommend it & its not too expensive too.

    I found it recommended on a HTPC forum.


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    • shortie87's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte GA-F2A85XM-D3H
      • CPU:
      • AMD A10-5700 APU
      • Memory:
      • 16gb (2x8gb) Crucial Ballistix VLP DDR3
      • Storage:
      • 128gb Samsung 840 Pro SSD
      • PSU:
      • Pico-PSU 150XT
      • Case:
      • Fractal Designs Node 605
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 8 Pro x64
      • Monitor(s):
      • 32" 720p LCD TV

    Re: HTPC Case Options

    Alistair, thanks for pointing my in the direction of Silverstone, the LC16M is definitely an option. Another case I looked at is the Zalman HD503 but they seem quite difficult to get hold of, maybe discontinued? I'm still not convinced I want to go down the actively cooled route though, this system is going in a bedroom, and will likely be left on all day/night...

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