Media centre

[MantisCSS]

My dad wants me to build him a media centre for under the bose and sky box, was thinking of somehtign in one of these cases http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=381943
i was just wondering are these built with normal sized componants or do u have to get specail sized componants?


cheers Rich

[awm]

Yes, but there may be certain parts where you can't use anything especially big, but average components should be fine. Remeber that it is a microATX, so you need a matching motherboard.

[FatalSaviour]

I'm not sure what the deal with the PSU is...I'll look up specs tomorrow, but I've got an exam tomorrow, so am going to bed right now

[awm]

I looked at the newegg photos (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119099) and it looks like a standard PSU. I would say you should be able to buy stuff for a microATX tower and it will fit fine. Basicly the case is a desktop(i.e. the old style shorter than they are wide cses that usually lived under monitors) case, so just buy components like you would for that shape.

[FatalSaviour]

So it is. Nice one awm

[jamena]

depends how picky your dad is about a nice hifi looking case...there are much nicer looking cases out there imho

e.g.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=214602

have you checked to see if it's an acceptable design?

[dave87]

Yes, but there may be certain parts where you can't use anything especially big, but average components should be fine. Remeber that it is a microATX, so you need a matching motherboard.

nope, its even smaller, it's uATX - according to scan anyhow.

[Lee H]

nope, its even smaller, it's uATX - according to scan anyhow.

That's the symbol used for "MicroATX" by some of the manufacturers - please see Here for further info

Anyhow, the lascala case accepts full sized cards due to the riser cards ;

Riser Cards : 1 AGP + 2 PCI (PCI Express riser card optional)

I hope this information helps

[Steve B]

the greek symbol Mu, "μ" is used to denote the decimal prefix micro (x10^-6) as nobody can be bothered ever going to the character map to get mu, and it looks suspiciously like a u, people just use u instead

[jamena]

I can confirm that the Lascala does fit normal cards (got an avermedia tv-tuner, an audigy2, and a 9800pro crammed into mine!) ... although certain fat cards with annoying bolts (audigy2 for e.g.) are tricky to get locked in as the lc11 PCI-holding device thingy is a bit constricting (seem a review where they had similar trouble with an m-audio card.

oh, and fyi the "u" in uATX represent a greek letter/symbol (cut-paste from word...) μ
common use in maths/science to represent "micro", e.g. μm (micro-metres)

bah, beaten to pedantry

[dave87]

That's the symbol used for "MicroATX" by some of the manufacturers - please see Here for further info

Anyhow, the lascala case accepts full sized cards due to the riser cards ;

Riser Cards : 1 AGP + 2 PCI (PCI Express riser card optional)

I hope this information helps

ah well, always presumed they were too different sizes. I stand corrected

[FatalSaviour]

Silly you . AFAIK, the only standard sizes are eATX, ATX, and mATX without going into ITX, BTX, blahblahblahTX etc
Although feel free to yell if I'm wrong

[awm]

I guess there'd be dellTX for whatever almost, but not quite, standard parts they put in. I've found cases that look ATX, but in reality are a little off so you can't upgrade the mobo. Sorry to be pulling this thread off topic.

Back the the topic: Most uATX have onboard graphics which should do for a media center. I would reccomend it since the power is enough for media playing and they use less heat power and space and make less noise. It also leaves you more room free for a decent soundcard and TV tuner(s).

Have fun with the build.

[jamena]

specifically I'd advise looking for uATX boards with the nvidia 6100 or 6150 chipsets as they're supposedly pretty good for htpc type graphics? some even offer DVI and/or HDTV out but then it depends what you're after and whether we ever get any HD content that is viewable through an htpc...

[FatalSaviour]

Ooooo don't get me started on Dell parts.
I buy a fair few of their Optiplex's each year, but I don't think they've ever quite grasped the meaning of the word "standard"
Agreed about the HTPC.
If you're not gaming on it, one of the Asus or MSI boards based on the 6150 should do you quite nicely.

I guess there'd be dellTX for whatever almost, but not quite, standard parts they put in. I've found cases that look ATX, but in reality are a little off so you can't upgrade the mobo. Sorry to be pulling this thread off topic.

Back the the topic: Most uATX have onboard graphics which should do for a media center. I would reccomend it since the power is enough for media playing and they use less heat power and space and make less noise. It also leaves you more room free for a decent soundcard and TV tuner(s).

Have fun with the build.

[toomanycooks]

I can confirm that the Lascala does fit normal cards (got an avermedia tv-tuner, an audigy2, and a 9800pro crammed into mine!) ... although certain fat cards with annoying bolts (audigy2 for e.g.) are tricky to get locked in as the lc11 PCI-holding device thingy is a bit constricting (seem a review where they had similar trouble with an m-audio card.

oh, and fyi the "u" in uATX represent a greek letter/symbol (cut-paste from word...) μ
common use in maths/science to represent "micro", e.g. μm (micro-metres)

bah, beaten to pedantry

Jamena,

Which power supply do you have in you LC11? I'm thinking about going for this Silverstone case soon but am not sure about the 240w power supply. My spec is:

Sempron 3000+
1x 512Mb ram
ATI 9600SE (passively cooled)
2x Hauppauge Nova-T pci cards
2x 250Gb Sata hdd
1x DVD-rom

Should I look at the 300w to be on the safe side?

Also, how noisy are the fans that come with the case (specifically the fan in the power supply)?

Thanks for your imput.