Htpc case advice

[Shinho]

I currently have my PC hooked up to my HD TV and the case (thermaltake soprano) is far too big and noisy. It's time for me to get a Black HTPC case but I need to transfer my current hardware to the Black HTPC case.

Which black HTPC case will support ATX motherboard and a big chunky 8800 GTX 10.5" graphics card??

Machine specs below.....

Motherboard : P5N32-SLI Premium/WiFi-AP ATX Form Factor

12inchx9.6inch ( 30.5cm x24.5cm )

Graphics Card : PNY 8800 GTX 750mb (Think it's about 10.5"

CPU : E6600 (With bog standard cooling)

I do have 2 DVD drives, But If need be I can lose the 1 and keep the DVD writer.

Any ideas/advice are welcome, as I am finding this harder than I first thought. :worship::worship::worship:

 

[Ham]

How much you got to spend?

 

[Shinho]

How much you got to spend?

To be totally honest with you, I'm not bothered as to how much it will cost.

Oh, as long as it doesnt have a costly touch screen.

(I don't need any touchscreen on my HTPC as I will chop the kidz hands off If I catch him touching it with his greasy hands...lol)

 

[AMDFTW]

hey man what about this one?

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Silv...andaccent-SECC-body-short-depth-design-w-o-PS

or abit more and you get a kinda HIFI screen thing

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Silverstone-LC16B-MR-Black-Desktop-with-All-in-1-Card-Reader-w-o-PSU

 

[Shinho]

hey man what about this one?

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Silv...andaccent-SECC-body-short-depth-design-w-o-PS

This one will not support my ATX board, it's micro ATX or Mini ATX only.

or abit more and you get a kinda HIFI screen thing

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Silverstone-LC16B-MR-Black-Desktop-with-All-in-1-Card-Reader-w-o-PSU

Will this one support my 8800GTX??...Looking at the pics on the silverstone website I think I am going to strugle to fit it in there.

 

[Ham]

Check out Silverstone's CW01.

 

[Shinho]

Now I am thinking about getting shot of this graphics card, and getting a shorter one.

Seems like so much hassle just to find a case to fit my mobo and Graphuics card...smaller one would be better solution.

 

[alexhull24]

Lian Li C37B is a beautiful HTPC case imo, and takes mostly standard components, though you'd need a MATX motherboard.

 

[Shinho]

Lian Li C37B is a beautiful HTPC case imo, and takes mostly standard components, though you'd need a MATX motherboard.

It has to support ATX board, Don't want to spend any more money than I need too...lol

Otherwise I would just buy an Asrock ion 330 HTBD machine and be done with it!

 

[alexhull24]

I only make the suggestion since ATX HTPC cases are huge, and don't fit that well under the TV. I guess it depends on your specific needs but it would only mean changing one component for you, and your current board isn't exactly what I'd describe as a HTPC board. Sounds like you're stuffing a gaming machine into one, which I think you may find easier to just use a normal ATX case.

How about the Lian Li A05? Really nice, compact case, very black and stylish.

 

[Shinho]

I only make the suggestion since ATX HTPC cases are huge, and don't fit that well under the TV. I guess it depends on your specific needs but it would only mean changing one component for you, and your current board isn't exactly what I'd describe as a HTPC board. Sounds like you're stuffing a gaming machine into one, which I think you may find easier to just use a normal ATX case.

How about the Lian Li A05? Really nice, compact case, very black and stylish.

Thanks for the advice.

The only reason I want to stick with the same hardware is because I hate having motherboard and other hardware hanging around (Goes back to my school days when I always had a room full of computer bits everywhere...lol)

At the moment I have a noisy thermaltake soprano case

on the bottom left of my TV stand

So I could have a case like the Lian Li A05, as long as it was smaller and also less noise.

 

[alexhull24]

I don't think ATX cases will come much smaller than the A05 in the tower form at least. Also, the A05 still uses 120mm fans, which are generally quieter than the 80mm that you'll find in anything smaller.

Then you're looking at the likes of £100+ silverstone grandia or Antec Fusion cases. They're both good, I'd stray towards the Antec as they're generally cheaper.

I went and changed to a low power HTPC from my old HTPC, which was in an ATX case and basically a gaming PC like yours. My new setup is housed in an Antec Fusion Micro with a gigabyte 780G matx board and an Athlon 64 X2. No graphics card atm, but looking into it as the Radeon 3200 onboard won't play nice with my toshiba TV, and it's a bit lacking in power for smooth display of media center, as well as the fact it won't play video without freezing when waking up from sleep. Will probably get a radeon 4350 or 4550 in there to pass audio over HDMI.

 

[Shinho]

I don't think ATX cases will come much smaller than the A05 in the tower form at least. .

lol.. No, I mean smaller and less noise than my Soprano case.

 

[alexhull24]

OK, I see. Well that probably makes things easier. Did you look at the Antec Fusion Remote in black?

 

[tomv1to]

My recommendation would be the awesome Lian Li Desktop Series PC-V800B, but its EOL and you may have to import one as I can't find one in the UK no matter how hard I try. If anyone does find one though please let me know as I'd quite like one.