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The Hunt for a New Case
Being that this was going to be the most important part of the HTPC, I gave myself one ground rule: money is no object. I spent quite awhile trying to find the case that best suited my needs. Every time I would find one I liked appearance wise, it lacked important features like cooling ability or the interior layout was horrible. When I would find a case that met my needs structurally, I ran into other issues.
Before beginning my hunt, I made a list of key selling points for a case. First and foremost the case had to support a standard ATX PSU. I did not want to go through that proprietary BS again. I also wanted a case with the ability to mount a radiator on the back. Dual 80mm exhaust fans would fit that bill. Also important to me is a VFD that would be compatible with universal remotes, and a decent amount of drive bays. A secondary goal would be to find a case with dual optical bays. This way I can run one Blue ray drive and one HD-DVD drive once HD kicks into full swing. On this page, I am going to show you some of the cases that almost made the cut so you have a better idea of what is out there.
Going along with my money is no object guideline; I went straight for the most badass case on the market today: The Silverstone LC18. This case has it all, a 7" touch screen LCD in the front, plenty of drive space, dual 80mm fans in the back, and Dual Optical Drive bays. All of this bling comes with a steep price tag: 650.00. I read some reviews of the enclosure and came to the same conclusion the reviewers did. Once the novelty of the LCD wears off what you end up with is a 7" distraction while you are trying to watch a movie.
My next stop was to Ahanix as I am partial to their outside appearance. Their best case is the MCE-601 pictured below. This case however, has many shortcomings. First and foremost, it has a proprietary PSU. Big no-no. Also they reduced the height of the case so cooling is provided by two 60mm fans. This would be a pain to Watercool without some serious modifications. The inside is not very well laid out either. The hunt continues...
Next, I went back to Silverstone to look at some of their other models. The LC17 (Top) and LC 16 (Bottom) both caught my eye. The primary difference between the two is that the LC17 has two optical bays and the LC16 sacrifices an optical bay for a VFD. Structurally both are almost identical, the only difference being the positioning of the drive bays. Take a look at the position of the optical bay on the LC16. Because it is in the dead center, longer video cards will not work with it. I came very close to purchasing one of these two cases. I passed on the LC17 because it did not have an internal VFD. I passed on the LC16 because apparently the built in VFD does not play nice with certain universal remotes. I figured if I could not find anything better, the LC16 would pretty much fit my needs.
I hit some FS/T forums next thinking I might find something interesting. And sure enough I struck gold. Or so I thought... Someone on [H] had put up an Alienware DHS-5 case with some extras including a PSU and DVD burner for 240.00. The case seemed kind of small to me so I asked him to post a picture of the back. Sure enough, there was a single 60mm fan in the back. As much as I would love to have an Alienware HTPC case, this one is not much better than the Ahanix. At least the DHS-5 supports standard PSUs...
Thanks to HTPCnews, I found a foreign company that makes some beautiful cases. OrigenAE's flagship model is the X15e which is similar to the Silverstone LC18. They also have an X11 which is almost identical to the Alienware DHS-5. The X11 is taller and the Optical Bay is not slot load. The VFD on the X11 has a built in IR receiver that is compatible with the Microsoft MCE remote. This is good. Both the X15e and the X11 share the same physical layout. It takes a standard PSU and has three Hard Drive bays. Unfortunately the hard drives are pointing towards the motherboard which makes that area cramped. Also the case only has one 80mm exhaust fan. While I could mount a Radiator on it, I would have to cut the case to get the maximum potential out of it. Now the choice is between the LC16 and the X11. And the search continues...
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