Page 1: Intro, Conclusion
<B>Intro</B>:
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We've seen alot of HTPC cases pass by here at the Labs (... Just a name, not a place). Among them there are different variety of sizes and shapes, each targeting different sectors of the same market. Today, another <a href="http://www.silverstonetek.com">Silverstone</a> HTPC case graces our presence here, but can it do it for us like the larger one did? Keep reading, like I said, it targets a different sector of the market.
<B>Box</B>:
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Normally, this section is pure fluff. If you still are reading this part, the case was well packed. Case shipping is important, I don't want dents in my case.
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<B>Stuff</B>:
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Let's go right to the parts that come with the case. Silverstone includes some things that make this type of case a breeze to use. We'll go into the case in depth in the next section, so just skip there if you don't want to read about the little parts. What you get is a bunch of screws, some plastic mounts, <b>riser cards</b>, a slim line to normal IDE adapter and a manual. This is with the case and power supply (220watt).
The most important thing about this kit is the riser cards. Since the case is basically a desktop style case, the AGP/PCI cards won't fit due to the limited height of the case. What the riser cards do is make the card go parallel to the motherboard, flipping the slot 90 degrees. Another important part is the slim line to normal IDE connector. The case uses a slim line drive (which is expensive, it is basically a laptop drive). These drives use a different kind of IDE connector, and Silverstone made the right choice of including this connector.
<B>Case</B>:
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And here we have the case. As you can see, you are paying for the style and the quality of the case. The case itself is nice and sturdy, metallic feeling to the touch. The case I got is black, very stylish. This could easily fit into the center of a living room. For example, you have a DVD player right? Replace it with this, and you have a DVD player and internet browsing and more! I'll be doing another HTPC article soon, so stay tuned for that. The front of the case is cut and curved a bit, when a drive is in the slim line bay, it looks great.
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The single button (on) with the two indicator lights. I left them off, I don't need lights on my box, it looks good without them (and I connected them wrong anyway). The area is cut to look good, and it does it well. As a smaller case, it fills in the sector of the market that the bigger Silverstone doesn't fill.
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On the left side of the case (looking at the front) you have a mess of ports including sound and USB. Usually, you'd be using the back ports for sound, but the side USB and firewire are great for plugging in memory cards or cameras and the like. The center of your digital word... it isn't just a catch fraise anymore...
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The back side of the case, this really isn't important considering that no one should see this. If they do, you're using the case for the wrong thing.
<B>Internal</B>:
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Here is where the drives get mounted in the case. It has room for the slim drive and a hard drive. This mounting tray gets removed to expose the motherboard area.
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Dammit, so many wires. The case fits ITX, and micro ATX boards, hell, even normal size ATX boards work... you only get an AGP and a PCI slot at most though. Regardless, you've got pretty good options with this case. The only limiting factor is the size of the heatsink you use, it'll have to be clear of the drive mounting area. FYI of course.
<B>Conclusion</B>:
<a href="http://ase.dealtime.com/dt-app/SE/KW-sst-lc02/FD-0/linkin_id-3002062/NS-1/GS.html">For $150, this case can be yours</a>. It comes with the parts you saw above and a 220 watt power supply. The PSU will be enough to power most boards, just look in a Compaq or Sony lately, they don't have large power supplies either. As a normal case, it is quite expensive, but as a HTPC case, it is inline with all the others and I do recommend the case.
I'd like to thank Joy from <a href="http://www.silverstonetek.com">Silverstone</a> for sending the case for review.
<center>
</center>We've seen alot of HTPC cases pass by here at the Labs (... Just a name, not a place). Among them there are different variety of sizes and shapes, each targeting different sectors of the same market. Today, another <a href="http://www.silverstonetek.com">Silverstone</a> HTPC case graces our presence here, but can it do it for us like the larger one did? Keep reading, like I said, it targets a different sector of the market.
<B>Box</B>:
<center>
</center>Normally, this section is pure fluff. If you still are reading this part, the case was well packed. Case shipping is important, I don't want dents in my case.
<center>
</center><B>Stuff</B>:
<center>
</center>Let's go right to the parts that come with the case. Silverstone includes some things that make this type of case a breeze to use. We'll go into the case in depth in the next section, so just skip there if you don't want to read about the little parts. What you get is a bunch of screws, some plastic mounts, <b>riser cards</b>, a slim line to normal IDE adapter and a manual. This is with the case and power supply (220watt).
The most important thing about this kit is the riser cards. Since the case is basically a desktop style case, the AGP/PCI cards won't fit due to the limited height of the case. What the riser cards do is make the card go parallel to the motherboard, flipping the slot 90 degrees. Another important part is the slim line to normal IDE connector. The case uses a slim line drive (which is expensive, it is basically a laptop drive). These drives use a different kind of IDE connector, and Silverstone made the right choice of including this connector.
<B>Case</B>:
<center>
</center>And here we have the case. As you can see, you are paying for the style and the quality of the case. The case itself is nice and sturdy, metallic feeling to the touch. The case I got is black, very stylish. This could easily fit into the center of a living room. For example, you have a DVD player right? Replace it with this, and you have a DVD player and internet browsing and more! I'll be doing another HTPC article soon, so stay tuned for that. The front of the case is cut and curved a bit, when a drive is in the slim line bay, it looks great.
<center>
</center>The single button (on) with the two indicator lights. I left them off, I don't need lights on my box, it looks good without them (and I connected them wrong anyway). The area is cut to look good, and it does it well. As a smaller case, it fills in the sector of the market that the bigger Silverstone doesn't fill.
<center>
</center>On the left side of the case (looking at the front) you have a mess of ports including sound and USB. Usually, you'd be using the back ports for sound, but the side USB and firewire are great for plugging in memory cards or cameras and the like. The center of your digital word... it isn't just a catch fraise anymore...
<center>
</center>The back side of the case, this really isn't important considering that no one should see this. If they do, you're using the case for the wrong thing.
<B>Internal</B>:
<center>
</center>Here is where the drives get mounted in the case. It has room for the slim drive and a hard drive. This mounting tray gets removed to expose the motherboard area.
<center>
</center>Dammit, so many wires. The case fits ITX, and micro ATX boards, hell, even normal size ATX boards work... you only get an AGP and a PCI slot at most though. Regardless, you've got pretty good options with this case. The only limiting factor is the size of the heatsink you use, it'll have to be clear of the drive mounting area. FYI of course.
<B>Conclusion</B>:
<a href="http://ase.dealtime.com/dt-app/SE/KW-sst-lc02/FD-0/linkin_id-3002062/NS-1/GS.html">For $150, this case can be yours</a>. It comes with the parts you saw above and a 220 watt power supply. The PSU will be enough to power most boards, just look in a Compaq or Sony lately, they don't have large power supplies either. As a normal case, it is quite expensive, but as a HTPC case, it is inline with all the others and I do recommend the case.
I'd like to thank Joy from <a href="http://www.silverstonetek.com">Silverstone</a> for sending the case for review.