Rate this HTPC case

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Asmodeus

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#23813 9-Jul-2008 15:31

Silverstone CW02

Right, it costs half a grand and is the size of a tea chest but I like it :D

It has room for 6 HDD (although you wouldnt need 6) and room enough for the biggest cpu coolers (like ultra 120, etc). 120mm fan at rear and grills for 2x 92mm fns in the bottom. It has a 52 in 1 card reader behind a panel on the front and is all aluminium construction. It looks like one of the best built cases around to me. It is also watercooling-ready ;)

The thing is over 22cm tall and 45 wide but would fit in my rack. I really want something that looks "high end" and goes with my silver pioneer receiver, silver cabinet and silver tv :)

Apart from size and cost, does anyone else see any probs with this case? ( I dont mind the vfd)

http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=cw02

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYR3HHrpKVk

http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/1122.jpg

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Snowflake

#145524 9-Jul-2008 16:37

I wanted something that looked "high end" to match in with my Onkyo amp. I went for the equally expensive Zalman HD160 case (pics below).

Case URL: http://www.zalman.com/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=190

There were a few reasons I chose the Zalman:

1) height, width matched the Onkyo perfectly
2) depth! the sliverstone cases were too deep to fit in my entertainment unit which was only 50cm total depth. The silverstone you quoted here has a depth of 440mm versus the 435mm of the Zalman
3) It had a nice VFD - which i since discovered that i *never* use, along with the volume control knob :)
4) it had an integrated InfraRed receiver which worked with an included MCE compatible remote control (the silverstone had a different IR setup that was not MCE compatible)

this machine had 4 internal 3.5" drive bays which was plenty, and was also designed to take the Zalman CPU fans and power supplies which are awesome for keeping cool and quiet.

Note: there is a new Zalman HD160 "Plus" case which has a very pretty VFD and possibly better cooling properties, but it is also 460mm deep which means its already deeper than my entertainment unit! Its a dman nice looking box though, much nicer than the silverstone IMO. The silverstone has all the fancy rounding on the sides which just wont match hifi components. The Zalman also comes in Silver if you want to match your existing kit :)

Zalman HD160 plus Onkyo

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Asmodeus

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#145583 9-Jul-2008 18:01

Cheers. Yeah thats a good looking case too, At the momemt Im torn between the two. The Silverstone just may be too big. (It weighs twice what the Zalman weighs!)

I see that Computer lounge knocked $122 off the price today (according to pricespy) down to $461. Globespec has it $30 cheaper again.

Id be saving a good $100 and a bunch of room getting this case

Hmmmmmmmm

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Snowflake

#145643 9-Jul-2008 19:08

I bought my zalman hd160 case and power suplpy from quietpc

http://www.quietpc.com/nz/order.php

you can always email them and ask for a deal and see how you get on.....

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Nety

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#145906 10-Jul-2008 08:30

What about the Silverstone LC16M? http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=lc16m&area=usa

The only issue it has it that the optical drive sits in line with the video card. So if you have a long video card you have a problem.

Other then that it is a great case. Very happy with it and it does work with MCE remotes.

Media centre PC - Case Silverstone LC16M with 2 X 80mm AcoustiFan DustPROOF, MOBO Gigabyte MA785GT-UD3H, CPU AMD X2 240 under volted, RAM 4 Gig DDR3 1033, HDD 120Gig System/512Gig data, Tuners 2 X Hauppauge HVR-3000, 1 X HVR-2200, Video Palit GT 220, Sound Realtek 886A HD (onboard), Optical LiteOn DH-401S Blue-ray using TotalMedia Theatre Power Corsair VX Series, 450W ATX PSU OS Windows 7 x64

Asmodeus

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#146017 10-Jul-2008 11:28

Nety: What about the Silverstone LC16M? http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=lc16m&area=usa

The only issue it has it that the optical drive sits in line with the video card. So if you have a long video card you have a problem.

Other then that it is a great case. Very happy with it and it does work with MCE remotes.

I do like the LC16M but I want to use a 9600GT so I dont think it will fit...

At the moment I have my eyes on the Zalman HD160plus as I like the look of it better and it has a better vfd than the original HD160 (I have an imon ultrabay on my gaming rig and have never had problems with it as lomng as you download the latest drivers from soundgraph website). It's about the same price as the HD160 too

Thw CW02, while nice, is simply too big. Its another half a foot taller than the HD160plus

Decisions, decisions!

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#146043 10-Jul-2008 12:00

I'm sure I recall someone else that had a LC16 that put a 9600GT in it. Can that someone please stand up??

If you tell me how long the card is I can tell you if there is room.

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gehenna

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#146062 10-Jul-2008 12:33

Nety: I'm sure I recall someone else that had a LC16 that put a 9600GT in it. Can that someone please stand up?? If you tell me how long the card is I can tell you if there is room.

I have an 8600GT silent in my LC16 - tight fit...but the gpu i have has a big heatsink that extends its length. That said, there's only about an inch clearance when you take the heatpipe out of the equation. The problem is the 5.25" optical drive lines up with the PCIe slot. So I don' tthink a 9600 would fit i'm afraid.

Asmodeus

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#146068 10-Jul-2008 12:41

Well, according to this: http://www.digit-life.com/articles3/video/g94-part2.html

They all seeem to be 210mm long. Thing is however that the power connectors are all at the end of the cards, increasing the length...

Will it fit?

Nety

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#146082 10-Jul-2008 13:10

I can confirm if you like but I think you would have trouble. I had the same problem with the power connector on my 7800GT. I got it to fit but only by hacking into the power plug so I could get the wires out at a right angle and even then it was touching the optical drive. Add to that the limitation that put on air flow it was a bad thing. I finished up selling the 7800GT and getting the 8500GT which has lots of room.

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#146085 10-Jul-2008 13:16

my 8600gt presses up against the sata connector of my blu-ray drive. so i don't think the 9600 will fit at all.

Asmodeus

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#146188 10-Jul-2008 16:18

Bugger!

Im not keen on hacking up power connectors, etc so might be out of luck with the LC16...

HD160plus is looking like the go now unless anyone has any other great suggestions?

need to fit a 9600GT and a biggish cpu cooler so no low profile/small cases

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Snowflake

#146268 10-Jul-2008 17:56

Nety: What about the Silverstone LC16M? http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=lc16m&area=usa

The only issue it has it that the optical drive sits in line with the video card. So if you have a long video card you have a problem.

Other then that it is a great case. Very happy with it and it does work with MCE remotes.

i was originally looking at the LC16 (M wasnt available then) but it was too deep (wouldnt fit in my entertainment unit), was picky about cd drives and the knobs on the front felt 'cheap' to me (although not really important).

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#146395 10-Jul-2008 21:05

Have you ever used the nobs on the front of your case?

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Snowflake

#146629 11-Jul-2008 10:46

Nety: Have you ever used the nobs on the front of your case?

I've used the reset button once or twice

but yeah thats kind of what the (not really important) bit in brackets meant after my statement. I've never used the extra knobs and am never likely to.. I'm not sure i've even used the knobs on the TV and i very rarely use the knobs on the home theater amp either.

I've also never really used the VFD and probably wouldnt bother getting a machine with one again. Perhaps if my one did the graphic equalizer graphics it might 'look' useful... i do believe that it shows "now playing" tv channel, song name etc etc, but given that the display is always on when i listen to music or watch tv/dvd it makes the VFD kind of redundant.

If the LC16 had a media center compatible remote and was a little less deep I probably would have ended up with it.

The OrigenAE cases are also nice http://www.origenae.com/en/products_htpc.htm - I think someone said they were the same people who make the cases for Zalman.

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