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J

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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
I am having a hard time picking a case, but have narrowed it down to these three. I would appreciate your opinions.


1. SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum front panel, 0.8 mm SECC body GD01B-MXR ATX Media Center


2. LIAN LI Black Aluminum PC-C34F ATX Media Center / HTPC Case


3. SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum front panel, 0.8 mm SECC body LC16B-M ATX Media Center / HTPC Case


Thanks for your feedback.


Jim
 
A

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#6 ·
In my opinion all of those are overpriced for what you're getting, the Silverston LC17 has plenty of storage space and cooling and for less than half the price you can spend your money elsewhere, somewhere it could make a more functional difference than the cost difference in the cases you're looking at.
 
J

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Discussion Starter · #7 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by H8nXTC /forum/post/16901962


Have you checked out the Thermaltake DH 202 available on Amazon.com for $250?
Click to expand...

I checked this one out and like it but there are only 3 internal 5.25 drives. I plan to have a os drive plus raid 5 so will need 4 internal 5.25 drives. Any other thoughts? I know there is the dh103, not sure about that.


Jim
 
S

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#8 ·
I am using the same specs s you and built mine as well as my brothers HTPC using the cases from NMedia. have you looked at those? for the money ..cant be beat.IMO
 
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M

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#10 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by H8nXTC /forum/post/16901962


Have you checked out the Thermaltake DH 202 available on Amazon.com for $250?
Click to expand...

That is a beautiful case.


My only problem....I want one that has 2 disc drives.


It's hard to find one with a card reader, and then it's hard to find one with 2 drives. It's next to impossible to find one that has both, and that looks as good as the one you mention.


I guess I'll just keep looking.
 
H

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#13 ·
The DH 202 has an addition drive space on the bracket/brace that goes above the CPU for your OS drive.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/ima...SIN=B0028MBFI4


Check out the Thermaltake Back for on that has 3 drive bays, but the DH 202 has a media card reader built in so you might not need it, but i agree that I wish it just came with a 3.5" external bay to add your own.


If you don't mind silver, there's also the Thermaltake Mozart with 3 external 5.25" bays.
 
A

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#14 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by ANDYK48 /forum/post/16906049


My humble opinion is get a full aluminum case. It runs way much cooler than a partial aluminum + steel case.
Click to expand...

case material will make almost no difference at all in a properly ventilated case, and in a completely un-ventilated case, it would still make a small, but measurable difference, just because of the hard drives, the CPU temperature will not be affected by the case material choice because the CPU heatsink and the case are completely insulated from one another. That is one of the more preposterous claims I've ever heard about case selection.
 
T

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#15 ·
I have the LC16B-M with a Core i7 920, Asus P6T, 3GB RAM, 9600GT low power, Asus HDAV1.3 Standard, Emu 0404, Hauppage HVR-1600, 2 WD 640Gb in Raid-0, 2 WD 1Tb green, LG BD/HDVD driver, Seasonic 500W PSU ... and all that running nice with two front 80mm fans, 1 for each HD cage (you can stick 2 92mm if you like), and of course the 2 80mm silent rear fans that come with the case + Zalman CNPS9500.


This is a superb, gorgeous looking case, that can house up to 6 drives. Only problem is that it won't accept large video cards.


I fully use the iMon/iMedianHD appllication with a Harmony Remote with no issues.
 
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U

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#16 ·
Are you set on a large case?


I saw the Antec Micro Fusion down at Fry's and like the look, small & sleek, with built in LCD & IR receiver. Of course it is an mATX case and has limited expansion. However I am personally considering making the switch since I am now using an mATX board and am getting tired of looking at my Thermaltake Tenor. A nice enough case, just too big.
 
J

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Discussion Starter · #17 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by H8nXTC /forum/post/16906106


The DH 202 has an addition drive space on the bracket/brace that goes above the CPU for your OS drive.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/ima...SIN=B0028MBFI4


Check out the Thermaltake Back for on that has 3 drive bays, but the DH 202 has a media card reader built in so you might not need it, but i agree that I wish it just came with a 3.5" external bay to add your own.


If you don't mind silver, there's also the Thermaltake Mozart with 3 external 5.25" bays.
Click to expand...

I really like this case and based on what you are saying I can still do this.


Would you go with the dh202 and set the os drive this way with the 3 raid 5 drives or go with the dh103?


The rest of my configuration is i7 920, gigabyet ud5 mb, sapphire hd 4890, corsair 6gb memory, corsiar 750 tx psu, lg 8x bd, xigamatek dark knight cpu cooler and asus xonar 1.3 slim.


Based on my review of the cases, I should have no problem with this configuration.
 
H

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#18 ·
I prefer the DH 202 myself, the DH 103 is just too big for my taste. Yes I would put the OS drive above the CPU cooler and the other 3 drives in the drive bay. You might want to check out the Cooler Master Silent Pro M 700w power supply for $103 at Directron.com also.
 
J

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Discussion Starter · #19 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by H8nXTC /forum/post/16910769


I prefer the DH 202 myself, the DH 103 is just too big for my taste. Yes I would put the OS drive above the CPU cooler and the other 3 drives in the drive bay. You might want to check out the Cooler Master Silent Pro M 700w power supply for $103 at Directron.com also.
Click to expand...

Will this be enough power? I was told to get at least a 750w psu.
 
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