December 2004 HTPC Case Roundup
by Purav Sanghani on December 27, 2004 2:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Benchmarks - Thermal
While home theater components rarely have fans to cool even the hottest components, it is critical for a PC to run as cool as it possibly can. There is no better way for this to happen than including an ample amount of case fans. Take a look at our test bed information.| HTPC Test Bed | |
DFI K8M800 MLV |
 Click to enlarge. |
We've taken temperature readings at every square inch of each HTPC chassis and have presented our results in visually appealing pictures below. Take a look at our results.
 Ahanix D.Vine 5 Click to enlarge. |
 CoolerMaster Cavalier 2 Click to enlarge. |
 SilverStone Lascala 10/M Click to enlarge. |
 NMediaPC HTPC 100 Click to enlarge. |
It is evident that while the NMediaPC's HTPC 100 case had only a single 60mm exhaust, it performed almost as well as the LC10/M and the Cavalier 2, and better than the D.Vine 5 in our thermal benchmarks due to its smaller size as well as the numerous ventilated areas on the shell. On average, the ambient air temperatures per square inch varied by only fractions of a degree.
 Ahanix D.Vine 5 Click to enlarge. |
 CoolerMaster Cavalier 2 Click to enlarge. |
 SilverStone Lascala 10/M Click to enlarge. |
 NMediaPC HTPC 100 Click to enlarge. |
The D.Vine 5, on the other hand, ran a bit hotter, since it only had two 60mm fans mounted at the back of the chassis as exhausts. Air was pulled in from a vent at the bottom of the case below the drive bays, but that was not enough to keep temperatures down.
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matthewfoley - Monday, December 27, 2004 - link
Great article! I'd love to see more on the HTPC area, including a processor article.I agree, benk. How could you choose the SilverStone over the NMedia? It runs hotter, louder, is more expensive and doesn't look as good.
Another thing I'd like to see in all of the cases is more room for hard drives. If you're going to store anything recorded in Media Center 2005, you're going to need tons of space, and the average user isn't going to want to have a separate file server. Then again, your average user isn't going to build a HTPC...
benk - Monday, December 27, 2004 - link
As noted, please fix pics in thermal section.That aside, great review. The pictures are extremely helpful. I would love to see added to them a comparative shot of all of the cases, or failing that a single chart that lists all of their dimensions.
My personal choice would probably go to the NMedia...if the temperatures are within normal operating ranges, and you're not overclocking (overclocking seems unnecessary in the HTPC arena), noise plays a much more defining factor in my purchase than thermal management.
Locut0s - Monday, December 27, 2004 - link
Ahh now these are what I'm talking about when I mean some nicer looking cases, even if I'm not in the market for an HTPC.mcveigh - Monday, December 27, 2004 - link
fix rollover pics on testing section :)great article! I love my htpc but am looking for a newer case I wish you had tested Ahanix D.Vine 5 with 2 siletX fans installed.
actually how about changing testing to include using identical fans for all systems. I know it's more work but this way you could see how casese compared based on design alone.