[Stephen Neal]

Built my first HTPC in an Antec Veris Fusion 430 Silver UK V2. Very happy with it - but looking to build a second, smaller model.

In an ideal world it would still take a full-size PCI card or two. It also needs Firewire ideally. Ideally silver, though black also OK. No wood veneer, and ideally clean-lines and subtle styling. IR/VFD/LCD not required.

Have seen the following - interested in experiences people have had with them.

1. Antec Veris Micro Fusion. Low profile cards only and an LCD/IR combo I don't need, but I found the Antec cases I've used in the past very well built - and with good acoustic and cooling design.

2. Lian Li PC36. Either 2xFull Height or 4xLow Profile. Looks smaller and neater. How is the build quality?

3. Silverstone LC04. Nice and small. Hiding the optical bay behind a flap is neat - but might get a bit boring quickly, and the front panel Firewire connector apparently terminates in a 6 pin external firewire connector, not motherboard header? (Don't need the ATX facilities this offers - and 2 x 3.5HD would be good)

4. Silverstone LC11. Seems to be a good equivalent to to the Lian Li (3xFull height - PCIx2 and PCI-e?), but does mounting the motherboard on the lid cause annoying build issues?

Other suggestions?

All of these cases have 80mm fans I think - I swapped out my 120mm TriCools for Noctuas with ULNAs in my Fusion case to quieten it. Advice on fan noise appreciated!

Will probably be using a 9400 Gigabyte-based motherboard with an Intel CPU, LG BD-ROM drive and Vista 32 bit. Possibly with a Nova-S2 HD and Nova-T 500 for TV. Not sure whether Core Duo or Core 2 Duo CPU - won't be Quad...

[Stephen Neal]

Sorry to bump - but has anyone here used the Silverstone LC11, LC04 or Lian Li PC36 cases to build a recent HTPC? Be interested in your experiences.

[GlynG60]

Hi Stephen,

My first HTPC is in an Antec Fusion black case and like you I wanted something a little smaller and sleeker for my second build. I would have liked to have gone for the Omaura TF8 case, but unfortunately it is no longer available. In the end I went for the Lian-Li Muse C36 case. See my build thread here.
This is well built and looks very discreet, although the two front panel LEDs are very bright (I cover them with the DVD case when watching a film).
Please note if you go for the 2 full size card option the riser card supplied connects into the PCI-e and PCI-e x16 slots, so you don't have an ordinary PCI slots. This may make a difference with some TV cards (Hauppauge) being PCI. Also is you use the Gigabyte MA78GM S2H motherboard you will have to modify the plug on the riser card to get it into the PCI-e x16, as otherwise it fouls the heatsink on the GPU. Of course you can alternatively go for the other back panel and have half-height card access to all four slots.

[Stephen Neal]

Cheers Glyn

Suspect I'll be going for a 9400 Gigabyte motherboard and Intel CPU for this build. The new one needs to do multichannel PCM audio via HDMI, and I'd like to improve the SD and HD de-interlacing performance as well. (SD 50i stuff in particular is a bit hit and miss on the 780G HD 3200 solution)

I really want to stick with PCI cards though - and I had hoped that there was a Lian Li PCI riser option - but it appears there isn't. I guess I could try flexible risers from mini-ITX? Alternatively I'll have to look at PCI-e satellite / DTT cards - like the Blackgold - if I go for the Lian-Li I guess.

[gvers]

Also have a look at the lian li PC37. It only take low profile cards but you can put full size PSU in it. The PC36 only has a 300w TFX psu.

[GlynG60]

I guess if you go for a slim case - card slots always become an issue.
I am not running with any cards at present, but would probably be looking at the Blackgold BGT3540 if I did - although this is not cheap and not without it's problems.
Alternatively here is a good source of flexible riser cards.

[Stephen Neal]

Originally Posted by gvers

Also have a look at the lian li PC37. It only take low profile cards but you can put full size PSU in it. The PC36 only has a 300w TFX psu.

Yep - that looked like an option - but the larger ATX PSU stops you being able to use full-size cards with a riser.

I could go for USB/Firewire external solutions - but that is a bit messy. (I already have a FireDTVS2 for motorised + CAM stuff but wanted a set-up-and-ignore internal solution for Vista TV Pack Astra 2/Eurobird stuff like BBC HD etc. - Ideally a Nova-T 500 and a Nova-S2 HD)

The Blackgold looks interesting but appears to be DVB-S only with no DVB-S2 support. I know all the FTA HD stuff is currently S - but I think for an HD solution it is wise to have S2 for future-proofing.

[deksawyer]

Stephen, check out Welcome to Moneual

some of there cases are a bit OTT, but the 'coming soon' cases look very nice, esp. the 812.

D.

[GlynG60]

Originally Posted by deksawyer

Stephen, check out Welcome to Moneual

some of there cases are a bit OTT, but the 'coming soon' cases look very nice, esp. the 812.

D.

Both the 811 & 821 look good, I wonder when they will be out?

[Theydon Bois]

Micro Fusion 350 Build on Project HTPC Forum.

LC04 Build on these forums.

LC04 review on Silent PC review.

[Stephen Neal]

Originally Posted by deksawyer

Stephen, check out Welcome to Moneual

some of there cases are a bit OTT, but the 'coming soon' cases look very nice, esp. the 812.

D.

Who are reliable e-tailers for this stuff?

[deksawyer]

Quiet PC UK

Even though I have the Omaura, I really like that 812!!

D.

[BrokenTusk]

Originally Posted by Stephen Neal

Sorry to bump - but has anyone here used the Silverstone LC11, LC04 or Lian Li PC36 cases to build a recent HTPC? Be interested in your experiences.

I bought the LC11 about two years ago and have been pretty happy with it.

The only niggles I have with it are:
(a) It's quite pricey

(b) The pci slots didn't line-up exactly with the back of the case so I've had to tilt the TV out card I have installed. It's not a big problem unless you plan on moving the case around a lot.

(c) The IR sensor that has stopped working so I can't use the remote (not a problem as I use a wireless keyboard and mouse)

Other than that the cooling is exceptionally good, it really looks the part and the vFD is pretty funky.

Also bear in mind the PSU probabley isn't going to be all that easy to replace.

Let me know if you want to know anymore.

[Stephen Neal]

Cheers for the replies everybody.

After doing a bit of digging it appears to be settling down to a race between the Silverstone Lascala LC11 (nice and low-profile - but the risers appear to do what I need) and the Silverstone GD02 (slightly taller but not as deep, and takes cards the normal way - though as the optical drive is mounted above the motherboard not offset, it could limit the use of a larger CPU and/or Northbridge cooler?) I like the design of the GD02 - as the USB/Firewire are hidden behind a flap, but the optical drive isn't (but has a proper fascia cover - like the Fusion does and the 2480 doesn't)

If anyone has built using a GD02 I'd be interested in hearing thoughts.

BrokenTusk - thanks for your info on the LC11. I won't be going for the iMon version (I quite like the VFD in my Fusion - but the IR is flawed so I'll be going for another MS MCE remote - which I already have - and don't need front panel display stuff that much, though it is a "nice to have")

Are you running with the standard 80mm case fans still - was thinking I might swap them out for Noctuas (which was a great move on my 120mm fans in the Fusion)


*** UPDATE - also does anyone have any experience with quiet, low-profile CPU coolers. Was thinking of a Zalman CNPS 8000 or 8700 based on reasonable reviews - though they will need me to install a plate underneath the motherboard and apply thermal grease (every other cooler I've bought has had it pre-applied...) ***