X-bit labs

Cooler Master Media 260 HTPC Case: One Step Away from Perfection (page 6)

Category: Multimedia

by Vasily Melnik

[ 06/20/2006 | 10:51 AM ]

I decided to start out by mounting the power supply (not a good decision as you’ll learn shortly). It is fastened to a special U-shaped frame in the front of the case:

You have to take it out of the case and screw to the PSU. You can’t get it wrong: the frame can only be fastened in the “right” way or not fastened at all.

Then the whole arrangement is put back into the case and gets secured with a couple of screws.

It’s designed well: the power supply of this type (with a 120mm fan) doesn’t practically take part in heat transfer inside the case – the air is taken from below the case.

The hot air is exhausted through the right panel. You can use traditional power supplies too, but a good PSU with a big 120mm fan is a priori quieter than a same-wattage PSU with an 80mm fan. The noise factor being of highest importance here, the choice is obvious. It was when I tried to install the mainboard that I regretted my not having read the manual beforehand – when the power supply is already installed, a full-width mainboard just cannot fit into the case. So I had to take the PSU out and put the mainboard in first. There was almost no gap between them after the installation:

I took a micro-ATX rather than a full-ATX mainboard as a more practical option when it comes to laying down the cables.

Once the mainboard was snugly nestled in the case, I turned to drives, particularly to the DVD drive as the biggest of them. You need to pull out the cage to install it: