X-bit labs

NMEDIAPC HTPC 288 SA: Affordable Case for an HTPC System (page 5)

Category: Multimedia

by Vasily Melnik

[ 08/22/2007 | 07:14 PM ]

Two small 60mm fans are responsible for exhausting hot air from the system case.

Such fans have proved their worth in Thermaltake’s Bach and Mozart cases. They are rather quiet (you can only hear them at their default speed late at night when the ambient noise is minimized) and feature high enough performance.

The mainboard poles are installed on podiums:

It’s not quite clear why they didn’t use taller poles instead, but there is one advantage in this solution. The welded spacer plates make the bottom of the case and, accordingly, the whole case more rigid.

The case offers a minimum of interface cables:

It’s a standard selection with an addition of power for the highlighting of the Power button and of the fan in the HDD cage.

Installing your hard drives is actually the first step in the assembly procedure. The cage is not detachable and if you install the power supply first, it will block the access to the cage. The drive is secured with only two screws:

The HDD is fixed in the bottom part of the cage with juts and rubberized inserts that also help suppress vibrations from the operating HDD.

As I mentioned above, there is an 80mm fan in front of the cage, but its efficiency is questionable. The vent holes in the front panel are too small.

This is surely not enough for the fan to work normally, so you can reduce its speed to the minimum quite safely. By doing so you reduce its noise yet lose little in cooling efficiency.