# Advice on HTPC case - ATX sized



## gumpty (Jun 7, 2010)

Hello all.

Well sadly I've got to the point where 'life' and 'reality' gets in the way of hobbies and passions. Due to space issues in the room I share with my fiance, I need to sell my current case and replace it with a smaller one.
Planning ahead, I've resigned myself to the fact that it'll be unlikely that I'll ever be able to justify a high-end PC again, and that most likely my PC will be part of the lounge furniture in the form of a HTPC.

So, to get down to it, I need a HTPC case to stuff my existing computer in. The main choke point that I can see will be my graphics card. I have a GTX285 with the stupidly huge AC Accelero Xtreme GTX Pro cooler on it. This is the main problem when finding a case, as most HTPC cases have a drive cage in the way.

So I've had a look around and currently the Antec Fusion Remote Max is looking the most likely, as I can remove the drive cage to accommodate the GPU.







Does anyone know of other HTPC-type cases that will fit my gear in? All suggestions welcome.

Thanks.

Oh yeah, another option could be to get a smaller cooler for my GTX285. Any suggestions there?

Also as a consequence on this, my ATCS 840 will soon be for sale.


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## BraveSoul (Jun 9, 2010)

hey man ,i feel ur pain.  no clue here tho, i just used a mid tower case for my HTPC, maybe u could mask urs, like putting a good looking piece of cloth on top, and a flower or two, with bunch of thick branches hanging down covering the whole tower. your case is black, that should help a little as it shouldn't be as visible. or how about hiding it somewhere :0)

_____________________________




Antec1200 filter project


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## brandonwh64 (Jun 9, 2010)

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10012039&prodlist=froogle

Erockers





Mine


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## m1dg3t (Jun 9, 2010)

I'm running a remote max, GREAT case! Tonne's of room, solid build, great cooling and run's quiet  I have a 5870 in mine with room to spare


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## Fourstaff (Jun 9, 2010)

Try little Piggy's case: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=103080&highlight=moonpig


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## gumpty (Jun 10, 2010)

BraveSoul said:


> hey man ,i feel ur pain.  no clue here tho, i just used a mid tower case for my HTPC, maybe u could mask urs, like putting a good looking piece of cloth on top, and a flower or two, with bunch of thick branches hanging down covering the whole tower. your case is black, that should help a little as it shouldn't be as visible. or how about hiding it somewhere :0)



Yeah, good idea. I'm actually starting to think I might go down the small mid-tower route. Maybe an Antec 300 or something like that.



brandonwh64 said:


> http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10012039&prodlist=froogle
> Erockers
> http://www.techpowerup.com/gallery/2526/__4.jpg
> Mine
> http://img.techpowerup.org/100508/Full1.jpg





Fourstaff said:


> Try little Piggy's case: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=103080&highlight=moonpig



Unfortunately I have an ATX motherboard at the moment. If I could justify building a new system at the moment I would totally get a mATX. Sadly I don't think I'll be upgrading until the next gen of processors come out and the next-next gen of GPUs come out.



m1dg3t said:


> I'm running a remote max, GREAT case! Tonne's of room, solid build, great cooling and run's quiet  I have a 5870 in mine with room to spare



Did you have to remove the hard drive bay to get the 5870 in?


So yeah, I've found this case below from Silverstone, which looks promising too, but is probably way too expensive at £300+.


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## Mr McC (Jun 10, 2010)

The Silverstone lc17 is my favourite htpc case and a lot cheaper than the case you linked above. I posted a link and removed it because it will not house anything taller than a Zalman 9500 and I initially missed the fact that you want to fit your current components into the case. In any event, here it is:

http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=lc17


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## gumpty (Jun 10, 2010)

Mr McC said:


> The Silverstone lc17 is my favourite htpc case and a lot cheaper than the case you linked above. I posted a link and removed it because it will not house anything taller than a Zalman 9500 and I initially missed the fact that you want to fit your current components into the case. In any event, here it is:
> 
> http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=lc17



Thanks for that. Yeah, I saw this case when I looked initially but dismissed it because I thought the middle drive bay could clash, but looking again at the photo below I'm beginning to wonder if by 285+cooler will actually fit _in_ the drive bay.





Or maybe it is removable.

Oh, and I'm quite prepared to get a different CPU cooler to suit the case. There are some good top-down models these days.

Thanks for the link!


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## Mr McC (Jun 10, 2010)

The cage is removable, but the optional 90mm fans install on to the cages. I'm sure you could find a workaround: I think that the additional fans are a necessity rather than an option. If you need any more information on this case, just ask, I own one and it's my second lc17.


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## m1dg3t (Jun 11, 2010)

I pulled the cage out so that i could add an extra 120mm fan for a lil' better case flow, so i put my 2 HDD's in the "PSU" bay with a salvaged Xbox 360 fan on top to help keep 'em cool. You should be able to fit without removing cage i would think. If needed i think you could fit another HDD under the optical drive 

I attached a couple pic's for ya, sorry about the quality....


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## gumpty (Jun 11, 2010)

m1dg3t said:


> I pulled the cage out so that i could add an extra 120mm fan for a lil' better case flow, so i put my 2 HDD's in the "PSU" bay with a salvaged Xbox 360 fan on top to help keep 'em cool. You should be able to fit without removing cage i would think. If needed i think you could fit another HDD under the optical drive
> 
> I attached a couple pic's for ya, sorry about the quality....



Thanks for the pics, they help a lot. If I was to use this case, I would have my two 1TB drives in the PSU-area bay and then I can bung my SSD system drive somewhere else. It's small enough to go most places.

So ... I think it has come down to either the Silverstone LC17 or the Antec Fusion Remote Max.


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## m1dg3t (Jun 12, 2010)

gumpty said:


> Thanks for the pics, they help a lot. If I was to use this case, I would have my two 1TB drives in the PSU-area bay and then I can bung my SSD system drive somewhere else. It's small enough to go most places.
> 
> So ... I think it has come down to either the Silverstone LC17 or the Antec Fusion Remote Max.



Slapping the 2 HDD's in the PSU area will leave you tonnes of room to run whatever card you want, plus with SSD's being so small you could definately jam a few of 'em in the main case 

I looked at quite a few case's from all the MFG's (prolly 20 or more case's) but settled on the Antec because of layout and fan's, plus the included display/remote is a plus IMO


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## shevanel (Jun 13, 2010)

This is me lian li... thats the old 5870.. as u see there is plenty of room in this deep case...

this case is really basic looking on the outside and rather plain, which I like but its is super lightweight, easy to work in because all you do is slide the panel off and go to town since its always laying flat, plus heavier video cards or waterblocks dont bend the card down because the way it sits.

LOL you should see it now with the Matx board in there... looks retarded.

here is the pic when the 5870 was in

http://www.techpowerup.org/uploaded.php?file=100613/IMG_3928.jpg


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## erixx (Jun 13, 2010)

I have a normal mid sized case on its side in my living room, as a HTPC. It is a Tacens Victoria with the sidepanel being one big fan that is now looking up. I could re-use all my old components because the interior is just standard (roomy 
Just get a any good looking one


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## gumpty (Jun 15, 2010)

Thank you to you all for your help.

I've decided to go for the Antec Fusion Max Remote, due to it's decent quiet cooling, also the remote is a bonus as this case will some day end up in my lounge as an HTPC.

This means my Coolermaster ATCS-840 will soon be up for sale. Any takers?


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## m1dg3t (Jun 15, 2010)

Good choice! It's a real looker and will fit right in when placed in your living room  You'll like the remote and it's feature's but it does take some fidling/getting used to to set it all up the way you like. Also it come's with a "trial" version of Arcsoft TMT which allow's playback of all media


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