If you look at the Streacom FC5 OD without taking into account the price, the chassis is of excellent quality, looks incredibly sexy and the fact that it is passive cooled really makes it quite the unique unit. This is especially true, as there is no other case with this wide and flat form factor out there which offers this attribute. The interior is simple, but effective and the tiny blue LED light just adds to the coolness factor.
That a passive cooling solution costs money should be apparent to anyone interested in such a system. While 229 Euro for the case may seem like much (and is in comparison to what that money would get you if you stick to air cooling), in the market for passive solutions, this is actually quite adequate. While not directly comparable, the Impactics implementation will set you back around 185 Euros, as you need to buy the case and the appropriate cooling solutions separately. So the Streacom unit may cost 45 Euro more, it offers the ability to install a mATX board, can cool AMD and Intel desktop CPUs out of the box, will fit up to three hard drives and optional IR module, while still offering you the possibility to use a single, full-height expansion card. Considering the fact, that most HTPC system are incomplete without a TV tuner and IR receiver, these last facts about the FC5 OD are not to be taken lightly.
It is clear that Streacom is going for the system integrator businesses first, to get the production volume up. This is obvious by the missing extras within the chassis, leaving it to these big customers to pick and choose what they would like to offer. That said, as an end user, the weak mounting system and the current PSU brick are my biggest concerns, and should be on the very top of the todo list. Streacom has reassured me, that the brick I got is being phased out for one of similar dimensions, but better quality - I will put my faith into that and hope it really happens. On top of that I would have liked to see some of these smaller parts bundled with the chassis as an added value in the future. All in all, as a first passive chassis for the new company, the Streacom FC5 OD is a good start into the HTPC chassis marketing - especially considering that there is no other passive solution out there with the form factor.