Help me find a non-sucky HTPC case and heatsink.

Zoson

Zoson

Supreme [H]ardness
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Aug 4, 2001
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I'm building an HTPC and I need a case, and heatsink.

Case:
1. The case needs to be no greater than 17 inches wide, 7.5 inches tall, and 15 inches deep.
2. It must have at least 1 external 5.25" bay for a blu-ray drive.
3. It must have at least 4 internal 3.5" bays for hdd's.
4. Optimally, it would look like a receiver or component of some kind. Simple is good. LED's are bad.
5. Aluminum is a plus(for weight savings).
6. Must support mATX motherboards(I've got an ASUS R4G for the build).

Heatsink:
1. Must be no taller than 170mm(which is ~7 inches, basically it has to fit in the above described case)
2. Must clear Mushkin Ridgeback memory
3. Compatibility with Gentle Typhoons is a plus.
4. Will be cooling a 3930k(130W TDP) overclocked mildly.

So far I've been completely unable to find a case that actually fits all my criteria... Figured I'd post here, maybe someone's seen something I haven't!

For the heatsink... It seems like a cogage true spirit 120 would be a good call if I have all 170mm to work with height wise for the cooler... Otherwise I was looking at the CM GeminII S524.

Any suggestions welcome!
 
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I use an artic cooling freezer 7 pro 92mm with a sliverstone lc17. the heatsink has only a few mm clearance with the case cover. No way a 120mm fan would fit on the heatsink.

the bad thing is the case fans are 80mm and 92mm. but it holds 6 x 3.5" drives + 2x 5.25"

it is silent.
 
LC-17 is >15" deep. :( It might be the closest thing I've seen though.
Unfortunately, anything > 15" deep won't fit on my media rack.

Thought I'd also mention my motherboard is matx.

Thanks for the suggestion though!!!
 
The only big cpu heatsinks (120mm) you will find for your requirements are going to lay flat. But they might not clear your memory. The AC Freezer 7 pro is the smallest "tower" cpu cooler i could find.
 
valve1138 said:
EVGA?
Click to expand...
No, why would that be important at all? It's an ASUS Rampage IV Gene. I've had nothing but bad experiences with EVGA boards, and their layouts are always complete garbage.

dragonstongue said:
bitfenix prodigy might fit?
9.84" x 15.9" x 14.1"
250mm x 404mm x 359mm and has tons of space for coolers and such, but is limited to single gpu usage
link for a review http://www.anandtech.com/show/5867/bitfenix-prodigy-review-the-affordable-performable-miniitx
another might be Silverstone SG02B-F Evolution but am unsure of dimensions
NZXT Rogue is another as is http://www.yycase.com/yy-0221.htm

Not sure if this has helped any, hoping it has :)
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Wow... you didn't even read my requirements did you? My very first requirement(most important) was less than 17x7x15. NONE of the cases you linked come even close to that.
 
Looks like the PC C60B is the closest thing... But it's an inch too long. >< The C50B is great space wise... but doesn't have enough drive slots... UGH!
 
Wow. I just came across the Origen ae S16T and S16V... They fit every one of my criteria, except only usb2 on the front(which is a compromise I can accept)!
Only problem is that they're $415 and $700 respectively!!!
Anyone know if it's possible to mount a usb3 bracket to where the ports are now to upgrade them?

What other obscure htpc case manufacturers are out there?

Edit: went with the origen ae S16V. Here's to hoping they release a new USB3 media bay panel to replace the old USB2 one!

I still need a heatsink. The case is 175mm tall. I figure that the standoffs are probably the standard 10mm off the case floor, and then the socket/motherboard is about another 10mm thick. Leaving me with about 155mm of clearance for a heatsink.
It seems like the smallest tower coolers with 120mm fans *do* fit into this category, but I again... having a hard time sifting through all the results.
 
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coolermaster hyper 212+ is ~156mm tall so it might be a hair tight, though I had used one in my coolermaster 590 case which specs alone says it wasnt possible-push/pull this thing is a beast of a cooler :)
DeepCool IceEdge 400XT is very compact tower style
Evercool HPL-815EP very low profile but still decent performer
EVGA Superclock CPU Cooler is a very good performer and is (HxWxD): 6.0x5.3x3.6 inches (152x135x91mm)

Then of course there is tons of choices for liquid AIW coolers(if they can be used in your specific example idk) as well as some of the top down coolers like the ones Noctua and many others have.

as far as the usb3 panel, couldnt you just get an aftermarket one and "make it" the way you want it with a little elbow grease?
 
dragonstongue said:
coolermaster hyper 212+ is ~156mm tall so it might be a hair tight, though I had used one in my coolermaster 590 case which specs alone says it wasnt possible-push/pull this thing is a beast of a cooler :)
DeepCool IceEdge 400XT is very compact tower style
Evercool HPL-815EP very low profile but still decent performer
EVGA Superclock CPU Cooler is a very good performer and is (HxWxD): 6.0x5.3x3.6 inches (152x135x91mm)

Then of course there is tons of choices for liquid AIW coolers(if they can be used in your specific example idk) as well as some of the top down coolers like the ones Noctua and many others have.

as far as the usb3 panel, couldnt you just get an aftermarket one and "make it" the way you want it with a little elbow grease?
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestions! That DeepCool IceEdge looks like it might be exactly what I want. I was looking for the Thermalright True Spirit 90, and it seems like the DeepCool might just be a slightly bigger/better version. I wonder if it'll clear my mushkin ridgeback ram?
 
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