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P180 style without the front door?

S

ShapeGSX

n00b
Joined
Jan 22, 2005
Messages
17
I'm looking for a case that is set up like the P180, but without the door in the front. This is a home theater PC, and I hate getting up to walk across the room to change the DVD as it is, let alone having to open a door before ejecting it. ;)

I have 4 hard drives in my current ancient InWin Q500. They are a royal pain to get at. That is why I love the P180. Having the drives mounted so the cabling comes out the side is genius. Other doorless cases with 5 or more 3.5" drive bays mouted in a similar fashion would be welcome, as well.
 
It has to look finished, though. This will be in a living room. The P180 didn't appear to look very finished behind the door.

I would love a horizontal desktop style case for under the TV, next to my receiver, but they are all far too compromised when it comes to hard drive bays. Gotta keep those suckers cool!
 
The only other case I can think of with a similar loadout is offerings from Lian-Li. I can't remember the specific model, but it's the case on wheels that has a mesh-like appearance.
 
The P180 with the door off is just a lot of black with two fan grills and some drive bays. You can't really see much in there if the lights were off ;).
 
Z(+)DIAC said:
The only other case I can think of with a similar loadout is offerings from Lian-Li. I can't remember the specific model, but it's the case on wheels that has a mesh-like appearance.
Click to expand...


This is the model here, but the retailer is ozzy since i am also from oz but should be able to get them over the pond where you are
;)


http://www.pccasegear.com/prod1434.htm
 
if it is an htpc, I'd think the last thing you want is a humongous case.

Go with something nice and small. If you need more drive space for media storage, just use your network to share it from a real computer.
 
The only other PC I have at the moment is a Dell, and we all know how good they are at holding lots of hard drives. I'd love to have a media server, but it just isn't in the cards right now.

I saw that the Thermaltake Bach case can hold 5 3.5" hard drives, but given the close proximity to other drives, I'd be worried about how long they would live. Also, it looks like a major pain to work in it. I don't understand why they don't just add an inch or 2 in depth to these things.

I also really like the drive layout of the Antec P160. Very nice setup with the drive cords all accessible from the side! But oh my god is that thing ugly. Why don't they make it in black? I know, this is the case mod forum, I should just paint it. :) But I'd really rather not start out with ugly. Also, why only 5 3.5" internal bays, it looks as if they have room for one more below the rest.

Are there any cases that use a similar hard drive layout to that one?

There really is no perfect case, is there? :(
 
eastvillager said:
if it is an htpc, I'd think the last thing you want is a humongous case.

Go with something nice and small. If you need more drive space for media storage, just use your network to share it from a real computer.
Click to expand...

Only problem with small is heat. The larger case isn't going to be nearly as loud to keep cool. The P180 is pretty quiet. If you had a quiet PSU, turned off some of the fans, and had a large fan on your HSF, you'd probably never hear the computer.
 
kirbyrj said:
Only problem with small is heat. The larger case isn't going to be nearly as loud to keep cool. The P180 is pretty quiet. If you had a quiet PSU, turned off some of the fans, and had a large fan on your HSF, you'd probably never hear the computer.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have currently have a P4 3.4GHz with a Thermaltake typhoon HSF with a 120mm fan on it. I have a ton of fans in the case, but all of them are running really slow so it stays quiet. I also have the recommended xclio PS with a 120mm fan.

The typhoon wouldn't fit in a tiny HTPC case, either.
 
ShapeGSX said:
This is a home theater PC, and I hate getting up to walk across the room to change the DVD as it is, let alone having to open a door before ejecting it.
Click to expand...
Is taking the extra 2 seconds really that much of a pain in the ass? I would recommend, provided you have adequate storage, ripping your DVDs and music to the harddrive(s) anyway, thus removing much need for opening the drives altogether. Of course, this would take quite some time and would prove to be quite tedious to setup, but the time you'd save by not having to walk waaaay over to the PC from the couch might make it worth your while.

ShapeGSX said:
It has to look finished, though. This will be in a living room. The P180 didn't appear to look very finished behind the door.

I would love a horizontal desktop style case for under the TV, next to my receiver, but they are all far too compromised when it comes to hard drive bays. Gotta keep those suckers cool!
Click to expand...
I don't see how the P180 looks "unfinished" with the door opened and kept along the side of the case, or even removed for that matter. It's a pretty clean-looking case either way you look at it.

I suppose you could look into having a custom door made from an opaque acrylic, with the top cut so as to allow the drive-bays room to open completely. I don't know if you have the means to do something like this yourself, but having it done for you might not be cost-effective in the long run. Good luck with your setup, and keep us up-to-date with what you decide to use - and of course, POST PICS! :)
 
Kaervek said:
Is taking the extra 2 seconds really that much of a pain in the ass? I would recommend, provided you have adequate storage, ripping your DVDs and music to the harddrive(s) anyway, thus removing much need for opening the drives altogether. Of course, this would take quite some time and would prove to be quite tedious to setup, but the time you'd save by not having to walk waaaay over to the PC from the couch might make it worth your while.
Click to expand...

I have 750GB in my current case. :) Only 200GB is used for recording HD video using Media Center. The rest is for storing DVDs. The main problem I have with the door in front of the case is specifically for ripping DVDs and for burning them. When I burn them using DVD Decrypter, it will cycle the DVD tray open after burning it and then close it before verifying the data.

I have a full set of tools for case modding (dremel, drill press, acrylic solvent, etc...), I just haven't done much case modding with it, save for cutting a fan hole in my motherboard tray for cooling my hard drives. I definitely don't mind DIY. I just don't want something that looks like DIY when I'm done. ;)
 
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