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RSS feedsToday a vast array of products allow our PCs to record TV shows, stream music and manage photo collections, but being a successful media machine is about more than just having the right features.
As consumer electronics manufacturers have long known, no appliance will ever make it into the living room unless it's good looking and well behaved. As an increasing number of PCs aspire to operate in the same environment, they too need similar physical qualities.
Cases designed for media PCs therefore face a unique challenge. Not only must they deliver what we expect from traditional cases in terms of connectivity, build quality and room for components, but they must look good, allow quiet operation and, in some instances, accommodate internal displays and infrared receivers.
It's a tough call, so this month we've tested six products for housing a home-built media PC. Four borrow design cues from traditionally styled hi-fi components, two are compact cubes and, crucially, all six are capable of running very quietly.
Interestingly four achieve this by using external notebook-style power supplies. These external bricks eliminate the need for a power supply cooling fan, while reducing the internal volume of the case.
In terms of platforms, we've split the test 50:50, with three cases designed for Via Epia Mini-ITX motherboards and three designed to accommodate traditional processors from AMD or Intel.
Via's Epia boards with their integrated C3 processor and graphics may not be as powerful as a desktop Intel or AMD platform, but the recent M and MII-series sport mpeg2 acceleration and will happily cope with anything other than high-definition video or serious 3D gaming.
Please note that several of the smaller cases demand notebook-style slimline optical drives or 2.5in hard disks, either for their size, low power requirements or both.
While there's a fair range available from suppliers such as Mini-ITX.com, prices are inevitably higher and capacities smaller than full-size drives; so prospective buyers of these cases should bear this in mind.
Hoojum Cubit 3
www.mini-itx.com/store
Stroud-based Hoojum's range of hand-finished Cubit cases offer a degree of luxury and individuality that's hard to find with mass-produced boxes. Each is built from 5mm thick aluminium, which helps dissipate internal heat, not to mention looking and feeling great.
Neat design touches include a front-mounted infrared sensor and a CD/DVD slot which solves the problem of finding matching drive fascias.
For PC builders there's the choice of two versions: the forthcoming Cubit 5 designed as a shell-swap for existing Shuttle XPC owners, and the Cubit 3 designed to house Via's Epia Mini-ITX motherboards.
We tested the Cubit 3, which is now available in an Apple-style white-enamelled finish for £119 ex VAT. It will accommodate any Epia motherboard, but to exploit the front-mounted connectivity (which includes Firewire, USB2 and serial-connected IR) you'll need a recent M or MII model.
The Cubit 3's design clearly demands a slot-loading optical drive, but there's sadly neither the room nor the power to accommodate a full-size unit; instead you'll need to fit a slimline optical drive. On the plus side there's room for a standard 3.5in hard disk and a PCI card.
Inside there are three slide-out trays for mounting the motherboard, hard disk and optical drive. The system is powered by an external brick adapter and internal fanless DC-DC converter board, which sits next to the hard disk. You have to buy your own power supply, but Mini-ITX.com sells 60w kits for £40 ex VAT.
There are quite a few screws required to assemble the Cubit 3, but those for each section are considerately separately bagged and labelled. In use its temperature-controlled fan runs virtually silently, which leaves total noise down to your choice of internal drives and Epia motherboard; potentially you can build a very quiet system.
There's no denying that, once you've added the cost of a power supply and slimline optical drive, the Cubit 3 is a pricey option, but it's built to a very high standard. If you're after a classy case for an Epia motherboard then you won't be disappointed.
Kanam Accent HTPC HT-101G
www.quietpc.com/uk
Kanam was one of the first companies to understand the requirements and desires of enthusiasts building home entertainment PCs. Its Accent range of cases are available in several variations, but all share the standard hi-fi component width of 430mm.
The two main differences between models is their height and motherboard support, with the 165mm high model handling full-size ATX motherboards, while the slimline 135mm model is restricted to MicroATX motherboards.
Beyond this you can choose one or two front-facing 5.25in drive bays (hidden behind a flip-down panel) and a black, gold or silver finish; we tested the slimline gold case with a single drive bay.
Build quality is very good with an 8mm thick brushed-aluminium front plate, hi-fi styled feet and a matching chassis cover with no visible screws or joins; this does mean you'll need to turn it upside-down to remove the screws to get inside. Once inside there's room for two 3.5in disks, four expansion cards and a full-size power supply (not included).
The big selling point for the Accent case is its ability to accommodate an optional 16 x 2 character vacuum fluorescent display and infrared receiver behind the front-panel window; these cost £45 and £29 ex VAT respectively from quietpc.com and are excellent additions.
Unfortunately the cables for each must be fed out the back and connected to the external parallel and serial ports respectively, although this is also necessary for many other displays and IR receivers.
That said, we'd have preferred the cable for the front-mounted Firewire port to end in an internal header, rather than a full-size plug which will also need to be fed out the back in most situations.
While the Accent range of HTPC cases suffer from a few idiosyncrasies, they remain one of the best choices for housing a full-size media system, and the only choice here with support for an internal display which doesn't occupy a drive bay. Like other displays, though, it takes some effort to get it working with your applications.
Morex Cubid 3688
www.mini-itx.com/store
Measuring just 210 x 65 x 258mm, Morex's Cubid 3688 is the smallest of all the cases tested here. Unsurprisingly it's designed for Via Epia motherboards and also demands the use of slimline optical drives and 2.5in hard disks; suffice it to say there's no room for a PCI card in there.
Build quality on the black case is a decent standard with smooth edges and an attractive Perspex face-plate, complete with fashionable blue power light; a supplied base also allows the 3688 to stand vertically.
There are front-mounted USB2 ports for use with Epia M and MII-Series motherboards, although sadly no Firewire ports to exploit the headers on these models.
The Cubid is powered by an external 60w adapter and internal DC-DC board, both supplied. While the power supply is therefore silent, a single 60mm fan is fitted in the side of the case to help cool the rest of the system; this does run quietly during operation though.
The Cubid may not be built from flashy materials or use massive heatsinks for passive cooling, but it's tiny, looks pretty good, runs quietly and comes with a power supply all for just £59 ex VAT. As such it's a great case for housing budget Epia-based projects.
Scythe E-Otonashi
www.mini-itx.com/store
Scythe's E-Otonashi is an entirely fanless case available in black or silver, designed for Via Epia M and MII-series Mini-ITX motherboards. The traditional power supply fan is once again eliminated by using an external adapter, while the CPU fan is replaced with a heatpipe which connects to a large heatsink occupying the entire underside of the case; this installation will invalidate your Epia warranty.
Due to size and power constraints the E-Otonashi will only accommodate slimline optical drives and 2.5in hard disks. Since these will be the only components in an E-Otonashi making noise, it's pretty easy to build a system which essentially runs silently.
Strangely there's no front-mounted connectivity, wasting any Firewire or USB headers your motherboard may offer, while the dimensions also eliminate the chance of fitting a PCI card; the power and disk lights also peer messily through mesh on the front panel and it's not the easiest to assemble. On the plus side, it is supplied with an external 60w power adapter brick and internal DC-DC board.
In short, the E-Otonashi may not be as slick as the other cases, but it's small, runs silently and comes complete with a power supply.
Shuttle ST62K 'Zen'
www.shuttle.com
Shuttle's ST62K is the only barebones box in this test. You get a case with a power supply and motherboard both pre-fitted and all wired-up. Like other barebones, you need only fit a processor, memory and disk to complete the system.
The ST62K is one of four housings here to use an external power supply, but the only one which supports a power-hungry Intel Socket-478 processor. Impressively, given the 180w rating of the power supply, there's sufficient juice to support a 3.2GHz P4, two 3.5in disks, a full-size optical drive and a single PCI card.
The only real concession is the lack of an AGP slot, although this and the external supply allows the case to be around 20 per cent smaller than previous Shuttle XPCs. The power supply is a large box, though, at 117 x 52 x 176mm.
Graphics are delivered by an integrated ATI Radeon 9100 chipset which, while far from top-of-the-range in 3D terms, is fine for general gaming. There's two Dimm slots supporting up to 2GB of DDR 200 to 400 memory, two parallel IDE connectors, a single PCI slot and a wealth of ports including audio and USB2 on the front, along with USB2, Firewire, S/PDIF in and out, 10/100 Lan, VGA and composite/S-video TV outputs on the back.
In a welcome move for tweakers, Shuttle has also placed a Cmos reset button round the back, saving you from opening the case anytime an experiment goes too far.
The case itself resembles a slightly shrunken version of existing Shuttle XPCs, with an attractive white finish on its front panel. As with other Shuttle barebones, great thought has gone into the internals and supplied cables making assembly neat and simple.
In terms of cooling, there's a single temperature-controlled fan which, following an initial burst during power-up, runs very quietly. It's much quieter than other barebones and almost inaudible from a distance.
As a media PC it works well although, like other barebones, the front panel aesthetics can be spoilt by an optical drive which doesn't share the same finish. It would also have been useful for Shuttle to accommodate a small hole for an infrared eye, although you could use a model which fits in the 3.5in drive bay.
If you're building an Intel-based media PC and are happy with the cube shape, single PCI slot and integrated graphics, the ST62K is an excellent choice.
Stands Unique Strata 260M
www.kustompcs.co.uk
UK-based hi-fi furniture manufacturer Stands Unique designed its Strata range of cases to match the width and build-quality of top-end audio equipment. Certainly its all-aluminium construction with 10mm fascia, 7mm sides and 3mm thick chassis both looks and feels very solid.
The Strata is available in three versions: the 260M takes MicroATX motherboards and power supplies, the 390 takes MicroATX motherboards but a full ATX power supply, while the off-centre optical drawer on the 260A allows it to accommodate a full ATX motherboard, albeit with a MicroATX power supply.
All are available in black or silver finishes. We tested the silver 260M, sold by Kustom PCs with a quiet 200w MicroATX power supply; if you're hoping to use a top-end processor, check with Kustom PCs for compatibility.
All three models come with a wide acrylic cover which sticks onto the drawer of your optical drive. In practice it works well and looks great too when illuminated by the blue power light. There's also a hole in the case behind one side of the cover which can be used to mount an optional infra-red receiver. There are no front-mounted ports, but you could argue they'd detract from the look.
It's a shame there's no provision to mount a display on the front panel, but otherwise the Strata is a highly desirable case for those wanting to build a media PC with full-size components.
Decisions
Any of the six cases we tested would be ideal for building a media PC depending on your budget and component requirements. Clearly if you want to accommodate a large motherboard, desktop processor and plenty of drives, then you'll need to go for something like the Accent or Strata.
Conversely if you want something small and discreet, the Cubid and Scythe Mini-ITX cases are good choices.
The ultimate decision is, of course, also swayed by looks, but we were fond of the Hoojum design for sheer quality and neat optical disc slot. It's the best-looking case for Mini-ITX systems at present. We look forward to testing the Cubit 5 as a replacement shell for Shuttle XPC owners.
But the best all-rounder here, and winner of our Recommended award, is Shuttle's ST62K. It's small, quiet and good-looking, while being able to accommodate a 3.2GHz P4 with full-size hard disk and optical drive. Just try and buy a DVD drive with a pure white fascia to match the attractive front panel.
See also:
Windows Media Center is set to bring your PC into the living room, but will this new form of home entertainment take off? 12 Jul 2004
Microsoft's Media Center has not taken home entertainment by storm, but the software giant has not lost hope. We look at the latest attempts to put the PC in the living room. 24 Jun 2004
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