My HTPC case requirements

[amb7248]

I don't know if I'll have to go woith a matx case or an atx but it seems my options are limited if I want a ATX HTPC case and motherboard.

Case should be able to hold 1 SSD drive + 2 3TB 3.5" HDD's. Case also needs to be able to have 2 120MM fans or 1 80mm located near the CPU socket to accommodate the Hybrid liquid cooling coolers that Thermaltake, corsair or antec has created.

Like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835181032

I see that Silverstone has a case: that has the 120MM fans on the side. Most of the cases that has a 1 x 80mm fan on the side was too far away from the CPU socket so I doubt the cooler hoses would be able to reach.

Any suggestions or is mATX and mATX case the way to go for what I want?

Sorry if this is a double post. I didn't see my other post appear after I posted it.

[amb7248]

I don't know if I'll have to go woith a matx case or an atx but it seems my options are limited if I want a ATX HTPC case and motherboard.

Case should be able to hold 1 SSD drive + 2 3TB 3.5" HDD's. Case also needs to be able to have 2 120MM fans or 1 80mm located near the CPU socket to accommodate the Hybrid liquid cooling coolers that Thermaltake, corsair or antec has created.

Like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835181032

I see that Silverstone has a case: that has the 120MM fans on the side. Most of the cases that has a 1 x 80mm fan on the side was too far away from the CPU socket so I doubt the cooler hoses would be able to reach.

Any suggestions or is mATX and mATX case the way to go for what I want?

Sorry if this is a double post. I didn't see my other post appear after I posted it.

Ok I looked some more and I like the Silverstone GD07 and GD08 since they are very similar.

I figure if I do the H100 I can mount the radiator on the inside and the fans on the outside but it may not look very good. Or I can get the H80 and mount the fan and radiator on the rear 120mm opening, leaving the other 120mm fan on the inside intact and use that instead. I think either way will work.

The H100 has 27.5 mm thickness and I found that one of coolermaster fans in 25mm in thickness. Still may allow the headsink to be mounted on the inside.

What do you guys think?

[Activate: AMD]

Quick question: what is the hardware that you'll be using in the case and are there any other uses for the box other than basic HTPC (e.g. gaming)? The requirement for the water coolers would indicate that you're probably putting something of reasonably high performance in the case. I've always gone with the theory for my HTPC's that smaller/lower power is better, but I dont game on them or overclock them at all. In general, I've found quiet air coolers to be the best solution for noise in an HTPC, those water coolers arent generally known for their low-noise performance, and an H100i is probably overkill.

In general, mATX is the way to go at the very least. As you've found, you'll find a lot more variety available.

[amb7248]

Quick question: what is the hardware that you'll be using in the case and are there any other uses for the box other than basic HTPC (e.g. gaming)? The requirement for the water coolers would indicate that you're probably putting something of reasonably high performance in the case. I've always gone with the theory for my HTPC's that smaller/lower power is better, but I dont game on them or overclock them at all. In general, I've found quiet air coolers to be the best solution for noise in an HTPC, those water coolers arent generally known for their low-noise performance, and an H100i is probably overkill.

In general, mATX is the way to go at the very least. As you've found, you'll find a lot more variety available.

I thought about it for awhile. But then I thought, eventually I'm going to build a gaming machine down the road, may as well put it all in one machine.

I thought about going with:

Pioneer Electronics USA 15x SATA Internal BD/DVD/CD Burner with 4 MB Buffer BDR-208DBK
G.SKILL Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
OCZ Agility 4 AGT4-25SAT3-128G 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
ASUS M5A99X EVO R2.0 AM3+ AMD 990X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
AMD FX-6300 Vishera 3.5GHz (4.1GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 95W Six-Core Desktop Processor FD6300WMHKBOX
Seasonic 850W 80 Plus Gold ATX12V/EPS12V Power Supply - X-850 SS-850KM
Silverstone Tek GD08B Aluminum Extended ATX / SSI-EEB / SSI-CEB HTPC Computer Case Cases - Black

I have a 3 TB drive ready to go. The only thing left is a video card and a CPU cooler. Which I don't know if any of the liquid coolers will work with this case. I may be able to get a 120mm to 80mm converter and put the radiator on that but on that motherboard the heatsinks near the CPU are tall and hear the edge of the board is concerning. If I can't do the liquid cooling route then which route should I go.

It will mostly be a HTPC but also primarily designed for games. As you can tell by the hardware. My pc I have now will no longer be a gaming machine.

[Activate: AMD]

I can't seem to find any information about whether or not one of those closed loop coolers will fit in that case. My guess is not, simply because theres probably not enough clearance on that 120mm near the "top" of the motherboard, and as you say, the 80->120mm converter would add even more thickness and probably interfere with the motherboard as well. Either way, you should be able to find an air cooler that will perform well enough to cool it, you'll just have to check the clearance inside the case. Some of the tower cooler might be too tall. Noctua sells some lower profile options that should fit, I think I read somewhere that the max height is 130-ish mm, but don't quote me on that.