SilverStone SST-LC01 HTPC Case Review

Supplied by SilverStone Technology

Tower PC cases come in a wide variety of designs and options but the choice
for a Home Theatre PC case at a fair price is relatively limited. SilverStone
Technology is a comparative newcomer in the HTPC case market with the Lascala
SST-LC01. The Lascala series squarely targets the HTPC builder with its
classical lines designed to blend with other home theater components. It may
look familiar but it does come with a bonus.

The HTPC community is growing and HTPC cases are becoming more popular. Limited
choice is a statement that deserves further clarification. There are many desktop
PC cases but the design is very traditional “beige box”. These cases
are for the office and would not aesthetically fit into a home theater PC environment.
The other end of the scale features specialty HTPC cases with excessive “specialty”
prices. Between the cheap and the expensive lay three manufacturers easily available
for the North American market; Lian Li, Coolermaster and SilverStone. There
are other choices such as Korean manufacturer Kaman
Electronics which are more accessible to the European marketplace.

The HTPC builder must make the decision between mATX and ATX. All three manufacturers
will support mATX motherboards but Lian Li’s PC9300 and PC9400 are limited to
micro-ATX or Flex-ATX power supplies which cap out at 200 watts. This could
present inadequate power issues. Coolermaster’s HTPC cases allow for the larger
ATX power supplies but the tray limits the choice to mATX motherboards only.

This leaves SilverStone which supports mATX or ATX motherboards and, of course,
ATX power supplies. The SilverStone Lascala SST-LC01 is also more expensive.
Coolermaster (ATC610/620) and Lian Li (PC9300) can be found for approximately
$100 USD while the SST-LC01 rings up at $160 USD.

Specifications

Stop the presses!

Any reader familiar with Coolermaster will look at the SilverStone Lascala
SST-LC01 case and think they are the same. This is a very important point
to address before going further because these two PC cases may look similar
but they are not.

Once inside it is pretty obvious that the SilverStone designers reverse engineered
the Coolermaster case. The SilverStone SST-LC01 is the image over green and
the Coolermaster ATC610 is over blue.

With that out of the way the question remains of which is better?

The SilverStone SST-LC01
fits with traditional stereo components measuring in at 425 mm. wide (16.7 inches)
and comes with rubber feet dressed with a circular plastic faux chrome skirt.

A push lock mechanism holds two front doors in place revealing
the four external bays and USB/1394/MIC/Audio ports.

Each door has a gear mechanism which slows the door release
instead of it just “flopping” open.

The SST-LC01 comes with front USB, 1394, MIC and headphone jack.

The wiring is thoughtfully single post motherboard connections. This design
means that the front connections can be plugged into any motherboard regardless
of post configuration. A single plug design for USB or 1394 may not mate properly
with all motherboards. The front headphone has connections wired for both front
and rear channels (left and right).

The one overlooked feature with the SilverStone SST-LC01 and others in this
category is a missing reset switch. This is still a computer and a reset switch
would be nice.

The rear of the case has 7 PCI slots, rear exhaust fan and power supply opening.
This is where Coolermaster may have made their mistake and thus miss out on
the ATX HTPC market. It won’t be as easy as redesigning the back end of the
Coolermaster 610 or 620 case either. Coolermaster have the power supply horizontally
mounted which consumes the space required to accommodate an ATX style motherboard.
Flipping it horizontally would give the needed space but the height isn’t there
with the Coolermaster case to accommodate a reoriented PSU. Kudos to SilverStone
for having the foresight to think of both ATX and mATX users in a package that
is only 5 mm. deeper, 2 mm wider and 19 mm. taller.

The cowling is held in place by four screws that could be easily
replaced with thumbscrews.

There are two 5.25″ and 3.5″ drive bays external and four 3.5″
drive bays internal. Mounting drives in the left bay (in the preceding image)
requires removal of the right bay which is held in place by three screws.

The entire bay slides back off two posts allowing for complete
removal of it from the case.

It would have been an easy and thoughtful design modification to allow for
both bays to be removed in this fashion.

Each bay accommodates an External 5.25″ and 3.5″ device and two 3.5″
devices internally. Note the external 3.5″ device will be sandwiched between
the internal 3.5″ devices. This configuration would allow for two optical
drives, a floppy, 3.5″ zip or fan controller and up to four hard drives.
Remember that the HTPC style case has less room and stuffing that much gear
with cables would present tremendous space issues. SATA drives would help considerably
with cable management space issues. SATA motherboards would be a first choice
for this setup. The bay covers are screwed in.

Installation

There are two ways to put together this style of case; throw everything in
or plan it out. The latter is suggested. Read our Tech
Tips: Cable and Wire Organization guide for ideas on how to hide, secure
and attach cables.

Cable management inside a tight space is always going to be a challenge. SATA
equipped motherboards will cut down at least one of the space consuming ATA
cables. The rest is going to require thought and some artful use of cable ties.

Hard drives and optical drives back right onto the motherboard area and standard
EIDE cables can present a challenge. SATA drives, again, will help cut down
space issues.

Installation was straightforward. SilverStone supply a parts bag with screw
in motherboard standoffs and the PCI slots are held in by screws. One of the
external 5.25″ bays on the review unit did present a problem. The drive
took a bit of forceful wiggling to mate the drive bezel flush with the case.
This could have been the particular drive used. The other bay accommodated the
same drive bezel with no problem.

Extra Cooling Ghetto Style

Originally from part
four of a five part HTPC series.

A word about dampening

Fans vibrate and that vibration transfers. A fan that is solidly
bolted to a sheet of metal will transfer the fan vibration to the metal. The
metal may end up amplifying the sound. The fan vibration can be reduced by introducing
a cushioning material like the sponge weatherstrip. This acts the same way as
a shock absorber in a car. It “cushions” the ride and dampens the
sound.

There is no point assembling an HTPC only to have it intrude on
the enjoyment like a cat yowling on the fence. To that end it was decided that
extra cooling was needed and that was to be provided by an old 31 CFM 28 dB(A)
80mm. fan. The question was where to put it and not have to drill holes in the
case. The SST-LC01 has two vents either side just back midway from the front
bezel area.

The drive bays inside the case have a little more than 40mm. of
space between the drive bay and the inside wall of the case. A perfect fit for
a 25mm. fan. The object is to provide cool air intake assistance at the front
of the case that will be drawn out by the existing rear exhaust fan.

In the image above you can see the area where the fan has room
to be placed…but how. For this you have to look at the inside of the cowling
where the fan would be mounted.

The left side of the image is the edge of the cowling that slots
in directly behind the front bezel. Look to the right of the image would be
looking to the rear of the case.

Run out to the neighborhood hardware store and get two items that
should set you back less than $10. The first is Lepages Instabond #8. This is
super glue and it sticks most anything. The important fact is that it mustn’t
be caustic to rubber. In other words it shouldn’t dissolve petroleum based products.
(plastic, rubber, styrofoam).

Next is sponge rubber weather stripping.

This is a foam like strip that has a self-adhesive side. It is
5mm. thick by 10mm. wide. Larger widths are not needed. This weather stripping
is usually put around doors or windows and comes in a generous 17 foot coil.

You’ll need an 80mm. fan. Again don’t choose a howler. You want
to assist the airflow into the case not create a hurricane.

Cut two strips of the weather stripping 75mm. long.

Cut those strips lengthways to produce four 5mm. wide 75mm.
long strips.

Now run a bead along one edge of the fan frame. Make sure it is
the proper side. This is an intake fan so you want to run a bead of glue on
the “sucking” side. (Hint: look for the airflow direction arrow on
the side of the fan frame.)

Glue one side strip at a time and be careful as this glue will
stick to you and you then will stick semi-permanently to anything else. Glue
the NON-adhesive side of the weather stripping to the edge of the fan frame.
You’ll then end up with four strips adhesive side exposed.

After 10 minutes the glue has thoroughly set and the paper protecting
the self-adhesive face can be removed. The fan can then be “stuck”
to the inside of the case.

No screws are needed and it will remain stuck for a good long
time. (I’ve had one stuck to the side of bookcase for 3 weeks now….don’t ask.)
The weather stripping between the fan frame and the metal acts like a shock
absorber to the fan vibration.

Conclusion

Is the SilverStone
SST-LC01 a knock off or an improvement? It’s nearest competitor is the Coolermaster
ATC610/620 series. Let’s add up the score. Aesthetically the SST-LC01 and Coolermaster
ATC610/620 are very similar and both have front audio, mic, USB and 1394 connections.
The Coolermaster ATC610/620 have one less 3.5″ external bay. The SST-LC01
and Coolermaster ATC610/620 use standard ATX power supplies. This is preferable
as other mATX cases only use mATX power supplies which have a 200 watt maximum
and thus could present power problems. The SST-LC01 has the advantage of accommodating
both ATX and mATX motherboards. This places the SilverStone SST-LC01 clearly
out front.

Except when it comes to price.

The SilverStone SST-LC01 is, on average, $60 USD more than its nearest competition.
Is $60 USD worth the option of using ATX style motherboards? Most leading motherboard
manufacturers offer mATX motherboard solutions that have more than enough options
and performance power to serve the HTPC user well. These solutions may not be
as full featured as their ATX flagship cousins but many come in NFORCE2 models
and some have 6-channel sound, 1394, multiple USB ports and SATA headers. The
choice may hinge upon the builder already possessing a motherboard. The money
saved on not having to buy a mATX motherboard could be put into the case and
vice versa the additional budget requried for the SST-LC01 could be put into
a mATX motherboard.

Six of one…half dozen of the other.

Overall the SST-LC01 ranks well with us for an HTPC PC case. It would be a
no-brainer choice if it were priced only $20 more than its nearest competitor
but it isn’t and that will stop a lot of buyers cold. If you already own an
ATX motherboard that you want to make into an HTPC unit then the choice is easier
to swallow. The money you would have spent on the mATX motherboard could be
put into the case and it all works out in the end. If starting from scratch
then the choice may come down to looks or a loyalty to ATX. In that case you’d
better budget for at least another $60.

Our thanks to SilverStone
Technology for their support of this and many other sites.