HTPC The Home Entertainment PC – Part 1

Why you should consider it: This is a five part series to guide you on the path towards HEPC enlightenment. You’ll learn the basics plus a lot more in order to make your own correct choices. You’ll learn look past the packaging and the hype to clearly see how to arm yourself with the skills to know what delivers, what doesn’t and what to expect.

The HEPC (Home Entertainment PC)

The computer is finding its way into the living room. This invasion brings
about horrifying visions of trailing cables as the PC crawls out of the primordial
soup of the home office. How can the fledgling PC compete against a world otherwise
dominated by components that are chameleons hiding behind names like home theatre
and game boxes?

The PC is itself becoming more of a chameleon whether it hides behind the disguise
of office productivity or of home entertainment center. Can the powerful PC,
supreme in its native office environment, survive in the jungle of your living
room? Does it have to be an eyesore shooting off cables like vines growing wild?

Home Theatre PC or HTPC is a popular term. Home Theatre implies that the PC
will be used to play back DVD movie content with a PC rather than a stand alone
consumer grade player. The HTPC isn’t a “set-top box” either. A set-top
box is a device which enables a viewer to become interactive with the television
set. Set-top boxes may appear to be similar to PCs but they aren’t.

Why a PC in the living room?

We wouldn’t be recommending dragging the tower out of the home office to stand
it beside the TV. We wouldn’t want to scar the decor either with a bland, beige
box noisily whirring away. The thought of cables trailing across the floor gives
us hives.

PCs are more affordable these days. There used to be a time when it was one
TV per household. Now two or three is common. The same can be said for the PC
and with the sheer amount of digital content some are accumulating it only makes
sense to incorporate that into the home entertainment center for music, games
and movies.

The HEPC (He-PC…no pun intended) combines Home Theatre quality DVD playback,
high quality audio, gaming, Internet and all the creature comforts of a traditional
PC into a unit that blends in with the living room or family room environment.
The HEPC offers the ability and advantage of storing large volumes of digital
video and audio. It has the benefit of connecting with other PCs in the household.
There also need not be cables strung everywhere ready to snag limbs as you pass
by like catch wires on the deck of an aircraft carrier.

Assembling the HEPC isn’t complicated or expensive and the technology is surprisingly
good. In some cases it may be even better than what is presently sitting in
the home entertainment cabinet.

Short-Media begins a five part series to guide you on the path towards HEPC enlightenment.
You’ll learn the basics plus a lot more in order to make your own correct choices.
You’ll learn look past the packaging and the hype to clearly see how to arm
yourself with the skills to know what delivers, what doesn’t and what to expect.

Part 1: Picking the case

The first step to the HEPC is the choice of case. The choices are surprisingly
limited when meeting the HEPC criteria. The case has to be Micro-ATX style to
accommodate a Micro-ATX motherboard. The case has to be horizontally orientated.
The HEPC must fit into a home entertainment stereo/tv cabinet or shelf unit.
The cabinet or shelf should be a minimum of 18″ wide and at least 21″
deep. Therefore the desktop style mini-ATX case should be ideally be no more
than 17 inches wide. Lastly the case must blend in or compliment the high-tech
looks of the surrounding HI-FI components.

The challenge is to convince your spouse that adding yet another item to the
living room will not “clutter” things up in the smallest amount and
that it will be a benefit. The task is to make the HEPC part of the existing
setup without taking up more space or sticking out like a “PC sore thumb”.
Cheaper Micro-ATX PC cases can be disappointing. They are beige They are bland.
They are boring.

If space is an issue it may be difficult to part with an unnecessary stereo
component. The average male does like to accumulate stereo gear. It is a widely
known truth that he who has the most stereo components wins. The HEPC may just
have to replace a tape deck or, in my case, a dead cd player hence the reason
for this article. This space is just waiting to be filled with the new HEPC
and the benefits are ten-fold.

Choice of PC case depends on budget. An investment can be made or an economical
route can be taken.

Classical Styling: Lian Li PC9300

Lian Li is
the Cadillac of PC Cases and produces extremely well-crafted units. The PC9300
Micro-ATX desktop case is no exception.

Specifications

• Dimension: 360x132x430mm.(WxHxD).
• Drive bays 2×5.25″ external, 2×3.5″ internal.
• Fan: 2 ball bearing fans included.
• M/B type:Micro ATX (MAX SIZE: 9.6″x9.6″).
• Front USB:2 ports (support USB 2.0).
• With F-7 Aluminum bezelx1.
• With 3.5″ mounting kit for floppy drive.

The PC9300 is 14.25″ wide and 17″ deep. The width is easily accommodated
by almost all cabinets but make sure there is sufficient depth to the cabinet.
A minimum of 20 inches is recommended.

Lian Li’s only makes one color style of this case and a black version would
be preferable to blend in with the other black stereo components.

The PC9300 is a Micro-ATX style of case which means that it can only accommodate
Micro-ATX motherboards which are approximately 9.5 inches square. Micro-ATX
motherboards are 2.5″ less in length than standard ATX motherboards. The
choice of Micro-ATX over ATX will be discussed in depth in the next installment
of the HEPC.

The PC9300 features two USB ports up front along with the ON/OFF/RESET buttons.

The rear of has 4 PCI slot covers, backplane area, two rear cooling fans and
the space for a Micro-ATX power supply.

Micro-ATX power supplies are different from standard ATX design. They are smaller.
A standard ATX power supply will not fit into a Micro-ATX case of this design.
ATX power supplies are approximately 1 inch wider than the Micro-ATX power supplies.

Micro-ATX power supplies are less beefy than ATX and 200 watts is the present
maximum. Rackmount power supplies can offer greater wattages but at significantly
greater cost. A 90-200 Watt Micro-ATX power supply can cost anywhere from $20-40
USD and are available from such on-line stores as Directron.
Be absolutely sure that the dimensions will properly fit the PC case.

Is 200 Watts enough?

Micro-ATX motherboards consume less power but today’s processors and peripherals
can require more power. Part 2 of the HEPC will look at power requirements and
what can and can’t run properly on the lower wattages.

Lian Li is famous for tool-less PC cases. Thumbscrews at the rear allow for
the top cowling to be slipped back and off the main chassis.

Only a slight bit of pressure need be applied to pull the side panels away
from the chassis to allow the cowling to be removed.

The interior becomes accessible with the cowling removed.

The PC9300 accommodates two 5.25″ and two 3.5″ bay devices. That
means two hard drives and two optical drives or one of the optical drives can
be replaced with a floppy bay adapter. The 5.25″ drives obviously fit in
the larger cavity while the top two 3.5″ internal slots can house a pair
of hard drives.

The hard drive racks are held in place by thumbscrews but a hard drive will
easily fit in without removing the thumbscrews. They are removable to allow
for the hard drive to be secured in place before final mounting.

On either side of the main 5.25″ bay are two screws forward of two posts.
Only one side of the rack is shown but there is another screw on the opposite
side of the rack between the sidewall of the case and the rack itself.

Turn these screws partially out and slide the bay towards the rear of the case
and it will lift out.

This allows for easy mounting of all devices. The Lian Li PC9300 holds another
surprise. The motherboard tray is removable but only for one reason.

The tray needs to be removable to insert the motherboard standoffs. Lian Li
is known for removable motherboard trays allowing for easy installation of the
motherboard, heatsink, AGP and PCI devices but this is not so with the PC9300.

Once the standoffs are in place the motherboard tray has to be put back into
the unit to secure the chassis screws before mounting the motherboard. Do not
install the motherboard onto the tray prior to reinstalling the tray back into
the main chassis.

Hot air is drawn from the case via two 60mm. cooling exhaust fans.

These 60x60x20mm. ADDA
fans spin at 3500 RPM generating a maximum of 13.3 CFM at 21.26 dB(A). Even
at full RPM these fans are not loud.

Lian Li adds their 3-position cooling fan switch to reduce these fans down
to a mere whisper.

The only drawback to the rear vents is that they aren’t completely obstruction
free. It would have been preferable for optimum unrestricted airflow to core
out a clean hole in the rear of the case and add wire fan grills.

By now the thought of “where’s the floppy bay” may have sprung to
mind. There are choices that can be made with the unit. One choice is to use
one of the HDD racks as a floppy bay. A second choice is to open up the box
that came with the PC9300.

It has parts needed to deliver two mounting options. The first is to use the
floppy cradle and install the floppy drive with cable already in place into
one of the 5.25″ bays with or without another drive.

Or the second will be to use the same floppy cradle along with the custom bezel
faceplates and allow for external access to the floppy.

The cosmetic parts will allow for any OEM floppy to blend with the look of
the Lian Li case with the exception of the eject button. If an external floppy
bay is required it will mean sacrificing one of the two external 5.25″
bays for use by the floppy. The HEPC will feature a single 80 GB drive, DVD
and an internally mounted floppy. The floppy is only minimally required during
driver installation or troubleshooting. This is optimum as this configuration
still leaves one HDD bay and one external 5.25″ bay open for future inclusion
of a second hard drive and/or DVD-R or CDRW.

Lian Li also includes the necessary screws and mounting hardware.

Lian Li also includes trimmed rubber feet to prevent or at least cut down on
surface marks where the PC9300 will eventually sit.

Lastly is Lian Li’s attention to finishing detail by including a glow bar that
lights up during operation.

The Lian Li PC9300: wrap up

Pros:

• 2 x 5.25″ external bays (1 with floppy in external configuration).
• 2 x internal HDD bays.
• 1 floppy in internal configuration.
• Quiet cooling.
• Front USB.
• Attractive aluminum finish.
• Strong construction and high quality fit and finish.
• Lian Li features and options.

Cons:

• Removable motherboard tray is only for mounting motherboard standoffs.
• Does not include a power supply.
• Can only accommodate Micro-ATX/SFX style power supplies. (PC9400
  does accommodate ATX power supplies).
• No front 1394 (FIREWIRE) port.
• Only one color (Silver-aluminum).
• Comparatively more expensive but quality is.
• Cannot accommodate fans larger than 60mm. x 60mm. for standard rear cooling.
  (If you want increased CFM then there will be the noise trade-off to higher
  RPM 60mm. fans.)

Finally the PC9300 in its new home.

Blending in: The Coolermaster ATC610 GX1

Coolermaster answers
the HEPC call with the ATC-610-GX1.
This black beauty better matches the traditional black stereo component styling’s.

Specifications

• Dimension (WxHxD): 423 x 140 x 445 mm
• M/B Type: Micro-ATX
• Weight: Case: 6.5 kg
• Expansion Slots: 4
• Material: All Aluminum Alloy
• 5.25″ Drive Bay: 2 ( Exposed )
• USB Port: Dual USB Ports and IEEE 1394 port
• 3.5″ Drive Bay: 1 ( Exposed ) ; 2 ( Shadow )
• I/O Bracket: Standard ATX
• P/S: Optional power supply unit 300 / 400 W
• Cooling: 60 x 60 x 25 mm fan attached back side panel(exhaust)

The Coolermaster
ATX-610-GX1 is obviously a black case and as such a bit difficult to properly
capture photographically. The ATC-610-GX1 is the aesthetically pleasing home
entertainment PC case.

The cowling is highly reflective and the bezel is brushed aluminum. The ATC-610-GX1
features two gear driven bay doors that open gently with a push of the finger.

The hidden bays offer the advantage of hiding beige components though the perfectionist
will most likely install black faced devices. The Coolermaster ATC-610-GX1 doesn’t
have a reset switch and hard drive LED which is surprising. The space exists
for it but it wasn’t installed. If the PC locks up it will have to be a power
off-on reboot.

The bottom bay door hides an external floppy bay and two USB and one FIREWIRE
port.

On either side of the case near the front are two vent grills.

The immediate idea that may come to mind is for affixing an 80mm. intake fan.
This will be a challenge due to the fact that internally there is no place to
mount the fan except on the cowling itself which removes. The thought of drilling
through the case doesn’t appeal nor does a tethered fan lead.

The rear features four PCI slots, a single 60mm. exhaust fan, the backplane
area and the PSU bay.

Coolermaster have thought to remove nearly all airflow restrictions but could
have added one more fan to further improve exhaust flow. The fan itself is.

The cowling is held in place by five thumbscrews.

The cowling is very easy to remove and very thin aluminum. It could be easily
bent so be careful. Inside the case is a center support bar for just that reason.
A monitor would easily warp the cowling if the ATC-610-GX1 were used as a desktop
PC case under a CRT monitor. The aluminum is that thin.

The entire chassis is very lightweight. Lian Li’s PC9300 is a comparative tank
for strength. The ATC-610-GX1 has space for two 5.25″ external devices,
one 3.5″ external and 2 more 3.5″ internal. The first bay holds one
5.25″ external and two 3.5″ internal devices and note that the bay
unit is not removable. Mounting screws can only be turned in from the outer
side of the bays.

The other bay features an external 5.25″ bay, an external 3.5″ floppy
bay and one internal 3.5″ bay. Any device that sits in the middle bay below
the 5.25″ slot will be very tight to the 5.25″ device. There will
be little space for cooling. It is something to keep in mind.

The bezel doors are held in place by a screw on the outer side of the main
bays.

Internally it does look like more screws holding in the bezels but they are
merely “grab” posts to allow removal of the bay door plates.

The ATC-610-GX1 has the advantage over the Lian Li 9300 with the power supply
area. It is standard ATX.

It is very important to note that Lian Li have the PC9400
which also has standard ATX support instead of SFX (micro-ATX) power supply
support.

Coolermaster also include the home theatre component style feet.

The brass-look band surrounds a foam ring. There will be no scratches on the
surface of the stereo cabinet.

Summing it up: Coolermaster ATC-610-GX1

Pros:

• 2 x 5.25″ external bays.
• 1 x 3.5″ external bays.
• 3 x internal 3.5″ bays.
• Quiet cooling.
• Front USB.
• Front FIREWIRE
• Attractive aluminum finish.
• Separate doors to hide 5.25″ and 3.5″ bays.
• “Looks” like a stereo component.
• Accommodates ATX power supplies.

Cons:

• Extremely thin construction.
• Does not include a power supply.
• Comparatively expensive.
• Only one rear exhaust fan.
• Cannot accommodate fans larger than 60mm. x 60mm. for standard rear cooling.
  (If you want increased CFM then there will be the noise trade-off to higher
  RPM 60mm. fans.)
• No reset button.
• No hard drive activity LED.

Finally the Coolermaster
ATX-610-GX1 in its new home.

Final thoughts

Comparing the Lian Li with the Coolermaster is thrust and parry of design features,
construction and options. The Lian
Li PC9300 and PC9400
are solid, well designed cases. They are of much stronger and heavier construction
than the Coolermaster ATX-610-GX1.
The ATX-610-GX1 “looks” like a home theatre component. A visitor would
be hard pressed to spot the PC in the stereo rack. Lian Li offers the same compact
design but with a unique styling point. I’d highly recommend getting the Lian
Li custom aluminum faceplates for any external 5.25″ devices.

Coolermaster’s lightweight construction means paper thin barriers to noise.
The case is not able to withstand very much for weight or “tossing about”.
The ATX-610-GX1 is not recommended as a desktop style PC case especially if
it has to support the weight of a CRT monitor.

Lian Li has more efficient rear and adjustable rear cooling fans but no side
intakes like Coolermaster. Lian Li doesn’t have the hidden drives behind soft
touch doors.

Coolermaster have gone for the HEPC or HTPC market and have done well with
the style. Lian Li have gone after the compromise between desktop and HTPC and
have done it with the classic Lian Li style, features and construction. One
isn’t any better than the other and it’s a matter of personal taste. Coolermaster
desktop cases range in price from approximately $100 USD to $200. Pricewatch
(May 3, 03) showed a lowest price for the ATC-610-GX1 of $182 USD and the Lian
Li PC9300 was $129 USD. For a desktop case it is pricey but for the Home Entertainment
PC it is worth it. Who would want “beige” next to the surround sound
amplifier?

As seen the two battle point for point. To combine the “best of”
would result in a absolute “must have” Home Entertainment PC case.
Lian Li is a favorite for features and high quality construction. Coolermaster
has cosmetically made the ultimate home entertainment PC case. Remember that
both are for Micro-ATX motherboards. Choose the PC9400 for Lian Li or any of
the ATX-610 series for Coolermaster as all support ATX style power supplies;
not the smaller SFX 200 watt maximum units. In this day an age of power hungry
components 200 watt SFX power supplies are barely enough but having the ability
to choose a higher wattage ATX power supply is wise.

Koolcases.com unfortunately
did not make publishing deadline with their black
desktop series which adds excellent value by including a 200 watt SFX power
supply and front USB all for a low $63 USD. We’ll be sure to give you our thoughts
when the couriers decide to show up with it.

When it comes to a pc case to house the HEPC it is a matter of personal preference
but both Coolermaster and Lian Li are top rated.

The next step

The path may be a little more clear at this moment but what of the “guts”
and how to keep your cool without waking up the neighbors? There are many misconceptions
when it comes to sound and video and a few need clearing up.

• Section two of Home Entertainment PC will look into the newest in Micro-ATX
  motherboards. Questions will be answered about video image quality and where
  it excels and where it fails. Micro-ATX has its place and is making a firm
  stand in the HEPC market.
• Section three of the Home Entertainment PC will completely dissect PC audio.
• Section four puts it all together to keep it cool, keep it quiet, keep it
  powered, add a few modifications and make sure it all hums along.
• Finally section five of the Home Entertainment PC cuts all the wires from
  keyboards, mice, NIC and joysticks.

The guide continues..