SilverStone SG06B Aluminum/SECC SFX 300 W with 80 PLUS certification Power Supply Mini-ITX Desktop Computer Case (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a review for both the products listed below, since for my HTPC use, they were inherently tied together.

SilverStone SG06B Aluminum/SECC SFX 300 W with 80 PLUS certification Power Supply Mini-ITX Desktop Computer Case
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002M78KYW/ref=oss_product

And
Intel Media Series Mini-ITX Motherboard Supporting Intel Rapid Storage Technology (RAID) BOXDH57JG

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036R9VM2/ref=oss_productAfter much searching for the perfect HTPC Mobo and Case, I finally have come up with a combination that fills all of my needs.I have no interest of gaming on the device, only as a media entertainment PC.
First, I want a HPTC that can play back uncompressed BluRay disks and have the ability to store their rather large files on the HTPC...not streamed over the network.Many other Mini ITX cases only provide a 2.5" HD slot, which don't get near the 2TB capacity that I need.Fortunately the case has a 3.5" bay, and a 2.5" bay.For me, the 2.5" was just a bonus.I went with a Mini ITX form factor because the cases that resembled home theater equipment were all too big to fit into the space I needed. I had a max of 15" deep, and most of those cases were 16" plus...not to mention the extra wires plugged into the back adding to the total depth.
Just a side note:I read that some of the review here had some complaints about the metal being thin and bad paint jobs...none of which I agree with.The metal is much more thick than a Shuttle PC and doesn't feel cheap at all.

Second, I needed the HTPC to run cool and quiet.The unit is going to be stored in a mostly enclosed audio tower, along with my other AV equipment.The audio tower does have a 120mm fan at the top and bottom, so there is air movement so my devices don't build up heat and cook.I have this paired up with the Core i5 660 (although a cheaper Core i5 or i3 would perform more than sufficiently).It runs extremely cool.The stock heatsink and fan are only audible if you have the case off and ear next to the fan.I was very impressed for it just being stock and the temps around 35 C.I used the 2TB Samsung Spinpoint F4 drive.After it had been on for an hour, it was only as warm as touching someone else's hand.Not to mention that the drive is very quiet as well.The Western Digital drives (Green, Blue and Black) I have tried are all too hot to hold for any extended period of time.I am now a huge fan of Samsung drives.

Third: I needed all of my outputs (8 channel audio and uncompressed video) from my HTPC to feed into a Onkyo 7.1 receiver and act as a pass through to my 47" Samsung LCD TV.I tried a few permutations of AMD/ATI CPUs and GPUs to accomplish this, but never was able to get more than 2 channels of audio...no matter what combination of hardware and software I used. If that is not a big deal to you, the more affordable AMD/ATI systems were both more than capable of playing back any video I threw at it.I have both AMD and Intel machines in my house, so I don't have any biases one way or the other.Intel was just able to perform the tasks I needed in this scenario.The thing that really surprised me is that when I had my HDMI hooked up from my HTPC to my Onkyo receiver, Windows 7 64bit actually detected the model of receiver it had and defaulted my audio to 8 channels automatically...without any messing around with drivers, settings, or reboots.The Negatives:
I'm not even sure if I would classify this as a negative for the whole setup, but the case doesn't house a 5,25" optical drive...only a small form factor drive that goes usually in an external drive or a laptop.For me, it isn't a problem at all because whether or not I have an optical drive that can open and close doesn't matter whatsoever.If you have to get up and put in a new disk anyway, there isn't a problem of just manually pushing the drive in while you are there.

Also, because it is a Mini ITX case and motherboard, there are space restrictions, but anybody working with this setup shouldn't be scared off.There is one PCI-E slot that can take a double height video card if someone does have an interest in gaming on the unit, but I don't need my HTPC for that function.Installing RAM, CPU, the heatsink and fan before hand is suggested.RAM can be done after the motherboard is installed in the case, but the heatsink is an absolute MUST before the motherboard is mounted.Length of wires were not a problem at all, in fact, there are little nooks and spaces you can gently place your cables around in to clean up the inside for max air flow.Bottom line:If you are looking for a mid price HTPC, you may want to consider a system similar to this.The motherboard, case, CPU, HD, and RAM can be all purchased for around $500 - $600..depending on what type of specs you want in your machine.I've tried barebones systems (such as Shuttle, but the LGA 1156 gave problems and had to be RMAed) and didn't have much luck.Let my experience serve as guidance...but make sure that the HTPC you build for yourself fulfills your own personal needs.

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SILVERSTONE SG06-B Black Aluminum / SECC Mini-ITX Desktop Computer Case SFX 300 W with 80 PLUS certification Power Supply

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