On Tue, Jul 22, 2003 at 01:53:27PM -0700, Jason S wrote:
> Could the expensive-case HTPC crowd help me understand
> why you'd pay $229 (or more) for a case that doesn't
> even have a power supply when there are very similar
> $60-100 cases available (with power supplies!)? LCDs
> aren't it, as you can buy and LCD and stick it in the
> drive slot. Is it the soundproofing? The looks? I have
> checked out these cases and I just don't see it... I
> figure I must be missing some key criteria.
Here are my criteria (with no other evidence to support my views than, um,
my views):
Power Supplies included in cases are, as a whole, notoriously low-quality.
If it doesn't burn out in a few months, or lose its cooling fan (then burn
out) it will drive you crazy from all the noise. I am going to buy a power
supply anyway, either from PC Power and Cooling (no PCP&C product has ever
failed me, ever) or, this time, Zalman (to go along with all the other nifty
silence stuff I got). I chose not to waste money on an included PS I would
never use.
My HTPC case is very likely a once-in-a-lifetime purchase. I may upgrade
that hardware someday with a new M/B, or bigger drives, or whatever. The
case will not change. Why lowball the one component that will outlast all
the rest? Go cheap on hard drives, and upgrade them in a year, when they
are twice the size at half the price, but your case will never change. I
looked for quality and aesthetics I knew I would be happy with for a very
long time.
That cheap plastic on the front of cheap cases does very little to block
sound. This case, and most other "expensive" HTPC cases, have thick
aluminum faceplates that are not only attractive, but sound-dampening. Your
hard drive (not to mention that noisy CD/DVD-ROM drive) will be very busy
while you capture and view video and movies. Do you want to put up with the
whirring and whizzing and clicking all through your favorite movies and
shows? I looked for a case with a closeable cover over the CD-ROM drive to
block its noise.
This system is going to be the showcase of my A/V stack (such as it is :-).
When friends and family come to visit, we will certainly talk about that
wonderfully geeky computer that really doesn't look like a computer sitting
there under my cable box, just above my receiver. Is it pretentious to
spend an extra $100 bucks or so just for aesthetics? Probably. Ask your
girlfriend if her clothes and makeup are a waste of money. ;-) On second
thought, don't, since you may very well go through more girlfriends than
HTPC cases anyway (see above). No need to accelerate the turnover...
In summary, I have learned over time to always buy up. I have never
regretted buying better than I "could settle for." The longer I am going to
own the article in question, the more important it is to be sure I am happy
with it for the long haul.
> On Tue, 22 Jul 2003 11:44:26 -0500, Russ Southern
>
> I am quite happy with this case:
>
> http://www.digitalconnection.com/Products/Cases/ht200.asp
>
> Full-size ATX compatible, aluminum, non-proprietary
> power supply
> mounting
> (watch out for CoolerMasters if this matters to you!),
> front USB and
> firewire, extra cooling fan included, and...
>
> it _includes_ a VFD display!
>
> $229.