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FINAL THOUGHTS
The HDPLEX H5.TODD is a solid fanless chassis offering that delivers exactly
what it promises without any apparent faults. The case is well built with a
thick faceplate, top cover, and sides, and the brushed aluminum front bezel
option is striking. Its look and form factor would fit well in a high end AV
cabinet or rack though it would be best to place it at the top of the stack
for ventilation. The cooling system handled a 55W dual core Ivy Bridge chip
with ease so it should also comfortably cool the more common 65W processors
on the market. Although we did not undertake assembly of the cooling system,
a close examination suggests quality machined parts with good fit and finish.
The extra step of removing the powder finish paint from the grooves in the heatsink
contact surface suggests care and attention to detail beyond cosmetics.
As depth is often an issue for home theater users, the size reduction compared
to the H10 is a significant improvement. Its footprint is still big, but it
affords users a degree of versatility for components pertinent to home theater
operation. The extra storage of a third HDD or SSD can come in handy if you
don't have a separate centralized file/media server, and a full-sized expansion
card option opens up the possibility of a TV tuner, a high-end sound card, or
even a discrete passively cooled graphics card for some gaming.
The H5.TODD is currently available on HDPLEX's website for US$275 without
a power supply, pretty reasonable for a passively-cooled case of its size and
qualiy. Its closest competitor is the similarly priced Streacom
F5 OD which shares a strong resemblance both inside and out. However,
the H5.TODD has a hefty weight advantage of 2.3 kg (about +44%) which suggests
it may be better constructed. At the very least, it has a more impressive facia,
and for many users, this is a real factor.
Our thanks to HDPLEX for the H5.TODD case sample.
HDPLEX H5.TODD is Recommended by SPCR
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