I want to build an HTPC that can do some gaming, and I estimate the GTX 650 Ti holds the sweet spot between budget and game performance. But I don't know what kind of case to get. The case will go on a shelf that has about ten inches of vertical space, and plenty of width and depth. A tower turned on its side would fit nicely, but I worry that this would be bad for the moving parts inside, which would consist of a conventional hard drive, a Blu-Ray drive, and some number of fans. So I'm looking more at HTPC cases, and instead worrying that this GPU might not fit, or that it might generate too much heat.

To recap, I need a case that a card as big as a GTX 650 Ti can fit in, and must fit in and ventilate in a ten-inch high shelf. Beyond that, I'd like it to be quiet, cool, have enough power for the aforementioned components (the CPU will be an i3 Ivy Bridge and there will be a solid state drive in there too), and if possible keep the cost of the case and PSU around $100 or less. I'm not crazy about modding the case either.

Given this, what do you recommend? Silverstones look nice, although pricey, and most of them say they are meant for "low profile" GPUs.

You might be able to squeeze even something like the MSI GTX 650 Ti PE/OC into a Silverstone GD07 or GD08. The case is a little under 7" tall. Plus, there is room for a decent CPU cooler (138mm height limit).

The GD08B does look really nice, but it's pretty expensive too. It's not completely out of my budget, but the lowest I can find it is $145 at Amazon, which would make it a pretty significant chunk of my budget, and doesn't even include a PSU, which I figure adds another $65 if I'm after quality (more on that in a minute). Granted, bundled PSUs are usually junk, but knowing that you can get an ATX-sized case with a PSU for $70 makes a $210 price tag seem excessive.

If I were to splurge, I'd get a GD08B, and I'm thinking I would pair it with a SeaSonic S12II 380B. It's SPCR recommended, gets good ratings, and AFAIK it fits the case, has all the connectors I would need, and has power to spare. Does this make sense? If so, that's the extra $65 I'm looking at.

Also if so, is there any middle ground between a $70 el cheapo HTPC case and the $210 splurge plan that won't make me wish I splurged?

There are two components that outlive any build - the PSU and the case. They'll be around for years and years as you cycle through new CPUs/mobos/GPUs. So, I'd lean toward something you want to live with/stare at for 5+ years.

That said, other no other potential cases come to mind. Hopefully, others will chime in with suggestions.

PSU: The S12II was a great PSU in it's day. Today, I'd go with the G series SSR-360GP. It's $60. The only downside is it's not modular. Move up to the G-450 and you get modular cables for all of the SATa/PEG/etc.

For that budget you're more likely looking at a desktop case rather than a specific HTPC case which tend to be a lot more. Maybe there's some marketing involved in this?

The Antec NSK2480 comes to mind. It is also used as the basis for the 'Fusion' HTPC case but is more basic and is really just a Desktop case with a sleek front. The included PSU is quiet but not silent and cooling will probably require some 3rd party 120mm fans to make it quiet but the price is good.

Pushing the budget perhaps but for silence it'll be unbeatable, what about a Streacom FC5 or FC10? Then you can do things totally fanless with those components.