SPCR

Hello!

I have read articles in silentpc for a long while, and I have assembled silent tower builds before..
..but now I have a different challenge.
Build a quiet HTPC for my living room, to replace my aging blu-ray player.

I am particulary stuck with the case.
I am planning to get
- a Pico/Nano PSU
- a good (i.e.: read anything) blu-ray reader
- AMD motherboard (like Gigabyte GA-F2A85XN-WIFI) + CPU
(with Noctua NH-L9A)
- One 2.5" SDD
Also I would like to add
- Two 2.5" hdd (already mine)

So, I would like to have
- blue-ray drive (3.5") slot
- 2 or 3 2.5" HDD slots
- (itx form factor - but I am open to micro atx)
- no power supply included in the package - will use PICO
- no fans - I want to choose my own
- 120mm fan space - 80mm are noisy!
- not too "open" (I have seen cases that are full of holes.. how can they be quiet?)

The only reviewed case seems to be the Silverstone ML05 http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1369-page1.html

I am looking for something.. better
I am quite free regarding format, but the slimmer it is, the better (so I am probably bound to horizontal cases, which is OK)

Also, do you spot any weak part/do you have advices?

Thanks!

Welcome to spcr!

120mm fan

the slimmer it is, the better

Personally I cant recall ever seeing any cases that are slim, with room for a 120 case fan....

If you want a Bluray drive then a slimline laptop style drive would be better and gives you some options. Take a look at Steacom and their passive cases.

Yes, compact and large fan do not usually come together..
For a passive case, I think I would be better off with a i3, right? I would not want to go so "extreme".
I am open to suggestions on cases that acommodate only a slim blu-ray drive however

I think xan_user nail it with his comment. Slimmer the case the less likely it will have room for 120mm fan, you need to decide on either.

SPCR has reviewed mulitple HTPC cases with 120mm fan mountings,
Fractal Design Node 605 HTPC Style Case
Silverstone Grandia GD05: A Versatile HTPC Case
SilverStone Grandia GD07 & GD08 Media Center Cases

And also has reviewed slimmer HTPC cases, but they dont have support for 120mm fans.
Silverstone ML05 mini-ITX HTPC case

As an alternative, if you were to be fine with i3, then you could go something like HDPLEX H3.SODD Fanless Mini-ITX HTPC Case - Supports 3x 2.5 hdd internally, supports a slim optical. Also check the Streacom FC8 Evo Fanless Mini-ITX Chassis, support for slim optical and two 2.5 hdds.

Thank you for the replies.
The HDPLEX is more expensive than I would like but... it is a very nice piece of hardware!
I will throw some more budget in and go for it, with a slim BR player, an i3 (a 4330T, if I can get one), 4GB, a nice complete ITX matherboard and a PicoPSU.

I already have the SSD and the HDDs.

One last question: the article mentions a Asus P8H67-I Deluxe mini-ITX motherboard.
Is there a more up-to-date board for the i3 that you can recommend?

Also, the 80W Fanless Power Supply in the article looks good... is it a better alternative to the PicoPSU?
More in general, is there a Fanless Power Supply with C6/7 support for Haswell?

dema80 wrote:One last question: the article mentions a Asus P8H67-I Deluxe mini-ITX motherboard.
Is there a more up-to-date board for the i3 that you can recommend?

Intel iX-4XXX CPus are Socket 1150 only intel 8-sereis chipsets need apply.
MSI H81, H85 and Z87 ITX boards have the CPU socket in the same loacation as the board in SPCR's review.
This solution for remote control might interest you if you build a HTPC.