IntroductionI have been a home theater enthusiast for many years (even before DVD became available) and have always been interested in the home theater PC (HTPC). HTPC is really the only way to get cutting-edge home theater technology before it becomes available to the public. Many years ago, HTPC was the only way to achieve progressive scan, scaled and line-doubled digital video, but is now available to the average consumer with HDTV sets. Before HDTV tuners became affordable, HTPCs were the only way to go. Even still today, the only easy way to record and edit high definition TV is from a HTPC, as no consumer appliance exists, or is cost restrictive.
The crowning touch of a killer home theater system is a professional presentation. What good is it to have the best image quality and newest features if an ugly beige box invades your sacred rack? A good HTPC must have appliance-like features (and look like an appliance). It must be controlled through a remote, but have the flexibility to plug in a keyboard and mouse when configuration is necessary. I have been searching for a HTPC case for many many years, and only recently have good products become available. Silverstone Technology has been producing quality home theater PC cases for a few years, and their products range from slim low-profile cases to hefty amplifier-like enclosures. Today we are reviewing Silverstone’s LC10 home theater PC case.
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Features
The case comes packed in a thick corrogated cardboard box and is padded with custom-molded foam that protects it during shipping. The case is also wrapped in thick plastic. Enclosed within the case itself is a small white box that contains the installation manual, drive bay cover and various screws.
| material | aluminum front panel, 1.0mm SECC body |
| color | black, silver |
| motherboard | ATX, Micro ATX |
| drive bays | 5.25" x 2
3.5" x 4 |
| cooling system | 80mm intake, 2000rpm, 21dBA
2 x 60mm exhaust, 3600rpm, 25dBA |
| expansion slots | 7 |
| front i/o | USB 2.0 x 4
firewire x 1
headphone x 1
microphone x 1 |
| power supply | optional standard ATX |
| weight | 18 pounds |
| dimensions | 430 x 429 x 163 mm |
The case is built like a tank and weighs in at 18 pounds! Although the front panel is aluminum, the rest of the case is steel, is painted silver and matches pretty well. The steel is 1.0mm thick, much thicker than standard CE used in many PC cases. This will certainly make sure no radio frequencies generated by the PC will interfere with the rest of your audio equipment. Silverstone even includes a ferrite ring for the front connector cables to keep the wires from acting like RF antennas.
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The front bezel is absolutely beautiful with a clean brushed aluminum finish. The design is simplistically elegant with oblong power and reset buttons, blue LEDs, four USB ports and a single 5.25” external drive bay. The front panel consists of two thick pieces of aluminum, one of which can be unscrewed and slid out of the way for easy drive installation. There is a decorative strip carved horizontally down the bezel for a simple professional look. The front USB ports have a similar recessed oval carved around them. These front USB ports adds to the appliance-like factor of the unit, as a USB keyboard and mouse can be hot-plugged here when configuration is necessary. Firewire and front audio ports are cleverly hidden away on the left side of the front bezel. Rounded rectangular air intake holes also appear here (as well as on the bottom) to assist the 80mm intake fan on the inside.
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The bottom of the case is fitted with four rubber feet, each surrounded by an aluminum ring. Three of the feet are firmly attached with screws (which extend into the case’s interior, but the fourth is attached with a plastic pin to avoid interfering with power supply installation and spins freely. Both sides of the case have an array of hexagon holes stamped out of the sides, and they are strategically placed to assist with airflow. The left side’s venting is near the back with add-in cards, and the right side’s venting is stamped near the front, avoiding the power supply and helping to cool the drive bays. The lid of the case is a shallow “U” shape that covers the top, left and right sides of the case.
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Opening this lid reveals a standard desktop layout. Two 5.25” bays are flushed against the left side of the case, a removable 3.5” drive cage adorns the center, and an 80mm intake fan is attached to the right. Below the 5.25” bays is an additional 3.5” bay that can be unscrewed and slid out. The main bed can accept any size ATX motherboard, and there is enough room for a standard ATX power supply. Above the IO panel are two 60mm fans, made by Silverstone. They both have standard 3-pin fan headers. The 80mm front intake fan is a generic brand, and requires a 4-pin molex connector from the power supply.
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