Conclusion

GMC's Noblesse AVC-S7 Home Theater Case is an impressive little barebone kit.  It comes with all the accessories you need to create a fully functional slimline home theater PC which integreates seamlessly with your other audio and video equipment.  Of all the cases I've seen, this is the one that looks more like genuine entertainment equipment than any other.

The integrated iMON VFD, IR input, media controls and software combine to make this unit function seamlessly like an appliance, as well.  The software intelligently displays the status of your home theater (media titles, time remaining, etc.) and the VFD shines through the smoked acrylic panel that hides all the "ugly bits" of the case's controls.

Functionally and aesthetically the AVC-S7 is a great case.  It comes with alot of equipment, which accounts for its price, but I wish the case at least had an aluminum front to prevent unsightly scratches.  The steel framework is machined and rolled nicely, but aluminum would have made it more resilient.

You get alot of equipment for the money, so you can easily create a functional entertainment appliance with spare hardware just lying around.  Even if you buy new equipment, all you have to purchase is a miniATX motherboard, processor, memory and hard drive.  I look forward to seeing more case innovations from this South Korean company.

	REPORT CARD : GMC AVS-S7 Noblesses Home Theater PC Case category rating comments Quality 4 Well machined steel, but plastic front scratches easily. Innovation 5 Nearly everything you need in a HTPC case with one of the slimmest profiles Performance 5 Sits there quietly once the CPU fan is toned down. iMON VFD and software makes the appliance work great. Installation 5 Nearly everything is pre-installed, so perfectionsists can concentrate on routing cables. Value 4 A great barebone HTPC kit, but for this price I expect better materials and components   FINAL VERDICT: 5 out of 5 stars

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