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Product:
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NMediaPC HTPC 200B Case |
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Price:
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$145 (CDN) / $125 (U.S)
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Supplied By:
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NMedia System Inc
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Author:
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Skaal-Tel
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Date:
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December 29th, 2005
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Rating:
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Click image for larger view
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Click image for larger view
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The rear of the case features the I/O back plate, cooling fans, PCI plates, and power supply. This particular
case did not come with a power supply leaving the end user to choose their own to suit their needs. I used a
simple 300w generic power supply with no problems. My only major installation gripe with this case was the
flimsy metal around the rear I/O plate and the fact that it was simply impossible to install my motherboard's
particular plate. Several attempts at this process severely warped the thin metal strips.
System assembly is relatively easy with The NMediaPC HTPC 200B. Simply remove the top panel with two thumbscrews,
and a large amount of internal space is readily apparent. All the front panel connectors are properly labeled
and reach as far as required. This case ONLY accepts mATX motherboards, which is slightly disappointing, but
plenty powerful systems can be built on small boards. The HTPC 200B has room for 3 hard drives, 1 optical disk drive,
1 AGP card and 3 PCI cards. Please note that there is no space for a FDD so if you need a disk to install Windows
on your SATA drive, be sure to do so before building the PC into the case.
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Click image for larger view
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Installing the optical drive is simple and provisions are made for different length CD drives. In order for the
stealth ejector to work the button on the drive needs to butt up against the button on the case front. My drive
would not open in this position and I had to remove the tray cover in order to clear the top of the slot. A minor
gripe and it doesn't affect the smooth operation of the excellent spring loaded door. Stealth options are always
nice alternative.
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Click image for larger view
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Click image for larger view
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For my build and test, I chose to assemble a motley crew of components which included a 80GB HDD, AMD Athlon 64 754,
ATI Radeon 9800, an LG DVD-ROM and the included Avermedia Hardware Encoder TV Tuner Card. Assembly was straightforward,
notwithstanding the IR receiver contradiction and the flimsy back plate. Recorded temperatures after several hours
were acceptable, around 37°C, and only one driver install problem came up. The wireless keyboard and mouse, which
you'll hear more about later, require an external IR receiver to transmit info to the PC. The front USB ports,
like many other cases, are not simply pass through cables, they have a circuit board built into them which, for
some reason, tends to interfere with many devices. I have seen many cases which simply would not recognize USB memory
sticks, webcams, hard drives, or any kind of advanced peripheral on only the front USB ports. Plugging the receiver
into the rear alleviated the problem, and I was able to enjoy the excellent wireless gear.
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