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Product:
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SilverStone Crown SST-CW01 HTPC Case |
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Price:
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$299 (CDN) / $265 (U.S)
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Supplied By:
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SilverStone Technology
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Author:
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Hi-TEK
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Date:
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November 30th, 2006
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Rating:
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Underneath the internal drive bay is the location for a dual 80mm fan mount. The fan mount is designed to provide additional cooling to
any installed hard drive components. By default the fan mount does not ship with any 80mm fans installed which means consumers will be
required to supply their own. SilverStone continues the pattern of removable drive bays by also allowing the fan mount to be removed by
unscrewing six 6-32 mounting screws from inside the case.
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The dual USB, Firewire IEEE1394, Audio and Headphone ports are affixed to the front panel using port extender cables. The USB and Audio
ports include pin headers for mounting the ports internally. The Crown SST-CW01 also includes standard motherboard header pins for the
Power Switch, Reset Switch, HD and Power activity LEDs. Consumers should consult their motherboard manual for the proper orientation of
the cables or use the bundled user manual for a pin-out reference sheet.
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Installing components into the SilverStone Crown SST-CW01 HTPC Case is a straightforward process but there are some areas that most
consumers should be aware of if you plan on purchasing this enclosure. I strongly recommend using the SilverStone manual as a reference
since it systematically provides you the order of steps to proceed in order to complete the installation. Removal of the internal 5.25"
drive bay requires a very long Phillips screwdriver since the right portion of the unit is difficult to access. Since the front external 5.25"
drive bays use built-in spring loaded panels, consumers also need to line up their optical drives correctly in order to use this feature.
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To test out this case, I assembled a series of components that would be used to make a low-budget HTPC system:
- ASRock P4i45GV Motherboard
- Intel Pentium 4 2.4A Processor
- Asus V9520-X/TD nVidia GeForce FX 5200 Video Card
- 1GB OCZ EL DDR PC-3200 Dual Channel Gold DDR400 SDRAM
- 1 x Maxtor DiamondMax 9 80GB Hard Drive
- 1 x Maxtor DiamondMax 10 200GB Hard Drive
- 1 x LG GSA-4163 DVD +/-R/RW Drive
- 1 x LG 52X CD-RW/16X DVD-ROM Combo Drive
- 1 x Hauppauge WinTV PVR-150 Tuner Card
- 1 x Sound Blaster Live 5.1 Digital Sound Card
- 1 x Thermaltake TR2 420W PSU
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Click image for larger view
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Once the system was powered, the first thing that you will notice is the illumination coming from both the blue Power and HD activity
LED's. The overall performance of the dual 80mm SilverStone exhaust fans and 80mm Everflow fans was good and produced acceptable noise
levels making this case perfect for the living room. With the large assortment of hardware configured in this particular case, the
SilverStone Crown SST-CW01 HTPC Case managed to keep system temperatures at 39°C Idle and 43°C Load with an ambient room temperature
of 29°C. What should be noted is that overall system temperatures are dependant on the type of hardware and peripheral components
used.
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Conclusion:
The SilverStone Crown SST-CW01 HTPC Case represents a high quality, sleek aluminum desktop style solution ideal for any high-end home
theater computer system. The overall attention to detail and craftsmanship is excellent and incorporates unique design features
rivaling existing competitor models. The beautiful aluminum bezel manages a good job of revealing the bare minimum while still leaving
an easy level of functionality via the built-in spring loaded panels, 52-and-1 Card Reader and USB, Firewire IEEE1394 and Audio ports. The
Crown SST-CW01 can be neatly integrated into a variety of environments, which include audio and video configurations, offices and
existing HTPC setups. The ability to accommodate both ATX and mATX motherboards paired with a standard ATX power supply is a strong
point that will allow for several high performance components to be used and doesn’t limit the user to small form factor parts. Finally,
consumers looking to strike a balance between cooling configuration and storage capacity will be pleased with the job that SilverStone
has done on the internal chassis design. While the installation of system components into the Crown SST-CW01 is pretty straightforward
there are some areas such as the external and internal 5.25" drive bays that can be difficult to deal with. After evaluating a number of SilverStone
HTPC enclosures I personally have found more value for units that include integrated VFD's and 7" touch screens when using application
software such as Microsoft Media Center Edition 2005. I can understand that not everyone can afford the $600 price tag of the Lascala
LC-18 which makes this case suitable for any consumer on a tight budget. Overall, I was impressed with the SilverStone Crown SST-CW01 HTPC Case and award a final rating of
8 out of 10. If you have any questions regarding this review be sure to
visit the SilverStone Technology website for more information or discuss
them in our forums.
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Pros:
- Excellent construction and aesthetically pleasing design
- Removable drive bays
- Front dual USB, Audio and Firewire 1394 ports
- Very quiet cooling fans
- Plenty of expansion room
- Includes 52-n-1 Card Reader
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Cons:
- Stealth 5.25" drive bays do not support slot loading optical drives
- Installation can be very tricky with certain areas of the case
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