Benchmark Comparisons
To get as meaningful a comparison as possible between the different cases, we installed the same set of hardware into each one. Our new standard ATX test bed is as follows.
With the new test bed comes some new measurements, so we have compiled the results of all the heat and noise testing into two charts now. The only case in this particular roundup that came with an adjustable-speed fan was the Antec Overture II, and that was tested with the fan set to medium. The GPU Amb. column refers to a sensor located on our 6600GT video card that's not directly on the GPU core; the MOSFETs column refers to the motherboard sensor located near the voltage regulators, and the System column refers to the temperature of the air coming out of the unit's main rear exhaust vents. If there were more than one fan, the highest temperature was used.
So, what's exactly the best way to interpret these results? First off, we just want to state that all of these cases are remarkably quiet. But even so, one case stands out: the Mstation not only delivers some of the lowest noise levels, but consequently also the highest temperatures. Subjectively speaking, the HT-1100 was even quieter from the front side than even what these numbers can illustrate, as the meter only went up half a decibel from our ambient noise floor when we turned the PSU to "quiet mode". The case was simply barely audible, and a perfect reminder of what all case manufacturers should strive for, especially in an environment like the HTPC application.
Unfortunately, while quietness is certainly wonderful, we simply can't recommend running components at temperatures this high, day in and day out. A GPU getting to 93 degrees centigrade is approaching water's boiling point, and while our rthdribl demo continued to run without artifacts at this temperature, the GPU's life could be substantially reduced if running in this warm of an environment for too long.
The next quietest case was the Overture, thanks for the most part to the huge 120mm fan keeping the PSU extra cool. The great news is that the components were still very cool in this case as well - it tied with the PC-800 for the coolest CPU under load; the PC-800 has a fan situated directly above the CPU heatsink.
Subjectively, the Lian-Li was just barely louder than the Tenor, which itself was just barely louder than the Overture. Unfortunately, the PC-800's noise was due to the higher pitch of its two main exhaust fans. However, with the dedicated top-mounted fan, it did pull off very nice CPU temperatures that were quite a bit lower than the Tenor's. The temperatures were, overall, very cool in the Lian Li, but not on the hard drive, which was up against the edge and received little to no air flow. If hard drive life is exceptionally important, the Tenor and Overture deserve recognition as they kept the drive's temperature particularly low.
To get as meaningful a comparison as possible between the different cases, we installed the same set of hardware into each one. Our new standard ATX test bed is as follows.
| ATX Test Bed | |
| DFI LanParty UT 915P-T12 Pentium 4 530 Prescott 3.0ghz OCZ 512MB DDR2 x 2 Thermaltake Golden Orb II Seagate 120gb SATA - or - Maxtor 80gb IDE Hard Drive Chaintech Geforce 6600GT MSI DVD-CD/R/RW Combo drive - or - Other 5¼" Optical Drive |
 |
With the new test bed comes some new measurements, so we have compiled the results of all the heat and noise testing into two charts now. The only case in this particular roundup that came with an adjustable-speed fan was the Antec Overture II, and that was tested with the fan set to medium. The GPU Amb. column refers to a sensor located on our 6600GT video card that's not directly on the GPU core; the MOSFETs column refers to the motherboard sensor located near the voltage regulators, and the System column refers to the temperature of the air coming out of the unit's main rear exhaust vents. If there were more than one fan, the highest temperature was used.
| Heat Comparison Chart | ||||||||
| Case | Component Temperatures (in degrees Celsius) |
Exhaust Air Temperature (in degrees Celsius) |
||||||
| ( Idle / Full Load ) | ||||||||
| CPU | GPU | GPU Amb. | Chipset | MOSFETs | HDD | System | PSU | |
| Mstation | 34 / 60 | 53 / 93 | 48 / 69 | 38 / 44 | 42 / 58 | 28 / 32 | 27.8 / 29.6 | 24.7 / 36.5 |
| Overture II | 30 / 49 | 45 / 82 | 41 / 59 | 34 / 39 | 32 / 46 | 26 / 31 | 27.8 / 31.7 | 27.1 / 27.5 |
| PC-800B | 29 / 50 | 45 / 83 | 40 / 60 | 33 / 40 | 32 / 45 | 29 / 50 | 25.3 / 29.4 | 31.2 / 37.1 |
| Tenor | 35 / 56 | 47 / 83 | 42 / 60 | 37 / 44 | 36 / 52 | 26 / 30 | 29.5 / 34.7 | 30.5 / 40.9 |
| Noise Measurements | |
| Case | 6" from Front, Subjective rating, 12" from above |
| Mstation | 41db , 2/10, 44db |
| Overture II | 42db , 3/10, 47db |
| PC-800B | 46db, 4/10, 55db |
| Tenor | 46db, 4/10, 53db |
So, what's exactly the best way to interpret these results? First off, we just want to state that all of these cases are remarkably quiet. But even so, one case stands out: the Mstation not only delivers some of the lowest noise levels, but consequently also the highest temperatures. Subjectively speaking, the HT-1100 was even quieter from the front side than even what these numbers can illustrate, as the meter only went up half a decibel from our ambient noise floor when we turned the PSU to "quiet mode". The case was simply barely audible, and a perfect reminder of what all case manufacturers should strive for, especially in an environment like the HTPC application.
Unfortunately, while quietness is certainly wonderful, we simply can't recommend running components at temperatures this high, day in and day out. A GPU getting to 93 degrees centigrade is approaching water's boiling point, and while our rthdribl demo continued to run without artifacts at this temperature, the GPU's life could be substantially reduced if running in this warm of an environment for too long.
The next quietest case was the Overture, thanks for the most part to the huge 120mm fan keeping the PSU extra cool. The great news is that the components were still very cool in this case as well - it tied with the PC-800 for the coolest CPU under load; the PC-800 has a fan situated directly above the CPU heatsink.
Subjectively, the Lian-Li was just barely louder than the Tenor, which itself was just barely louder than the Overture. Unfortunately, the PC-800's noise was due to the higher pitch of its two main exhaust fans. However, with the dedicated top-mounted fan, it did pull off very nice CPU temperatures that were quite a bit lower than the Tenor's. The temperatures were, overall, very cool in the Lian Li, but not on the hard drive, which was up against the edge and received little to no air flow. If hard drive life is exceptionally important, the Tenor and Overture deserve recognition as they kept the drive's temperature particularly low.
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warped6 - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
I purchased one of these back in the late spring. I too tried putting the DVD in the bottom position and it didn't fit. I then found out that it wasn't meant to hold an optical drive. It's meant to hold a VFD display so you can have the extra little door open to see the display. You can see this on there web site.Unless there is a short optical drive that I haven't found yet.I also replaced all of the fans with quieter ones. That helped quite a bit as far as noise.
I've been very happy with the box, now if I could just get the software to work the way I want it too and so the wife can deal with it, I could move it into the living room. :-)
bearxor - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
I know a lot of people are complaining because you reviewed some fairly low-end HTPC cases, but these are all in the price range that I'm looking at, which is 90-130. I was settled on a Cooler Master case, but after reading what you guys wrote about the Tenor, I might just go with it. I had decided against it because of the blue LED lights, but like you said, I could just disconnect them.Not all of us are willing to spend 200-300 dollars on just a case for our HTPC, this review was for us.
bschuler2004 - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
I still contend the best HTPC is a HTPC out of sight controlled via RF remote. Why even have a pc in the living room? Your cable company doesn't put it's Video On Demand servers in your living room.. why would you? It just doesn't make sense. Plus, then you can use any case, can be as loud as you want.. cuz nothing in the living room is as quiet as an Svideo,Rca, etc cable.. You save money, space, and alot of headaches.BigLan - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
I agree, to a point. My HTPC is a generic mid-tower which has similar dimensions to my sub. It doesn't really look too out of place except fot the blue LED in the power supply.I've been thinking more and more that the ideal setup would be a non-descript PC box on the floor or hidden, with an external usb DVD drive (or two) and the remote control receiver placed near the amp/receiver.
Most of the current htpc cases seem to appeal to the bling factor, which I learned the hard way meant loud fans and inadequate cooling.
PDubya - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
On page 5, the "removable cap" looks to be recessed, so I'm guessing you could place some filtration medium in that capped area. Just my two cents.Tamale - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
but that's the exhaust.. I'm still not sure what good putting a filter on the exhaust side of the power supply would do...bldckstark - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
I agree that putting a filter on the exhaust side would be useless, but the cover is there for some reason. I have several machines here at work that have covers very similar to this that are used for air intake filters. Was the PSU checked for air flow direction? Maybe they reversed it in this application.bldckstark - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
The users manual states in the cooling section that you should not "block the air intake vents on the top panel, the front left side (at the filter) or the back (ventilated PCI slot covers." They are calling it an intake. This is the EC manual, not the US version. They are quite different, and there is no mention of the cover in the US version.http://www.antec.com/us/support_productInfo_detail...">EC users manual in English - pdf
Check page 6 under "Important Notes On Cooling"
UrQuan3 - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
I understand that this review is geared more towards gaming rigs in the livingroom than for video recording/playback machines, still I'd like to know about some of those systems as well. I've been looking at picking up either an ATX P4 or a mini-ITX Pentium M machine from http://www.hushtechnologies.net/">Hush. Just wondering if anyone has tried one.OrSin - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
500 is the low end of those case. They you pay extra for stuff like a reset buttom.Crazy over priced. I could see going as high $ or even alittle more if you want the front display, but $500+ ?. I guess if I spent $10,000 on Theathe systems it would not too bad. But $500 you could just hide a regular systems in the wall or something.