SILVERSTONE Black 8.0mm aluminum front panel, 0.8mm SECC body GRANDIA GD04B Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case

Pros: Keep in mind this is my first HTPC build, this case is easy to work with. Solid construction and easy to understand instructions. The 3 fans ARE quiet. Roomy inside for people with large thumbs like me. Still fits on my BIG SCREEN stand.

Cons: After assembly I pushed the power button on several times during "test" boots. After the 5th time, the push button collapsed inside the case. This required me to removed DVD drive to "repair" the pwr button and to brief family to "go gentle" with pwr switch.The locking mechanism for the pwr/reset buttons are cheap....too bad otherwise would have received 5 stars.

Overall Review: HTPC Gigabyte GA-MA785GMTUD2H;AMD Phenom II x4 905e Deneb 2.5GHz@65W;WD Black Caviar 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB cache;OCZ550FTY modular pwr supply;G.SKILL 4GB(2GBx2);Sony DVD burner;Windows 7 Professional 64 bit OEM lisc.

Pros: Very solidly built - no worries setting other components on top of it. Slightly fiddly to get into, but still easy to work in. Plenty of space and mountpoints, given external size, and good airflow, helped by a solid cable management system. Able to handle a midrange video card just fine. Classy looks. Power LED might be a little bright for some, but doesn't bother me, and isn't as annoying as it is on most cases.

Cons: Included fans are a little loud for HTPC use (although fairly quiet compared to desktop). Spec sheet says 20db at 1200rpm, which sounds about right. Fan leads are long, if you have three 3-pin headers on your motherboard you could connect them there and slow them down a little, I opted to replace them with quieter fans. Hard drive and optical drive mounting locations can make cable runs a little tricky, although still workable.

Overall Review: Keep a handle on your screws, there are lots, although there are plenty of spares packed in. Going to reiterate what someone else mentioned about the optical drive plate - secure it where you want it with tape, put the adhesive on the drive itself, and slide it into place. It's a one shot deal, so get it right the first time.

Pros: Best design feature of this case is its short depth. Vast majority of other cases are too deep for conventional A/V furniture. Even with short depth case is still spacious to work inside. Face of case blends in with rest of A/V equip. High quality aluminum front, no sharp edges inside, easy to take apart and put back together.

Cons: Taller than needed. Sure the DVD drive sits right atop the CPU fan, but these days there are plenty of options for short (and still efficient) CPU fans. Lacks IR receptor. At very minimum it should hole/window for optional IR receptor to be installed. It is hard to believe a case specifically built for HTPC lacking such feature. There is noticeable noise large fans, even by using fan controller to reduce it to bare minimum speed.

Overall Review: Exposed power/reset/usb/phone/mic in front place detract overall visual. I gress to get a decent door mechanism with such tick aluminum face would add too much to its cost.

Pros: -> Low-glare black that looks smooth, but doesn't catch the eye when watching movies/tv. -> Fans are quiet and work well. Left the two together as intakes, I flipped the loner around to create more air flow to take heat from my GPU. Works great. -> It fit my full size card: 9600GT -> LED isn't direct, and lights the power button like crown lighting instead of in your eyes. -> Cover plate extremely easy to put on an optical drive with the strip of glue they give you. -> The metal material is very sturdy, and looks high quality. I would imagine it would mesh in seamlessly with almost any TV stand / Entrainment Center.

Cons: -> Lack of 3.5 bays and their location. I knew there were only 2 bays drives, but I wish there were more... can't take an egg off for that. The location however is a bit of a pain, not that they were hard to install, but if they were even 1 cm further apart my Sata power chord wouldn't have reached both drives, and this was after doing some slight mods. ^^ This wasn't a huge deal, although it did require some slight changes to the rubber shield on the back drive (cut a small hole in it). Something to be aware of if your PSU only has one Sata daisy chain and you don't have a peripheral to Sata adapter handy. -> Some of the screws on the 5.25" bay pull right out over a small slit that falls between the case and fan. Just note you'll want at least a small magnetic screw driver for this.

Overall Review: All in all my cons were petty and mostly install stuff. This is a great case and oddly enough I've gotten a few compliments on it. Got the case for it's size with the full-size card, and because it looked low profile enough that it wouldn't be noticed. I haven't been disappointed.

Pros: Solid construction Handsome, minimalistic faceplate Great airflow Exact width of my stereo receiver Not very loud

Cons: Not very quiet Faceplate audio interface cables are too close to PSU and pick up audible interference

Overall Review: This is a very well thought out case. It is small enough to fit on a shelf in an entertainment center yet spacious enough to allow for high end components and a decent heatsink. The case and provided fans definitely create sufficient airflow although it does not look like the filters will be easy to clean without taking the case apart almost entirely. The case is not loud but I wouldn't call it quiet either. One issue I am having with the case is that the wires leading to the front headset hookup are located where all of the connectors exit the PSU and are picking up interference in the form of a slight whine, audible through headphones. The next time I have the case open I am going to attempt wrapping aluminum foil and electrical tape with a drain wire connecting to the interior of the case. Hopefully that will do the trick. In the end, I am very satisfied with this case and would definitely recommend to those looking for a solid HTPC case!

Pros: Looks great. Fans not silent but can not be heard over low volume music or tv show. Room for basically everything it needs and still fits on the shelf. Fits full size PSU and GPU(barely, had to attatch power connectors to GPU, then turn diagonally and sideways to ease it into the case before mounting in PCIe slot) Modular PSU is a good idea.

Cons: One of the mounting holes for motherboard had poorly machined threads. Just had to work the screwdriver a bit harder than I was comfortable with to get the screw in.

Overall Review: Suggestion on optical drive cover positioning: Use packing tape across the front of the case to hold cover in place suspended in hole , while drive is set back slightly. With cover piece held in position by tape, slide optical drive forward to make contact with the cover piece. Makes it easier to get it on exactly right. My system: SILVERSTONE GRANDIA GD04B Micro ATX case GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-UD2H G.SKILL Ripjaws (2 x 4GB) F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-650HX modular PSU Scythe Big Shuriken SCBSK-1000 120mm CPU Cooler AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz SAMSUNG F3 HD103SJ 1TB XFX HD-585X-ZAFC Radeon HD 5850 LG WH10LS30K 10X Blu-ray Burner Logitech MX 5500 Revolution bluetooth keyboard/mouse Windows 7 ultimate

Pros: This is only my second build, and I have to say that this is an awesome case. I was able to fit everything in without too much of a hassle, at times frustraing though. I give this case 5 eggs for the cooling capabilites, design, and aesthetics. It's a great form factor even for a gaming rig, which is what I ended up using it for.

Cons: As far as assembly, this case is not exactly a cake walk. There are a lot of screws and, unfortunately, my case did not come with the correct screws for mounting my two 3.5" raptor hdds, so I had to go to C0mpUSA (yes it still exists) and buy more screws. Therefore, I am deducting an egg and giving it an overall rating of 4 eggs. Also, good luck fitting an after market cpu fan in this little guy, the dvd/cd rom tray is directly above the cpu, so there are limited options when it comes to cooling options. I don't plan on OC'ing so he stock fan will suffice, but I have heard of some people fitting a Corsair H50, among others, in here for you OCers. Fans are not silent, but that doesn't bother me, I'm not using it as an HTPC.

Overall Review: I found myself more frustrated with this build than I had expected, but then again, I was trying to put alot of components in a smallish form factor. Despite my lengthy 'Cons' section, overall I think this is an amazing case. Mybuild: Intel i5 750 cpu (w/ stock cpu cooler) GSkill DDR3 2x2 gb 1600 ram Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 mobo XFX Radeon 5770 video SeaSonic 520w M12II psu LG DVD 2 x 300gb Raptor hdds

Pros: +Bought this case due to the shallow depth. It fits anywhere that a modern DVD/Bluray player or Cablebox will fit, unlike many other HTPC cases which are too deep. +It is VERY well made, as typical with Silverstone. All pieces fit together perfectly, and are machined well. +The three fans are relatively quiet, and completely inaudible inside of my ventilated entertainment center. +There is a metal cover included that sticks to the front of your optical drive tray to make it look expensive. +The power supply airflow is isolated from the rest of the case via a grill on the bottom of the case.

Cons: -If you buy this case, you MUST buy a Silverstone NT01-E heatsink. The CPU sits directly under the optical drive, reducing your cooling options to basically just one. I don't know why Silverstone doesn't just bundle the two together. -The first thing I did was remove the filters (there are 3!). Who wants to pull out the HTPC every few weeks, disassemble it, and clean the filters? Try explaining THAT to your wife! -You absolutely need a modular power supply. The power supply cables are located directly in front of one of the intake fans. More cables = less airflow. -If using more than one HDD, consider using laptop drives. Space is an absolute premium. Two ATI TV Wonder Cablecard tuners, and a Hauppage analog tuner make for a very crowded -- and HOT -- house! Onboard video is your friend.

Overall Review: Very happy with this case. Do your homework if you intend to use anything OTHER than the NT01-E heatsink.