HTPC Slim mATX Case with 450W - $35

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YamahaAlex37

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jun 23, 2005
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I was shopping for something to build my HTPC with and couldn't find anything at newegg under $50, so I bought an ugly slim HP case with 240 PSU elsewhere for $37 thinking it was a deal. Then 2 days later I checked my Meritline subscriber email and found this deal. I had to pick it up, because that is a nice size PSU and I like red :)

http://www.meritline.com/pixxo-gami...&hq_e=el&hq_m=2071234&hq_l=50&hq_v=009eedc381

Use code "MLC281091102215NL1" for $34.99 with free shipping.

Might want to hurry, only available to first 50 orders.
 
Or you can pick up this rebranded Silverstone aluminum HTPC case with a quality 220w Silverstone powersupply for $39 shipped :p

It's labeled a mini-itx case but it can also hold M-ATX and supposedly even ATX motherboards.

The seller also has a bundle deal with a slim DVD+-RW drive for just $10 more. Be careful and note what the case includes, and doesn't include. This is NOT the right HTPC case for everyone.

Related discussion threads:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1254417

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1035889932
 
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I don't get it, that's costs more and comes with a less powerful PSU... since I am probably going to use a 430, which requires 300w, I feel safe with 450. I don't even know if i would put any low profile card with 200w
 
YamahaAlex37 said:
I don't get it, that's costs more and comes with a less powerful PSU... since I am probably going to use a 430, which requires 300w, I feel safe with 450. I don't even know if i would put any low profile card with 200w
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Don't go by watts, go by amps and build quality. Also never believe the label on generic psu's, that 450watt punches well below it's weight, and with dirty ripply power that fries memory sticks and hard drives or even catch on fire, whereas the Silverstone punches well above it's weight with clean power that will not fry anything ;)

I misprinted, it's actually labeled a 220w, but that 220 watt label means nothing because the unit has quite a few amps for it's size. If a generic oem got their hands on it they would definitely slap a 400 watt sticker on it. Too bad this stuff isn't regulated more closely.

Long story short, the Silverstone has the better, safer, and likely more powerful power supply. Your case is still a great deal, even without the powersupply, which should be tossed right away.

The only reason i know this is because the fellas in our power supply forum live and breath this stuff.
 
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SJetski71 said:
Don't go by watts, go by amps and build quality. Also never believe the label on generic psu's, that 450watt punches well below it's weight, and with dirty ripply power that fries memory sticks and hard drives or even catch on fire, whereas the Silverstone punches well above it's weight with clean power that will not fry anything ;)

I misprinted, it's actually labeled a 220w, but that 220 watt label means nothing because the unit has quite a few amps for it's size. If a generic oem got their hands on it they would definitely slap a 400 watt sticker on it. Too bad this stuff isn't regulated more closely.

Long story short, the Silverstone has the better, safer, and likely more powerful power supply. Your case is still a great deal, even without the powersupply, which should be tossed right away.

The only reason i know this is because the fellas in our power supply forum live and breath this stuff.
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While almost everything you said is true, some people really overestimate how much power is needed for their system.
 
IronRuler said:
While almost everything you said is true, some people really overestimate how much power is needed for their system.
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Yes,

If someone wanted to get an idea on what kind of rigs that silverstone PSU can support, they can click those research links in my first post to see what everyone else stuffed into the cases they bought.

Just out of curiosity, and to keep my own facts straight, what did i say that wasn't true?
 
Good info SJetski, thanks.

Since I already bought the Pixxio, would you say it should work fine with a GTS 430?
 
YamahaAlex37 said:
Good info SJetski, thanks.

Since I already bought the Pixxio, would you say it should work fine with a GTS 430?
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NP,

Totally honest answer? It's not what you want to hear but personally i'd toss the included powersupply right into the garbage. I've fried one too many memory sticks and hard drives to take a chance on a free bundled no-name powersupply. Then there's my paranoia about my house catching on fire (remember those old Deer power supply stories?). But if you follow my advice it presents another problem, then you'd have to buy a quality powersupply to replace the original one, now your costs begin to run up to the price of the entire case + PSU i posted. It's a rock and a hard spot.

It's probably enough to run it but the power will fluctuate like crazy.
 
YamahaAlex37 said:
So would the link you posted be fine for a GTS 430?
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It's the GTS 430 itself i'm not sure about, they quote a fairly useless wattage figure but i don't know how many amps it requires at peak.

But if you are genuinely interested in that case, then check out those two discussion links i posted, there's a bunch of people using it with both AMD and Intel rigs, hopefully they listed what video cards they're using to give you a better idea.
 
YamahaAlex37 said:
X2 250, 2GB DDR2, 1 HDD, and 1 Optical
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Unfortunately that 220W PSU would probably not be enough for that setup plus the GTS 430. That 220W PSU doesn't have all its wattage on the +12V rail. That setup + GTS 430 would be about 200W at full load.

YamahaAlex37 said:
Also, I couldn't seem to find much on those 2 links you posted.
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Umm, I didn't post those links :D
 
Thanks danny, and lol sry I was talking about the links he posted not you...

but what about the Pixxio with 450W I ordered, should it handle the 430 danny?
 
YamahaAlex37 said:
but what about the Pixxio with 450W I ordered, should it handle the 430 danny?
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It's a generic PSU. So it's more than likely it can't provide any more power than the 220W PSU of that Silverstone.
 
YamahaAlex37 said:
5450...?

http://www.hwcompare.com/graphics/compare.php?c=Radeon-HD-4650-512MB-vs-Radeon-HD-5450
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Yeah none of those specs matter for a HTPC card unless you were planning on doing some gaming. If you are doing light gaming, than yes the 4650 is the better choice.

But if not gaming and if you're just gonna watch 1080P content and the like, the HD 5450 uses less power than the 4650, produces less heat, and provides bitstreamed audio via HDMI. In addition, it has a slightly updated UVD unit allows it to handle HD content a little better than the 4650.
 
I was hoping to play FSX and Hawx on decent settings, the problem is the screen is huge like 60", does that make a difference. or does just resolution matter? I was hoping for 1080p.
 
YamahaAlex37 said:
I was hoping to play FSX and Hawx on decent settings, the problem is the screen is huge like 60", does that make a difference. or does just resolution matter? I was hoping for 1080p.
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Only the resolution matters, so 1920x1080 is a little less taxing on video cards than 1920x1200.

Can't remember the details but the HD 5550 ought to have more 3D horsepower than the 5450. Then you have models with different types of memory and memory bandwidth.

I'm not sure what video card would best cover all the bases but still use less power overall. Maybe an HD 5550 with GDR5 memory chips? Danny Bui would have a better answer i'm sure.
 
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YamahaAlex37 said:
I was hoping to play FSX and Hawx on decent settings, the problem is the screen is huge like 60", does that make a difference. or does just resolution matter? I was hoping for 1080p.
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Yeah as SJetski71 noted, resolution is key here. 1920x1080 is very taxing for any video card for medium settings. Especially with FSX. None of the cards mentioned so far, the HD 5550, HD 4650, or HD 5450, will be enough for Hawx at extremely low settings at 1080P res.

For medium settings at 1920x1080, I recommend at least a HD6850 1GB or GTX 460 1GB. And no, none of the PSUs mentioned in this thread will be capable of powering a HD 6850 or GTX 460 1GB for long.
 
Everything I've ordered from meritline.com shipped from IndoChina. Takes 3 weeks to get. Just FYI
 
First thing I'll say is that, ANY computer worth building is worth a high-quality, dependable PSU. Period. :p

Second.. to me anyway.. building a HTPC and expecting to incorporate gaming capabilities is ass-backwards. It's like shopping for a fuel efficient econo-car, but asking the salesman to show you all the models that will still do 0-60 in under 10 seconds.

If you want the acceleration, buy the damn sports car!! lol

Similarly, if you want to game, build a gaming rig that fits your needs, and then ADD HTPC functionality. ;)
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BTW, that is a pretty cool looking case though. I like the gloss red finish.
 
You think that case will fit a xp-90c?

O and I was talking about the silverstone clone case.
 
wjogert said:
First thing I'll say is that, ANY computer worth building is worth a high-quality, dependable PSU. Period. :p

Second.. to me anyway.. building a HTPC and expecting to incorporate gaming capabilities is ass-backwards. It's like shopping for a fuel efficient econo-car, but asking the salesman to show you all the models that will still do 0-60 in under 10 seconds.

If you want the acceleration, buy the damn sports car!! lol

Similarly, if you want to game, build a gaming rig that fits your needs, and then ADD HTPC functionality. ;)
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BTW, that is a pretty cool looking case though. I like the gloss red finish.
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um...

i'm not going to build a gaming rig and set it in my entertainment center. and what's wrong with a mid-low range card that my dad can connect to hawx with me from the living room? judging by the hundreds of newegg reviews there are plenty of low profile cards that will handle games just fine.
 
LOL, don't get me wrong! A gaming rig doesn't have to be a monster ATX case, with max o'c, and a dozen fans!

I just meant from a hardware standpoint, instead of looking for the lowest parts that will hopefully handle games, look for decent components that will run your games the way you want, knowing that they will MORE than handle HTPC duties. ;-)

Then plan the build around those parts knowing that you will have no performance regrets a couple months down the road.

It's easier to deal with cooling issues (if you pack too much power into the small case) than it is to try and make under-performing hardware suffice with that new game you just bought.

Continuing with the car analogy... think of it as a Neon with a Hemi. :p
 
Good point wjogert, and no 450, that case looks nice but not in my budget, but I've already ordered two HTPC cases now if you read op.

So I guess I just need to find the best performance/price low profile card, not much else I can do.
 
YamahaAlex37 said:
So I guess I just need to find the best performance/price low profile card, not much else I can do.
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Then your best bet would be either the HD 4650 512MB, GT 220 1GB, or HD 5570. Those are the highest power video cards I would use with either HTPC case/PSU setup. Do note that you'll basically have to set everything to low and drop the resolution down a bit with all of those cards but games are playable with those cards.
 
YamahaAlex37 said:
X2 250, 2GB DDR2, 1 HDD, and 1 Optical

Also, I couldn't seem to find much on those 2 links you posted.
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That system won't use more than 100W! That cheap PSU will power it fine, the only thing you should have is a quality surge suppressor like one from Tripp-lite (all PC's should have a surge suppressor).
 
YamahaAlex37 said:
I was hoping to play FSX and Hawx on decent settings, the problem is the screen is huge like 60", does that make a difference. or does just resolution matter? I was hoping for 1080p.
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If you want to game with a HTPC - you should go with nothing less than this - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261078

Fantastic that they have a card that powerful for a half-height card! Bear in mind that a small form factor case uses half height cards and so your normal height video cards won't work. That's probably the fastest half-height card there is.
 
Archaea said:
If you want to game with a HTPC - you should go with nothing less than this - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261078

Fantastic that they have a card that powerful for a half-height card! Bear in mind that a small form factor case uses half height cards and so your normal height video cards won't work. That's probably the fastest half-height card there is.
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Lol go no less than the absolute best and most expensive low profile card... why does that sound ironic?

That really is a fantastic card, but I'm not going to spend that money on my parent's HTPC that will rarely see a game. That card would probably eat my PSU alive, but does anyone know the requirement of it?

And my other case just came in, it's a slim HP, and has a 240W HP branded PSU... is that along the same "higher" quality standards as the case Sjetski71 posteD?
 
HP usually puts a pretty decent power supply in their machines. HP slimline owners have very few problems with their psu's under normal power draw levels. HP often uses Delta power supplies which is a mid tier brand IMO.
 
Will that silverstone clone case that sjetski mentioned fit a xp90c heatsink?
 
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