First HTPC

[Mercutio]

The NSK2400 is very quiet. It's not an NSK3300, but it's less loud than an NSK4400 - which itself is still pretty quiet.

The thermal design is actually astonishing. There's a thermal image of one in this month's Maximum PC and it is by far the coolest system they looked at. There's no reason to install a high-end cooler in one if you aren't overclocking.

 

[timwhit]

Thanks for letting me know. I made the decision on that case based on one of your other posts about it. I hope it lives up to your acclaim.

 

[timwhit]

I did the build last night. Everything went pretty smoothly. The only real problem is that the video card heatsink is too tall and the top panel of the case has to bend around it. I don't know if I will be able to get the thumbscrew in that holds the top panel on. I don't think it is a huge problem, but keep that in mind if you plan to use the Antec NSK2400.

Some observations:

• The system is very quiet overall
• It feels very snappy with Win2K3Server
• The video card doesn't come with Win2k3 drivers, you have to use the Nvidia 2k/XP drivers (I think this is the case with all Nvidia cards)
• The CPU fan didn't spin when it was first installed, but I think this was because it is temperature based and the temp wasn't high enough to make it spin yet, after it had been running for about 30-45 seconds the fan started spinning
• The DVD drive is pretty loud, but I guess all of them are

 

[Will Rickards]

I really like what I've heard of this case.
And the idea of moving my PC onto my desk is appealing.
The little fingers will no longer be able to push the buttons.
I'll readily see the dust build up and can attend to it.

Any concerns with using it on the desk?
I suppose the monitor can't be on top of it?

 

[timwhit]

It should be fine for on-desk use. It is a pretty small case. Only room for 2 5.25" drives and 2 hard disks (3.5"). No place for a floppy, unless you put it in one of the 5.25" bays, but who uses floppies anymore anyways. You also need a micro-ATX motherboard for it.

It appears to be pretty well built. The power supply it comes with only has 2 SATA power plugs, and they are on the same cable, so if you want to hook up a SATA DVD-ROM and a SATA hard disk you will need a SATA power adapter as the 2 bays are pretty far apart.

It would almost certainly be able to support an LCD on top of it, I don't know about a CRT, might be too heavy.

Just keep in mind that it is not a deep case, so watch out for over-sized video cards heatsinks, like the one I put in.

 

[ddrueding]

Whenever I put a computer on my desk, I'm surprised at how much louder it is. These days my computer is in the space behind my couch, about 5 feet away; just far enough from the subwoofer.

 

[Mercutio]

Glad you're happy with it.

I put one together and installed three hard disks. I mounted one drive using a set of heat sink mounting rails. My favorite touch with that whole chassis is the fact that there are channels for running every cable.

I don't think it's wise to mount a monitor on top of one, at all. Yes, the blow-holes are on the side of the case to vent air, but my experience has been that even LCDs and their plastic bases act as insulators when they're sitting on top a desktop case. I know the desktops I deal with magically got cooler when I set the monitor on the desk beside the chassis instead of on top of it.