Silverstone Grandia GD09 - HTPC case

I really like the look of this Silverstone Grandia GD09 HTPC case. I was concerned that the GD07 and GD08, which were previously prime candidates to sit underneath my telly, would be too deep for cables, USB dongles etc to comfortably stick out the back of the case.

This case, the GD09, is shallower. The dimensions are 440mm (W) x 170mm (H) x 358mm (D). This makes it a similar size to other HTPC cases, but this has the advantage of being able to fit an ATX motherboard, whereas others of similar dimensions restrict you to mATX boards.

The price is very reasonable too, especially for a Silverstone case. Prices are around £50 currently, but it is hard to find in stock, so I suspect prices will rise soon.

The only issue is that, as with other HTPC cases, the height of the case restricts you to a CPU cooler height of 138mm. So, my Scythe Mugen IV will have to be chopped in for something a little smaller, but equally as quiet and efficient, like the Noctua NH-C12P SE14 or Noctua NH-L12.

Silence is Golden

In an effort to keep noise down I've replace the stock AMD CPU cooler with a Scythe Mugen IV which seems barely audible. The only other fan in the case is in the PSU (Corsair CX600M) and on the graphics card (MSI GeForce GTX 650 N650-1GD5/OCV1), both of which were chosen as they were described as low noise. However, there is still a noticeable "hum" coming from the case which can be heard when nothing is playing. This is not a problem when media is outputting sound but it can be heard during silent parts of films which is distracting, and is certainly distracting when TV is off (PC is left running 24/7).

I'll be investigating what the culprits and attempting to decrease noise either by looking at replacement fans, or by replacing the component itself.

According to Kitguru's review of the Corsair CX600M it is barely audible until being pushed hard, which mine shouldn't be as I have the motherboard (MSI 990FXA-GD65) set to run in ECO mode, and I estimate the total power draw should be less than 50% of the PSU's capacity.



To be continued...