htpc case lcd touch screen factory

Like many computer enthusiasts, I’m an early adopter. At the turn of the millennium, I decided to construct a home theater PC (HTPC)--before Windows Media Center Edition was readily available as a standalone product. Armed with AMD’s Remote Wonder, a Radeon 7500 with an S-video output, some game controllers, and a DVD-ROM drive, my HTPC was tasked to play DVDs, music, and PC games on the 27" TV in my living room.

The experiment technically "worked"–it played movies, music, and games and I could even play the PC version of TOCA race driver in split-screen mode. However, the system was not very user-friendly and I got tired of explaining and re-explaining how to operate it to my family. It was also a little buggy and temperamental, while frankly yesteryear’s CRT televisions weren’t really capable of making even the low 640x480 resolution look readable. While it was technically an HTPC that could do the job, in reality it was still just a PC attached to my television.

Here we are, almost a decade later, and in the last few years high-resolution LCD and plasma televisions have proliferated extremely quickly. More and more folks are even running dedicated home-theater rooms with HD projectors. In addition, Windows Media Center offers the PC a truly user-friendly interface that even my wife–who is not very tech-savvy–and children can use. Between modern graphics cards being able to offer sublime image quality on HD playback and my desire to try out the latest PC games on my HDTV, I believe the HTPC’s heyday might have just arrived.

It"s certainly not 2002 anymore, and there are a lot more case options than beige-on-beige. In fact, there are a seemingly infinite number of unique and interesting HTPC cases available. Notably, we"ve seen a number of cases offering an integrated LCD touch screen that have both user-interface functionality as well as information-delivery. But are these cases well-optioned, well-built platforms for the serious home enthusiast? Are they worth their substantial price premium over an HTPC case without an LCD display? Or are they just a flashy case with a pretty face?

Let’s find out by taking a hard look at three HTPC cases with integrated LCD touch screens: the Moneual 972, the SilverStone CW03, and the Thermaltake DH102. All three offer full ATX compatibility, iMedian HD media player software, a handy IR remote, and a 7" LCD touch screen.

The first thing you will notice is that the new XT version has a 7” LCD Touchscreen on the front of the chassis. Once set up, the LCD screen can display much more information than any VFD. The LCD is able to display information such as Graphic Equaliser, Volume, CPU used, Network Speed, Time, Fan Speed etc. The images below are just a taste of the type of information it is able to show.

As indicated by the name of the product, the HD160XT is 160mm tall and therefore it is the same height as the standard HD160. This means it is cable of accommodating full-size motherboards and PSUs without any clearance issues. The innovative cooling solutions found in the HD160 are also present in the XT version. There is a grille at the side of the chassis to allow a 120mm-fanned PSU to bring cool air in from the outside of the chassis. The case can also accommodate Zalman’s CPU and VGA coolers: the CNPS9500 CPU coolers and the VF900 VGA coolers are both compatible. Unfortunately the larger CNPS9700 CPU cooler is not compatible because it is too tall!

The LCD monitor really makes this product stand out from the crowd. As mentioned above it can be used as an indicator that shows various information and activities. It can also be used as a second monitor or even a sole monitor, for a completely self-contained PC.

There is a great deal of equipment to buy for a home theater. Consumers want the perfect screen, audio system and media hub. Some users build their own home theater PC (HTPC), so they have equipment that meets their exact specifications. The system should be stored in a HTPC case, so it"s not just a loose collection of wires and processors.

Finding the best HTPC case comes down to what the system demands and the consumer"s preferences. Some storage units have more ports and input bays than others, so users need to consider what their HTPC is going to be used for and what type of connections it demands. Cases also come with different types of available connections, like USB ports and audio jacks for microphones and headphones.

Size should be one of your bigger concerns when choosing a media center PC case. Figure out how much space your system will need to function properly and remain secure. This allows users to avoid redesigning a PC"s setup because of an excess or a lack of storage space.

For shoppers who have an eye on the overall aesthetic of their home theater, different styles of cases are available. If you want a case to go unnoticed, there are basic black models that disappear into the shadows. Different colors are available if you want your HTPC case to stick out or match the color scheme in the room. There are even some modeled after retro radios, to make the system as fun as it is functional.

Finding the right home theater pc case doesn"t have to be difficult. Consider all of your system"s needs before buying anything to ensure that your purchase is the correct one.

The LCDThe LCD is a 7" model which has a maximum resolution of 1024x768, although it has a widescreen 15:9 ratio. This obviously doesn"t jam, and means that the picture ends up looking a little stretched, although a good graphics card driver will go some way to compensating for this.

There is a USB internal header which provides the input and connects to the internal USB headers on the motherboard. You can grab the software to power the touchscreen from the Origen website.

There"s a menu system which allows you to auto-adjust the screen for best fit, change the brightness, switch video input etc. It"s a little slow to respond to commands, but perfectly serviceable.

You could set up your video or audio player to display visualisations or the video itself as a secondary display. As a screen to actually work on, it"s pretty useless because it"s small, stretched and not particularly crisp. There are arguments to be made - for example, you could use it as a stand-alone MP3 player with just the small screen as an interface. We"d suggest that you might be better off buying a proper audio system! If you have a CRT TV, you could use the LCD as the interface for MCE and just output the video to the TV, since MCE looks horrid on CRTs. However, you"d be better off spending the money on a new HDTV!

ConclusionsThe Origen X15e is a cool little case. We like the LCD on the front, although we might struggle to find an actual application that really makes a good use of it. The interior is laid out fairly well with plenty of space, and there are lots of nice touches - like black screws and rubber grommets - that indicate that this is a well thought out case. However, we do have our niggles - problems with the DVD drive being top of the list.

The build quality is exceptional and the design is also slick. However, we do have a stumbling block at the price. The X15e comes in at £465 from SpecialTech which is very expensive. Yes, you get a gorgeous case and yes, you get a touch LCD screen in the front. But £465 for a case? The Zalman, which is every bit as good (in terms of aluminium and build quality), but lacks the screen, only costs £220. It"s hard to justify more than £200 extra for the nice touches and the screen. Even for the hardcore buyer that wants the best the market has to offer, and has money to burn, it"s hard not to recommend the Zalman over this, purely based on the fact that it"s hard to really find a reasonable usage for the screen. Yes, it"s cool, but there are plenty of cooler things to spent £240 on if cool is all you care about.

So you’ve got the 50in plasma TV, the 5.1 Dolby Surround and a sofa big enough to seat a football team, but it’s just not the ultimate lounge setup without a media PC. While you can build a simple video playback system for comparatively little, chances are it’s not going to fit in with the rest of your high end AV kit, let alone the living room decor. Finding a suitably stylish HTPC chassis which combines looks with hardware flexibility is a daunting challenge.

Enter Moneual, a little known Korean chassis manufacturer specialising in HTPC cases that won’t look out of place beneath your telly or beside your amp. However, while the looks might be high class the price tag is too, so let’s take a closer look to see if Moneual’s top end chassis, the Moncaso 972, is worthy of its wallet melting price.

Externally the Moncaso 972 is certainly a mean and moody looking bit of kit which wouldn’t look out of place alongside any number of amplifiers or component stereo equipment. The front fascia houses plenty of controls too, with a smattering of media centre control buttons, satisfying volume knob and the highlight of a 7in 15:9 touch screen LCD. We’ll go into more detail on the touch screen it’s features later, but suffice to say it looks great and has been very well integrated into the Moncaso’s design.

The simple stylish looks on offer are hard to argue with though and are backed up with some seriously superb build quality too, easily comparably to Zalman and Lian Li"s cases. The entire case is made of black anodised aluminium plate ((it’s also available in silver though) up to 5mm thick in places, with the result of making the Moncaso feel like aluminium elephant. It’s an extremely solid bit of kit, weighing over 7.5kg when empty and feeling extremely tough and hard wearing - qualities some aluminium cases can lack.

Looking to the 972’s side panels you can see they’re made of ribbed aluminium struts, with a solid plate behind forming the interior panelling. Into these are cut four ventilation holes, with an 80mm vent on either side towards the front allowing for HDD ventilation and the larger vents to the rear allowing airflow to the GPU on the left hand side and the PSU on the right. Other ventilation is offered in the form of twin sets of ventilation slits in case’s floor and matching slits in the case’s roof above where the CPU is fitted, although bafflingly only the HDD and GPU ventilation holes are fitted with dust filters.