Thermaltake Mozart VC4000 HTPC Case

[PAGETITLE=Introduction] There are still plenty of reasons to consider a home theater PC these days. In addition to simply recording over-the-air television like a DVR, home theater PCs can store your entire music collection, and even your DVDs (with enough storage space), and can even place big-screen, surround-sound gaming within easy reach. Some industry have audaciously declared the HTPC to be a failed technology, citing the comparatively complex keyboard-and-mouse control scheme of HTPCs when compared to set-top-box media extender units like the Microsoft XBOX 360 and the Apple TV, which stream data directly from your home PC and can be controlled with just an infrared remote or game controller. However, all is not so rosy for media extenders. A media extender itself is much like a PC in many ways, with a CPU, a GPU, a hard drive, and memory â€“ the difference is that a media extender's hardware is tightly integrated with its software, so the CPU and GPU can be somewhat less powerful than those in a HTPC. The current Apple TV uses a 1GHz Pentium M CPU and an NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300GPU, and has 256MB of DDR2 400 SDRAM. Yet, consumers are unwilling to pay high prices for what they view to be a comparatively simpler appliance, so margins on media extenders are far slimmer than on fully-fledged HTPCs running Windows Media Center Edition 2005 or Vista Home Premium, so much so that many media extenders are practically subsidized by the company that produces them, in hopes that digitally-delivered content sales will make the entire venture profitable. There are some things that you can't do on an Apple TV or an XBOX 360, though, such as recording over-the-air telelvision for later playback (Apple, for instance, would rather have you purchase the shows from their iTunes store), and playing your PC game library (in the case of the XBOX 360, you'll need to buy the console version â€“ if one is even available). In addition, you can manage your content directly from a home theater PC; since it's stored locally, you can easily organize and delete items, instead of trekking to your PC if it's in another room of your house. You can even manage content that's stored on other computers, through networked drives. Sure, not all of the HTPC experience is quite as elegant and simple as a media extender unit, but if you're a PC enthusiast, this will hardly be an issue when compared with the superior versatility of a HTPC. What's more, new wireless keyboards like Logitech's DiNovo Edge with its integrated trackpad are designed specifically for home theater use, virtually resolving the issue of a simple input device. If you're a PC enthusiast, you likely won't want to go to a big box store for your HTPC â€“ you'll want to build your own. And luckily for you, the enthusiast PC component industry has already been riding the HTPC wave for quite some time, with high-performance Micro ATX motherboards, quiet cooling solutions, and of course, horizontal form-factor cases styled like stereo components, complete with VFDs and big volume knobs. Thermaltake is one company with a broad array of home theater PC chassis solutions, from the Bach, Tenor, Mozart, and Mozart SX horizontal enclosures to the large tower-style Kandalf cases, which share styling cues with Harman/Kardon stereo and multichannel receivers. Who said that a HTPC case had to be horizontal? In this review, I'm taking a look at the Thermaltake Mozart VC4000 media center PC case (not the huge dorm-refrigerator-sized TX version). It's a popular HTPC chassis, used by at least one major system integrator for their HTPC offering, so I've decided it's deserving of our attention. However, the design considerations for a case that's well-suited to a home theater PC are generally quite different from what's required for an enthusiast case. HTPCs are typically built with cooler-running CPUs that don't see much overclocking action, so instead the focus is on cooling systems which run quietly and efficiently. We'll see how well Thermaltake addresses the concerns of noise and usability with the Mozart chassis, in addition to the usual thermal tests. [PAGEBREAK] [PAGETITLE=First Impressions; Specifications] The retail packaging of the Mozart case is what I've come to expect from Thermaltake â€“ vivid, with plenty of photos, and an almost comical grasp of the English language. I wonder â€“ is there a shortage of good English translators in China? For a while, the tendency of the Chinese to butcher English speech and writing was a bit endearing, but it's no longer cute. The box for the Mozart case seems reasonably sturdy. I've seen my share of floppy Chinese cardboard, but this is better than most. The rear of the carton displays photos of the case's notable features. The case itself is wrapped in a plastic bag, and securely held by two Styrofoam blocks. The package contains all the essentials â€“ the case itself, the instruction manual, a bag of screws and accessories, and a microfiber cloth for wiping off any fingerprints or smudges you may leave behind while assembling the machine. This would have been a nice addition to have with the gloss-black Antec Solo, but smudges and fingerprints are far less noticeable on the Mozart's silver "Pithy Aluminum" finish. I removed the case from its plastic bag, and the front door promptly fell open. Unlike the previously-reviewed NZXT Duet, this case lacks the mechanism that softens the opening and closing of the door, so it can fall open with a thud. The styling of the case itself is similar to high-end stereo components made by Class&eacute Audio, though the Mozart's front corners aren't as dramatically rounded, so the case won't look consistent in a stack of Class&eacute components. In the raised, black-anodized panel near the middle of the case, there's a tinted plastic window behind which a VFD can be installed, though it isn't included unless you specifically pick up the Media Lab version of this case. Specification Comment Model VC4000SNS In addition to the model name, every Thermaltake product has a somewhat less straightforward model number. Hereâ€™s a hint, though â€“ the â€&oelig;SNS" suffix means that this case has a silver finish, and no side windows. Case Type Media PC Case Media PC cases are typically no more than horizontal cases that feature front panels more aesthetically consistent with stereo components. This is also true of the Mozart. Exterior Dimensions(H x W x D) 6.7" x 16.9" x 17.8"(170mm x 430mm x 452mm) The Thermaltake Mozart is about an inch deeper than the previously-reviewed Antec NSK2400 case, but a bit taller as well. Cooling Provisions 2x 60mm rear, 1x 80mm front, included In media-center PCs, noise is a serious concern. 60mm fans arenâ€™t known for delivering significant amounts of airflow with low noise, so weâ€™ll see how that impacts this caseâ€™s thermal performance. Drive Bays 8 Total3x 5.25" External5x 3.5" Internal The Thermaltake Mozart offers five internal 3.5" drive spaces, which makes it easy to build in enough storage for a high-capacity media server machine. Material SECC Steel This case is made from 0.8mm thick steel, with the exception of the front bezel, which is aluminum but makes little contribution to the caseâ€™s structural strength. Expansion Slots 7 This case is capable of accommodating a full-size ATX motherboard, with full-height expansion cards. This is done by rotating the ATX power supply 90 degrees. Power Supply Standard ATX PS2 supported, not included Given the caseâ€™s own meager airflow provisions, you might want to use a power supply with a 120mm or larger fan. Weight 8.0kg without power supply This isnâ€™t the heaviest case Iâ€™ve experienced, but itâ€™s significantly heavier than the NZXT Duet case reviewed some time ago. Itâ€™s also more front-heavy, because of the big aluminum bezel. Motherboard Support ATX, Micro ATX The ability to support a full-size ATX motherboard is a rarity in HTPC cases. The similarly-sized Antec NSK2400 only supports a Micro ATX motherboard. Front I/O Ports Dual USB 2.0, single IEEE 1394, microphone, and stereo line out his complement of front I/O ports is fairly standard, so thereâ€™s nothing new to report here. [PAGEBREAK] [PAGETITLE=Features Overview] Like most home theater PC cases, the Thermaltake Mozart attempts to achieve an appropriate balance of styling and performance, instead of focusing only on cooling performance. In reality, besides the front bezel styling, there's little to separate the Thermaltake Mozart from the host of other HTPC cases that are available. Here's a thorough look at the features and construction of the Mozart case. The front of the Mozart case is constructed of aluminum, including the black-anodized center console which contains a window for an optional vacuum-fluorescent display (VFD). The black horizontal stripe is an inset panel of painted steel. The 5.25" external bays are concealed by an aluminum door which is hinged at the bottom and held at the top by a pair of touch-release latches. A black bezel piece is meant to be attached to the end of the DVD drive tray with a piece of double-sided foam tape, in order to allow the tray to extend while the front door is closed, while maintaining a consistent appearance when the tray is closed. To be honest, I'm not sold on this approach, since it's based on little more than sticking things to other things. It just seems cheap to me. Something else that struck me as "cheap"-feeling was the front door of the case. The bend radius of the door is larger than the radius of the curve on the top of the aluminum bezel piece, so the edge of the door sticks out by about 1/16 inch. The Mozart is by no means an expensive case, but a little attention to detail could have prevented this. In addition, the edges of the front panel aluminum pieces feel slightly rough to the touch. There's virtually no fine finishing at all â€“ the edges feel very 'machined'. While the front bezel of the Mozart...

Thermaltake Mozart VC4000 HTPC Case

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