Reviewed by: Jason Hambly
Date: May 27, 2008
Manufacturer: Sunbeamtech
Supplied By: Sunbeamtech
Model: Acrylic HTPC
MSRP: $79.99
Edited by: PlanetX64 Staff
Sunbeamtech has long been known for their computer cases and moding accessories. This time around they have sent out an acrylic HTPC chassis for us to take a look at. It may not be what everybody wants sitting under their HDTV in the living room but there is certainly a market for HTPCs like this.
{mospagebreak title=Specifications}
Specifications:
Color – Transparent(HTPC-T)
UV-Blue(HTPC-HUVB)
Drive Bays – 5.25” x2
3.5” x1 (External)
3.5” x8 (Internal)
Speaker
Microphone
Weight – Gross Weight: 5.6 kg
Net Weight: 4.8 kg
Dimension – 47.5(L) x 44(W) x 19.5(H) CM
MB Type – Standard ATX
{mospagebreak title=Overview}
Overview:
Who knew an acrylic case would come in a flat box? I sure didn’t, it was as if this case was packaged and shipped from Ikea. They are very well known for there flat pack boxes. Once over the initial reaction of the packaging I was able to get into building mode, which I would remain in for close to an hour before this chassis was ready for the innards of a PC to be added.
Just getting all the pieces out of the box took me almost five minutes. I was wondering while I was unpacking everything, "how I would get this built without leaving fingerprints all over everything?" As it turns out Sunbeamtech thought of that as well and threw in a pair of white cotton gloves for you to wear while building the case. There were over 100 screws in the box, all labeled and stored in separate zip lock baggies according to what they would be used for. (I didn’t actually count the screws but it looked like about a hundred.) The instructions were slightly vague at times which made it difficult to know what to do next. Once I got my head around the instructions and figured out all the screws, the chassis went together pretty easily, although it was still a long process. I was very careful the whole time trying not to scratch the acrylic with the screwdriver. The cotton gloves sometimes just got in the way or made it difficult to hold the screwdriver and had to be taken off for the delicate tasks.
Once the case was completely together and pictures taken, I had to take a few parts back out in order to add the PC components. This turned out to be a lot quicker and easier then I originally expected.
The PC install went pretty well with only a few setbacks. To start there are only one set of holes to mount the standoffs so this case will only hold a standard ATX motherboard. To install the hard drives the case had to be slightly taken apart, although this only involved removing two screws and loosening two more for each hard drive cage. There is room for up to eight hard drives; I completed my build with three drives in a single cage. These drives are all held in place with screws. There is no tool-less installation with this case, everything is screwed in. While the hard drive cages were out of the case I installed the optical drive. There are two 5 ¼” drive bays on the front of the case. Both of the hard drive cages must be removed in order to install the optical drives, otherwise you will not be able to tighten the screws. Completing the rest of the installation went pretty well. There was loads of room for everything to fit in. I didn’t come to another issue until I was putting the cover on the case. The fan bracket that is attached to the cover of the case pushes against the video card. I used a relatively short Sapphire X1600Pro in this build and it still did not have room to allow the cover to be screwed on without using extra force and pressure on the components. Anyone using a longer video card will either want to remove the fan bracket or trim it down to allow more space.
Performance wise the case worked well. Temperatures always stayed within reason due to the four case fans included. There is a bit of noise that comes out of the case due to the four fans. Due to the noise some may find this case a distraction. But then again those people probably aren’t the ones that this case is marketed too. A fan controller may be an option to reduce the noise.
{mospagebreak title=Price/Warranty/Conclusion}
Price/Warranty:
Sunbeamtech has this case available from several online retailers such as NewEgg for around $79.99. Sunbeamtech offers a 1 year warranty on there cases.
Conclusion:
Overall this is a really fun case. How often to you get to build your case from scratch? I enjoyed the build and the finished product. Being my first acrylic case I really get to see how terrible I am at cable management, which is something that I am going to have to work on, thanks Sunbeamtech. This case is by no means for everyone but those that are looking for an acrylic case this would be a great one to pick. The LEDs are very bright and will light up a good part of your room. Great for those late night gaming sessions when you need to make it to the fridge for another beer in the dark. To sum it all up I recommend this case to anyone looking for an acrylic case, it is well built and has loads of room for you to put all your goodies into. I only had one major issue with the fan bracket and five minutes with a Dremmel would have that solved permanently. The Sunbeamtech Acrylic HTPC gets my stamp of approval and our Best on the Planet award for being a great acrylic case.
Acknowledgements:
We would like to thank Sunbeamtech for sending us this product for review.