[mythtv-users] Ahanix D.Vine cases

[Mike Jasper]

blacklion at blacklion.org wrote:

> So I'm looking to replace my current microATX case with a nice looking
> HTPC case.  I REALLY like the looks of the Ahanix D.Vine cases, but I
> have a couple of concerns.  The mailing list archives has some traffic
> about these cases, so I'm hoping that somebody here can help me.
> 
> 1. Are there any problems with cooling?  I have a Chaintech 7NIF2 board
> with an AMD 2500+ Barton.  I noticed that the D.Vine cases have openings
> for 60mm case fans.  That's what I have in my current case and I don't
> like them.  Either you get a fan that moves a decent amount of air and
> you get a lot of noise, or you get a silent fan that hardly makes a
> difference.  Will I need to add fans to these cases?

I can answer this question, at least.  I have a D.vine 5.  I tried the 
stock 60mm fan as well as a SilenX 60mm fan - both were too loud for my 
taste.  I ended up getting a venerable Panaflo L1A 80mm fan along with a 
60mm -> 80mm adapter.  I mounted the adapter + fan on the back of the 
case, and sealed off the second 60mm opening.  I also removed the extra 
metal in the 60mm hole that I'm using, so that I just have a clean, 
unobstructed 60mm hole.  The result is excellent.  Good airflow with 
minimal noise.  I also put a Zalman fan mate controller inline, so that 
I can control the speed.  The case stays pretty cool, and has dual 
PVR-250s, 2.4 GHz P4 (with Zalman 7000-Cu cooler), MX440 video card, 
512MB memory, etc.

I bought just the case - I didn't get their kit that includes the psu + 
vfd + remote.  I opted to buy a psu from silenx.com, now that they are 
selling micro atx psu's.  The Ahanix "Silenx" psu is lower quality than 
the real SilenX psu (and is louder, from what I hear), and they (Ahanix) 
are apparently ripping off SilenX's brand name (there is more on this 
somewhere on silenx.com).  Anyway, I got the 320W micro atx psu and am 
happy with it - it's very quiet.

The case + psu are expensive, but the case matches really well with 
stereo components if you have the bucks to spend on it.  I plan on 
keeping it for a long time.