SilverStone Grandia GD04 Case Review

[Hardware Secrets Team]

There has been a new article posted.

Title: SilverStone Grandia GD04 Case Review
URL: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/857

Here is a snippet:
"After releasing some interesting small form factor cases for home theater PCs (HTPCs) under their Sugo series, SilverStone is releasing a "big" HTPC case under their Grandia series, called GD04. Featu..."

Comments on this article are welcome.

Best regards,
Hardware Secrets Team
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com

[Olle P]

The shape of this case makes cooling a big issue.

First the slight error on page 2:

... it uses a “positive pressure” design, meaning more air enters the case than exits it.

By the laws of thermodynamics you'll find that the amount of air entering the case exactly matches the amount leaving the case. Otherwise you'd have a steady and continuous build-up of the pressure until the case explodes.
A correct description is that more air is actively forced into the case than actively sucked out, resulting in a slightly higher pressure inside than outside the case.

Now for what I see like the big problem:
The shape and size of this case fit, as commented, well with the rest of a typical HT setup: Receiver, VCR, DVD-player, CD-player and what not.
These are all often placed in a rack with solid side walls, leaving very little room for airflow at the sides of the cases. Instead the airflow is supposed to be front-back and/or up-down.
This case require free sides for efficient cooling, and is thus directly ill suited to sit in such a rack as described. Better then to have a design similar to a typical tower tipped sideways, with air intake at the front and exhaust at the back.

Cheers
Olle