Chenbro Case – Low profile case and HSF

[kataleen]

Hi everybody,

    I’ve been doing a lot of research in the past weeks on building a new HTPC. The Atom I currently have is a bit old now and has trouble living up to my demands.
    I believe I will go for an i3 540 CPU on a Zotac H55ITX board. I also found a pretty case:

http://www.chenbro.com/corporatesite/products_detail.php?sku=167&ds=4

    If anyone is familiar with this case or with the CPU, I guess my question is: is there enough clearance for the CPU cooler? Any other suggestions related to this case (pros/cons) would be appreciated.

Thanks, and I will probably come back with a couple of more questions, but for now this one’s the most important.

[mikinho]

Seeing that there are two 70mm fans above the board there should be plenty of clearance for the stock Core i3 HSF.

The stock fan included w/ the Core i3 is actually very quiet as well.

[kataleen]

I’ve only seen this case in pictures so far. By the looks of it, it has two compartments: one for the hard drives and one for the motherboard + CPU.

Looks like the HDD compartment is the one having those two fans, and the motherboard compartment looks much smaller. They even provide PCI riser, since I don’t believe there are cards that would fit vertically in there. I am not sure about the PCI back plate. Looks rather small.

[mikinho]

Sorry, I missed that and the product documentation isn’t clear.

The case has an option 45mm heatsink for purchase but it doesn’t state whether it is Intel 1156 compatible or if that is the height clearance.

[mikinho]

For what it is worth, the stock Core i3 HSF fits in a M350 which looks to have the same clearance as the ES34169.  I don’t have the dimensions on hold, I’ll update when I’m home.

[jrandeck]

Yeah, it looks to me like there’s very little headroom for a CPU cooler in that case, you’ll almost certainly need a slimline cooler and from the looks of it maybe something designed for a 1U server if the optical drive hangs over the CPU at all. That will likely be louder than you want for an HTPC.

[kataleen]

Just found another version of this case. It’ looks quite the same as the other one, except with a few more details.

http://www.logicsupply.com/products/es34069

And here they have a tested MoBos page for this case. Maybe you can draw some conclusions from these compatibilities.

http://compare.logicsupply.com/matrix/?id=28&component=case

Would you have other suggestions for a storage oriented mini itx case that would fit the h55/i3 duo?

[George L. Schmauch Jr.]

First, welcome to the board!  I have to admit it was refreshing to hear someone refer to a case as “pretty” for a change.  Most of the time, you just hear, “does it look like all my other equipment?”  A valid question is definitely whether the case is aesthetically appealing and I have to agree with you.  The multi-colored lights behind the semi-transparent panel definitely add some character.

I also have to agree that the PCI slot looks small and I’d venture to say it’s a half-height.  In fact, I managed to confirm it when I looked much closer at the specs.  They do say that it has a single expansion slot, listed as “LP”, which mean “low profile”.  I pulled up the installation manual and it specifically reads, “low profile”.  Wow…  talk about making you work to find this stuff out!  🙂

I love the removable mobo cage, too!  Definitely a necessary addition to a small case like this.

Assuming I’m reading correctly, as far as space above the mobo, the case is stated to be just 5.51″ in width, which would mean a max (not counting the metal sides or mobo tray) of 2.75″ per side.  That’s pretty narrow.  The specs also note that the heatsink is a “special size” of 45mm.  Assuming that’s the height, it’s just 1.77″.

[kataleen]

Thanks Skirge01. Talk about refreshing, it’s been a while since I’ve been “Welcomed” on a forum.

So what’s your two cents on this? Do I stand a chance with an i3 or am I going to fall into the “more functional than pretty” camp, with another case?

BTW, care to share how you came across the installation manual? Or maybe just post it?

Thanks

[jrandeck]

Unfortunately, there’s not much help in the tested MoBo list since those all use notebook or netbook processors.

I use this cooler in a mini-ITX case and it’s got a pretty low profile (37mm) but I don’t think it fits on the newer socket types: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835220034

If you need a case with more room, you might have a look at this one.  It’s not as pretty and doesn’t have hot swap bays, but maybe something like this would work: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112265

It looks like it has room for a full size cooler, again, depending on how the drive bays overlap the motherboard.

[kataleen]

Good point, however, I am the kind of guy that likes to have pretty things to look at 🙂
Ask my wife 😀

Joke aside, I am not very fond of black cube cases. I also have a limited height in the media cabinet, and the Chenbro would have fitted snugly in there.

If it’s not meant to be, then I will most probably look more into flat (deck style) cases. But…you know…you never get over that first one!

[George L. Schmauch Jr.]

[quote=”kataleen”]
Thanks Skirge01. Talk about refreshing, it’s been a while since I’ve been “Welcomed” on a forum.[/quote]

Yeah, that’s just sad.  Most folks around here are pretty friendly.  Anytime I notice a single digit post I’m responding to, I try to welcome the person.

[quote]So what’s your two cents on this? Do I stand a chance with an i3 or am I going to fall into the “more functional than pretty” camp, with another case?[/quote]

It’s a tough call.  It’s all based on what your objectives are.  As long as the CPU is powerful enough for what you’re going to do and you can fit everything into it, it’s a pretty impressive case.  Personally, I went a very different route with a server and client setup, so my HTPC has just a single drive, but the case (Antec Fusion… linked in signature) is still quite large because I use it as a regular desktop PC, as well.  It’s used for web browsing and (less demanding) gaming, just as much as for TV.

[quote]BTW, care to share how you came across the installation manual? Or maybe just post it?
[/quote]

Sure thing.  If you click the download button on the page you linked to, it brings you to a page which has the PDF link.

[kataleen]

[quote]Sure thing.  If you click the download button on the page you linked to, it brings you to a page which has the PDF link.[/quote]

Blind me. I guess I got tunnel vision when seeing that pretty case. Didn’t think of checking the download button.

After doing some reading in the manual, I see indeed that they mention a 45mm heatsink. Do you know if that includes a fan? If not, can the i3 survive without a fan?

I also found this one, also in 45mm flavor.
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=54405&vpn=Samuel%2017&manufacture=Prolimatech

I need to mention that the htpc will be used mainly for 1080p video and non CPU-intensive apps.

[mikinho]

I did test with the i3-540 w/o a fan and it survives but I was a little concerned with is since the case did not provide adequate airflow for the CPU + voltage regulator.

I’m almost positive the stock HSF will fit the but like I said I’ll confirm the height when I get home.

[kataleen]

Apparently the stock HSF for i3 is around 60mm.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2067619
http://superuser.com/questions/153485/will-the-core-i3-stock-cooler-fit-in-a-2u-case

Mikinho: I would be glad if you could confirm though.

[Author]

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