Test Setup & Cooling

Foxconn WinFast 6150K8MA-8EKRS: Athlon 64 3500+, 1GB Corsair XMS Ram, 500GB Seagate Barracuda, All-In-Wonder 2006 PCIE, MSI 16X DVD, Zalman CPNS9500 and Silverstone ST30NF PSU.

Silverstone supplies the LC17B with two 80mm exhaust fans. These particular fans are much quieter than the ones found in the LC10 but they can be removed or changed if you have quieter ones. One great thing about the improved cooling design here is that since Silverstone removed one of the crossbars from their previous model, the user can now use larger CPU coolers in the LC17. You cannot use a freakishly tall one such as the Scythe Ninja (trust us, we tried), but the Zalman CPNS9500 fit without any problems. You may have some issues with wide heatsinks though as the optical drive is in the area.

There are also perforations on both sides of the case, allowing some airflow into the chassis. The perforations on the PSU side will allow air to be drawn in should your PSU have an intake fan on the bottom of it (since it is effectively mounted sideways).

Our usual heatsink setup (ambient temperature, thermal paste, etc.) was used, with all of the LC17B's stock fans turned on. We also included two 80mm Panaflo 21cfm fan for air intake and HDD cooling and will be presenting the results separately. The comparison case is the Silverstone LC10B (center bar removed for testing) which is essentially the case the LC17 replaces. A Cooler Master Cool Drive was used to collect results of the video card. All temperatures are in °C.

Performance w/Stock Fans

The LC17B does a good job at keeping temperatures manageable, but is edged by the LC10 for system cooling performance, which is probably due to that case having one additional stock fan over the LC17. CPU cooling is superior though as the 80mm fans provide more airflow than the dual 60mm in the LC10. Also keep in mind that we removed the center crossbar in the LC10 to allow for the larger Zalman cooler. There is no way to use the cooler in the LC10's stock configuration, so that's something to keep in mind.

LC17 Performance w/Additional Panaflos

System and video card temperatures improve a great deal given that the fan locations direct air right through the system. This will lower overall temps since the WinFast 6150K8MA-8EKRS chipset and video card are in the path of the air stream.

Final Words

The Silverstone LC17B addressed the two main concerns we've had with their previous HTPC offering, which cooling options and ease of installation. Silverstone didn't simply change the facade of the LC10 and give it a new name, but rather, they redesigned the chassis and made it that much better.

The internal crossbar is still required for stability, and as we've pointed out in our last review, this prevented the user from installing the vast majority of performance air coolers. By moving the power supply to the other end of the enclosure (in this case, the right hand side when facing it from the rear), this allows Silverstone to move the motherboard further left. This in turn puts the CPU area in an "open" area and gives the user more options for larger coolers. While it's not a hard set rule, larger heatsinks can be silent or near silent depending on their design, which is a key feature since HTPCs are supposed to be quiet.

Many of the installation issues of the LC10 with certain components installed have been addressed with the LC17. You still need to remove the optical drive to install or change a motherboard, but rather than dealing with 4 screws for the drive, you can just undo two and slide the drive cage out.

There were a couple areas that we felt Silverstone could have improved on. First, the PSU installation puts the bottom cooling fan (should it have one) facing the outside of the case. While it's great that it draws in fresh air, it doesn't do much to cool the rest of the system. Reversing this would add another exhaust for the system. While cooling performance isn't bad, we think Silverstone should have included at least one 80mm fan for the hard drives. Also, while we think the motherboard placement is great for larger coolers, you will be restricted depending on the type of optical drive you use and the width of your CPU cooler. Also, only coolers under 6.5" will fit comfortably.

We do like the method of stealthing the optical drive as it will be universal for all but slot loading drives. Keep in mind that it is a one shot deal and you will need to pick up some more double-sided tape if you need to change optical drives. An all aluminum design would have been nice, albeit very expensive, but otherwise, we found the LC17 to be quite solid and well built. It is aesthetically pleasing, and looks great now that even the external connections are behind a small door. Definitely recommended if you're in need of a HTPC case that won't clash with your A/V components.