We review so many Home Theater PC cases that sometimes they all start to look alike. Many of them try to mimic the look of either a home theater amplifier or DVD player. Due to size constraints, many manufacturers opt for the amplifier, which allows the consumer to use standard-size PC components. Some of the smaller designs look much more appliance-like, simply because at first glance it appears there’s no way to fit PC components into the chassis.
If you’re a fan of the low-profile HTPC cases, then you may be intereteste in the GlacialTech Altair A381 HTPC chassis, which has a lot of features found in premium home theater appliances, but without a lot of wasted space. The Altair is outfitted with an aluminum front panel, front panel buttons, VFD display, and a good airflow design.
Specifications
| Color | Black and Silver |
| Dimension | W 430 X H 100 X D 405 (mm) |
| Type | Altair A381 Standard Altair A381 VFD (Support Vista ) Altair A381 iMON (Support iMON software) Altair A381 LCD ( 4.3” touch LCD support iMON software) |
| Form Factor | Micro-ATX/ATX/E-ATX |
| 5.25” Drive Bays | 1 Exposed |
| 3.5” Drive Bays | 2 Hidden |
| Expansion slots | 4 low profiles 2 standard PCI with riser card |
| Cooling system | Dual 6 cm blue LED fan, 1500 rpm, 19dBA |
| I/O panel | USB 2.0 X 2, MIC X 1, Audio X 1, Card reader X 1, IR X 1 |
| Material | 6063 Aluminum, SECC, Plastic |
| Option | Bluetooth & Wireless board, Bluetooth & Wireless Antenna |
Features
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Parts List
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If you’re a fan of low-profile HTPC designs, then you have to choose your PC innards carefully. You pretty much have to take the same considerations of a 1U or 2U server, which means either using low-profile add-in cards, or use a motherboard with all the features you want integrated. If you’ve already decided on this route, then you’re ready to take a look at the Altair A381.
The box includes the case itself, along with a software CD, iMon remote control, case screws, an installation guide, and power cord. The power cord included in our sample was meant for Europe.
The outside of the case looks like a decent home theater appliance. The entire case is painted black, except for the front panel, which is made of anodized aluminum. The front panel has several features, some of which are stealthed. On the left side of the case is a VFD or LCD display, and below this is an array of standard media control buttons (Home, Display, backward, forward, Play/Pause, Skip, etc.). The ODD bay does not have a pre-installed “stealthed” door, but instead requires an aluminum bezel be taped to the front of your optical drive. While the end result looks fine, I prefer to see a permanently-attached drive door.
The right side of the case has a slot to access a hidden DVD drive, and to the right of this bay is a volume knob (which doubles as a power button). Below the DVD drive is a panel which conceals a 9-in-1 media card reader, as well as audio and USB ports. The panel is secured close by two small magnets, which is a welcome addition (the panel on this SilverStone LC16 case keeps falling open, no matter what we do).
The top of the case has ventillation holes punched near the rear, which will allow heat from the case to naturally escape through convection. The bottom of the case has four circular media-style feet, which use rubber rings to prevent the case from sliding around. The sides of the case have circular ventillation holes stamped out to accomodate internal 40mm exhaust fans.
The rear of the case looks like many desktop cases, except for the fact that it is midget-ized. The I/O panel is standard size, but the four card slots to its right are half-sized. To the right of these slots is an exhaust port, and then the integrated 2U power supply. The included power supply apparently was meant for a European audience, as the unit was set for 230W, instead of the standard 115W used in the United States and Canada.
The top of the case easily slides back once the single low-profile screw is removed. Looking inside, we can see a plethora of included cables, which are pre-wired to their components… all that’s required is to hook them up to your motherboard.
The internal case layout is not unlike many desktop cases. The area for the motherboard has pre-drilled mounts, as standard brass mounts would be too tall for this case. There is barely enough room outside of a standard mini-ATX motherboard, so it is recommended to remove the drive cages until the end of installation.
The case has two pre-installed drive cages. To the left is a 5.25″ drive cage to accomodate a standard DVD or Blu-ray drive. To the right of this is a 3.5″ hard drive cage, which can accomodate two standard hard drives. The HDD cage is tilted to the right by 90 degrees, to make sure there is enough clearance for the motherboard, which actually makes drive installation difficult. All drive cages are secured to the bottom of the chassis by standard case screws, but GlacialTech has pre-installed yellow rubber grommets to help reduce drive vibration.
The included power supply is a 270W model, and has enough connections for all the hardware that will fit in this case. The PSU has 24-pin motherboard power connectors, 2 SATA power connectors, four standard 4-pin connectors, and a floppy connector. You may find yourself needing a molex-to-SATA power adapter if you use a SATA-based optical drive, especially if you use two SATA hard drives.
This case uses SoundGraph’s iMon display solution, which is implemented on just about every modern HTPC case. This solution integrates front panel buttons with a display, IR input, and several other optional features (like a software-driven volume knob). In an attempt to make your HTPC more appliance-like, this display solution is installed in a way that isn’t so straightforward… with the idea that the PC can be turned on remotely. The display leeches power from your “always on” motherboard power connector, so that the IR sensor remains powered, ready to receive a remote signal that turns on the PC. In reality, most people with home theater PCs will keep them on all day, which renders this feature moot.
Installation of the motherboard is fairly straightforward. Place the I/O shield and then slap down the motherboard. Since all the mounting holes are integrated into the chassis, there is no need to “map out” the brass mounting standoffs you’re going to use.
Optical drive installation is fairly straightforward. Just remove the mounting screws on the left and right of the cage and lift up. The optical drive can then be slid in and secured with case screws, but leave them a little loose for the moment. Place the drive cage down, and feel the tension on the front “eject” button. You’ll want this to feel a little loose, or the slightest jar can cause the DVD tray to eject. Once you’ve gotten a good fit, take the drive cage back out and tighten the mounting screws all the way. Then secure the drive cage to the chassis. There is a decent amount of room under this cage, which is a good place to stuff extra cables to keep them out of the main area, where airflow is critical.
Hard drive installation is a little more cumbersome. The cage is secured to the chassis with three case screws, two of which are between the cage and the front panel. There are also a bunch of wires here, which makes finding these screws particularly difficult, even with a flashlight. Once the cage is removed, installation of drives is straightforward…. there’s just something satisfying about using case screws rather than weird plastic mounting brackets. This may also be a good time to connect SATA data and power cables, because space is really tight once the cage is back in position.
As I’ve mentioned in other reviews, this iMon installation method wastes a lot of space, and doesn’t really work properly all the time (some displays don’t turn off after the PC is shut down). If the idea is to let the IR receiver get power, then that could be an option that the user can decide to implement, not force the user into a weird installation dynamic. But I digest…
To connect the front panel, you must plug several leads to your motherboard’s USB headers, and tether power from the motherboard’s 3.3v power lead. To do this, an included motherboard dongle is included, which plugs directly into your motherboard. The power supply’s motherboard cable then plugs into this “proxy cable”. The USB leads are pretty straightforward, but there are two sets of plugs that can be frustrating. One has 5-pins (with the fifth dummy pin filled in), and the other has 4 pins. So, the 5-pin cable will only fit on the top of a standard USB pin array, where there is no fifth “orientation” pin. For the 4-pin USB lead, remember that the black wire is ground, which is next to the orientation pin.
The case has two 40mm case fans with standard 3-pin fan headers (which also have standard Molex connectors). Molex fan connectors make your wiring sloppy, so I always cut them off with a pair of wire cutters. Then just insert the fans onto the motherboard. The case is designed so there is lots of clearance between your components and the fans. One of the fans is near the drive cage, but it would have been nice if this fan blew air directly over the drives to keep them cool.
Regardless of my gripes about the iMon’s physical installation, the solution works beautifully once the software is installed. Your system magically displays pertinent tasks on your current activities. Play a DVD, and the display shows the title and chapter. A neat graphic equalizer displays when playing music. When outside of Media Center, then the display shows statistics about your PC. There are a lot of pre-configured options, and it features just about everything a HTPC needs.
The exhaust fans and included power supply are extremely quiet. The fans light up with a little blue glow, which can be slightly distracting in a home theater rack, but they do their job very well. The front panel media buttons and volume control also work as expected. There is no HD activity or power LED, and no power button, which can be a boon for HTPC users that want an appliance that looks less like a computer. The power can be turned on by pressing the volume button.
Once installed, the GlacialTech Altair A381 Home Theater PC Case is very attractive, and its low-profile design looks more like an appliance than a computer. This case may be difficult to find in the US, but you can always order it from GlacialTech’s website. If you’ve already done the homework necessary for a low-profile HTPC solution, then the Altair is a good solution.
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