Back in the day when computer modding was brand new, people came up with some of the most innovative PC cases. Some shoved their cases into custom steel cases, acrylic and even cases made from Legos. By far one of the most prestine-looking cases have been made from wood. I even did a case mod where I coated a regular steel case with wood-printed contact paper to emulate this effect.
Wood is much easier to work with than steel. With a few simple tools, you can create a very solid PC case, and if you use high quality wood then it can look very sophisticated when stained. But many people aren’t interested in modding today, and you can buy just about everything pre-modded… with the exception of the wood case.
nMedia has identified this niche and delivered a Home Theater PC made almost entirely out of wood, and has a classic look similar to many “retro” radio or audio consoles you see on QVC. Not only does this case have a classic look, but it is large enough to handle most PC hardware, and has all the connections and ports you need for a good home theater appliance.
nMediaPC is proud to introduce the first Wooden HTPC Case. The classic looking HTPC 8000 case not only will meet your HTPC needs, with its smart internal design, it can easily surpass any gamer’s expectations.
The new HTPC 8000 wooden case is a state-of-art ATX case for users in different interests. It supports full ATX motherboard; ATX PSU and all full length video card. It only built with one 140mm case fan to make your build a complete silent system. Direct air flow from front to back design improve the heat performance significantly. Not enough? Feel free to add two 92mm fans in the front behind the panel.
Support ATX power supply - Support ATX and Micro ATX motherboard
- 4 X 3.5″ internal bays for media data
- Easy upfront access digital connection interfaces
- SATA; HD Audio; SDHC 2.0 Card Reader; USB 2.0; IEEE 1394
- Support full height & length PCI cards
- Stylish antique red wood design box
- Compact size and feel
- Optional upgrade on 20×2 programmable MCE LCD module
- Innovated architecture makes your installation easy
- Quiet as always
Beside the superior functions offered above, the unique classic style will capture all eyeballs and impress your guests with your one of the kind powerful HTPC system.
| Model | HTPC 8000 |
| Color | Red Wood |
| Dimension | 19.3(W) x “14.3”(H) x 11″(D) 500mm(W) X 365mm(H) X 280mm(D) |
| Material | Wood and Steel |
| Motherboard | Supports ATX and Micro-ATX |
| Power Supply | Supports ATX PSU (not included) |
| Drive Bays | External 5.25″ Bay x1 Internal 3.5″ Bay x 4 |
| Expansions | 7 Slots / Full Size |
| Cooling | 140mm Case Fan x 1 |
| Front Connections | eSATA x 1 High Definition Audio x2 (AC 97 compliance) All in one Card Reader (SDHC 2.0 compliance) IEEE 1394 x1 USB 2.0 x3 |
| LCD Display (optional) | 20×2 programmable LCD module with internal USB connector. Supports Windows MCE 2005, Vista Media Center |
On the next page we take a closer look at its features and crack it open
One advantage to a case like this is that it doesn’t look like a typical PC… or home theater amplifier that many other cases try to emulate. Many people who have a serious home theater setup just can’t have a PC obviously sitting in the living room… a fact called the SAF (Spousal Acceptance Factor). Since the HTPC 8000 looks like a 60s-era radio then the SAF may come down to an acceptable level. It does have a retro look, so your spouse may either love or hate the design.
From the outside, the case looks absolutely beautiful. The wood has been stained red and although I cannot make out the specific wood type, it is definitely not pine, which would have a lot of unsightly knot-holes in the grain. The wood is not a square box, as the front is angled to have three faces. The center face has a metallic-plastic gold-tinted front panel, which we’ll explore later. Flanking the center panel on both sides are vents which look a lot like speaker grates, but in fact are merely air intake holes.
The top and bottom of the case are beveled, and there are nice but simple decorative elements all over. The sides of the case have gold handles inserted into the side, so you can easily pick this baby up. Even though it looks rather bulky and is made from wood, it is surprisingly light.
The case is large enough to accommodate most PC hardware, but is bulkier than most other HTPC cases. It can fit on a narrow shelf due to its short 14.4” depth, but its 20” width and 11” height doesn’t make it rack-friendly. Honestly, though you probably won’t want to mix this case in with other hardware, as their looks would most definitely clash.
The front panel is distressed and made to look like an old-time radio, but has obviously modern components like a stealthed DVD drive cover , LCD display and standard HTPC ports. The DVD plate is spring-loaded at the hinge, rather than using a straight spring which I’ve seen cheaper cases employ.
Below this is a 20-character, 2-line LCD display which uses the same iMon system that comes with just about every home theater case sold today. The display will automatically show media pertinent to the task at hand, such as MP3 title, movie chapter, time remaining and other information. When out of a media application the iMon software will display PC stats.
Below the small display are standard 9-in-1 media card slots. Also in this area are three USB ports, microphone and audio jacks (although I’d like to see ¼” ports used today), an eSATA hack and firewire port.
Below the I/O area is a plastic power and reset button. The power button looks like a large volume knob, but in fact does not turn at all. The natural instinct is to try and turn this knob, and since it is plastic it feels like it could snap with enough torque.
A blue “ring of light” appears around the knob when the PC is on, which looks a bit out of place for a PC trying to look retro. A red or green color would be better in my opinion. The reset button is recessed, but honestly I would think that the large power button is more prone to accidental resets, especially if you have toddlers that would be enticed by the large gold button. To the left of the power knob/button is a hard drive activity light. Personally, I leave the HD light disconnected in my home theater installations, because a blinking light is distracting when you’re watching TV.
The back of the case is the first clue that this case is not entirely made from our organic friends. The bottom half of the case has standard steel PC components screwed into the wood. There is room for a standard power supply, motherboard I/O panel, and seven card slots. Above the motherboard I/O rectangle is a very large, but low-speed .20A 140mm exhaust fan, with circular fan guard installed. The sticker on the fan states that this fan is made in China by the Don Guan Hengli Hongsheng Electronics Factory.
The case is opened by removing the top wood panel from the rest of the case, which is held in place by four very long gold-tinted screws. Once the top it off we can take a look inside.
You are immediately met with a metal rack that is screwed directly into some wood shelves, which are themselves anchored to the wood sides of the case. The metal rack is symmetrical, and has enough room for four hard drives. The top 2 hard drive cages have rubber grommets installed, which should help reduce vibration. Two more hard drives can be wedged into the main part of the rack, and a standard optical drive sits in the center.
The case can take a full-sized power supply, but you’re going to run out of room really fast, especially if you’re using full-sized hardware. It’s best to go with a modular power supply, such as the Corsair TX750 (reviewed here), so you don’t have excess cables clogging the case and reducing airflow.
It is easier to install drives with the rack removed, and once you do so you can see how deep this case is. There is plenty of room for even really tall CPU heatsinks, but they really can’t be over 6 inches tall, such as the Thermaltake V1 (reviewed here). There is enough room to accommodate full-size ATX motherboards and long video cards, but really the smaller the better to avoid cramping.
The front of the case shows the naked backside of the front-panel connectors and VFD display. Attached to this little board are all the connector cables you need (USB, firewire, power, etc.). You can see the cut-out air vents, which are made to look like speakers. I suppose you could mod some speakers and screw them in place if you really wanted this to be an all-inclusive appliance.
Even though this case can accommodate full-sized hardware, I would advise using modest hardware in this case. For one, wood doesn’t naturally radiate heat, and you can get a funny smell when finished wood starts to get warm. Although there is a 140mm exhaust fan, it probably can’t keep up with 150W of heat that can be produced by the latest processor and video card running full-blast. This isn’t a gaming case, so remember that when selecting components.
Installing hardware into this case is more straight-forward than other mechanical beasts. There are no clever mounting mechanisms, just simple screws and horse-sense. Installing a motherboard was fairly straight-forward once the drive cage was removed. Installing a power supply was also rather easy, but make sure the PSU’s intake fan is facing the motherboard. As mentioned before, you will save yourself a bunch of grief if you use a modular power supply.
With the drive cage removed, you can mount your hard drives and optical drive with little effort. Once the drive cage was screwed back in place, we noticed that the pre-installed DVD eject button didn’t reach all of the way, so you may have to get creative with some sort of spacer.
We connected all of the front-panel cables to the motherboard with the drive cage removed. We had to reach into the case, since there are no removable panels. Once this was all done then we screwed the drive cage back in place and routed our drive and power cables.
One thing we noticed when we powered the unit on was how much quieter it was, thanks to the natural dampening properties of wood. As mentioned before, wood does not radiate heat, so you have to rely on the outflow of the exhaust fan and your power supply. Amazingly, there was only a 10 degree difference (F) with the lid closed versus the case completely open. There is a lot of space around the CPU area, which is right in front of the large exhaust fan. If you route your cables properly and leave this area open then you will preserve the natural airflow necessary for safe operation.
Overall this is a good HTPC case, if you (and your spouse) dig its unique style. Like many cases, there are a few compromises to take into consideration. For one, the blue LED lights don’t match the retro look this is going for, the “speaker” holes really don’t house any speakers, and there is no true volume knob, although there appears to be one. There is enough room for modern hardware, but I wouldn’t push it, and the case keeps your hardware surprisingly quiet and cool.
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