I’ve been on a never-ending quest for the Ultimate Home Theater PC for many years. I seek the One Case to rule them all (as my HTPC server), and in darkness bind them (thru wireless ethernet). I have suffered through horribly-conceived steel boxes and converted behemoth desktop cases, and still haven’t been able to find the one True Case. HTPC cases have increased in popularity, so there are many manufacturers creating the cases, but that means that the percentage of QUALITY cases are going down, because the market is becoming flooded with mediocre cases aimed at the home theater enthusiast.
Silverstone is one of the companies that consistently produces innovative and quality cases for the home theater and PC enthusiast. Their products have evolved with the market, so they now include similar features that an OEM HTPC includes, and make the installation easy.
Silverstone has introduced their new Grandia series HTPC cases, following on the success of their popular Lascala enclosures. The first-born spawn of the Grandia series is the GD01MX, and includes an advanced 52-in-1 card reader, enhanced low-speed fans, an innovative hard drive mounting bay, and a very slick multilanguage LCD display with integrated IR sensor, in addition to the quality construction that makes Silverstone cases so great. The GD01MX also has two 5.25″ drive bays, which is perfect for early adopters of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD (so you can enjoy both formats in one unit).
About Silverstone:
Founded in the summer of 2003, Silverstone Technology is now a proven leader in the field of aluminum enclosure design and manufacturing. Our expertise in creating functional works of art from ordinary electronics and computer components is widely recognized. Numerous designs and ideas for improving computer enclosures were first created by our talented team of engineers, who are regarded by many as leaders in their respective fields. Today, Silverstone Technology continues to garner attention and awards that reflect our original vision of creating the most advanced and beautiful products available on the market.
Specifications:
| Material | Aluminum front panel, 0.8 mm SECC body |
| Color | Black Silver |
| Motherboard | Standard ATX, Micro ATX |
| Multimedia | Multilanguage capable LCD, Multimedia Software and Remote Control |
| Model | SST-GD01B-MXR (black, multimedia, card reader) SST-GD01S-MXR (silver, multimedia, card reader) |
| Drive Bay | External 5.25” x 2 3.5” x 1 Internal 3.5” x 6 |
| Cooling System | Front 2 x 92mm or 80mm fan slots Rear 2 x 80mm exhaust fan, 1800rpm, 19dBA Side 1 x 80mm fan slot |
| Expansion Slot | 7 |
| Front I/O Port | USB2.0 x 2 IEEE1394 x 1 audio x 1 MIC x 1 52-in-1 card reader |
| Power Supply | Optional standard PS2 (ATX) |
| Net Weight | 7 kg |
| Dimension | 430 mm (W) x 170mm (H) x 430 mm (D) |
Card reader support:
- Smart Media – SM, SSFDC, SM Ram, XD
- Compact Flash – CF I, CF II, Hitachi Microdrive, IBM Microdrive, Magicstor, HS-CF, Extreme CF, Extreme III CF, Ultra CF, Ultra II CF, Ultra-X CF
- Secure Digital – SD, HS SD, Extreme SD, Extreme III SD, Ultra SD, Ultra II SD, Ultra II SD plus, SD Elite Pro, *Mini-SD, *Micro SD, *T Flash, *C-Flash
- Multimedia – MMCI, MMCII, HS MMC, DV-RS-MMC, *MMC Mobile, *RS MMC, *RS MMC Mobile, *HS RS MMC
- Memory Stick – MS, MS Magic Gate, MS Pro, MS Pro(MG), Extreme MS Pro, Extreme III MS Pro, HS MS Pro, HS MS MG Pro, MS Select, MS Pro Ultra II, *MS Duo, *MS Duo(MG), *MS Pro Duo, *MS Pro Duo(MG), *HS MS Pro Duo, * HS MS MG Pro Duo, *MS Pro Duo Ultra II, * MS Rom
As with Silversone’s other cases, the GD01 has a good look and excellent finish that matches well with most other entertainment equipment. The front of the enclosure appears rather clean and simple; as most of the components are hidden behind spring-loaded doors. The front is segmented into two-thirds, with the LCD display (and IR receiver) taking up the majority on the left, and the drive bays hidden behind a flip-down door on the right. The 52-in-1 card reader, audio jacks, USB and Firewire ports are hidden behind a flip-down door near the bottom of the bezel. The front panel is made of aluminum, and has a concave curve shaped into it.
Accessing the drive bays is easy. Just push the door in slightly, which unlocks the latch, and the door slowly lowers on a gear-driven hinge. The doors operate smoothly and quietly, and have a good thickness and feel very robust. The same goes for the lower door that conceals the card reader and ports.
The underside of the bezel has some hidden air vents, creatively placed to allow critical air intake without ruining aesthetics. The bottom of the case also has four audiophile-quality fee, which helps blend the case in with other audio equipment, as well as raising the case up for better air intake. The sides of the case also have air vents.
Inside
The inside of the case is accessed by sliding back the top lid and pulling up (after first removing the securing thumbscrews). While the front panel is made of hardened anodized aluminum, the inside is constructed of thick high-quality rolled steel.
The case layout is different from other HTPC cases I have installed, and makes for easy maintenance. A center brace is screwed into position in the very center of the case, which should be removed before doing any maintenance. The brace is strong enough to lift the entire case, even with all component installed. A large hard drive cage is positioned near the front (behind the LCD display), can accommodate six drives, and has been fitted with high-quality rubber to prevent vibration. The cage is held in place with four screws and slides on a rail.
The optical drive cage slides on a rail and is held in place with two screws. This cage can house two 5.25″ drives, which can make this unit a feature-packed HTPC. Early adopters could install a Blu-Ray drive and HD-DVD drive, or video enthusiasts could install two DVD burners for automated copies. Two 80mm intake fans can be mounted to the HDD cage, and the right side panel can accept another 80mm fan. If you have a newer power supply with a 120mm intake fan on the bottom, then the rear-side air intake vent (complete with molded mesh grill) will feed your PSU with fresh outside air. Ahhhh! Breathe it in!
The hard drives were installed next by removing the hard drive cage. The inside of the cage is completely covered with high-quality rubber that feels like a mouse mat (I know I have used mouse mats to quiet computers in the past). Hard drives squeeze in snugly, thanks to the rubber, and the holes of the cage are positioned so the drives only face one orientation.
You might want to hook up the card reader and LCD to the motherboard while the hard drive cage is removed, as the wires are now easily accessible. Basically just connect the USB lead to a free port on the motherboard (Silverstone includes an external-to-internal USB adapter, so you could connect the LCD to the motherboard’s back I/O panel, but this method isn’t quite as OEM). The 52-in-one card reader has a USB lead that connects to one of your motherboard’s USB ports. The LCD’s power is provided with a power adapter that connects between the power supply and the motherboard’s power connector. I really, really don’t like this method, as it unnecessarily cramps wires. The advantage to this method is that it keeps the LCD powered when the PC is in sleep mode or turned off.
Optical drive installation is also easy: the cage is secured with two screws, which are easily removed, and the cage then slides off its rail. The drive cover plates are attatched to the cage, so there is no need to do the “twist-and-bend” to remove the plates.
The power supply is then mounted, and the wires routed to their appropriate destinations. The motherboard power connector is coupled with to the LCD power adapter, which is then plugged into the motherboard. A modular power supply is recommended to reduce wire clutter inside the case, but if not then you can tuck excess cables under the drive cage: there’s plenty of room.
The included LCD software is similar to that used on other Silverstone cases, but is a newer version. The software included on the installation CD loaded right up, and the LCD was working within minutes. There are two portions to this software: the LCD display software and the IR application. The IR application has a little module that is “always on top” by default, and makes a sound whenever it receives any input from the Silverstone remote. These features can be turned off, but finding them takes some digging in the software.
Configuring the LCD is very simple, as the software has been tuned for home theater applications. You don’t have to manually configure every little screen, pixel, transition, scrolling, or any of that other stuff that you have do to with “general-purpose” LCD displays. Instead you just set your time zone, select a profile, and set other options. By default, the LCD is in “AUTO” mode, so it detects what software you’re running and displays information about it. If you close any home theater applications, then the LCD displays weather information and news (set in the software’s preferences), and PC stats like memory and CPU usage, etc.
The LCD Display
If you’re running Windows Media Center, then it displays everything you could possibly want, even before you ask it. The display changes when you’re on the Home page, settings, Guide, if you’re playing a DVD, watching TV, listening to music or radio… and it does this automatically. When you’re watching a TV show (live or recorded), the display shows the title of the show, and scrolls it if the title is too long. Media Center even downloads the chapter titles of your DVDs and shows them on the display, which is one of the coolest features of a HTPC. Since the LCD’s text is generated from a grid of square pixels, you can change the font size to your preferences.
The multi-function display does more than just display text about your current task. There are some custom graphical elements that visually indicate total show length, how far along you are, and the current play status. There is a little elliptical “CD” icon that “spins” by rotating its six internal segments to indicate a DVD or CD is playing. There are also two programmable bar graphs above and below the text area to indicate time remaining or time elapsed of your particular DVD, video or audio file.
The Remote Control
The remote control is the same bundled with other Silverstone cases. It provides many generic functions that can be used with many different types of HTPC software (one of which is included on the Silverstone installation CD). The remote has standard features like numbers, Enter, Ok, but also has a bunch of buttons that you’ll probably never use, either (like web favorites).
One of the main features of this remote is how it can double as a mouse or keyboard. The remote has an analog “hat-switch” that has 360 degrees of movement and can be toggled for use as a keyboard arrows or a mouse. The circle has different pressure sensitivities… the harder you press the more responsive the mouse pointer. There are buttons surrounding the main circle for use as a left click, right click and other featuers.
The navigation circle is located two-thirds up the length of the mouse, so it feels difficult to grip. A better placement would be near the bottom so the bottom of the remote fits in the palm of your hand. The remote also has a limited blast radius so it should have direct line-of-sight to the IR sensor, although the range is very good. The remote’s IR signal can be easily blocked by a person standing in the way, or if you’re at the wrong angle.
The remote is a nice back-up, but is no replacement for a true Media Center remote or Logitech Harmony. If you choose an off-brand Home Theater application, then this may be the only remote that works with it, although many remotes are now standard (up maps to a keyboard “arrow up”, OK is a keyboard’s “Enter”, etc).
Drawbacks
The LCD display is very unique, and has a similar look to what is available on today’s entertainment equipment, but it does have some drawbacks. The LCD is very bright… bright enough to be distracting in a dim home theater or living room. Because it is an LCD, it has a very limited viewing angle, so if you stand up and look down at it, the display just looks like a bright white rectangle. I did have some issues with the LCD “sticking” every now and then, but a software update fixed this right up. The display does hiccup every now and then, and is reliable 99% of the time.
Siverstone’s GD01MX is one of the most robust HTPC enclusures available. The aluminum front bezel is not cluttered, which allows it to blend in nicely with other audio and entertainment equipment. Some may not like the asymetrical look (as most DVD players have their drives located in the center), and the drive doors give a clue that this is a PC and not “authentic” entertainment equipment. The LCD display looks alot more like displays on consumer equipment, and is very bright, crisp, and attractive.
The case is very quiet (although no HTPC is going to be 100% quiet). The included fans only generate a whisper, and I cannot hear the hard drives at all (thanks to the special drive mounting considerations). The remote control is full featured can be used as both a keyboard and mouse, but isn’t as user friendly as a Media Center remote.
The Silverstone Grandia GD01MX has enough features for a robust HTPC or home theater server, and looks like one too.
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