GMC Noblesse AVC-S7 HTPC Case Review

I love Home Theater PC cases.  Several years ago there weren’t many to choose from, and many of them looked more like PC equipment rather than OEM home theater equipment.  Now there are several great designs that look like they belong in your rack of audio equipment, and have functionality that makes them work like a true home theater appliance.

GMC (not to be confused with General Motors) is a relatively new company to the U.S. market, but have been producing quality computer products in South Korea for some time now.  They have several innovative HTPC cases, and one of their latest is the Noblesse AVC-S7 Home Theater PC Case.  This slimline case incorporates alot of pre-installed hardware into its chasis, so it can alsmost be considered a barebone PC kit… all that’s needed is your motherboard (with CPU and memory) and a hard drive.

Specifications

	Model AVC-S7 Dimension ( W x D x H ) Chassis : 430 X 340 X 67mm Carton Box : 478 x 428 x 114mm Color Silver / Black Multi Port IEEE1394 x 1port, USB2.0 x 2port, Audio + MIC port Slot type Slim ODD DVD Combo Form Factor Micro ATX(Low Profile) & MoDT Support Drive Bay 3.5″ x 1 ( Int) Expansion Slots 1 Slot(Riser Card – PCI or PCI Express) Cooling Air Hole for CPU, Air Hole for PCI express VFD Module 16 x 2 Character VFD Jog Button Driver installation Driver CD x 1 Manual English edition Power Supply Micro ATX Power Support Optional Remote Control : IrDA Remocon, 16 x 2 VDF Display

* Ultra-Slim HTPC Case
Support Micro ATX
Support Micro ATX Power Supply(PS3)
Provide multi operation software through the iMEDIAN
The best solution for multimedia such as TV, Music, Movie and photo
User-friendly IrDA remote controller
Optional PCI riser card kit
Support slim DVD Combo(DVD-Rom 8x, CDRW 24x, Multi DVD reading support)

* Front panel function
Support system information and EQ visualization in 16 X 2 VFD display
Menu navigation jog button, Enter button
Modern style Half mirror look

* Thermal Solutions
Support Air hole in the Top cover

* Safe Assembly
Folded edge for each part

* USB 2.0 FPIO Support
Support USB 2.0 X 2, audio and microphone port FPIO
Support IEEE1394 x 1

The GMC Noblesse AVC-S7 case is small, and is really no bigger than a typical DVD player in all of its dimensions. The case looks very sleek, with only a single visible power button on the front.  The top and sides feature perforated holes to allow heat to naturally escape from the case.  Several logos associated with Home Theater equipment have been printed on the front (Dolby Digital, Divx, DTS, DVD Video, etc.) to give the case a look of “legitimate” audio/video gear.

There is alot of functionality built into this case, which are hidden behind an acrylic door.  Once you flip the door down, you can see tons of buttons and displays that were previously hidden. All of the panel’s functions are printed on the reverse side of the black panel, so you can easily identify what each button does without being at eye level.

One of the most notable features is the 16×2 character VFD display, which will shine through the smoked acrylic for a professional-looking presentation.  There are also several inputs that are pretty much standard on home theater PC cases now: a firewire port, two USB ports, headphone and microphone jacks, and  media card slots.

Also on this panel are buttons to navigate your Media Center without the remote control: a feature that EVERY home theater PC should have by now.  There is a four-way D-pad with center OK button, a Reset button, AV Center (similar to Microsoft’s Green Home button), and a Back button.

One glaring usability flaw that stands out for me is that the Reset button is so close to the other buttons and is too easy to be pressed mistakenly.   A recessed button, or making the buttons different shapes, would reduce this possibility, as most people are going to be using these controls in dim light (usually as a last resort when they can’t find their remote control).  While these navigation buttons are handy, it would also be nice if standard playback controls were included (play, pause, stop, volume up/down, etc.).

Above the feature-packed media panel is a single slot which is the enterance to the included slim-line DVD combo drive, which comes pre-installed.  The drive slot is centered (like the Silverstone LC16M), which is a feature I love.  The drive has a single eject button, which spits out any inserted disc.  You must insert media almost all the way before the drive mechanism catches, so only full-sized DVD or CD media will work.  Half-size media or oddly-sized promotional discs will surely jam and could possibly mess up the drive.

Since the case is extremely slim (barely taller than a typical 1U server case), GMC has included a special slim-line copper heatsink.  This heatsink is almost an exact copy of Zalman’s CNPS line of heatsinks in that shaved copper plates are pressed together and the fins are bent to fashion a circular design around a central fan.  The base of the copper block is rather smooth, but not polished to a mirror-like shine, and should be more than adequate for most processors.  The heatsink has brackets to work with AMD’s socket 754 and 939, and a plastic brace is included to install this cooler on Intel motherboards with socket 775.

As mentioned earlier, the case comes pre-installed with alot of equipment.  The front panel is pre-wired, and would be quite a chore to configure if it weren’t already done.  There are several leads that must be connected to get everything functioning properly.  The power supply, slimline DVD drive and PCI riser extension are also pre-installed.  Normally an adapter must be installed to convert slim-line (notebook) drives for standard IDE cables, and this adapter also comes pre-installed.

All that must be done is to untangle the multitude of cables, mount the motherboard, and plug the leads into the appropriate places.  Once the cables are maneuvered out of the way, it can be seen that motherboard mounts are already integrated into the chasis.  There is a stabilization bar on the top of the case that must be removed before mounting the motherboard, however.  We installed the I/O shield that came with our motherboard, slid the board in place and secured it down with screws.

The riser card works with any PCI device (although a PCI-Express riser is available).  We took this opportunity to install a Hauppauge PVR-250 video capture card.  All that’s needed is to plug the PCI ribbon cable into any free PCI slot, and then plug the card into the riser.  The card is then secured from the outside with a standard case screw.  It is recommended to use a motherboard with onboard video and sound, so that you can use an internal hardware-based video capture device.  You can use an external USB device, such as Pinnacle’s PCTV HD Pro stick, but this increase the space necessary in your rack.

Installing the hard drive is rather easy, as well.  The drive cage unscrews easily, which allows you to secure any standard 3.5″ hard drive into the cage.  The cage is easily secured back to the chasis with four standard screws.

Really the hardest part of the installation is routing the cables in an efficient manner to optimize airflow.  There are four USB leads: two for the standard front USB ports, one for the front panel navigation buttons, and another for the multimedia card reader.  Each wire has its own lead, so you must carefully match up the USB wires to their corresponding pins.  A standard 2-port USB-block (with orientation pin) would have made this much easier).

Installing the front audio ports was rather easy.  The cable comes with two standard pin blocks (AC97 and HD Audio) that plug directly into your motherboard’s audio pin array.  Although there is a firewire port on the front, I could not find a Firewire cable.  There was a free pin array on the front panel, so this may be where the cable was to be attached.

This case uses the iMON VFD display system (one standard innovation that makes HTPCs more appliance-like), which taps its power from the motherboard power cable.  All you have to do is insert the motherboard power into this adapter (which has a wire that siphons off a small amount of voltage), and plug the adapter into the motherboard power socket.

The included 270-watt power supply gives you all the connections you need, and even a few extras.  The power supply is a very generic type, but will probably not reach even 70% load given limited hardware likely to be installed in this case.  Even using very liberal estimates and a high-powered processor, you will likely only use 160 watts of power at maximum.  All bets are off if you install a video card that requires a dedicated power rail.

Once all of the hardware was installed, we secured the top brace back into position and installed the cover. It was a tight, but satisfying fit. Once turned on, we noticed that the CPU fan was rather loud, but this can be turned down with a Zalman fanmate or other rheostat device.  I would keep a watchful eye on the temps, however, as the only active exhaust is from the power supply.  All other heat dissipation occurs naturally through the case’s top air vent.

One complaint I have about the case is the materials used in its construction.  While they are of good quality, the paint job on the top cover was scratched up during installation, and the plastic front was chipped while flipping the case around.  Most quality home theater cases use an aluminum front to prevent these types of problems.

GMC’s Noblesse AVC-S7 Home Theater Case is an impressive little barebone kit.  It comes with all the accessories you need to create a fully functional slimline home theater PC which integreates seamlessly with your other audio and video equipment.  Of all the cases I’ve seen, this is the one that looks more like genuine entertainment equipment than any other.

The integrated iMON VFD, IR input, media controls and software combine to make this unit function seamlessly like an appliance, as well.  The software intelligently displays the status of your home theater (media titles, time remaining, etc.) and the VFD shines through the smoked acrylic panel that hides all the “ugly bits” of the case’s controls.

Functionally and aesthetically the AVC-S7 is a great case.  It comes with alot of equipment, which accounts for its price, but I wish the case at least had an aluminum front to prevent unsightly scratches.  The steel framework is machined and rolled nicely, but aluminum would have made it more resilient.

You get alot of equipment for the money, so you can easily create a functional entertainment appliance with spare hardware just lying around.  Even if you buy new equipment, all you have to purchase is a miniATX motherboard, processor, memory and hard drive.  I look forward to seeing more case innovations from this South Korean company.

	REPORT CARD : GMC AVS-S7 Noblesses Home Theater PC Case category rating comments Quality 4 Well machined steel, but plastic front scratches easily. Innovation 5 Nearly everything you need in a HTPC case with one of the slimmest profiles Performance 5 Sits there quietly once the CPU fan is toned down. iMON VFD and software makes the appliance work great. Installation 5 Nearly everything is pre-installed, so perfectionsists can concentrate on routing cables. Value 4 A great barebone HTPC kit, but for this price I expect better materials and components FINAL VERDICT: 5 out of 5 stars