HTPC Trinity Cooler / Case combo?

zanny

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Jul 18, 2008
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I've been waiting to build an htpc based off Trinity that can function as a housewide hub, but I can't find a case that supports sufficiently bulky coolers to overclock a Trinity apu on. My cases of choice would be one of the Silverstone Granidas 5 or 8 (either the http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=241 or http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=331). The problem with these cases is that their maximum CPU cooler clearance is only 120mm in total, and that limits me to something like a CM GeminII or Noctua NH-L12. In the case of the Granidas 5, that would mean no optical drive in any circumstance (the only cooler that would clear 70mm would be a Zalman CNPS8900, but the drive would still obstruct it and reduce airflow, and I want to OC this thing).

So I'm looking for a case / cooler combo where I can fit a sufficiently beefy cpu cooler (price is less an issue than having this thing work) but would rather have a HTPC-esque or cube case, I want it to fit in a tv stand, and preferrably without having to saw off a shelf to get an extra 5" clearance (the maximum height would be 20" then) to get a Trinity chip beefy enough to be worth it over an i3 2200 with hd 4000 (mainly because I expect to have my brother playing games on this thing, hence the Trinity APU).

The other few options I found were all mini microATX towers, which would require sawing that shelf off. My options there would be between the Silverstone TJ08B-E, which has an awkward upside down mobo configuration with the psu venting out of the top (what?). The heights are as bad as the Xigmatic Gigas, which has plenty of cpu cooler clearance but is apparently a pain in the butt to work with because you can only screw in mobos from the lid. The last option is the Fractal Design Arc Mini, which is really tall (19") and borders on not fitting at all.

Anyone know any coolers / case combos that might work here? I'm also going for quiet here, so no <100mm fans and nothing over 2k rpm and no tunneling effects. I'd really like a cooler I can stick in a Grandias 8 that would work. I'd consider an h100 but I don't know if kinking the cables would work, or if the radiator would bump the top of the board. Also, full ATX is kind of overkill for my purposes, the Asrock Pro-4M is more than enough for this build and its only Micro-ATX. Hell, if there were any FM2 ITX mobos on the market I would look at those, there are a lot of ITX case options I'd consider. I'd also consider a usb dvd drive with the Grannidas 5 if nothing comes up.
Footnote: these cases are all stupidly expensive. I can get a HAF full tower with full fan complement for these prices. Gosh.