Design & Features

We start with a brief look at the front and back of the chassis.  Most of the front panel is made of quality brushed aluminum that certainly will blend in well with your A/V components.  The rear is pretty standard, with the exception of the single 60mm fan mount and mircoATX PSU mount. 

Looking at the top and bottom of this small chassis, we see many vents to help dissipate heat, including a fan duct for those who install using an air-cooled option.  There's some A/V component-style feet on the bottom to further help it blend in well in such an environment. 

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A quick look inside reveals the little room you have to install all your components.  The 180BA does not sport a fully modular design, but the optical drive bay can be removed to provide ample space to install all components before mounting the drive, which should be the last step in the install.

When taking a closer look inside, we start with the included power supply.  Yes, the 180B does come standard with a PSU and with good reason, as it is of the microATX variety.  This power supply is branded under their name and has a total 300W of power.  It sports an ultra quiet 90mm fan that I found ran truly silent.  For those wondering, it does indeed feature a 24pin ATX motherboard connector so you will not need an adapter in this case.  SATA connectors are also featured.  More comments on performance in that section though.

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The only other fan on this chassis is a 60mm rear exhaust fan that is also designed to run silently.  Now, if you take a closer look at the picture above, you'll see that they actually include an internal SPDIF connector.   This is certainly nice, as you will not have to resort to one of its PCI bays to make such a connection.

Digging deeper, we have a look at the internal I/O board which actually makes this case unique and one that truly does set it apart from a majority of poorly designed HTPC cases.  More on that in a bit though.  The other main feature here is the internal MCE receiver rack.  While it fortunately does sport some thumbscrews, those with big hands will have a hard time removing or mounting this bracket due to its location and proximity to the front of the chassis.

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Both the optical drive bay and MCE receiver rack are removable.  However, only the receiver rack does feature thumbscrews.

A closer look at the front, we find the large power button which is accented by a nice but subtle blue glow.  Under it, you'll find the small transparent IR window that supports the Microsoft MCE Remote.  On the right side, you'll find its LCD display that will show both temperature and fan speed, as well as an alarm function.  Finally, we have a fan control knob allowing those with an air-cooled setup to control fan noise from the CPU.  While a small feature, this is a nice touch to help keep noise levels at a bare minimum.  As a finishing touch, "Home Theater PC" is engraved into the front panel as well.

Last but not least, is the middle front section of the case.  While not made of aluminum, it sports a black high-gloss finish that compliments the case well.  What's important here though is what it features.  Not only do you have a stealth drive bay cover to keep its design uniform, but the front door will reveal not only your standard USB and audio extensions, but an all-in-one flash card reader as well.  I found this to be one of its most impressive and unique features and I only wish a majority of other manufacturer's will catch on and design these cases this way.  A built-in flash card reader is quite useful in such a setup.  On top of that, I like the fact that the door to cover the the inputs does not feature a push-in type design that usually does not work well or will break over time.  The cover is designed to open and close without any slack and eliminate normal wear and tear over time. 

Next: Install & Performance