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Conclusions
nMediaPC happens to be one of the few
companies focusing primarily on HTPC cases and therefore, happens to design
them to please. Most importantly though, they also happen to make them all fairly affordable to many. Those
on the market for an HTPC chassis will quickly find that a majority are
quite over-priced and well beyond their budget. In fact, you'll find that almost all are priced
higher than even a quality tower case. The fact is that many are
simply unable to afford such a case that happens to feature what they really
want. That's why I find the cases from nMediaPC of high interest.
While not necessarily built to the utmost highest quality, they primarily
focus on one area...features. They happen to sport some unique yet
useful features designed for such an environment. The HTPC 180BA
happens to be one of these products. It is not only aesthetically
pleasing, but also happens to sport an internal MCE receiver mount,
external fan control and an all-in-one card reader as well. Few cases have these unique
features and is why I find this particular chassis to be an excellent choice
for a number of users looking to venture in the world of HTPC.
However, no product is without its share of
design flaws. With the HTPC 180BA, the main complaint was ironically one
of its main features. The internal MCE receiver mount was not designed
properly and some modification on your part will be needed to mount the
receiver on the case without any complications. The main issue was
that the steel mount was not padded, forcing you to come up with some sort
of padding of your own in order to provide some peace of mind that it will
always function.
Other than that though, I found there was really not much else to complain
about in regards to its design. However, when it comes to quality, you
will clearly see where the product does fail to impress. From the
push-off style PCI brackets, to the flakey fan control knob, it was clear
that some sacrifices had to be made to make this product affordable.
In the end though, the HPTC 180BA does impress
in terms of its feature set. It's build quality is also above average,
when you factor in its price tag.
What you get here folks is a feature-rich case with a quality 300W power
supply that is small enough to accommodate almost any setup. EMHz Recommended!
More information on the HTPC 180BA can be
found on the
nMediaPC
Website.
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Pros |
Cons |
- Well Designed
- Useful HTPC features
- Built-in flash card reader
- Large Power Button
- Internal MCE remote mount
- Internal SPDIF connector
- Quality Micro PSU included
- External fan control
- Minimal noise levels
- Highly Affordable
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- Minor quality issues
- Internal receiver mount not
padded
- Flakey fan control knob
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Questions? Comments?
Discuss them here...
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