HTPC systems are very popular for various reasons, but still really haven't come into the full mainstream for whatever reasons that may be. For those of us that DIY our systems though we have many choices when it comes to creating our own HTPC setups.
Today I've got the Altair A380 HTPC Case from GlacialTech, it's a great looking case with lots of features including built-in card reader, included remote/IR setup and an included power supply.
In my time with this case though I ran into a couple design flaws that have an impact on its' compatibility and make it not quite as user-friendly as I would have liked. Overall though it's a great looking and well designed case that if chosen for an HTPC system will need some additional considerations during the build to make it work correctly…
Review: Glacial Tech Altair A380 HTPC Case
Author: Kristofer Brozio
Sponsor: GlacialTech
Tech Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
Glacial Tech Altair A380 HTPC Case
Features:
-Home theater appearance
-Noble Aluminum chassis design
-Low down inside temperature with best airflow design
-Remote control support Microsoft Vista
-IR receiver support remote control, wireless keyboard, and wireless mouse
-Front I/O port for easy access
-Chassis bracket for horizontal or vertical application
Specs:
Case type: HTPC, MCE
Color: Glacier Silver, Rock Black
Net weight: 6 Kg
Expansion slot: 2
Dimension (W×H×D): 430 × 100 × 380 mm
Drive Bays:
-1 × 5.25”
-2 × 3.5”
Power Supply: 270 W
MotherBoard: ATX, Micro ATX
I/O port:
-USB2.0 × 2
-Audio & Speaker port
-52 in 1 card reader
-IR receiver
Cooling system:
Dual 60 × 60 × 20mm fan
1500 rpm. 19 dBA
Material: 6063 Aluminum & SECC
HDD cooling:
-60 × 60 × 20 mm fan
-1500 rpm, 19dBA
{mospagebreak title=
A Better Look at Things
(Unboxing/Accessories)}
A Better Look at Things
(Unboxing/Accessories) :
The GlacialTech Altair A380 HTPC comes in a nicely designed box but there isn't much information on it really.
The case itself is packaged well and should arrive to you in perfect condition.
Packed with the Altair A380 case is another small box that contains all the accessories and parts needed to complete the installation process.
Included in the smaller box is an infrared bracket and cables to be used in conjunction with the included media remote. The media remote is nice and feels well made, it has all the features you'll need to do the things you do with a media center including a large Windows Media Center button in the center.
{mospagebreak title=
A Better Look at Things
-The Case, Inside and Out}
A Better Look at Things
(The Case, Inside and Out) :
The case I received for review is the 'Rock Black' colored version, there is also a 'Glacial Silver' version available as well, so either one will most likely fit into your home theater decorum.
Both the sides and top of the Altair A380 features quite a bit of ventilation slits to insure your system runs cool and quiet.
There is only one space for an optical drive in the Altair A380, and included in the accessory box is a matching black aluminum cover for your optical drive. Along the bottom, below the optical drive bay is where the card reader is located, along with the USB ports, and audio jacks. On the far left side is the power button, and beneath that is a mirrored window that is the IR sensor. If you look closely at the window you can see the GlacialTech logo.
On the bottom of the case are silver colored feet, I expected they would be black to match but the silver works well also.
The back of the case might look a bit odd, that's because you'll need to use a PCI riser card if you wish to use something besides onboard video. The riser card is not included with the Altair A380 case either… GlacialTech did include a small power supply though, but the PSU doesn't have an on/off switch…
Opening the case we can see it appears rather spacious while empty, but once you start putting things in it becomes cramped quickly.
GlacialTech included two 60mm cooling fans, one on each side of the case. Inside you can install two hard drives in the rack, and of course one optical drive.
The other 60mm fan is located next to the power supply. The power supply doesn't have many connection, and no connection 8-pin CPU power either. You also won't find a PCIE connection but for whatever reason you'll find an FDD connection though…
Continue on to the next section, it's brief as I ran into a few problems immediately with this case…
Installation, Testing and Comparison
Well installation didn't go to well for me, I actually couldn't even get the motherboard fully installed, the 12v CPU 4-pin power connection cable wasn't long enough to reach the motherboard connection. Also another thing to note is that since the case is thin you'll need a short CPU cooler, I tried to install my Scythe Ninja Mini but that was even too high, but something like a Jetart SL1800 or SL1600 Slim CPU Cooler fits just fine.
I did install the rest of the components and I found that had the system been able to work it would have been a very tight fit to connect the cables to my DVD drive with the OCZ Reaper ram that I used.
Since I wasn't able to get my system up and running I can't really tell you much about the media remote or the included infrared parts, or how well they worked.
The case itself is nice, and full of features, but obviously there are some things that need to be taken care of in the design of it, in my years reviewing cases I've never come across one where I couldn't connect one of the cables from the PSU to the motherboard…
Summary:
Obviously there are some problems with the design of this case, but those aside it seems to be a very well made case that has some nice features included.
If one were to choose this case for their HTPC system they'll need to make sure everything is going to work correctly and have the appropriate parts that might be needed like the riser cards to use a video card.
DragonSteelMods gives the Glacial Tech Altair A380 HTPC Case a 3.5 out of 5 score.
Pros:
-Well made
-Looks great
-Lots of features and extras included
-PSU included
Cons:
-Must have own riser card or use on-board video
-Not many connections on PSU
-Not compatible with all motherboard layouts/PSU cable not long enough
I would like to thank GlacialTech for the chance to review the Altair A380 HTPC and for their continued support of DSM.
review# 336