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nMedia HTPC 280BAV


Date
: 08/23/06 – 05:23:29 AM

Author
:

Category
: Cases

Page 1 : Index

Manufacturer:
nMedia

Price:
$225 USD

The scene: a desolate home theater wasteland, where entertainment solutions grow more antiquated every day, while the power of the PC remains untapped. Enter: character nMedia.

Not one to sit by and watch, nMedia promptly makes a proposition: "Why not consolidate the power and flexibility of the PC with the behemothic screens and thundering loudspeakers of home theater systems?" "But how?" the cynics question. "With a Home Theater PC of course. Like my new model here, the HTPC 280BAV" replies nMedia. "It's the ultimate digital entertainment solution for the entire family."

What is it that makes nMedia feel the HTPC 280BAV is an ideal entertainment solution? Let's go find out.

Page 2 : Package

Why do we look at packaging? Because these new products we review are all shipped at one point or another. And without proper packaging, what's inside… won't survive.

The HTPC 280BAV arrived in a small white box. On the top, we have enough text to know exactly what is inside: a HTPC case. There is also an ambitious quote, "PC has revolutionized the office in the past, today, our Home Theater PC has begun to transform home entertainment". The three visible "FRAGILE" stickers are much appreciated, as these should, theoretically, reduce damage due to carelessness during shipping.

The sides contain some basic specifications and information regarding model number and colour.

Opening the box, it's good to see that the HTPC 280BAV is surrounded by Styrofoam on all sides. Extra protection never hurts.

Removing the case itself, we see that nMedia has gone the extra mile by including a layer of bubble wrap…

and plastic covering all scratch-able areas.

Now that we know the HTPC 280BAV should survive during transportation, we can look at some specs.

Page 3 : Specifications

Here's what nMedia has to say about the HTPC 280BAV:

Here are the specifications:

And here are the highlights:

I found it disappointing that no remote or receiver was included. Yes, I realize nMedia has done their research and decided against including one. But considering that this case already features the likes of a programmable VFD and front AV capture ports, a remote or receiver would have finished off the package quite nicely. And seeing that this case will set you back $225 US, I expected there to be one.

But enough with speculation and specifications, let's take a look at this new case!

Page 4 : Exterior

Let's start the set off with a profile shot:

Looking to the front of the case, we are greeted with a pleasant face. The HTPC 280BAV has been well designed and will easily mingle with your home entertainment equipment. Hardly shy on the features, we see USB/Audio/FireWire ports, AV capture ports, a programmable VFD, and a CPU temperature/fan speed monitoring LCD all making their appearance here. This isn't even mentioning the CPU fan speed controller, or the more conventional power button and external 5.25" drive bay.

The right side is a bit more unassuming, bearing nothing but ventilation holes.

The rear of this chassis offers the standard I/O shield, four expansion slots, as well as a S/PDIF output. Also notice that the layout for the PSU is non-proprietary. This being so, you should be able to install any regular sized PSU without worry. Cooling duties are handled by two 60mm exhaust fans.

Moving to the left side, we once again see a rectangular porous area for ventilation purposes.

Peering down at the top, we see more ventilation holes, as well as an area to mount an 80mm fan or a CPU duct. All this ventilation is excellent, as you have to remember that HTPCs are intended for use in close quarters with home entertainment equipment, which also produce heat.

And lastly, we see the bottom. The feet are probably the most exquisite feet I have ever seen on a PC, quite a contrast from the normal cheap plastic feet. The feet are large and bold, and covered with foam on the bottom, as to not scratch delicate surfaces. The feet appear to be just the right height to promote airflow between components. Heat buildup will not be a problem, even if you want this HTPC case to sit on top of a sweltering amplifier.

So far, so good. nMedia has introduced a gorgeous case. But a beautiful exterior means nothing if the interior is sub par. Let's take a peek inside.

Page 5 : Interior

There is only one panel to remove to get to the heart of this case. One panel held secure by two thumbscrews.

Our first look inside shows us a simple interior. Not that there is anything wrong with simple, as it keeps installation, and this review, easier.

Before we delve deeper into this case, I want to know what's in that mysterious plastic bag. Inside there are the necessary manuals,

as well as an installation CD, cables for the front AV capture ports, the standard bag of screws, a power cable, and an internal USB port for use with a receiver.

Moving to the front of the case, we see it is divided into three subsections.

The left section accommodates up to three 3.5" HDs. Heat will not be an issue as this section is actively cooled by an 80mm fan. Notice the rubber grommets on the bottom? Since the HDs can only be secured from the top, the grommets are on the bottom to help secure the drive and stop excess vibration and rattling.

The middle section contains the cage for the one external 5.25" drive…

and below this cage rests the circuitry for the VFD and the front AV capture ports.

Moving slightly to the right section, we see the MCE receiver rack. No receiver is included with this package, so installing a receiver will be a DIY job.

What about all these cables up there? Here we have the front power connector and the CPU fan cable. The Molex connector provides power for the LCD, and the blue LED that serves as a power light. The CPU fan cable connects to your motherboard and your CPU fan, and allows you to monitor and modify the RPMs.

Looking at the next tangle of cables, we have the front USB / FireWire / Audio headers, as well as the power switch connector.

Moving to the motherboard area we see there is no removable motherboard tray. But remember from earlier, simple! Just install bronze standoffs at the correct locations, set your motherboard down, and secure with screws.

Here's a different angle looking at the back. Notice the two 60mm fans? I personally am not an aficionado of small fans as they have to move insanely fast, creating all kinds of noise to move any decent amount of air. However, the flip side of the coin is if they are running slow enough to remain quiet, extra airflow, no matter how little, is always agreeable.

Shuffling over a bit, we see the included PSU…

which appears to be a nMedia Mute Power! After reading Nivedh's review of the 400W model, I am quite happy to find one of these included with the HTPC 280BAV. The PSU included happens to be the 500W model:

I found the interior rather plain, which is not bad, as it should make for a facile installation. Let's go find out just how easy.

Page 6 : Hardware Installation

To start off, pop out the stock I/O shield, which never matches your motherboard anyway…

and install the appropriate one for your motherboard.

Next, install up to 3 HDs. Like mentioned earlier, drives in this section are only secured from the top, and supported by grommets on the bottom.

Before you install that DVD drive, it must to be mounted onto the removable cage. Removing the cage is a simple task involving naught but two screws and a small slide.

Now, depending on which drive you decide to use, it may be necessary to remove the drive's front cover, so the tray will fit thru the door.

Finally, mount the cage back where it came from. Congratulations, you have just installed a DVD drive.

After spending a brief moment in awe, staring at the labyrinth of cables,

pick up your jaw and move on to installing the motherboard. This is simple enough: install bronze standoffs as needed, set motherboard down, secure with screws.

Now it's time we connect all the unique cables. First up is the CPU fan cable. The one end hooks up to your motherboard, while your CPU fan hooks up to the other. This cable allows for CPU fan speed control/monitoring.

Next, position the thermal probe…

somewhere against the fins of your CPU HSF. The closer it is to the CPU the more accurate your temperature readings will be.

Remember the VFD? This here may masquerade as a regular USB header, but do not be deceived! This is the cable that allows the VFD to operate. Installation is easy: attach to any free USB header pins on your motherboard.

At this point, if you have a video capture card, you can attach the AV header up here and connect the other end to your card. Unfortunately, at the time of this review, I had no such card available.

Here we see all the aforementioned cables (and the audio/USB headers) connected to the motherboard.

After attaching the rest of the cables, and a brief cable management job, here is what resulted:

Here's a closer look at the motherboard area. Everything is quite cozy in this HTPC case.

Let's take a quick look to the front of the case to see how things are now that everything is connected. First of all, we see the power light is a nice blue. In the background we have my jungle wallpaper, a hit on the forums.

Shifting over to the right, we have the LCD and the CPU fan speed knob. The LCD displays some vital stats such as CPU temperature, and CPU fan speed. Below the LCD we have a button for switching between degrees Celsius and degrees Fahrenheit. Down just a bit more, we have the CPU fan speed knob. I was actually disappointed, as this knob did not allow me to adjust my CPU fan speed. According to the manual, it depends on your motherboard as to whether the knob or your motherboard takes control priority. And in my case, the motherboard took over. Oh well…

All in all, the hardware install went just as I like: relatively painless. Let's hope the software install will be the same.

Page 7 : Software / The VFD

Since the VFD needs drivers to work proper, there is some software installation ahead. To start off, insert the driver CD. Click on the MP.Play/L.I.S MCE Install button when the auto run opens.

This screen will open. Click "Next",

then "Install",

then wait,

and then you're done! In order for the driver install to finish, you must restart your PC.

Here's the basic setup screen for the software. You can tweak various settings here, as well as configure the start/end message. Someone at nMedia has a sense of humour, as the line "Good-bye Master" comes stock.

The auto user screen is where you really can start to see how versatile the VFD is. You can set it to display virtually anything, for any amount of time, in whatever order suits your fancy. And by anything, I mean the likes of custom user text, time, CPU info, network info, OS info, logos, stats on HD space, even Speedfan read offs! Almost everything you want displayed, can be.

No VFD is complete without some presets for Media Center, Media Player, and Winamp.

Here's some action shots of the VFD, displaying time:

displaying custom user text:

displaying a logo:

displaying CPU info:

displaying network info:

displaying media center info:

displaying movie info:

and finally, displaying song info:

Overall, I was impressed with the included VFD, its versatility, and the excellent software that goes with it. The software was powerful, yet easily accessible. I'm sure there will be no problems configuring the VFD to display exactly what you'd like displayed, as you want it displayed. Now let's move on to some further testing.

Page 8 : Testing

Thermal Testing

First of all, the test system:

Testing Methods:

StressPrime 2004 was run in blend mode for three hours. At the end of three hours, the temperatures of the CPU, motherboard, North Bridge, and hard disk were recorded as registered by SpeedFan. StressPrime was then stopped and the system idled for three hours with only normal Windows services and SpeedFan running. Once again, temperatures were recorded. The room temperature was maintained within 1 degree of 18 degrees C throughout testing.

Now, normally when I do thermal benchmarking, I try to give a comparison to whatever I have that best matches what is being tested. However, I had no other mATX cases available at time of testing, and all of my mid towers were in use. Thus, I only have the results for the HTPC 280BAV.

And here are the results:

I was quite impressed with the HTPC 280BAV's cooling capacities. nMedia's emphasis on ventilation has clearly paid off. For such a small, tight space, the temperatures are pleasantly cool. And yes, that is a Prescott with stock cooling!

Acoustic Testing

While I may not have advanced equipment to describe to you in dBAs the noise toll, I do have the power of the English language – props to nMedia for including all quiet fans, making for a whisper quiet case, from which no obtrusive noise will come.

To summarize the tests: the HTPC 280BAV does an excellent job of keeping your temperatures, and the noise level low. Now let's go wrap things up on the next page.

Page 9 : Conclusion

Have you ever done something almost perfect? For example, let's say you went into a test you were sure you would ace and come out with only a 90%. It's not that you did anything wrong, in fact everything you did, you did absolutely right. It's just that you didn't finish the test. This is the case for nMedia's HTPC 280BAV.

nMedia has done a superb job on this case. It is a gorgeous unit that will be the pride of your entertainment station. With a beautiful face, silent operation, a programmable VFD, and many other neat features, there is a lot to like about the HTPC 280BAV. However, where this case falls short is in what's included. You will be paying ~$225US for this case, and that is more than a decent chunk of change to put down for a case. You get what you pay for, but to what extent? I honestly was expecting a receiver/remote with this bundle to justify the price tag.

The bottom line: the HTPC 280BAV is a great case, but the price tag is a bit excessive considering the lack of a receiver/ remote.

Advantages

Beautiful case
Operates cool and quiet
Plenty of useful, cool features

Disadvantages

Expensive
No remote or receiver

Overclockers Online would like to thank nMedia for providing the review sample.