Top
Browse > Home / Tech / GTR B-01 - Cheap HTPC Case Review

GTR B-01 - Cheap HTPC Case Review

May 22, 2005

Dan’s Data has a detailed review of the GTR B-01 HTPC case, and Dan’s fairly impressed.

The GTR B-01 case supports a MicroATX motherboard, has a wide aray of front-panel connectors, a backlit front panel display, passable looks and sells for $115 Australian (about $90 US.)

If your HTPC must be a thing of beauty replete with RAID arrays and multiple tuner cards, then the GTR B-01 just won’t have enough room for the gear you need, much less achieve the requisite ooh-ah factor.

For most HTPC purposes, though, the B-01 will cut the mustard. You can take the cheap way out and use a MicroATX board with integrated everything, or you can install your own selection of graphics, sound and tuner cards, and be confident that the PSU won’t scream and explode. And three 3.5 inch bays give you room for a moderately ludicrous amount of local storage; “300Gb” drives are mainstream now, so it’d be no biggie to pack in around 840Gb of formatted space.

Like this article? Share it!
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon

Written by Chuck Lawson · Filed Under Tech 
Tags: •

Comments

Got something to say? [privacy policy]





Possibly Related


UNeed X15E HTPC Case ReviewHome Theater PC News has a great review up of the UNeed X15E case -- if you're looking for the $600 HTPC case from hell, this may be just the ticket. The main claim to fame is a built-in 7" 800 x 480 (there's an odd number) LCD screen that you can use as a second monitor for your HTPC. This is by no means an average case and can house just about anything you wish to put in it. Even when loaded out with a high end graphics card and every slot full, all while running at low noise levels this case didn't turn in to a heater for my family room. Heat is one issue that really tends...


Shuttle HTPC - The XPC SB83G5MAs much as I love small form factor (SFF) boxes (at last count, I've got 4 of them around the house, three Shuttles and a Biostar), they've never seemed terribly practical for HTPC use. The problem isn't horsepower, it's expandability -- you typically have one video card slot, and one PCI slot. Once you drop a tuner in there, you're saying you're going to live without ever adding another tuner card, a better sound card, etc. Even a MicroATX motherboard gives you more breathing room, with three PCI slots. Maybe it's not so bad, though. With dual tuner cards (guess you won't be adding an HD tuner to that), and decent motherboard audio, it could be fairly survivable. Apparently Shuttle...


Voodoo Epic HTPC m:112i ReviewLooking for a quiet, fanless HTPC system that delivers good (if not great) gaming performance, dual tuner (standard definition) PVR and MCE 2005. Is $3500 burning a hole in your pocket? If so, the new Epic HTPC m:112i from Voodoo might be just up your alley. PC Magazine has a brief review here. The Epic HTPC m:112i comes with an nVidia GeForce 6800GT graphics card, and this helps the system achieve very good 3D gaming scores on the 1,024-by-768 Doom 3 test and on our Halo test at both this resolution and at 1,600-by-1,200. Like all high-end, single-card graphics solutions we've seen, the Epic HTPC m:112i stutters a little on the Doom 3 test at the higher resolution. So far,...


MSI MEGA PC 915 SFF HTPCMSI is still out there pitching in the "just how big is this market, anyway?" small form factor home theater PC niche. eHomeUpgrade has the scoop on their latest effort, the "MEGA PC 915" direct from Computex 2005. New-to-the-line features include Instant-On and PCI-Express video support. Direct from MSI at Computex 2005: "You will find a lot of improved features like Instant-On mode for direct DVD/VCD/CD/MP3/FM/TV playback. No need to boot the system into Windows and you can enjoy video or audio entertainment in a jiffy with a press of your remote control. Based on Intel 915G chipset, MEGA PC 915 supports the latest Intel Pentium 4 Prescott (LGA755) CPU that offers higher computing performance. It also supports the PCI-Express...


Vaja iVod DJ iPod Case ReviewI love Vaja cases. To me, the Vaja is typically the premier case for any portable device I own. Unfortunately, they're priced that way too, but that doesn't make them any less worth it. Naturally, when I got the new iPod 60, I needed a new Vaja case (since my old 3G case wouldn't work with a clickwheel iPod). I couldn't resist going with the new iVod DJ -- it's just entirely too sexy. Unfortunately, it's not quite all it's cracked up to be. To really understand a Vaja case, you've got to handle one. The outside is a soft, supple padded leather, yet it's formed into a tough "shell" that protects the device. In the iVod series cases for...

Bottom