GD07 - you could put suspended enclosed drives in those bays

Very nice case indeed and again a nice test. This GD08B was in my shotlist for a gaming HTPC, after removing the FD Node 605 from it after reading reviews.
In the listing it is equipped with only one 120mm in front and one on the side. This should be noted. Otherwise a good review (like always).

It would be nice to also test the Lian Li PC-C60 (or PC-C33). It has two 140mm fans e-sata and USB 3 connection up front, but PSU length is restricted to 180mm and the GPU to 270mm. And it's about 30% more expensive.

I got GD07 last year for my HTPC after doing a lot of research. That was pretty much the only case that allowed full ATX motherboard, had room for full size 5.25 optical drive, good ventilation, front door to help with the OD noise and hide the annoying LED, and looked good. And all things considering, at least compared to LianLi and such, it wasn't that expensive at $135 at amazon.

This is still HTPC case with all the typical issues that come along with it, I had to buy "minja" from ebay because regular ninja was just a tad too tall for it, literally, if only Ninja was shorter by 1-2cm it would have fit, cable management is a real pain, and so is assembly, but unfortunately it's unavoidable with any HTPC case.

Overall, despite its shortcomings I'm very pleased with it.

One thing I forgot to mention though, in my case the power button "binds" or "snags" on something if I press it too deeply. Probably catches either on the aluminum door or something else. Not deadly, but definitely annoying in an otherwise good case.

do you think this case would be a respectable substitute for an Antec P182. This is for my daily driver, but i do use it for occasional music listening. It is in my basement, and it would be easier to "flood-proof" a desktop case. I have a full atx mobo, i3/8G ram, prodigy sound card, and use onboard graphics only. it has 2 internal hdds, and i may add a 3rd. Simple, basic setup. The GD07 is quite affordable as these things go, and would give me more leeway in power supply choices that the P182 (for which i need a new power supply as my older pc power & cooling unit apparently does not like to operate when wet!


Thanks for reading this and providing your insight.

I don't know. The only way to waterproof a case in the basement is to put it somewhere high, and it's no harder to put P182 high than it is GD07. GD07 is a fine HTPC case, I don't know any case that's better, but it is still HTPC case. It is very crammed inside, it has limits on the CPU coolers, etc, etc... Point being, as nice as it is, unless you need your case to look nice in your audio/video rack, you're better off sticking with P182.

thanks for the reply. The consideration for me is waterproofing via elevation. Admittedly, it is not more difficult effort-wise or conceptually to put an htpc or a tower "higher up". This is not on my audio rack, but under my desk. Given some shelving I've got, the htpc would be a more convenient shape (more horizontal than vertical real-estate available). I do not need it to be an actual htpc functionally, but rather just a good, reasonably quiet 'desktop' case (like my old 286 Epson was, which was much faster than my Kaypro 4!).

This computer is my "daily driver", so it's for internet/email, word, excel, quicken, and that sort of thing. Occasionaly used for music, i use it with an external dac anyway.

Not sure any of this would change your recommendation, just a bit more clarity as to my situation. As it turns out, my boot drive survived,, and i have already cloned it to a brand new drive just to be sure i do not have a surprise, delayed-reaction failure. I have a new psu which i have yet to install. Hoping my luck holds out and that the psu failed without taking out the mobo or ram, as the water seemed not to kill my hdd.

Thanks again for the reply.

You can put P182 on its side. Sure, it will take more space than GD07, but it will work, and it will be quieter, and easier to work in. I'm speaking from experience, GD07, and probably most HTPC cases are difficult to set up. I probably spent 4 hours moving my setup into GD07 case, and as it turns out the fans I put in are a little bit too noisy. Ideally I'd like to replace them with quieter fans, but it was such a hassle to set up GD07 initially, that I've been putting off replacing fans for about 2 months now... That's how much of a pain in the rear it is to assemble that case. And the more hard drives you put there, the more cables and everything you have to take care of... It is really not fun...

Thanks. That's what I figured. I remember the days of desktop cases, but thevform factor would have an advantage for me. I do remember how amaIng I thought the 182 was. My audio pc is in an Antec fusion case. That was pretty easy as well, but not huge like the 182. Thanks again for your replies.