Installation

Overall, installation went without too much of a problem consdering the HTPC 600BAR is extremely large for a HTPC case. However, there are a few things that need to be pointed out.


Installation had a couple hiccups but for the most part was a breeze thanks to its slim profile that made it a lot easier to move around parts inside. The PSU is held in the front left with a removable rack. The downside to this placement is that accessing the power switch is nigh on impossible with the top panel installed. The Vantec 550w I installed was a tight fit and required some “persuasion”. Also, one of the power supply rack tabs bent during installation but was easy enough to fix.


The hard drive rack looked more promising for ease of use since most of the screws to remove it were on the outside of the case. However, installation proved looks were deceiving as the hard drive rack warped and compressed, thus making it a chore to use four screws to hold it in place. It was almost if the hard drive rack was too wide for the drive. In the end, the malleable rack was bent after removing the drive; a rectangle that became a parallelogram.


After that, the installation went smoothly. The spacing for the I/O shield was tight but the motherboard itself fit in with ample room. Due to the card readers and front (er, side) USB ports, be prepared to use four USB headers for this case.

The nMedia HTPC 600BAR is designed to have the card tabs stick out past the back of the case to keep the size down. Before installing any cards, a supporting bar kept in place by two screws must be removed. Not really too much of a hassle but not something you see everyday.


Wiring the nMedia HTPC 600 won’t save you a a ton of space but you can easily shove the bundle of cables beneath the optical drive in a spacious 7cm cavern that screams “put cables in me”. In the end, I would label the installation difficulty as slightly more tedious than an ATX case but nowhere near the pain and intricacies encountered with a small form factor case.
Unfortunately, this case’s interior edges definitely felt sharp and rough at times but I managed to survive the installation unscathed and without blood loss which is a minor miracle.