Silverstone GD07 HTPC chassis review - Introduction

by Hilbert Hagedoorn on: 07/15/2012 01:00 PM [

SilverStone GD07

With HDTV getting raging popular here in Europe everybody these day's has a nice 1080P big screen television. As such the set-top box market exploded, and what to think about all the AC Ryan, ASUS PlayOn, Mediator devices available. People want their HDTV connected to a device that can playback movies, music and photos, it's that simple.

While products like the ones AC Ryan and such offers are absolutely great, in terms of network connectivity or HDD copy functionality they are often weak. Next to that there is a certain crowd that likes to build HTPCs (Home Theater PCs). Armed with the processing power of the PC combined with excellent playback quality and the right software you can simply build a power house of an HTPC. Problem is that often the market has nice HTPC chassis available, but they are all cramped up and not easy to work in, as they are small.

SilverStone Grandia GD07 Specifications
Motherboard Form Factor		ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX, EATX
Drive Bays	External	4x 5.25
	Internal	2x 2.5" and 5x 3.5"
Cooling	Front	-
	Rear	2x 80mm fan mount
	Top	-
	Side	1x 120mm intake fan and 1x 120mm fan mount
	Bottom	2x 120mm intake fans
Expansion Slots		7+1
I/O Port		2x USB 3.0, 1x Headphone, 1x Mic
Power Supply Size		Standard ATX
Clearances	HSF	138 mm
	PSU	220 mm
	GPU	13.5" / 343mm
Weight		15.4 lbs. 7 kg
Dimensions		6.9" x 17.3" x 17.1" 175mm x 440mm x 435mm
Special Features		Large removable drive cage Locking hinged front panel Extra horizontally mounted expansion slot USB 3.0 via internal header
Price		139 USD / 119 EUR

SilverStone is well known for its innovative designs, and recently released the Grandia GD07, an updated version which offers everything you ever wanted in for a HTPC, it's so spacious that you could even use it as a very cool desktop PC. I mean Extended ATX (EATX) sized motherboards fit (!), heck you can even throw in very long graphics cards in there as we'll show you.

So Silverstone's latest HTPC case is dressed to impress, but also comes with serious drive capacity and cooling performance, all being a silent chassis as well. Oh and they added USB 3.0 support as well.

At first look is impressive, clean simple design. Once you open it up then you'll know it's a serious chassis with its four external 5.25" drive bays. The list will go ion though as storage is definitely a primary feature of the GD07. Anyway, let's startup the review shall we ?

SilverStone GD07

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Silverstone GD07 HTPC chassis review
we review the Silverstone GD07 HTPC chassis. The Grandia GD07, an updated version which offers everything you ever wanted in for a HTPC, it's so spacious that you could even use it as a very cool desktop PC. I mean Extended ATX (EATX) sized motherboards fit (!), heck you can even throw in very long graphics cards in there as we'll show you.

Silverstone GD06 HTPC chassis review
We review the SilverStone GD06 HTPC chassis, aimed at the home theater DIY audience that has a need for stylish looks, good functionality versus a competitive price.

SilverStone 750 Watt ATX Power Supply
Today we will have a look at the Zeus 750 Watt continuous power supply from Silverstone. A really awe-inspiring power supply with four (yes four) +12 Volts rails and which is also an SLI ready power supply. We'll put it to the test buy using our quad SLI setup. The new Zeus is cool, literally, as up to 750W it'll maintain a temperature of 50°C. You get 60 AMPs combined (over 700W) for these four +12V rails alone, making the ST75ZF capable of powering any top of the line system available today and the near future.

SilverStone 600 Watt ATX Power Supply
It carries the label "Strider" and this model comes with a fantastic 600 Watts rating. It's supposed to be a a high-end PSU which is ready for SLI and Crossfire as it has quad 12 volts rails and active PFC, silent fan. We'll explain all that to you over the next pages though.