SilverStone LC11 Home Theater PC Case

Acrylic windows, neon and strobe lights, Day-Glo colors, and vaguely alien shapes may be appealing for desktop PC cases, but you probably don't want a large, showy case as part of your home theater setup, especially if you share your home with a significant other who has significantly more style than you. Additionally, home theater PC's need to be quiet. Fan and disk noise are easy to overlook if you're blasting MP3's while blasting Ant Lions, but white noise isn't welcome when you're watching a movie, especially if it's a quiet passage involving romance (I'm thinking of your significant other again). Purpose-built home theater PC cases are becoming more readily available, and today I look at SilverStone Technology's LC11 from their LaScala line of home theater PC enclosures.

The LC11 is a microATX case designed to look like a home audio component. Additionally, SilverStone touts its room for expansion, "super slim profile of less than 100mm," and "innovative underside cooling layout." I will review its aesthetics, functionality, and its applicability in a home theater setup.

Specifications:

• Dimensions: 424 mm (W) x 96 mm (H) x 430 mm (D)
• Drive bays:
  • 1 x 5.25"
  • 3 x 3.5"
• Cooling:
  • Front and rear 80mm intake, 2050rpm, 21dB fans
  • Oversized mesh grill CPU air intake vent
• Front multi-media I/O:
  • USB2.0 port x 4
  • 1394 Firewire x 1
  • Earphone jack x 1
  • MIC x 1
• Expansion slots: 3
• Material: Aluminum front panel, 0.8mm SECC body
• Motherboard types: MicroATX
• Power Supply: TFX 240W PFC
• Riser Card: 1 AGP + 2 PCI
• Colors: Black or Silver

SilverStone sent a silver model for review, which features a brushed aluminum front panel and silver painted sides. The black model has a wood grain appliqué on the front panel, which seems a bit odd since I haven't seen wood on a stereo component since the 70's (yes, it was an 8 track player).