Anybody using a Silverstone LC16M with Sage yet?

[dagar]

Am curious about how well the Imon is working out for you.

[dagar]

Well, I just ordered one. We'll see how it works out

[mikesm]

Forget about using a universal remote with the LC16M. The iMon stuff in the LC16M is a POS.

Thanks,
Mike

[dagar]

Yeah, I will can it if I don't like it and hook up my USB-UIRT but I like the knob/button functionality it brings to the part -- the only other ones are the x15 and custom cases neither of which I have the time/money for.

And I highly doubt I will like that Imon remote but will give it a go. Heck I may even run both ... will see how my wife likes it too

My 6 port serial card is on order too ... will tackle that later for hooking up all 4 of my D* STBs

[lbeagley79]

I just received the L16m case and am overall very happy with it. There are not many cases to choose from if you want lots of internal 3.5" drives while still making the case fit in your A/V rack.

I previously owned an imon remote and it took LOTS of configuring and tweaking to get it to my likings. Luckily, all that tweaking made the transition to this case very easy. It's all about getting a nice imon profile setup and then saving it!

Overall, I've got things working exactly the way I want. Nothing too complicated while trying to keep the remote UI intuitive.

I'm going to get some pics and info about my HTPC setup soon, but if you have any questions let me know.

[dagar]

How is the knob on yours? Mine's wobbly but appears to be 'on' ok.

[perf]

How are noise levels?

/Per

[dagar]

The 2 included 80mm fans aren't bad. I need to replace my 92mm stealthinnameonly fan with a Nexus. It's even quieter when you turn the PSU inward. That is the dumbest part IMO; but that affects the LC16/17/18 lines

[lbeagley79]

The knob on my case is also wobbly but functional. I've got all the hotkeys functioning too (which are actually quite useless once you get the remote working correctly!).

As far as noise levels - there's no such thing as too quiet. The 80mm fans aren't bad but my new thermaltake 480w definitely generates a lot of noise. I've got 5 HD's installed including a 10K raptor, but they seem quiet next to that PSU.

I did have a number of problems with the two trays that open on the case. The one that covers the USB ports on the front was missing the pins that hold the door in place. Luckily I found them at the bottom of the cardboard box before I tossed it.

The DVD/CD drive tray is a bit of a pain. The friction needed to open the drawer is really pushing the limit of my DVD drive. BTW, I ended up installing a standard DVD ROM for sake of making the video card fit w/o problem.

Overall, I really like the system. It sure is nice looking and is still quieter than my last machine. There are things that could be better IMO, but the good outweigh the bad.

[dagar]

I actually use the buttons and knob quite a bit. Very nice that as I walk by my audio pier I can press a button and pause, drop/mute volume.

I'm using the HP v780 which only comes out a quarter inch or so from the drive bracket.

I've not had any troubles with my door.

Wow. I have 1 HDD in mine

[lbeagley79]

I'll tell ya, it wasn't easy getting all 5 drives in there! The DIMM slots on the ASUS A8N made it impossible to have 6 drives. I have a 1.2TB RAID5 array in addition to the 10K raptor. Overall, lots of money to say the least.

My plan is to have one of the athlon x2 cores dedicated to sage and the other core dedicated to encoding into divx. Next I need to get the files recognized in sage properly

Sure would be nice to have quick access to the hotkeys. Might have to look into a different A/V rack. Also, the drive you mentioned is a good suggestion. I think the old DVD ROM I'm using isn't tough enough for the front tray.

Now if you have any good ideas for the VFD let me know. I've got it displaying the usual info (ie. weather, HD space, and email) but supposedly there's some good plug-ins out there.

[dagar]

I'm actually debating whether to put a 2.5" hdd in it; got a 20gb cuda in it now; it's quiet -- not sure if i'll need the space yet. I can run my console/arcade games off the fileserver. Hmmm... I need to clean up the interior before I do that.

I just have it doing the misc sys stats and date/time then the audio bounch bars (technically speaking) -- my boys like that

I have the VFD for bling and basic time info. I'm about 14' away from it soooooo it's not useful sitting down on the sofa!

[lbeagley79]

That's got to be an utterly silent PC with one drive - I'm envious! Actually, I'm shocked my system is as quiet as it is. The hard drives are quite inaudible compared to the PSU.

Routing all the SATA cables and other wires took a long time but half a dozen or so zip ties later, it's looking fairly neat in the case.

I'm still trying to get over the 'cool' factor of the VFD. Haven't even tried out the EQ yet....

[dagar]

Darn near it. I have a VGA Silencer on my 9700 pro as well with the required Seasonic S380. I need to still get a Nexus 92mm to replace my Stealth (what a joke) fan on my SP97. Then I can undervolt my 80mm silverstone fans.

I run an AN7 with an AXP-M 2500 OC'd to 2.2ghz ... runs mid 40s under heavy load

[lsdavinci]

Guys, I'm also thinking about the LC16M for my HTPC but have a few questions:

lbeagley79: you got 5 HD's in that case (I'm planning 6). How's the cooling in there? does it over heat? Do you have any fans attached to the HD cage?

Also, I heard that the IR is incompatible with Universal remotes (which is not a big deal for me). I have a USB remote control to overide this if this is true. But I would like to know if those buttons in front and the dial allows you to run say Media player and change tracks without ever turning on the TV or use the remote? I mean it is a "function" dial..

Any any other negative feedback would be appreciated. I'm looking to put in an order today. Thanks so much...

[dagar]

The buttons function as standard HID-type windows media buttons; which Sage can use -- as can Windows media player; not sure about winamp ... would have to check.

Unless you run MCE then I'd suggest not cramming a load of HDDs in your system but rather use a distrubted client/server approach.

[lbeagley79]

davinci,

I run the standard utilities with my ASUS board for monitoring cpu and case temps and I don't have any over heating issues. Also, I'm only using the 2 80mm fans that came with the case; no additional HD fans. I would imagine they help in cooling, but if you're planning to use 6 drives you might have trouble making everything fit properly.

Fitting that 6th HD might be tricky depending on the board you buy. Make sure the DIMM slots are not in the way of the HD cage nearest the hotkeys.

Regarding the hotkeys, they function as keyboard shortcuts that map correctly to media player. I'm unsure if winamp has the same shortcuts off the top of my head...

I'm very happy with the case. I actually like the IR receiver and remote but I've never really used any systems other than the iMON setup so my opinion is biased.

Hope this helps your decision. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

[dagar]

Just make sure you smartly procure your system backbone; e.g. the powersupply. Don't skimp or go just by brand regconition (the OE varies wildly within brands like Antec). Go with something like a Seasonic or better that has a 120mm quiet fan in it.

Keep in mind that Silverstone did a stupid on the PSU design; to flip it over so it pulls out the heated air from the case means it won't work in the stock holes.