Drew, i'm working on my htpc right now, if your looking for nice cases, ahanix is comming out with some really nice ones in the very near future to replace or expand on their divine line http://www.ahanix.com/ahanix_product_list.asp?cid=6
Thanks for the link..I haven't checked it out yet, but will after this reply. The only reason I haven't liked the Ahanix' are the OUTRAGEOUS prices just because they include that VFD, and the ONLY one I found from them that didn't have that was still in the just-a-few-bucks-away-from-$200 range.
I also like the Silverstone cases, but something about them slapping their logo all over the dang things strikes me as NASCAR-ish, and at their price range, I shouldn't have to do a dang thing to remove their cheesy logo. The drop-down doors on 'em also feels kinda rinky-dink, like it wouldn't hold up.
As far as noise issues go, no that really really shouldn't be an issue, and I've got a few sources for free dynamat scraps (yes, large enough for PC use) if it actually is, but the fans I'm planning on using are the nicer oh-so-quiet type.
Thanks, MnM, on the time-frame for the HDTV card, as I knew it was coming - just talked about it with my father-in-law - but couldn't remember when....that changes some purchasing priorities around too.
Cooter, yeah, the dial is supposed to move in time with the audio, from what I understand, but I dunno if it's possible to re-purpose it for something else....what I'd like to do is make it relate to case temperature.
And the SFF boxes (shuttle, FIC, MSI) aren't my cup of tea. They strike me as a shoebox on steroids, and just don't fit in visually with the rest of my audio equipment, although I WILL be building one for each of my kids when I boot them out into college. If the MSI box with the FM tuner would pick up AM, I'd be all over it....oh, but first they'd have to drop the price about $150, too....but that's the best design, I think, out of all the shoebox cases I've seen! Do they have a newer version that fixes the "EITHER the FM, OR the PC, but not both at the same time" issue?
FWIW, anyone who wants to pick this case up, it's only $80 right now at NewEgg, and I'm sure it's sold cheaper elsewhere online (I just bought a pile of parts from them, so saving 5 bucks with some vendor I'm unfamiliar with doesn't trip my trigger).