Silverstone Grandia GD03 review

Gallery

Verdict:

The Grandia GD03 HTPC case lacks the bells and whistles of some rivals but is easy to build and very well made.

Review Date: 27 Mar 2010

Price when reviewed: £144

Buy it now for: £187
(see more store prices)

Supplier: http://www.scan.co.uk

Reviewed By: Kat Orphanides

Our Rating 4 stars out of 5

Review
Specs

Silverstone's Grandia GD03 is an HTPC chassis that doesn't force you to compromise on space. Its build quality is outstanding and we loved its brushed metal finish. Inside, there's easily enough room for a full ATX motherboard with plenty of components.

There's plenty of space for additional components, with seven blanking plates at the back - enough for a graphics card, TV tuner, sound card and anything else you might need. We no trouble fitting a long double-height graphics card, which is handy if you want to be able to use your HTPC for gaming, and there's enough room for all but the most massive CPU coolers.

However, the case isn't designed for optimal cooling. It comes with just two 80mm fans, and mounting points for another three. This means that it can get rather warm and is best suited to lower energy components. Dust filters protect most of the unused fan mounting points and the thick-sided case helps to prevent sound leakage.

The GD03 certainly doesn't scrimp on its storage potential, with two external 5 1/4in bays, and one external plus five internal 3 1/2in bays. Removable drive caddies allow you to hotplug two more 3 1/2in SATA drives. These are hidden behind another metal flap at the front, along with the reset button, two USB ports, the usual pair of 3.5mm stereo ports and a FireWire port.

The GD03 is a beautifully made and resonably priced HTPC case. There's plenty of room and it's easy to build a system into. It runs a little warm and isn't perfectly quiet, but this is nonetheless a good choice if you're building a home entertainment PC.

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