Accent HT-400 Series

	HTPC Case HT-400S (silver), inc iMON and Acoustic Material [Discontinued] Review	€235,00
	HTPC Case HT-400B (black), inc iMON and Acoustic Material [Discontinued] Review	€235,00
	HTPC Case HT-400S (1-bay, Silver) with iMON [Discontinued] Review	€217,59
	HTPC Case HT-400B (1-bay, Black) with iMON [Discontinued] Review	€217,59

Styling and build quality

If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then the HT-400 case offers a lot of beauty for beholding! With drop-dead gorgeous styling, this case not only looks beautiful but will blend in superbly with any existing home theatre or HiFi set-up. It is available in silver or black, and its width is exactly the same as industry-standard 430mm VCRs or HiFi separates. The quality is simply breathtaking! The front of the case is precision machined from a single piece of 8mm brushed aluminium, ensuring clean lines and a luxurious feel of quality. The chassis cover is perfectly colour-matched in 1.5mm aluminium and is again based on a single piece design.

Ventilation and airflow

The case is cleverly designed with a lot of ventilation at the front of the chassis, yet the looks and styling of the product are not compromised. Clearly the aluminium itself is also beneficial for cooling through conduction, and in addition there is a position for a single 80mm fan on the rear of the case, should you feel the need for further cooling. You can order a 80mm Ultra-Quiet fan from our case fans section.

Internal design

Traditionally, the problem with HTPC-type cases is that they have generally been very space-restricted. There are several nice cases on the market, but many of their designs force you to use a small-sized processor cooler and motherboard (e.g. FlexATX / Mini-NLX, etc). This not only restricts flexibility in terms of component choice, but also can indirectly affect the running noise level, since smaller fans and a reduced internal space mean that achieving quiet yet adequate cooling is a challenge. With the HT-400 case, these issues do not arise because of the internal layout and space available. Full size ATX motherboards are compatible with the HT-400, as are full sized ATX power supplies.

The PSU is 'sunk' into the floor of the chassis. This makes the height of the case only 150mm. The reason for this is that you get the benefits of a lower case without any compromises. Full size ATX motherboards are still compatible with the HT-400 series.

The PCB located at the front of the HT-400 has been redesigned to make it possible to install a USB version of the VFD. This means that the cable that connects the VFD to the motherboard does not have to be routed out of the back of the chassis, making installation of the VFD nice and tidy. The USB VFD is only compatible with the HT-400 and not the HT-201 or the Ahanix cases.

The HT-400 is also supplied with iMON inside. The IR receiver has been built into the PCB which is housed at the front of the chassis. The HT-400 is available with the PAD remote controller.

Compatibility Issues

Not all optical drives will work with this case. It is recommended that the overall length of the optical drive does not exceed 190mm. Also, not all optical drives can accommodate the aluminium bezel supplied with the HT-400, this is due to the design of the CD tray. If you are looking for a compatible DVD player, try the NEC DVD/RW series.

Image showing the NEC 2500A and the Sapphire 9600XT graphics card installed in the HT-400

As shown in the image above, there is not much room between the optical drive and the graphics card. So it is vital that you select the correct products for the HT-400. The products used in this image include the Sapphire 9600XT Ultimate graphics and the NEC DVD/RW. The maximum recommended length for a graphics card is 174mm (PCB length). The Gigabyte 6600GT fanless graphics cards fit without any issues.

For more information regarding installation please see our Accent HT-400 HTPC Case Installation Instructions, under Product Resources to the right of this page.

Quiet PC does not recommend installing a fanless power supply in the HT-400. The main reason is that the HT-400 can not produce a large amount of airflow and therefore the fanless power supply will increase the ambient temperature inside the case. We recommend the QTechnology PSUs with the integrated 120mm fan or better still the Elan Vital because you will get the silent benefits of a fanless PSU with the piece of mind that the 120mm fan will provide cooling if needed.

Customer Reviews

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