CHIEFTEC Black Aluminum HIFI HM-01B-OP ATX Media Center / HTPC Case - Retail

Reviewed By: Fareastgq on 7/14/2009

Tech Level: high - Ownership: 1 day to 1 week

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: good case, great build

Cons: lcd panel that came with mine is dead, triple checked install to make sure was set up correctly, maybe I just got a bad one, guess I will rma for a new one...sigh, what a big hassle.

Other Thoughts: I really expect this to work the first time for 279.99

Did you find this review helpful?

Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!

Best Case i've ever owned

Reviewed By: jgutz20 on 6/22/2009

Tech Level: high - Ownership: 1 month to 1 year

Pros: This case has SO many little extras that make installation easier, the quality of the materials is awesome. Chieftec did pay attention to details. Im usually the guy looking for the plain black case for around 100$ but decided to splurge this once since it would be in plain sight next to the TV and i'm glad i did. I did use the VFD for info on currently playing media, otherwise it posted the current time and weather outside. I was able to hide large amounts of cables under the front mounted usb ports and run other annoying cables under the motherboard to make it look nice and neat inside. There is a HDD Rack that holds 3 drives that you can easily swap out, there also is another internal 3.5" slot with plenty of motherboard clearance under the DVD-Drive

Cons: I would love to complain about the heafty price tag as this is the most i've ever paid for a case but i cant help but say that it is worth EVERY penny, and if i knew what i do now coming into the purchase i would think $280 or less with a rebate is a STEAL! Some people do not like MedianHD for their mediacenter but i found that their forums are very helpful as there are some of the software architects floating around all the time. So if your not afraid to get your hands dirty instead of quitting and moving on to the next MCE software this may not be for you, so just use Sage or something.

Other Thoughts: So if you've read the review by "elTorro" you will see that he gave this case less eggs because he couldnt make it a hardcore gaming machine so i think he missed the idea completely. I have a full size ATX board M2N31-SLI and it does get tight in places but there is plenty of room for everything. I just threw in a new Phenom Tri Core with 8gb Ram and 4x 1.5tb hard drives to store ripped dvd's. I just have a Geforce 8500GT but there definately is room for a larger card, now if i tried a GTX280 i'd be chasing rainbows but Chieftec did not make this case for that reason. I can not say anything negative about this case at all, It looks beautiful. Yes the VFD screen has limitations but i was a fan of the remote. I actually have a MCE remote but used the i-mon / MedianHD software combo that came with and you can use the wheel pad to navigate around with your mouse even. Push the "MCE" key and pop open MedianHD for playback or even windows MCE if you choose that method. AWESOME!!

Did you find this review helpful?

Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!

LOVED IT, then sent it back

Reviewed By: elTorro on 6/17/2009

Tech Level: high - Ownership: 1 week to 1 month

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: BEAUTIFUL. QUIET. ALMOST PERFECTLY ENGINEERED. I am a structural engineer, and loved this case when I opened it.

Cons: The case is a piece of art, but it didn't fit any of the video cards that I needed to run GREAT graphics (-1 egg). My new Lian Li Pc-c32 has sliding fans that does allow HUGE Vcards and it was $70 cheaper (without remote). The REMOTE SUCKS (-1egg), and the SMALL front panel screen sucks. The front panel screen font is way too small, and the IMON programing is horrible.

Other Thoughts: If you go with a card longer than my PNY GTX 260 then do not order this. If you don't want to buy a great mouse like my new Gyration Music Remote, and will be happy with a Nintendo 64 joystick as a mouse then order this.

The case is nice but the IMON needs MAJOR MODS to its interface. GET THE GYRATION mouse, which is cheaper on their site and comes WITH mini keyboard.

Did you find this review helpful?

Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!