On the case

So far I've said very little about the case, a Lian LI Black Case PC-C37B. I would have been happy to replace it with something better, but neither Steve and Judy had a problem with it.

It was always my intention to get a Micro ATX case, as I didn't think that a full size case was necessary. I looked for a bit at ITX motherboards, but they didn't have the expandability that I wanted, so a Micro ATX case was the call. I wish that I could say that I selected the Lian Li case after extensive market research, but in truth I just looked at Micro ATX cases at Newegg and found only one with a short enough profile to fit into the space for the HTPC. I also would have liked a case that had a status display built into it, but all of those cases were just too tall.

Later, I found a link to an article over at TechSpot where the case was favorably reviewed, so my decision wasn't too bad.

The only bad thing that I have to say about the case is that the instructions that came with it leave a lot to be desired. (For example, there isn't any information about where to install the power supply.)

As I have said, this case does not come with a power supply. A plus, I suppose (if you recognize that in advance), because you can pick a power supply with the size and features that you want. So, let's talk about power supplies next!