SilverStone GD06 HTPC Case

SilverStone GD06 HTPC Case

HTPC Cases are a dime a dozen, which makes finding the right case one of the most difficult parts of putting together a HTPC build. How do you decide on a case without seeing it in person? Luckily there are tons of website out there that are given the opportunity to review HTPC cases. Case in point (no pun intended), ComputingOnDemand.com brings us a review of the Silverstone GD06.

The SilverStone GD06 is a very impressive case and it has great looks. It should fit into any home theater nicely. The front panel, which hides all front I/O, is a very nice touch by SilverStone. However, I wish the panel didn’t have to open to provide access to the USB 3.0 ports. A nice addition would be a secondary door, allowing access to only the USB ports. The GD06 requires that you fully expose the 5.25 drive, hot swappable bays, and 3.5mm jacks to access the USB ports. The other reason for having a secondary door is the bright LED light on the front of the case. If for any reason you are going to use the Silverstone GD06 with the front panel open, you will be greeted by a bright blue LED power light. Easy work around is to not plug the LED into the motherboard.

I want to touch on the hot swappable bays as they are a huge bonus! If you are using this in All In One HTPC build or any HTPC build for that manner, hot swap bays are a great way to move lots of content very quickly. Although USB 3.0 has been around for some time now, not everyone has a USB 3.0 external hard disk. A simple way to circumvent that issue is to drop a drive in to the hot swap bay and copy whatever files you want.

I’m also a HUGE fan of the 120mm fans! The 3x 120mm is awesome and should keep your components cool. Some of us keep our HTPCs close to our home theater amps or in cabinets with all of our home theater componentst. The 120mm fans in the Silverstone GD06 will definitely push air and keep everything as cool as possible. The only drawback to the fans is that there filters are internally mounted. This means the Silverstone GD06 requires that you fully open the case to remove the internally mounted filters for cleaning.

All in all the Silverstone GD06 appears to be a wonderful case. The only draw back is its price. As of writing Newegg.com has the case for $129.99 plus shipping and Amazon.com has the case for $122 with Prime Shipping!!

Here a the specs of the Silverstone GD06 at a glance:

Form Factor: ATX
Case Material: Aluminum door, plastic panel, and SECC steel body
Motherboard Compatibility: Micro ATX, Mini-DTX, Mini-ITX
External Bays: 1x 5.25″
Internal Bays: 3.5″ x 4 or 3.5″ x3 and 2.5″ x 1 or 2.5″ x 2 (depending on configuration)
Front Panel I/O: 2x USB 3.0 and 1x 3.5mm Audio & Mic
Fans: 3x 120mm and 2x 80mm (with dust filters)

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