Introduction

Over the years the personal computer segment got many purposes, professional usage, desktop usage, the internet, music, gaming, but with the rise of High Definition and powerful computer hardware supporting the new high-bandwidth content here in Europe media players and HTPCs (Home Theater PCs) have grown into a sizable market.

Personally I've been using HTPCs for years now and though the small MediaPlayers (often Realtek based) are on the rise, nothing can beat a good HTPC as you get to customize it towards your needs and requirements.

The good thing is that a HTPC beats anything image quality wise with what you throw at it. The negative side is of course the investment you need to make for the processor, motherboard, memory, storage, cooling and the chassis. A HTPC chassis is what we are reviewing today.

What people often do is transform their old PC into a fully functional HTPC, the downside however is... that mid tower PC looks like shyte in the living room.

Luckily in the past couple of years we've seen a new development, system on a chip. Yep, computer hardware is getting smaller allowing the manufacturers to put more and more components on one chip. And in the end that drives prices down.

Today we'll build the cutest little HTPC ever. We simply grab a A75 motherboard from MSI, pop on a A8-3800 APU from AMD, and start building a fully functional HTPC. With properly selected components you are looking at a 300 maybe 400 EUR budget, still quite a bit of money I know. But you'll notice you can build a relatively small HTPC that looks and performs amazingly cool.

As such we review the SilverStone GD06 HTPC chassis, aimed at the home theater DIY audience that has a need for stylish looks, good functionality versus a competitive price.

First let's check out the GD06, priced at only 100 EUR / 130 USD, and then head on over to the next page where we'll startup the review.