Introduction

It seems a lot of the times that I do run across some sort of HTPC chassis, they seem to be as tiny as possible to not be an intrusion on your home theaters design or layout. The benefit of these smaller units is that they can offer you all of the ability of a desktop PC, but most won't allow for graphics cards or even an add-on sound card to deliver the top end performance we expect out of our HTPCs. For my own HTPC needs, if I am on the couch for the day, taking root into the fabric, I don't want to get up for anything really. Whether I am streaming a movie from my desktop, or when that gets old, playing a game, or if I get the burst of energy, I may want to use it to stream music to the surround sound receiver as I tinker around the house checking things off the "honey-do" list. The smaller units will allow me to surf and potentially watch 1080p movies, but my Zotac Mini-ITX setup has a piss poor onboard VGA that leaves my viewing somewhat "chunky".

To solve this dilemma, you need to increase the size of the chassis to allow for more components to be added, improving both the audio and video output options. There is a delicate balance here, though. I know I wouldn't get away with a standard tower sitting in my living room, as my better half won't stand for that. So the only real solution is to look into larger HTPC chassis' that have a similar feel to the receiver, Bl-ray player, EQ and other home theater components already in the rack or spread across your HDTV stand you already have in the room. There are quite a few of these types of cases on the market, some with room inside, some with good ventilation, and even some that will hold an expansion card. It is very rare to find a HTPC solution that offers all of those features, adds a few things you don't think you need until you see it in action, and delivers it all in a very sleek and attractive looking structure.

Today we have the pleasure of going over another chassis from SilverStone with a fine tooth comb. There have been previous models in the Grandia chassis segment, all designed to deliver an attractive solution to add to your living room or home theater. Over time SilverStone has seen what works and what doesn't, and in this example, being the current top dog in the lineup, the GD06 has a little bit of everything while doing away with things like a tiny LCD you couldn't see across the room anyways. Stepping up the cooling inside of the chassis, SilverStone allows for more powerful systems to be properly cooled when we do decide to play our favorite game title on the big screen. Without giving too much of it away up front, I say we move from this right into the specifications so you can wrap your mind around everything found inside and outside of the latest Grandia Series in the GD 06 HTPC chassis.