Streacom FC5 ALPHA HTPC Chassis

Following in its predecessors footsteps with the same minimalist styling, the FC5 Alpha brings even more refinement to this timeless sleek design.

At the heart of these improvements is the updated bottom panel which is not only more robust but has been redesigned to optimize airflow, reducing internal temperatures. Motherboard size and drive storage options also benefit from this new design, with the FC5 Alpha now accommodating an additional 2 x 2.5" drives and a full size motherboard*.

As with all Alpha cases, the heatpipes and mounts have been uprated, USB3.0 is native and the power LED is now a subtle pure white. USB ports are now located on both sides of the case for easier access and balance.

With its super thin 55m profile, premium AV design featuring a 10mm thick precision CNC'd front panel, the FC5 Alpha perfectly compliments any high end home theater setup.

Many home theater chassis are finished with the brushed aluminum effect, but the FC5 is not like other home theater chassis. Streacom have finished the FC5 in a very fine shot-blasted finish which gives an elegant pitted look to the aluminum rather than a lined look which brushing produces. It is all down to personal preference as to which looks better but one advantage that a shot blasted finish has over a brushed finish is that it does not leave visible fingerprints behind as brushed aluminum finishes often does.

Recommended Components:

Motherboard and CPU - The FC5 ALPHA is compatible with Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX motherboards. Depending which motherboard you opt for will determine which CPU to use. The case is capable of cooling virtually all CPUs that have a TDP of 95W or lower.

One important point to note when selecting a motherboard is that the board must not have the 24-pin ATX connector (shown in red in the image below or any tall heatsinks) located under the heatpipes otherwise the nano-PSU adapter may obstruct the the heatpipes, preventing the CPU block from being fitted correctly.

Avoid motherboards with the 24pin ATX connector in the red shaded area

Note: Although the new design improves the overall cooling ability of the case and allows the use of 95w processors we would strongly advise using a processor with a TDP of 65W or lower to avoid using more power than a nano-PSU can provide.

Power Supply - We recommend using a fanless nanoPSU which can provide up to 160W of power. This is more than enough to power a CPU that has a TDP of 65W along with suitable peripherals. It is recommended not to overload the number of peripherals; two HDDs (or one SSD and one HDD), one optical drive, a TV tuner and obviously a motherboard should not be a problem for this miniature PSU.

Alternatively, Streacom now has available a 240W Internal fanless PSU, the . That extra 90W (compared to the Nano-PSU) will allow for even more drives to be connected to the system or you may want to opt for a CPU that has a maximum TDP of 95W for greater performance. The ZF240 works best when installed into the chassis.

Optical Drive - The FC5 ALPHA uses a new universal eject mechanism so it will work with any slot loading laptop drive regardless of where the eject button is located on the front of the drive. Streacom has a great drive for these cases the ST-OB2 Slot Load Blu-Ray drive.

Thermal Paste - These cases are supplied with thermal paste.

SSD/Hard Disk DrivesThe FC5 cases can house many drive combinations depending on which size motherboard is fitted or which PSU is used. The instructions from Streacom's website go through in detail the options that are available. It is highly recommend that you take a look at the instructions and images in the user guide.

Specifications

User Guide

See more detailed information in the Streacom FC5 ALPHA User Guide.

If you are a reseller or a system builder we offer special pricing on bulk orders of this product. Contact us at sales@quietpcusa.com or call Toll Free (877) 205-2020 for more information.