Streacom FC9 Full Aluminium Fanless Chassis

A work of art that beautifully combines form and function. Introducing the fanless FC9 HTPC case.

From its inception, the FC9 has been envisioned to provide new levels of compatibility and performance, with a design that is nothing short of stunning. The all aluminium sandblasted finish houses a multitude of features such as Heatpipe Direct Touch cooling, universal optical drive eject button and a pivoting drive cage that makes assembly easier than ever. More than just a computer enclosure, the FC9 is a work of art that beautifully combines form and function.

Streacom FC9

Many home theatre chassis are finished with the brushed aluminium effect, but the FC9 is not like other home theatre chassis. Streacom have finished the FC9 in a very fine shot-blasted finish which gives an elegant pitted look to the aluminium 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 aluminium finishes often does.

Recommended Components

Streacom have a comprehensive build guide that provides general tips and suggestions on what should be considered when building in a Streacom case and how to achieve the best results.

Motherboard and CPU - The FC9 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 / pico PSU adapter will obstruct them and it will prevent the CPU block from being fitted.

Note: Although 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 / pico PSU can provide. This means that a Intel i3/i5/i7 CPU with either a S (65W) or a T (45W) suffix would be ideal for a socket 1155 motherboard.

To increase compatibility Streacom have a CPU Cooler Riser that raises the CPU heatpipes above conflicting components. The riser gives the included heatpipe solution an additional 32mm of clearance above the CPU.

Power Supply - We recommend using a fanless nanoPSU which can provide up to 150W of power. This is more than enough to power a CPU that has a TDP of around 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.

Optical Drive - The FC9 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 have already sourced the perfect drives for these cases, whether you require a Blu-Ray or a DVD player.

Remote Control - If you are looking to take control of the PC with the use of a remote control, then look no further than Streacom’s solution. It is supplied with a PCB that fits neatly behind a small circular window in the chassis. This means there are no unsightly boxes or wires running out from ports and it is fully compatible with Windows Media Center.

Thermal Paste - These cases are supplied with thermal paste.

FC9 Image Gallery

Streacom FC9 Silver

Streacom FC9 Black

FC9 - Optional ST-HT4 CPU riser assembly

FC9 Black - Front panel

FC9 Silver - Front panel

FC9 - Rear of case

FC9 - Side of case showing USB 3 ports

FC9 - Inside of case

FC9 - Inside of case