[jaochoo]

I am still figuring out what case I should get (also see my other threads). I definitely want to be able to control my htpc with a remote, including completely powering on/off.

There are some cases that come with integrated IR receiver and remote, for example:
- Techsolo TC 2200 / MS-Tech MC-1200 (seems to be the same case branded differently)
- Antec Fusion Remote Black
- Silverstone LC16M
- Chieftec HM-02 (and the other cases of that product line)
etc.

So at first I thought I would go for one of these cases that have an integrated IR because I was kinda believing the fact that they have it integrated must mean it should work more smoothly than any 3rd party solution. After reading the forums though I now kinda believe that this isn't necessarily true because it depends on the motherboard or PSU (for powering on/off). Still I'm not sure. So my questions are:
- what is the quality of the IR solutions in the cases mentioned above (or generally cases that have integrated IR) in terms if powering on/off the htpc and controlling xbmc with the remote?
- are 3rd party solutions like Simerec or Flirc better (and their disadvantage is that one would have to drill a hole in his case)?

[assassin]

Why do you want to power it completely off? Why not just put it to sleep?

[jaochoo]

Why do you want to power it completely off? Why not just put it to sleep?

Because (at least AFAIK, I could be wrong):
- complete off consumes less power than sleep
- putting computer to sleep slows down performance if done often
- normally I turn devices completely off

[jangjong]

I'm not sure if this will be helpful or not..

If you look at my A6-3500 build, I use A75M-ITX for the board. I actually have this machine completely off. I only turn it on when I use it. I'm on the same boat as you. I usually turn my devices completely off when I don't use except for my unraid server. I am using Logitech K400 which is a wireless keyboard. To turn on my htpc, I just hit any key on the keyboard and it turns on.

This doesn't work the first time you plug in the machine though. Plug the power in, power it on with the power button, power it off, then hit any key on the usb keyboard to turn it on. I own a Flirc dongle and I haven't really tried it with flirc.. but since flirc is basically a dongle that receives the remote signal as keyboard, i assume this will work as well.

I just thought I would let you know it is possible without cases with a remote.

[Dougie Fresh]

This case has an integrated IR receiver that has a connection from the +5VSB connector on the ATX plug (+5VSB = +5V StandBy as in "always on") and a connection with the PC power button so that the IR receiver can turn the PC on from off. It'll work with either the included remote or any other MCE remote, Logitech Harmony, etc.

http://www.ecosmartpc.com/ht80.html

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Why do you want to power it completely off? Why not just put it to sleep?

Because (at least AFAIK, I could be wrong):
- complete off consumes less power than sleep
- putting computer to sleep slows down performance if done often
- normally I turn devices completely off

Depending on the power supply and motherboard, it might consume < 1W up to 2W or so while in S3 sleep state. Of course, it's up to you if even that little is too much draw -- for some it is. It depends on your usage and thoughts on the matter.

I am not aware of a performance disadvantage to putting a computer to sleep. You might be thinking of hibernate and issues with SSDs? S3 sleep is a suspend-to-RAM state while hibernate is a suspend-to-disk state so S3 sleep is not an issue there. Besides, if this is a Windows machine, it gets rebooted often enough by Windows Update .

[jaochoo]

This doesn't work the first time you plug in the machine though. Plug the power in, power it on with the power button, power it off, then hit any key on the usb keyboard to turn it on.

I could be wrong, but that doesn't sound like "complete off" to me, but like putting it in sleep mode.

I am not aware of a performance disadvantage to putting a computer to sleep. You might be thinking of hibernate and issues with SSDs? S3 sleep is a suspend-to-RAM state while hibernate is a suspend-to-disk state so S3 sleep is not an issue there.

I experience it a lot on my work notebook, which effectively is running 24/7 because I always have an email or some work opened that I don't want to shutdown, so I either leave the notebook on and running, or just close the notebook which (I could be wrong) I think is sleep state, right? After a few weeks, i will usually experience performance issues and have to shut it down completely.

This case has an integrated IR receiver that has a connection from the +5VSB connector on the ATX plug (+5VSB = +5V StandBy as in "always on") and a connection with the PC power button so that the IR receiver can turn the PC on from off.

So, if I understand it right, we can distinguish between the following solutions:
- IR connected to PSU. Examples: Simerec, specific cases. Can turn on/off the HTPC completely.
- IR connected to motherboard. Examples: ASRock solutions. Can put the computer to sleep.
- IR dongles. Examples: Flirc, Rosewill. Can control applications (such as XBMC) via remote (Flirc), some can put the computer to sleep (Rosewill).

Or, by product:
- Simerec: Can turn on/off HTPC completely (power on/off).
- Flirc: Can control applications (such as XBMC) via remote. No power on/off or put to sleep possible.
- Rosewill: Can put the HTPC to sleep. Can control applications (such as XBMC) via remote.
- EcoSmartPC case: Can turn on/off HTPC completely (power on/off).
- Antec Fusion Remote case:
- Silverstone LC16M case:
- Chieftec HM-02 case:
- Techsolo TC 2200 / MS-Tech MC-1200 case:

Am I right? Can anyone provide more information regarding the four specific cases?

[Jetster]

Why do you want to power it completely off? Why not just put it to sleep?

Because (at least AFAIK, I could be wrong):
- complete off consumes less power than sleep
- putting computer to sleep slows down performance if done often
- normally I turn devices completely off

Hibernate used 0 power, sleep uses 2 or 3 w only. And with W7 there is no effect of performance from sleep mode. My gaming rig i benchmark all the time and rarely shut it down. But I force it into sleep state every time i walk away

[baijuxavior]

I recently bought antec fusion remote hpc case. It can turn on the pc from complete shutdown state. It does this by using a remote controlled switch in parallel to the original power switch. Whatever be the brand, all these htpc cases use the same proprietary hardware and software from iMon. I found the accompanied pad remote control to be utter crap. But the good thing is that you can use any mce remote. Using mce remotes, power on from shutdown won't work for the first time you start the pc, but from next shutdown onwards it will work provided you should not turn off the UPS, ie, the smps should be powered all the time.