The HDPLEX H5.TODD offers home theater or computer audio enthusiasts a completely silent passively cooled PC chassis that would look good in any high end A/V cabinet or rack. The beauty of its brushed aluminum facia is actually quite deep — a whopping 1.5cm! — and its layout and construction shows good functionality as well.
February 18, 2013 by Lawrence Lee
Product | HDPLEX H5.TODD Fanless microATX Chassis |
Manufacturer | |
MSRP | US$275 |
HDPLEX is one of the few manufacturers filling the niche of the passively cooled
PC chassis. They have currently have three models, all adhering to the low profile
HTPC style. The H10,
H5, and H3
have varying footprints depending on your needs but the one thing they have
in common is they wouldn’t look amiss stacked with high end audio/video gear
in a home theater cabinet or stand. This puts them in a different class than
conventional air-cooled HTPC cases which are often too big, and generate an
undesirable level of noise.
Specifications: HDPLEX H5.TODD (from the product web page) | |
Material & Color | Material: 6063T Aluminum Alloy Body: Black Faceplate: Silver or Black Body Finish: Durable Powder Coating Black Faceplate Finish: Powder Coating Silver Faceplate Finish: Brushed Aluminum Weight 16 lbs(7.5kg) |
Dimension | Internal 325x370x55mm (L x W x H) External 325x438x60mm (L x W x H) Faceplate 460x70x15mm(L x W x D) |
Power Supply (Optional) | All PicoPSU Supported 80W Internal Fanless PSU Supported DC 5/2.5 Single PIN Connector Supported DC 4PIN-MINI-DIN Connector Supported IEC AC Input Supported Internal Mounting for FSP 150W Adapter |
Cooling System | Intel LGA775/1155/1156 Socket Supported AMD AM2/AM3/FM1/FM2 Socket APU Supported HDPLEX Fanless CPU Heatsink System support 75W TDP CPU on H5/H3 Series |
Compatibility | Mini-ITX and MicroATX Supported 3.5″ HDD and 2.5″ SSD/HDD Supported Full Height Single Slot PCI/E Card Supported Slim Tray Loading Optical Drive Supported |
Front Ports | USB 2.0/3.0 Port: One* IR Port: One (Optional Internal IR Receiver) *Internal USB 2.0/3.0 Cable Included |
Manufacture Warranty | Parts 1 year limited Labor 1 year limited |
Packaging | Double Packaged Dimension: 24″x20″x8″ Shipping Weight: 9kg/20 lbs |
The H5 is essentially a sleeker, refined version of the H10 we reviewed two
years ago. Both are constructed of an aluminum alloy and support microATX motherboards.
The full-sized optical drive option of the H10 has been removed in in the H5
for one of the slim variety, resulting in a shallower chassis. This reduces
the size of the cooling heatsinks, so the CPU TDP limit is 75W rather than 125W,
which is of little concern given the continuing imporvements in CPU power efficiency.
The change also creates enough space underneath the optical drive for an extra
2.5 inch drive in addition to the already existing two 2.5/3.5 inch mounts.
Finally, the H5 sports a front USB 3.0 port while the H10 lacked front USB altogether.
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The H5 is available in two different flavors, the US$275 H5.TODD and
US$258 H5.S. The main difference is that H5.S lacks an optical drive
option. Main chassis is power coated, but one improvement to improve cooling
efficiency is that the power coating has been removed from the grooves where
the heatpipes contact the side of the case. The powder coated paint was an extra
thermal impedance between the heatsink and the hetapipes; eliminating that layer
should provide at least a few degrees of cooling improvement. Currently, the
H5.S is only available with one faceplate color, black with a powder coat, while
the H5.TODD offers a brushed silver option. The power coated facia of the H5.S
gives it a more industrial look, while the brushed aluminum of the H5.TODD offers
a striking contrast that really pops. The sheer thickness of the nicely brushed
aluminum front panel really gives the H5.TODD a very high end AV look. Given
the functional similarity between the two cases, we’re going to focus on the
higher-end H5.TODD.
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Our H5.TODD sample was configured with an open frame 80W internal power adapter and shipped with an AC power cord, a PCI-E 1x ribbon cable for the riser card option, and a combined short/long hex screwdriver for opening the top cover. The included accessories vary depending on the power supply and IR/remote options you select.
PHYSICAL DETAILS
The HDPLEX H5.TODD weighs 7.5 kg or 16 lb and the body measures 43.8 x 32.5 x 6.0 cm or 17.2 x 12.8 x 2.3 inches (L x D x H) with the faceplate adding an additional 2.2 x 1.5 x 1.0 cm to the overall dimensions. It’s constructed of a heavy duty aluminum alloy with a black powder coat finish except for the optional brush silver faceplate.
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INTERIOR
The pre-assembled H5.TODD provided to us by HDPLEX appears overly spacious
due to the large gap between the edge of the motherboard and the power supply
on the left side. This extra width exists to allow a third drive to be installed
on the bottom panel (in this case, an OCZ Vertex 4 SSD) and to accommodate a
full-sized PCI-E expansion card (our pre-installed card is only half-height).
If you require neither of these features, the H5 is wider than it needs to be,
though 17″ matches classic high end audio gear.
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TESTING
System Configuration:
- Intel Core i3-3225
processor – 3.3 GHz, 22 nm, 55W, integrated HD 4000 graphics - ASRock H77M motherboard
– H77 chipset - G.Skill Sniper memory – 1x4GB, DDR3-1600
- OCZ Vertex 4 128GB solid state drive.
- Philips/Lite-on DS-4E1S slim BD combo drive.
- Microsoft
Windows 8 operating system – Professional, 64-bit
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Measurement and Analysis Tools
- Prime95
processor stress software. - FurMark
stability test to stress the integrated GPU. - TMPGEnc
Xpress video encoding load test. - GPU-Z to
monitor GPU temperatures and fan speed. - SpeedFan
to monitor system temperatures. - Seasonic
Power Angel AC power meter, used to measure the power consumption
of the system. - Custom-built, four-channel variable DC power supply, used to regulate
fan speeds during the test. - PC-based spectrum analyzer:
SpectraPlus with ACO Pacific mic and M-Audio digitalaudio interfaces. - Anechoic chamber
with ambient level of 11 dBA or lower - Various other tools for testing fans, as documented in our
standard fan testing methodology.
Testing Procedures
Our testing procedure involves placing the test system in various states until
temperatures remain stable for 5~10 minutes. The test states are idle, playing
H.264 video, encoding video with TMPGEnc, full CPU load using Prime95 (small
FFT setting), and full GPU loading using FurMark, an OpenGL benchmarking and
stability testing utility.
Temperatures were recording using various software tools and an infrared thermometer on the hottest point of the exterior as well as the AC power draw from the wall.
TEST RESULTS
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According to HDPLEX, the H5.TODD can handle CPUs up to 75W but they played
it safe with our sample system, equipping it with the modest Core i3-3225, a
dual core Ivy Bridge chip with a clock speed of 3.3 GHz and a TDP of only 55W.
It’s no powerhouse but should be snappy enough for a wide spectrum of users.
System Measurements | ||||
System State | Temperatures | System Power (AC) | ||
CPU* | VRM | External | ||
Idle | 30°C | 38°C | 27°C | 23W |
H.264 Playback | 32°C | 39°C | 29°C | 24W |
TMPGEnc | 51°C | 40°C | 35°C | 42W |
CPU Load | 55°C | 39°C | 37°C | 48W |
CPU + GPU Load | 66°C | 41°C | 43°C | 62W |
Ambient temperature: 21°C. *An average of Core 0 & 1. |
The i3-3225 proved little challenge for the H5.TODD, running very cool when
idle or playing H.264 video. It only heated up by an appreciable amount when
both the CPU and integrated GPU were stressed synthetically using Prime95 and
FurMark, a load which generates much more heat than any normal use. Even then,
the CPU temperature did not exceed 70°C while the exterior heatsink remained
comfortably warm. Our real world load test, video encoding with TMPGEnc, was
not nearly as stressful, and the CPU temperature barely topped 50°C. Like
previous sub-65W Ivy Bridge chips we’ve encountered, the i3-3225 is incredibly
energy efficient, more so than the TDP rating might imply.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The HDPLEX H5.TODD is a solid fanless chassis offering that delivers exactly
what it promises without any apparent faults. The case is well built with a
thick faceplate, top cover, and sides, and the brushed aluminum front bezel
option is striking. Its look and form factor would fit well in a high end AV
cabinet or rack though it would be best to place it at the top of the stack
for ventilation. The cooling system handled a 55W dual core Ivy Bridge chip
with ease so it should also comfortably cool the more common 65W processors
on the market. Although we did not undertake assembly of the cooling system,
a close examination suggests quality machined parts with good fit and finish.
The extra step of removing the powder finish paint from the grooves in the heatsink
contact surface suggests care and attention to detail beyond cosmetics.
As depth is often an issue for home theater users, the size reduction compared
to the H10 is a significant improvement. Its footprint is still big, but it
affords users a degree of versatility for components pertinent to home theater
operation. The extra storage of a third HDD or SSD can come in handy if you
don’t have a separate centralized file/media server, and a full-sized expansion
card option opens up the possibility of a TV tuner, a high-end sound card, or
even a discrete passively cooled graphics card for some gaming.
The H5.TODD is currently available on HDPLEX’s website for US$275 without
a power supply, pretty reasonable for a passively-cooled case of its size and
qualiy. Its closest competitor is the similarly priced Streacom
F5 OD which shares a strong resemblance both inside and out. However,
the H5.TODD has a hefty weight advantage of 2.3 kg (about +44%) which suggests
it may be better constructed. At the very least, it has a more impressive facia,
and for many users, this is a real factor.
Our thanks to HDPLEX for the H5.TODD case sample.
HDPLEX H5.TODD is Recommended by SPCR
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