Tony, I have noticed a lag issue once in a while on my system but not completely as you describe. From time to time, when in Media Center on Win7, audio will lag on recorded shows or even "live" (not really live as it is buffered to the HDD) TV. The delay is not huge but enough to be noticeable with...

@Strid, @ces I think you could put a different heatsink in there, but I don't think it would mount all that well considering it's an Atom Ion combination. If you could get the heat sink to position properly, it probably would fit without the Blu-ray drive. If you are just taking fans, I am already r...

Here is the installed metal mesh. It finishes off the back quite nicely. (For details on where I got the material, see the above post^).

-Davideo

Porky, So that D510 has the integrated graphics processor built directly into the CPU, yes? I am curious to know how it handles Blu-ray content. What did I do with the big hole left by the PSU? I am glad you asked that. At first I thought: "Just leave it not one can see it anyways..." Then I thought...

mark19891989,
I like that case, it gives you some extra height to put stuff in and extra room for airflow.. Good choice.

Davideo 2006

@RoGuE I agree these inital test numbers were way too high, I should have posted a follow up sooner, however here it is now. I have upgraded the BIOS with the Oct 12, 2009 firmware and it included and automatic setting for managing the fan. The setting works really well and it keeps the noise down a...

You are the wiring master. I applaud your meticulous cable management. It has inspired me to take it to a whole new level!

Great job!

Davideo2006

I would try calling again during regular business hours and ask someone else. I have had many experiences with customer service that are similar to what you describe. Sometimes you just get the wrong person. http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/servlet/ProductDetailDisplay?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalo...

@Lorenzo4571 I feel your Customer Service pain... Hopefully you have access to another device (PS3? Blu-ray player?) that outputs HDMI audio/video you can test your system with. If not it might be time to get a different Surround sound unit. What unit is it, if I may ask? Dave Awesome, i appreciate ...

@Lorenzo4571, I hope my answer does not come too late for you. I can confirm that the HDMI audio does indeed work with this board. I run SPDIF audio to my amp, but when I first booted my new build I noticed I was hearing sound very faintly and it was coming through my TV and not my amp. I have an HD...

@silencio I thought of a suspension system. I did that on my previous HTPC build. I may consider that as I continue to tweak it for heat and noise. Interestingly, when that Asus Blu-ray combo drive spins down sometimes it hits a critical RPM that makes everything on the shelf vibrate. If I was to is...

@mark19891989 I think you could fit one 3.6" HDD in this enclosure, 2 would be pushing it and not a lot of room for airflow. It's too bad you could not switch to 2.5" HDDs since they are so rugged, quiet, use less wattage, and don't throw a lot of heat. I understand you want to just transfer those H...

@Parappaman I agree, I would like to draw air through the box as much as possible and I had not considered 2X80mm fans in back because I shy away from anything under 120mm, but it just might improve the cooling. I will have to do some tests on it and try some of these good suggestions to see what's ...

@PlanetOfTheApes That Silverstone SG04B-F is a good looking case. I did some measurements and it has the same footprint as the APEX case I bought. The advantages of that case is, for more than double the height you get some really great airflow; that appeals to me. The disadvantage is it does not fi...

Thanks Bozar, Your idea of 2 fans would work because this case has left and right side ventilation. For example, I could mount one intake on the left and one out-take fan on the right. My only concern is that the TV Tuner card does block a large portion of left side. As it is, the single fan blowing...

Building the Ultra Quiet Mini Home Theater PC- March 6, 2010 Why build a new HTPC? I built my first HTPC back in 2006. As with any noob, it took me months to get it stabilized and behaving the way I wanted it. Details aside, I have learned a lot since then and a lot has changed since then. Windows ...

Good adjustments, LongJan. I think the best philosophy is "Dust Happens" but you can always control the noise. It looks like you have done that. I applaud your mod! It's interesting that your GPU temp went down 5 degrees with the new configuration; there is so much to learn about air flow. Thanks fo...

They are from Startech. I love that they are a fine metal mesh, they trap a surprising amount of dust, and they are so easy to clean.

http://www.startech.com/item/FANFILTER1 ... -Fans.aspx

I hope there is a local retailer in Seattle for you.

Davideo

First off, I love your approach to the heat and dust issue and how clean your build is. Great cable management, and you picked a great case, Antec cases are some of my favourite. I appreciate that you like fans and cooling is important, but for the love of silence, perhaps you can rethink the air fl...

Thanks again for all the great suggestions. I implemented a few of them and the results were fantastic!!! Xan_user I implemented your suggestion to change the air flow front (sides) to back. I was able to elimate the 80mm Silenx fan as per Sylph-DS's suggestion. It worked AWESOME! Sylph-DS the elast...

Angelkiller: Thanks for the tip on the elastic. We have Michel's up here in Canada too. I will pick some up and build me a nice anti vibration mount. Xan_user: That would be an interesting setup, have everything exhaust out the back, that would be a good test to see how it performs noise and heat w...

Sylph DS : Thanks for your praise and suggestions. You are right about the Silenx. I am thinking of disconnecting it and see if it improves the noise. I suspect it has little impact on reducing the temperature. That's cool about suspending the drives I have never heard of that. I will look for some...

I bought this Ahanix MCE701 Home Theatre PC case in the fall of 2006 and I was never very happy with the heat and noise issues that seemed to plague this machine. After several problems over several months (years?) I decided to get medieval on it and change the case design to make it quieter and coo...

Thanks for a great review!