I put my rig together December last year. This is my first foray into HD HTPC. I've created 2 SD HTPC's before. However, this is the first time I've loaded the system with so many HDDs. I recently changed my case fans to Noctua NF-S12-800 Fans. I also modded the CNPS 9500AT to work with a Fanmate2. The PWM still works. Now the HSF operating range is from 900RPM to 1200RPM. I used to hear the fans. Now I don't hear them anymore.
When I'm watching TV I don't hear the HTPC, even with the speakers muted. I only really hear the HTPC's HDDs when I've shut down everything else late at night, and I purposely listen for it.
Besides HTPC duties, I also use this to automate my house lights using X10. It's also my main file/media server. My two older HTPC's are now configured as "clients" to this HTPC. I've also shared the optical drive, so the two other "client" HTPC's can use the optical drive. So nowadays, I can start a DVD movie in the family room, and I can finish the movie in the bedroom. That bit, my wife likes very much.
I would have like to use an ANTEC fusion case, but it can only hold 2-3 HDDs. I needed a case than can hold 6 HDDs. So I ended up using the Cooler Master CM Media 282. Anyone else use this case?
Here are my specs:
- Vista Home Premium 32-bit
Intel DG33TL
Intel Core 2 Duo E6550
Zalman CNPS9500AT with Fanmate 2 mod
2 x Noctua NF-S12-800 120mm Fans
2 x 1GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 SDRAM
Nvidia GeForce 8500GT 256MB
5 X Seagate ST3750640AS 750GB SATA HDD
1 x Seagate ST3750640A 750GB PATA HDD
LG GGC-H20L SATA HD-DVD/Blu-Ray DVD Drive
Seasonic S12-330 ATX PS
Coolermaster CM Media-282 (RC-282)
Soundgraph Imon LCD
Silicondust HD HomeRun
100BaseT NIC for HD HomeRun
Front Intake to cool the HDDs
Memory, HSF, Case fan
Ready for Readyboost
Soft mounted Hard Drives Loaded
Hard Drives, Memory, CPU, Case fan air flow
System drive, 2 Raid 1 (mirror) arrays, one for photos/Home videos, the other one for divx movies
Passive Video Card, does HW decoding of Blu-ray and HD-DVDs.
Back Side, not much to see
All put together, Receiver on top, HPTC in the middle, HD Home Run/Gig Switch, MOCA bridge on top of Subwoofer
Stack up, my wife likes to sing Karaoke
UPS Backup
52" 1080p LCD TV and Center Speaker
Comments and questions always welcome.