HTPC: 1 fan, small and silent! NSK1380, PicoPSU, GeForce9400
Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 6:47 pm
After much research I finally assembled my HTPC. If you are curious about anything or want any more pictures feel free to ask!
Antec NSK1380
Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H
Thermalright HR-05/IFX on IGP
Intel E5200
Rosewill RCX-Z4
GeIL Green DDR2 800 2x2GB
Western Digital Green 1TB WD10EADS
LG Blu-Ray/HD-DVD/DVD-RW Drive GGC-H20L
Scythe Slip-Stream 120mm 800rpm
PicoPSU-150-XT
110w Power Brick from DC2DC.com
I chose the antec NSK1380 because it was the only case with such a small form factor that allows for a rear-exhausing 120mm fan. This was key for the HTPC's final resting place. I was also able to acquire one at much less than retail used on eBay (with a few scratches on the side/top -- but you will not be able to see them once I have them in my cabinet.
The Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H simply has the most powerful IGP on the market -- the only other board is a more expensive DFI board. It has many nice features. The IGP runs extremely hot and the stock heatsink is pretty terrible so I replaced it with a HR-05/IFX -- which I would recommend to anyone without hesitation for a NB cooler -- it dropped my temps by roughly 15C (idle -- I never got a good load reading).
The E5200 is definitely capable enough for this purpose. I was able to playback the "Killer Sample" video floating around just fine most times (but sometimes it hiccups right near the end!) -- luckily this is overkill. I have it running at 1.15V - its stable, and I haven't even tried any lower yet -- but I will soon.
I eventually chose the Rosewill RCX-Z4 over a Mini Ninja because I was having trouble locating one cheaply. I saw another SCPR member using an Akasa EVO (of which the RCX-Z4 is a clone) in the same case and it allowed me not to have to modify the drive cage and it opens up a lot of free space inside the case. it almost looks like it was made for this application! I removed the shroud from the heatsink. It never even feels warm to the touch and is total overkill.
The GeIL Green has the unique distinction of being able to be run at 1.6v -- I figured I'd squeeze 2-4 more watts out of the system, but the motherboard only allows overvolting -- I might swap this into my main rig, or maybe find someone to swap with.
The WD Green drive is plenty fast enough during normal use - something I was concerned about. I eventually started comparing the speed to drives that were considered "fast" just a few years ago and was surprised to see that it held up against them. I have wished for a faster drive a few times while installing programs -- but eventually this will be a moot point. I have the drive on rubber grommets and I cannot hear it unless doing heavy copying -- even when I was using the computer with a side panel off -- I had to use a regular PSU while waiting for my brick.
I have the Scythe Slip-Stream plugged into the CPU fan header, running @ 12v at all times and it makes barely a whisper when you're on top of it -- my TV makes more noise (I'm going to be looking into replacing it's fan soon). I chose it over the S-Flex and GentleTyphoon because it simply has a better CFM to DB ratio.
The PicoPSU-150-XT is great! I do not understand why there are not major commercial power supplies like this! My unit's connector was slightly bowed and difficult to get in the first time. The cords are *just* long enough. I would not use it in a case larger than this. It has a 24pin atx connector and a P4 ATX connector already built in. It has 1xSATA and 1xMolex/4pin. I paired it with a 110w power brick and it has handled everything I've thrown at it. The fan inside is loud but only turned on when I ran Orthos and Furmark simultaneously. It silently handled everything else I threw at it.
You may have noticed a lack of tuner --- I am using a HDHomeRun which streams ASTC antenna signals over the network.
Pictures
Click for full size
Views without the drive bay:
Views with the bay in:
This picture shows the clearance the drives have from the RCX-Z4 and the fan.
This shows the clearance between the HR-05 and my HDD -- the SATA power just clears it's side and the right angle plug has some room, however I could rotate the HR-05 to accomodate a regular SATA cable.
The back -- I drilled out a screw hole from the original PSU for the power brick plug.
Temperatures
Ambient temperature was 76F (24.4C) and the central air was not running.
CPU: 38C idle / 47C load
GPU: 44C idle / 58C load
Here is my Furmark (renamed to avoid Nvidia throttling) after 16 minutes. As you can see it levels off after a few minutes. The heatsink gets very hot to the touch especially if the case sides are off (no airflow forced over the GPU) - I thought about ducting but after these results I am very pleased without it.
Here is Orthos. Load temps cycled between 44C and 47C. The heatsink never feels warm even at the base. Temps drop to 38C immediately after orthos is halted (as seen in picture)
Antec NSK1380
Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H
Thermalright HR-05/IFX on IGP
Intel E5200
Rosewill RCX-Z4
GeIL Green DDR2 800 2x2GB
Western Digital Green 1TB WD10EADS
LG Blu-Ray/HD-DVD/DVD-RW Drive GGC-H20L
Scythe Slip-Stream 120mm 800rpm
PicoPSU-150-XT
110w Power Brick from DC2DC.com
I chose the antec NSK1380 because it was the only case with such a small form factor that allows for a rear-exhausing 120mm fan. This was key for the HTPC's final resting place. I was also able to acquire one at much less than retail used on eBay (with a few scratches on the side/top -- but you will not be able to see them once I have them in my cabinet.
The Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H simply has the most powerful IGP on the market -- the only other board is a more expensive DFI board. It has many nice features. The IGP runs extremely hot and the stock heatsink is pretty terrible so I replaced it with a HR-05/IFX -- which I would recommend to anyone without hesitation for a NB cooler -- it dropped my temps by roughly 15C (idle -- I never got a good load reading).
The E5200 is definitely capable enough for this purpose. I was able to playback the "Killer Sample" video floating around just fine most times (but sometimes it hiccups right near the end!) -- luckily this is overkill. I have it running at 1.15V - its stable, and I haven't even tried any lower yet -- but I will soon.
I eventually chose the Rosewill RCX-Z4 over a Mini Ninja because I was having trouble locating one cheaply. I saw another SCPR member using an Akasa EVO (of which the RCX-Z4 is a clone) in the same case and it allowed me not to have to modify the drive cage and it opens up a lot of free space inside the case. it almost looks like it was made for this application! I removed the shroud from the heatsink. It never even feels warm to the touch and is total overkill.
The GeIL Green has the unique distinction of being able to be run at 1.6v -- I figured I'd squeeze 2-4 more watts out of the system, but the motherboard only allows overvolting -- I might swap this into my main rig, or maybe find someone to swap with.
The WD Green drive is plenty fast enough during normal use - something I was concerned about. I eventually started comparing the speed to drives that were considered "fast" just a few years ago and was surprised to see that it held up against them. I have wished for a faster drive a few times while installing programs -- but eventually this will be a moot point. I have the drive on rubber grommets and I cannot hear it unless doing heavy copying -- even when I was using the computer with a side panel off -- I had to use a regular PSU while waiting for my brick.
I have the Scythe Slip-Stream plugged into the CPU fan header, running @ 12v at all times and it makes barely a whisper when you're on top of it -- my TV makes more noise (I'm going to be looking into replacing it's fan soon). I chose it over the S-Flex and GentleTyphoon because it simply has a better CFM to DB ratio.
The PicoPSU-150-XT is great! I do not understand why there are not major commercial power supplies like this! My unit's connector was slightly bowed and difficult to get in the first time. The cords are *just* long enough. I would not use it in a case larger than this. It has a 24pin atx connector and a P4 ATX connector already built in. It has 1xSATA and 1xMolex/4pin. I paired it with a 110w power brick and it has handled everything I've thrown at it. The fan inside is loud but only turned on when I ran Orthos and Furmark simultaneously. It silently handled everything else I threw at it.
You may have noticed a lack of tuner --- I am using a HDHomeRun which streams ASTC antenna signals over the network.
Pictures
Click for full size
Views without the drive bay:
Views with the bay in:
This picture shows the clearance the drives have from the RCX-Z4 and the fan.
This shows the clearance between the HR-05 and my HDD -- the SATA power just clears it's side and the right angle plug has some room, however I could rotate the HR-05 to accomodate a regular SATA cable.
The back -- I drilled out a screw hole from the original PSU for the power brick plug.
Temperatures
Ambient temperature was 76F (24.4C) and the central air was not running.
CPU: 38C idle / 47C load
GPU: 44C idle / 58C load
Here is my Furmark (renamed to avoid Nvidia throttling) after 16 minutes. As you can see it levels off after a few minutes. The heatsink gets very hot to the touch especially if the case sides are off (no airflow forced over the GPU) - I thought about ducting but after these results I am very pleased without it.
Here is Orthos. Load temps cycled between 44C and 47C. The heatsink never feels warm even at the base. Temps drop to 38C immediately after orthos is halted (as seen in picture)