new htpc - q11b, i5-2500k, axp-140, gt430, picoPSU
Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2011 10:06 am
Hi all,
Last weekend I completed my new home theater PC. It runs MythTV. Specs:
CASE: Lian Li PC-Q11B
MOBO: Asrock H67M-ITX
CPU: Intel i5-2500k
PSU: picoPSU-160-XT w/150W Brick
RAM: Kingston KVR1333D3N9K2/8G
FAN: NoiseBlocker PK-3
GPU: ZOTAC ZT-40601-20L GeForce GT 430
HSF: Thermalright AXP-140 RT w/TY-140 fan
SSD: Kingston 64 GB
HDD: Samsung Green 2 TB
Not as pretty as josephclemente's q11b, and I have to admit I used his build as inspiration.
In fact, this is one of the more frustrating builds I've done, as the original plans called for an almost completely different set of components, and I went way over budget. Original case was the Apex MI-008, original motherboard was the Biostar TH61, then the Intel DH67CF, original HSF was the Noctua NH-U9B SE2. Original plan was to use the built-in Sandy Bridge GPU. I've got a big writeup on why the original plans fell through; I'll try to post that in a day or two.
Anyway, in the meantime, here's a pic. Though I went over budget and experienced some headaches, the finished product works great and is very quiet. It's not silent, but it sits behind our entertainment center, so it's "silent" for all practical purposes.
cesspool - new mythtv/htpc
Without the discrete GPU and only the SSD, idle power consumption is around 24--25 Watts AC. With the HDD and GPU, it's around 35. I undervolted the RAM a bit, down to 1.400 Volts, and that seemed to shave about a Watt off the idle power consumption. Frankly, I'm a little disappointed in the idle power usage - josephclemente's nearly identical build idles at 26 Watts (without the discrete graphics) on a Seasonic X-560. I expected the picoPSU to have dramatically better efficiency at such low loads, but apparently it's not all that great.
For what it's worth, since I went through three motherboard iterations, the worst was the Biostar, which idled at 28 Watts. The best was the Intel DH67CF, which idled at 22 Watts.
Last weekend I completed my new home theater PC. It runs MythTV. Specs:
CASE: Lian Li PC-Q11B
MOBO: Asrock H67M-ITX
CPU: Intel i5-2500k
PSU: picoPSU-160-XT w/150W Brick
RAM: Kingston KVR1333D3N9K2/8G
FAN: NoiseBlocker PK-3
GPU: ZOTAC ZT-40601-20L GeForce GT 430
HSF: Thermalright AXP-140 RT w/TY-140 fan
SSD: Kingston 64 GB
HDD: Samsung Green 2 TB
Not as pretty as josephclemente's q11b, and I have to admit I used his build as inspiration.
In fact, this is one of the more frustrating builds I've done, as the original plans called for an almost completely different set of components, and I went way over budget. Original case was the Apex MI-008, original motherboard was the Biostar TH61, then the Intel DH67CF, original HSF was the Noctua NH-U9B SE2. Original plan was to use the built-in Sandy Bridge GPU. I've got a big writeup on why the original plans fell through; I'll try to post that in a day or two.
Anyway, in the meantime, here's a pic. Though I went over budget and experienced some headaches, the finished product works great and is very quiet. It's not silent, but it sits behind our entertainment center, so it's "silent" for all practical purposes.
cesspool - new mythtv/htpc
Without the discrete GPU and only the SSD, idle power consumption is around 24--25 Watts AC. With the HDD and GPU, it's around 35. I undervolted the RAM a bit, down to 1.400 Volts, and that seemed to shave about a Watt off the idle power consumption. Frankly, I'm a little disappointed in the idle power usage - josephclemente's nearly identical build idles at 26 Watts (without the discrete graphics) on a Seasonic X-560. I expected the picoPSU to have dramatically better efficiency at such low loads, but apparently it's not all that great.
For what it's worth, since I went through three motherboard iterations, the worst was the Biostar, which idled at 28 Watts. The best was the Intel DH67CF, which idled at 22 Watts.