HTPC, i3 2120 + GTX750Ti + Solo II + X400

Show off your quiet rig.

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Abula
Posts: 3662
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:22 pm
Location: Guatemala

HTPC, i3 2120 + GTX750Ti + Solo II + X400

Post by Abula » Sun Dec 18, 2011 5:09 pm

This build was born out of having some left over pc parts from building the server, but lately on my desktop been using Media Player Classic - Home Cinema + MadVR, LAV Splitters, LAV Audio decoder & LAV CUVID decode and been really great, so decided to build this PC in aims of being able to play like my desktop, so here the list that i chose for my HTPC,

MOBO: Intel BOXDQ67SWB3
MEMORY: G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB DDR3 1333
CPU: Intel Core i3-2120
CPU Cooler: Scythe Mugen 3
GPU: SPARKLE GeForce GTS450
OS: Crucial M4 64GB
HDD: 2x Hitachi 5k500b
CASE: Antec SOLO II
PSU: SeaSonic X-400
FANS: 5x Scythe Kama FLEX PWM 120mm SA1225FDB12H-P
And AcoustiPack ULTIMATE Professional Sound Dampening Pack

The build was pretty straight foward, the Antec Solo II case its a really nice case, except for one thing, CM is none existent with this case, you have to use the back of hdd cage to hide as much as possible, i also use a lot of the 2nd 5.25 slot to hide cables, still not to my liking but thats how it is with the solo II, as there is bearly any place to route cables in the back, only thing that i would expect Antec to upgrade on the Solo III someday. I already had the mobo that i didn't use on the server build for other issues, but its fine for this, i wanted to go with Intel also because in my past experiences they were able to drop down the Scythe fans very low, and in this build the same, all fans are running between 250 and 300rpm, virtually inaudible from 1m. I also had the hdds left over from my media streamer so they will be use for local storage, as the server is not run 24/7. Even though AMD is more efficient gpus overall, i needed CUDA for LAV CUVID decoder, and the bare minimum they recommend is GT440 with ddr5... but i didnt want a noisy fan inside the build so decided to go with a fanless and at least a GT440 or better, Asus has one that caught my eyes... but only with DDR3, so went with Passive Sparkle GTS450. The main reason for going for the solo II is that i need the space to house the GTS450 with its massive cooler and i had the Mugen3 leftover, else i would probably have gone with a more standard horizontal HTPC case, but no regrets with the Solo II its a great case to build on, i can't hear and the temps are really good for what i intend to use it.

Here some pics of the build,

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Power consumption,
Idle 32W
Movie Playback 75W

If you have any comments, suggestions or questions, please post them,
Last edited by Abula on Sun Dec 20, 2015 10:19 am, edited 4 times in total.

Lsv
Posts: 108
Joined: Sun Dec 11, 2011 9:50 pm

Re: HTPCMI, i3 2120 + GTS450 + Solo II + X400

Post by Lsv » Wed Dec 21, 2011 1:25 pm

Looks great man, temps are also superb. I was considering a Solo 2 for my build but there just isn't enough space :(

flapane
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Location: Naples, Italy
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Re: HTPCMI, i3 2120 + GTS450 + Solo II + X400

Post by flapane » Mon Jan 09, 2012 7:58 am

Did you try to undervolt the CPU?

Abula
Posts: 3662
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:22 pm
Location: Guatemala

Re: HTPCMI, i3 2120 + GTS450 + Solo II + X400

Post by Abula » Mon Jan 09, 2012 4:19 pm

flapane wrote:Did you try to undervolt the CPU?
Sorry i didnt try. But the cpu does change voltages with the clocks, i dont think you will see a lot of gain in temps or consumption with undervolting sandy bridge.

flapane
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Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:55 am
Location: Naples, Italy
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Re: HTPCMI, i3 2120 + GTS450 + Solo II + X400

Post by flapane » Thu Jan 19, 2012 10:05 pm

Just assembled it. You'll notice a 6/7w drop both in idle and full load with a -100mV undervolt.

Abula
Posts: 3662
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:22 pm
Location: Guatemala

Re: HTPCMI, i3 2120 + GTS450 + Solo II + X400

Post by Abula » Mon May 26, 2014 10:25 pm

Small updates

With some changes i been doing in my main PC, i had free up the HR22 + NF-A15 PWM which imo would been ideal for this setup, also i ordered some NF-S12A PWM to change the case fans, i removed the PWM splitter as the motherboard has 3 real PWM fan headers, so i used one of the PWM splitter on the noctua fans and connected the remaining 2 fans to each header. Sadly the HR22 is too big on the back for this case, i cant install the motherboard with the back case fan installed, so i had to make more swaps and the download stations was the one that gain the HR22 and gave the HR02.... i also ugpraded the GPU to MSI GTX750Ti Twin Frozr, wonderful gpu, really quiet and power efficient, even with MADVR + LAV Filters with heavy filtering it doesnt go above 42C on ambient of 25C, the fans remain as stock never increase. Heres a couple of screenshot of how the build ended.

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