Advice on Passive Components in Antec Fusion

[rickyricardo]

I picked up a Fusion 430 for an HTPC after my friend sold me his CPU/MB for next to nothing. I've purchased the other components save the CPU heatsink and video card. I'd like to go passive for both items since I'll probably swap out the tri-cools and PSU in the future for quieter components.

I read SPCR's Ninja Mini review and they showed it installed passively in the Fusion and it was a few millimetres from one of the tri-cools. It seemed like a good idea so I did some measuring and because of the CPU placement on my MB, the middle of the Ninja Mini would almost dead center between the two tri-cools. I'm not sure if that would be an issue if I went passive.

I've also read the threads on the forums about passive cards fitting in the Fusion and the Gigabyte 8600GTS or HIS 2600XT seem to fit the bill.

So what I really need to know is: Would the setup listed below work in the Fusion case assuming I leave the tri-cools set at low? By "work" I mean that temps would be OK and that there is adequate airflow for the components. Also, would one of the vidcards run considerably cooler than the other or do they run at about the same temp?

System Specs:
AMD 5000+ (65w) CPU
Ninja Mini Heatsink (Running passive w/o fan)
Biostar TA690G MB
2GB OCZ RAM
Gigabyte Silent 256MB 8600GTS (GV-NX86S256H)/HIS iSilenceIII 2600XT
WD5000AAKS 500GB HDD
LG GGC-H20L Blu-ray/HD DVD ROM
Antec Fusion Black 430
Both stock Tri-cool fans set at "LOW"

[sikbok]

To help keep the temps down, you could consider this one:
- CPU: AMD Athlon X2 BE-2400 - 45W, Dual Core.
Depends on what you'll be using the pc for I'd say.

On passive cards, here are some I looked into.
- GFX Sparkle SF-PX86GTS256D3-HM Cool-pipe II - Zalman VNF100 cooler, my current estimate is 115mm measured from the motherboard.
- GFX Alternative Sparkle SF-PX86GTS256D3-HP Cool-pipe II - Zalman VNF100 cooler, my current estimate is 115mm measured from the motherboard.
- GFX Alternative MSI GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB DDR3 - my current estimate is 121mm measured from the motherboard.
- GFX Alternative SF-PX88GT512D3-HP Cool-pipe 3 - Very nice card, if it fits.
Not sure how much room you have in that case, but if it fits a Minja, it's at least 115mm.

Note: these measurements were derived from photo's, working backwards from the standard bracket size.

[djkest]

If you have a standalone graphics card, I highly recommend trying to get your hands on a 35Watt x2 3800+, more than enough juice for a HTPC, and could probably be further undervolted.

I've got a 3800+ 65W model, and even at stock voltage my HTPC only draws 57 watts at idle.