P4 HTPC

Show off your quiet rig.

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bomba
Posts: 320
Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2004 12:36 pm
Location: USA

P4 HTPC

Post by bomba » Wed Oct 27, 2004 9:19 pm

Work in process, this dedicated HTPC will run Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 and will drive a 46" Samsung
DLP Rear Projection HDTV via DVI. SPDIF out will pump DD5.1 thru an Onkyo 5.1 setup.
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Current Specs:
LX-6A19 (coolcases.com)
Fortron FSP300-60PFN (modified)
AOPEN AX4SPE-MAX 865PE
P4 2.4C Northwood
Zalman 7000A
512M Samsung PC3200 (2x256)
RADEON 9550
Avermedia M150 MPEG2 TV / FM Stereo capture card
Hauppauge PVR250OEM MPEG2 TV capture card
SAMSUNG 16X SD-616EEPB BLK DVD Drive
Inwin CR-I530B Flash Reader
Philips OEM Media Center Edition Remote Control
LITE-ON SK7551 Wireless IR Keyboard w/ pointing device

This HTPC will be used as a multimedia jukebox as well as a TIVO for both NTSC & HDTV. The LX-6A19 case
was chosen for its quiet potential as well as its ability to house & cool (5) HDD's as HDTV capture eats HDD
space quickly. Lack of HTPC look is not an issue as the PC will be out of sight, housed inside a vented cabinet.
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Note the lack of hard drive. This is not an issue now as the room in which the HTPC will be deployed in also
under construction. I will likely start with a 300G Seagate 7200.8 (when available) or 300G Maxtor DM10.
I did complete a test build of the PC w/ a spare HDD, including full OS installation and quiet tweaks.

Case mods consist of Wiss tin snip cut-out fan grilles, finished w/ door edge guard. Holes were drilled to mount
stock (Globe 120mm) fans using McMaster EAR grommets. Front Bezel was given the "modder's mesh" treatment.
I cut the Bezel with the Wiss snips, which were fast & clean. Only minor sanding was required before the
Home Depot gutter guard "modder's mesh" was hot-melt glued in place. Thermistors were removed and
jumpered from the Globe fans at the pcb in the fan hub. Both case fans and the CPU HSF are powered from
the motherboard and controlled via speedfan. I have yet to settle on final CPU undervolting & fan speed
settings, but my early indications are that stock CPU speeds will likely be achievable w/ under 1.2Vcore.
Not much CPU fan speed is required at this voltage. The front case fan may prove to be unnecessary.
At present, speedfan turns the fan off unless HDD temp hit 40C. Rear fan runs at minimum reliable starting
voltage. The Fortron PSU has been modded with cut fan grill and intake area adjacent to heat sinks.
The swapped in L1A is soft-mounted and the thermistor has been pulled several millimeters away from the heat sink.
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I am very pleased with how this project has come together thus far. I love the LX-6A19 case. Excellent
fit n finish and flows air way better than the Sonata, especially after the bezel mod. I am also very impressed
by the Aopen motherboard which allows Pentium 4 undervolting down to 1.1v and allows speedfan control of both
case fans AND the CPU fan.

Unfortunately, this PC is now sitting in a box, waiting for the basement renovation work to complete. It will
likely be several months before I get back to work on it. If folks are interested, I'll update this post then.
Last edited by bomba on Thu Oct 28, 2004 8:53 pm, edited 3 times in total.

MonsterMac
Posts: 330
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2004 10:33 am

Post by MonsterMac » Thu Oct 28, 2004 8:02 am

pics aren't showing up for me :(

MonsterMac
Posts: 330
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2004 10:33 am

Post by MonsterMac » Fri Oct 29, 2004 4:52 pm

yep your pictures show now.

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