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 Post subject: Pentium-M based HTPC
PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 2:52 pm 
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Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2004 8:33 am
Posts: 8
Location: Seattle, WA
Here's my Pentium-M based PC that I've got stashed away under my TV. Items of interest are the PicoPSU and the motherboard.

The motherboard is Intel's 915GM evaluation board, left over from some work I did last year. Processor is a Pentium M 760 (2GHz). The motherboard has no onboard audio so I use a Turtle Beach USB adapter to provide a SPDIF output. TV output is courtesy of the 915GM chipset.

The evaluation board game with a pretty basic heatsink with a screaming 60mm fan on top, that had to go. I ended up keeping the heatsink since I couldn't find a way to mount anything else and then suspended a 92mm Zalman fan over it using a Zalman bracket. I think it's a pretty good solution. I've used a Nexus fan controller to keep the speed way down, there's no RPM sensor on the board so I don't know an exact speed. I've kept the 120mm Coolermaster exhaust fan that came with the case, again with the speed kept way down - I think I could probably do away with the case fan entirely to be honest.

Hard drive is a Fujitsu laptop drive that I mounted using some foam and a zip tie.

In terms of silence, I can't hear it at all unless I'm a foot away. From the sofa the only way I can tell it's on is from the ugly blue LEDs on the Nexus fan controller. The Motorola cable box makes way more noise :D

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 3:35 pm 
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Joined: Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:55 pm
Posts: 410
pentium m's are sweet. (typing from a pentium-m - based computer :P )

that's some industrial-looking sink on it. by the spacing of the mounting holes, looks like you might be able to use one of those north-bridge coolers there as well. on the other hand, if it works, no need to fix it :)


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 4:10 pm 
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Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2007 11:37 am
Posts: 871
Location: North Carolina
Looks pretty good.

There's got to be a better heatsink for that PM. Yours is TINY! Then again, I don't know how much a single core mobile CPU would use. BTW, do you have any power measurements/estimates? Oh, I looked at the link and all that stuff (minus your cooling) came in the box? Pretty nice.

This probably seems like a really dumb question, but where is the memory?! I really can't seem to find it in any of the pics :?:


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 5:05 pm 
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Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2004 8:33 am
Posts: 8
Location: Seattle, WA
mcoleg wrote:
pentium m's are sweet. (typing from a pentium-m - based computer :P )

that's some industrial-looking sink on it. by the spacing of the mounting holes, looks like you might be able to use one of those north-bridge coolers there as well. on the other hand, if it works, no need to fix it :)


I tried a Zalman (I think) NB cooler, but the mounting holes were just too far apart to get it secure. The one on there works fine though, I only really use it for video and MP3s.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 5:09 pm 
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Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2004 8:33 am
Posts: 8
Location: Seattle, WA
angelkiller wrote:
Looks pretty good.

There's got to be a better heatsink for that PM. Yours is TINY! Then again, I don't know how much a single core mobile CPU would use. BTW, do you have any power measurements/estimates? Oh, I looked at the link and all that stuff (minus your cooling) came in the box? Pretty nice.

This probably seems like a really dumb question, but where is the memory?! I really can't seem to find it in any of the pics :?:


Thanks!

I bought the PicoPSU separately, the AC adapter that ships with the board couldn't provide 12V. I think that would only be a problem for 3.5" disk drives, but then I lost the AC adapter anyway :roll:

The only other tweak I had to do was soldering wires to the pushbutton power switch to hook it up to the case.

The memory is a DDR2 SODIMM hidden away on the backside of the motherboard.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 6:14 pm 
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Joined: Thu Jan 18, 2007 6:33 pm
Posts: 72
Will a Thermalright HR-05 mount on there? I seem to remember someone mounting one on a commercial P-M desktop board.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 6:56 pm 
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Joined: Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:55 pm
Posts: 410
it actually might...

there are some n/b sinks with adjustable hold-down bar that will allow for some variation in the spacing between the mounting holes.

on the other hand, as i said, if it works... :P

looks good anyways.


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