i5 2400 and a ATI 5770 in a Q-08 - which power supply?

[micah161]

Hi All,

I was just about to replace my aging linux server with a DH67BL microATX based system but 1) the linux drivers for the HD2000/3000 will not be part of the standard Natty Narwhal release and 2) the availability of this board has dropped to ZERO! My guess is the Z68 stuff is in the pipeline and since Intel will be able to charge a premium for it, the H67 boards get shoved to the back of the line.

My circa 2003 pentium P4 server does just about everything I need it to: Squeezebox Music Server, MythTV backend, an Appletalk NAS server for media and photos, and overnight transcoding runs. I’d like to be able to use it for HTPC duties and some light NLE video work but getting a beefier machine also means more power consumption.

So I thought maybe I should keep the P4 as my 24/7 server and just build a separate HTPC. I was just re-reading the SPCR NAS/HTPC guide built around the Lian Li Q-08 and wondering if I could do the same thing with a Sandy Bridge Procesor, e.g.

Motherboard: GA-H67N-USB3-B3 [$115]
Processor: i5-2400 [$164]
CPU Cooler: Scythe Samuraii ZZ [$35]
RAM: G.Skill Rip-Jaws (2x4gb) [$70]
SSD: Vertex 2 60gb [$110] - yes, i know about the 25nm NAND
HDD: WD20EARS [$80]
GPU: Gigabyte 5770 Silent Cell [$138]
GPU Cooler: Scythe Slimstream Slim [$16]
PSU: SS-x400FL [$129]
Case: Lian Li Q-08 [$120]

I’ve seen quite a few threads for systems like this but I am wondering if somehow I have assembled a lethal combination. It seems like there is an awfully lot of hardware going into a very small box. I was going to do the trick with the 12mm Scythe fan on the graphics card because it sits there at the bottom of the case. My question for the community is whether or not this build will overheat under load? Will the fanless power supply only make matters worse or do I need to stick something with a fan in there i.e. the Cooler Master Silent Pro 700W [$90]?

[Modo]

There's nothing much to overheat. You've already got a fan pushing air through everything, which is better than in standard tower enclosures. Yeah, the graphics card is hot, but it's at the end of the airflow path. I'd try a fanless 6850 instead, provided you can get and fit one (mostly to have even lower idle power consumption). The Samurai might break airflow too much, so maybe a small tower cooler? Oh, and good luck with cable management.