Antec NSK2400 HTPC Running MythTV - Another Update 27/02/07!

[timbo]

Hi everyone,

Thought I'd put up some ramblings of my transplant of my HTPC boxn from a Silverstone LC11 to a SPCR recommended Antec NSK2400...

My main reason for ditching the Silverstone case was noise, don't get me wrong it is quiet but not quiet enough, PSU running full snot and the side case fan mounted hard against the case grill/punch out makes a lot of turbulence noise, plus due to it's small size you really want a less heat generating machine in it.

My gear, nothing flash but it all does its job;

• MB - ASUS P5S800
  CPU - 2.8GHz CeleronD
  Mem - 516meg
  Video - nVidia 6200
  HDD - Seagate 250g
  CD/DVD - LG run of the mill
  Capture 1 - Hauppauge 150mce
  Capture 2 - Technisat Skystar2
  OS - Gentoo Linux with MythTV

The install is very straight forward, made sure everything was neat and tied out of the way to help air movement as can be seen by this first picture;



I do have a concern with the Hauppage capture card as it's in the left most slot almost hard against the PSU divider, they do get hot so I feel an itch to mod something there...

Only one modification to the case so far was to install the separate ASUS spdif card, best place I could find was above the PSU as can be seen here from the inside;



Finally here it is installed in my AV rack I built for it and all the other toy's that go with a Home Theater setup;



Don't panic, I've cut holes in the side of the rack and ducted the left side and back intakes so fresh/cooler air enters the case and none of the hotter exhaust air.

Some things I want to do:

• Replace the stock CPU cooler, has a slight drumming sound, not enough room for a Zalman 7700 so maybe a Thermalright XP-120. DONE
  Stealth the BLACK CD/DVD drive.
  Install some sound insulation around the HDD area, just to quieten down the seek noise a little.
  Install fan-mates on fan's.

11th January 2007

Finally managed to get a Thermalright XP-120 and a Nexus 120mm fan so guess I'll be installing them soon into my NSK2400...



27th February 2007

Had some time so I chucked in the XP-120 and Nexus fan's... the CPU temps has dropped at least a couple of degrees from the stock HSU but I really need to install some fan-mates to make it a bit quieter...

Old fan's and HSU removed with the new XP-120 mounting bracket installed;


Had to mount the XP-120 with the heat pipes to the rear as those cap's were too close the other way around;


And there we have it a sea of orange, beautiful...


You're all welcome to critique my install and offer any suggestions. All in all I'm very happy with the case and would recommend it to anyone.

Regards
Tim

[MC FLMJIG]

Yay for an antec nsk owner like me!!!

Why do ppl say the 7700 doesn't fit? I know I've seen some that fit. At least 2. And no it wasn't the 7000.

I bought the XP as well!!!

[tempeteduson]

Nice build. I see you were brave enough to drill holes in the side of your rack. I love the cable management, too.

Just a quick question: Do you find you need both fans on the side?

[timbo]

Nice build. I see you were brave enough to drill holes in the side of your rack. I love the cable management, too.

Just a quick question: Do you find you need both fans on the side?

Thank's pretty standard at the moment... You can't see the rear of the rack just the front along with the front's of the gear, we built a purpose lounge with a cupboard in it that houses the rack and DVD's etc on a swing in shelve...

Machine has been running now for 8 hours and the cpu (at idle is 18degC sounds a bit low) and the system temp is 33degC, but I'd rather have the two fans running slowly instead of a hotter case or one fan running faster.

Regards
Tim

[haganerei]

I just upgraded my HTPC with this case. So far it's pretty much perfect.

I'm glad you posted the photos though because now I know I'm not crazy for wanting to find the ASUS S/PDIF module to plug into my mobo. To prevent using a slot I thought I'd mount it on the case and now I see that that's fully do-able. Nice work.

I have an older ASUS mobo from a Compaq machine (ASUS A7VBX-LA from a Compaq Presario SR1124NX). Most of the modules I've found in the dusty corners on-line have had three wire/four pin connectors with them. The connector on the board is a small three-pin affair reminiscent of a Wake-On-Lan connector. Did you have to get creative with the wiring on your set up?

[timbo]

haganerei

The spdif connector on my MB is the three wire / four pin jobbie so I managed to get one on eBay easily, had to extend the wires as they would not get from above the PSU to the socket on the MB, easy job too.

Looking at this;
manual
and
ebay

You should be able to adapt the connector i.e. move the pins around and file off the fourth slot or find a three pin connector and solder the wires around.

Please note I've never traded with the eBay seller so can't vouch for him/her, obligatory disclaimer...

Regards
Tim

[StanF]

You can buy the SPDIF module directly from Asus for only $10. MUCH cheaper than the ebay vendor.

http://estore.asus.com/shop/item.asp?it ... &catid=137

[haganerei]

Wonderful. I hate playing on-line retailer roulette with my credit card info so it was nice to know I could get it direct from ASUS. While I'm waiting for the module to arrive I'll see if I can hunt up the right wire (or make my own).

Next stop: non-stock CPU heatsink for Athlon XP 2200+ (Socket 462)

The CPU fan seems to be the primary source of ambient noise. I'm thinking of putting a large heatsink on it and using the case fan to move the heat off of it.

I keep hearing "replace the NSK2400 fans with Nexus 120mm fans to reduce noise". I'll have to look into that.

[MC FLMJIG]

Replace them with Yate Loons and Vmod them. for the price of 1 Nexus you could buy 2-3 Loons.

svc, jabtech and a few other places.