critique my planned HTPC!

[Torbjörn]

I have finally settled on what components to use for my HTPC, but to avoid any big mistakes I want to get the input from the allknowing people in this forum
The system will be used mainly as a Video/Music jukebox and PVR with some basic TV friendly gaming (like NHL 2005).
The system will stay on 24/7 in my livingroom so the top priority is that it is as quiet as possible while idle.
For this reason I have opted not to use a sexy looking but noisy HTPC case and instead go for maximum quietness and hide the system behind other furniture.

Here is the shopping list.

• * Antec Case Solution SLK3700BQE Super MidiTower Black Low Noise 350W ATX
  * MSI RS480M2-IL XPRESS 200 4DDR-DIMM 3PCI 1PCIe VGA SATA Raid Audio LAN Firewire Socket939 mATX
  * AMD Athlon64 "Winchester" 90nm 3000+ 1800MHz/1.8GHz 512kb bulk/tray Socket939
  * Kingston ValueRAM KVR333X64C25/512 512Mb DDR PC2700/DDR333 184pin 333MHz
  * Samsung SP1614C 160Gb 7200rpm 8Mb S-ATA
  * Samsung 16X DVD-ROM/48X CD-ROM BLACK
  * Maxtor DiamondMax 10 6B300S0 300Gb 7200rpm 16Mb NCQ S-ATA
  * Arctic Cooling Silencer Ultra 64 TC
  * D-Link DWL-924 Wireless Kit: DI-624+ Broadband Router & DWL-G122 USB-Adapter
  * Hauppauge WinTV PVR 150 MCE (Media Center Edition) PCI OEM
  * Streamzap remote control (I allready have this)

The main harddrive will be the spinpoint while the Maxtor will be used for the video library. Most of the time the Maxtor will be turned off.
The broadband router will be connected to my ADSL modem.
I have never used a USB W-LAN adapter but the price for the whole kit was so good that I couldn't pass it up
Since the CPU will be very lightly loaded most of the time I'm not sure that I actually need to replace the stock fan of the Athlon 64 but I have had bad experiences with stock fans in the past so silencer Ultra 64 feels like cheap insurance.

I am aware that the built in graphics in the xpress200 chipset is not really up to the standards of most modern games but I should still be able to play most of the EA Sports games at TV resolutions if I drop the detail levels or am I wrong?

The whole system will cost me 8000 SEK (Swedish kroner) which is about 1100$

I have not seen any indication that that the RS480M2-IL has S/PDIF outputs. Right now this is not a problem as I will connect it analog to my old stereo system but I plan to upgrade that to a full suround system later on so I will probably try to pick up a good s/pdif soundcard like this http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/HiTeC.html (HDA Digital X-Mystique 7.1 Gold PCI Dolby) at that time.

So, any last input before I send the order?

[Tibors]

Welcome to SPCR

The MSI RS480M2-IL does have an SPDIF-out. I don't know how well it works, because I don't have anything with an SPDIF-in. (My amplifier is bought in 1988.)

The Antec SLK3700BQE is a good case, but the PSU that comes with it is not really quiet. The Antec SLK3000B is an even better case. It doesn't come with a PSU, so you can pick one that is quiet. Seasonic PSU's are considered the best at SPCR, but it can be difficult to find them. (Search the forums for jmedata, for details how to find them in Sweden.) If you don't want to go through that trouble, the Enermax Noisetakers are more widely availlable and also a good choise.

You might want to look for a quieter case fan (e.g. nexus 120mm) or something to slow the stock case fan down (e.g. 7V mod).

The rest of your setup looks OK to me.

[Torbjörn]

Thanks, I have been lurking for years but this is my first post.
I found a store in sweden that seems to focus on quiet PC's kylning.com. They have both the seasonic power supply and the 3000B, and together they are just 100SEK above the 3700BQE so I will take your advice and go for that instead
They also have a Everflow 120mm case fan listed as 18dB at 1500RPM for 65SEK http://kylning.se/info.php?cPath=164_16 ... cts_id=655
I did a search here for Everflow and the only thing I found was in the Silverstone Temjin TJ06 review http://silentpcreview.com/article203-page6.html The test of the fan there seems favourable so I will go with that too.

The review for the 3000B says that the mounting holes for the Antec fans are nonstandard so I will have to drill new mounting holes. Should I buy something like this http://kylning.se/info.php?cPath=137_16 ... cts_id=699 (Tiger elstic fixing) to attach the everflow fan with.

Do I need any special harddrive mounting for the spinpoint or are the rubber grommet mountings included in the 3000 sufficient.

Thanks for help.

[Tibors]

You probably didn't do the search for jmedata as I sugested Then you would have found some discussions about Seasonics which mention the following: Most Seasonic Tornado's and Silencers found in Europe are Rev. A2. They (can) have a problem with the fan controller. So you want the next revision (Rev. A3) or the next generation Seasonic S12. IIRC jmedata was the only shop in Sweden with A3's. And the S12's seam to be still on their way from Asia to Europe.

Everflow make a lot of different fans. The one in the Silverstone review is a nine-bladed fan (search the forums for GlacialTech SilentBlade as it is probably the same fan). The one you linked is a seven bladed fan. Don't now if that one is quiet, but it could be.

There are reports of people who have recieved 3000B's with an additional set of holes in the standard position.

The Tiger elastic fixing are a good idea. Something like that is what I mostly use.

You don't need to buy something from the computer store to make your HD's more quiet, but....
* The DIY methods to further quiet your HD's are listed in: HDD vibration & noise reducing methods - ranked
* A good example for your case is: burcakb's Thor's Hammer

[Torbjörn]

OK, now I have done my research

I checked with Kylning and they do indeed have the A2 seasonic
I have sent a mail to jmedata also and asked about the revision.
I also asked them about when they think the s12-330 will be available, hopefully I will get some encouraging response but assuming I don't, how bad are the A2's?

Since my system really should'nt put out all that much heat maybe I could get away with the A2.

Who would have thought a litle peace and quiet should be so hard to come by

[Kryten]

Hi Torbjörn,

Regarding the PSU, you may want to take a look at overclockers.se. They have the 460W SuperSilencer, but AFAICT by the product-ID: PS-SS-460-A2, it is the A2 revision . They are however 100 SEK (11 EUR, 14 USD) cheaper thank kylning.com... Overclockers.se also have the Seasonic 300W SS-300FT. I can't say exactly what product this is it doesn't seem to be listed on either seasonic.com or seasonicusa.com...
JMEdata lists the SS-300FT as well as the SS-400FB which is a SuperTornado.

I'm keen on knowing what response you get from JME regarding the model number of their present PSU:s and the ETA of the SS12:s.

A general question: Is the noisiness of the PSU more dependent on the model (Silencer contra Tornado) or the revision (A2 vs A3)? Am I right in thinking that the the Tornadoes are noisier than the Silencers?

[Torbjörn]

I got replys back from JMEdata and Kylning.
JMEdata confirms that there ss300 is indeed the A3 revision but wouldn't give any information on when to expect the s12.
Kylning on the other hand claimed to have the SS-301HT on its way so hopefully it will be available soon.
There doesn't seem to be much information on the quitness of the 301 so far though.

[Tibors]

SS-xxxFT is the OEM version SS-xxxFB is the retail version. Both are Tornado's.

As far as I have read post on this forum having a A2 is grounds for returning a PSU. The difference between the Silencer and Tornado is much smaller than that.

The Tornado is slightly more quiet (check the reviews), so it is a better drop in replacement. But if you are more of a tinkerer, then you can get the Silencer even more quiet, but you'll need to replace the fan and create a PSU duct for that.

To reply to Torbjörn's remark in another thread. I have two SS-301HT PSU's ordered in Germany earlier this week. But international bank transfers and shipping take more time than domestic trading. So it may take some time before I can report results.

[Torbjörn]

I have now bought my HTPC!

The final component list is:

1 ST 307201 AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 1.8GHz Socket 939,
512KB, BOXED m/fläkt

2 ST 307912 Samsung SpinPoint P120S 200GB SATA2
8MB 7200RPM NCQ
1 ST 122090 Corsair Value S PC3200 DDR-DIMM 512MB
Kit w/two matched Value Select 256MB
1 ST 306455 Zalman CNPS7700B-AICu CPU-Fläkt
Socket A/478/775/754/939/940
1 ST 301419 Fortron/Source Nätaggregat ATX rev2
300W 120mm, 24pin,SATA
1 ST 307273 Hauppauge! WinTV PVR150 MCE, 1pak OEM
Bulk
1 ST 309415 NEC DVD-brännare ND-3540A IDE Black OEM
DVD+R/+RW/DVD-R/-RW (Dual layer)

1 ST 307925 Sapphire ATI Xpress 200, Socket-939, ATX
X300on-chip, SATA, LAN, AC97, PCI-Ex16


I couldn't get the Seasonic powersupply in time so I went for a cheap but fairly quiet aternative in the Fortron and exchange it for a better later on.
And I decided that I needed more expansion slots than the MSI motherboard had os I bought the Sapphire.

The result:

+ The Powersupply turned out to be more silent than I expected so I don't feel the need exhange it.
+ The spinpoints are really cool, even after transferring 200GB of data to them they were merely lukewarm!!!!! A big contrast to my old IBM drive that usually hovered at 65C.
- I have not found a way to controll the CPU fan through the Sapphire , + BUT the temperature of the (venice core) Athlon 64 only rises to about 50C during CPU burn-in with the CPU fan stopped!!!! At idle it stays at around 40C!

The spinpoints started out fairly loud but after turning on maximum acoustic management they are whisper quitet.

All in all, so far I'm very satisfied with the noice level but I can still hear it so I might try tweaking it a bit more

Especially the CPU is amazing, 50c at full load passively cooled is absolutely amazing for that much CPU power!
I'm also very impressed by the temperature of the spinpoint drives.

Many thanks to the SPCR community, without your advice I would probably have bought some overpriced piece of noisy junk advertised as "quiet" and found myself with something with specs more like a jet engine both temperature and noisewise like I did last time