New HTPC

El_Presidente_Pufferfish · Post by **El_Presidente_Pufferfish** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 11:51 am

Been a few years since i've upgraded, much less built a PC, so I feel a bit out of the loop.

Here's what I have been looking at so far, though:
CPU - X2 5000+ Black Edition
RAM - 2x1GB Kingston 240-Pin DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
MB - ABIT AN-M2HD
Case - nMEDIAPC 500BA

I'll be using old drives, and an old hauppauge pvr-150, but I still need some help with cooling that CPU, and PSU recommendations.

It'll be running MythTV under Linux, if that changes anything.

Thanks.

sikbok · Post by **sikbok** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 12:50 pm

Hi Pufferfish,

My 2 cents, based on research for my current HTPC build.

CPU cooling:
- Scythe Ninja Mini

This should fit your case height-wise. Beware of compatibility with your motherboard though. Well designed Heat Sink (there's a review of it here on SilenPCReview).

PSU:
- Corsair

Quitest PSU I could find. Do a calculation of you expected Power Usage (there's some calculators for that online) and pick one you like.

Do wonder what you have in mind for video though.

sikbok · Post by **sikbok** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 12:51 pm

* working around forum restriction to posting url's *

CPU cooling:
- Scythe Ninja Mini
- http://www.scythe-usa.com/product/cpu/0 ... etail.html

PSU:
- Corsair
- http://corsairmemory.com/products/hx.aspx
or
- http://corsairmemory.com/products/vx.aspx

JoeWPgh · Post by **JoeWPgh** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 1:37 pm

I agree that the mini ninja is the way to go with this setup. I'd also suggest you drop a few extra bucks for the Corsair HX 520. It's probably more power than you need, but it's very quiet, and more importantly - it has modular cabling. You'll find the Nmediapc case gets pretty cramped in a hurry, and there no good place to stash unused cabling.

I've not used this particular Nmedia case, but I have an HTPC in a 288BA which is roughly the same size. According to Newegg's specs, the 500 is actually .05 inch shorter than the 288. So, a word of warning: I've been frustrated by the height of my case. The decorative nuts had to be removed from the Minja for it to fit. I'm running an HIS Silence 2600xt because it's "up and over" heatpipes hug the card closer than any others I'm aware of. The case lid still makes contact with these heatpipes. I don't know if that .05 inch will be a severe limitation for you in the future. If I had it to do over again, I'd have gotten a taller case, or at the very least, an Antec Fusion.

I'd be very happy with my case if it was just a 1/2 inch taller. I'd have more flexibility in GPU coolers, and the 2 60mm fans could have been 80s.

djkest · Post by **djkest** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 10:07 pm

Fortron Source Green

Antec Earthwatts 380

Corsair HX450

Seasonic S12 380W

All great. I'd definately get one that is 80plus certified (or very close like the Green). Also depends on case design a little. EW is probably a little louder than the rest.

El_Presidente_Pufferfish · Post by **El_Presidente_Pufferfish** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:55 am

Thanks for all the advice on the PSU.

Do the rest of the components I chose look good?

sikbok · Post by **sikbok** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 6:47 am

I'm not familiar with most of your component, but I'd settle for a less powerfull CPU. Cost and expected load are the considerations here.

What about the AMD Athlon X2 BE-2400
It's about 10% cheaper, although it doesn't offer the 'Black Edition' overclocking features (AFAIK).

El_Presidente_Pufferfish · Post by **El_Presidente_Pufferfish** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 5:33 am

Looks like I'll get the Corsair 520HX and a minja for cooling. I also switched the black edition for the BE-2400. Thanks for the good suggestions.

Anything I'm forgetting? Any comments on how this will run under linux?

JoeWPgh wrote:You'll find the Nmediapc case gets pretty cramped in a hurry, and there no good place to stash unused cabling.

I've not used this particular Nmedia case, but I have an HTPC in a 288BA which is roughly the same size. According to Newegg's specs, the 500 is actually .05 inch shorter than the 288. So, a word of warning: I've been frustrated by the height of my case. The decorative nuts had to be removed from the Minja for it to fit. I'm running an HIS Silence 2600xt because it's "up and over" heatpipes hug the card closer than any others I'm aware of. The case lid still makes contact with these heatpipes. I don't know if that .05 inch will be a severe limitation for you in the future. If I had it to do over again, I'd have gotten a taller case, or at the very least, an Antec Fusion.

I'd be very happy with my case if it was just a 1/2 inch taller. I'd have more flexibility in GPU coolers, and the 2 60mm fans could have been 80s.

I don't plan on putting a standalone GFX card in, so as long as the minja fits, I should be fine right? Regular height PCI cards(tv tuner) should fit fine, right?

PretzelB · Post by **PretzelB** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 6:20 am

sikbok wrote:* working around forum restriction to posting url's *

CPU cooling:
- Scythe Ninja Mini
- http://www.scythe-usa.com/product/cpu/0 ... etail.html

PSU:
- Corsair
- http://corsairmemory.com/products/hx.aspx
or
- http://corsairmemory.com/products/vx.aspx

Boy, I've been away for too long. Corsair makes PSU's now? I'm getting too old for this.

djkest · Post by **djkest** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 11:47 am

The 5000+ black edition is pretty nice. It's really good if you plan on overclocking. It runs cooler / less electricity than the more expensive 6000+. It may be more than you need though. A 4800+ is about $30 cheaper I think, and is nearly the same thing if you don't need the overclocking.

But if you get the black edition you get some really, really cheesy stickers!

Based on my experience w/ HTPC, you don't need a really fast CPU unless you are using onboard graphics and doing 1080p. Also you want to produce the least amount of heat possible, obviously.

leftheaded · Post by **leftheaded** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 12:41 pm

check out these recommendations from renethx over at avsforums. good stuff in there and it will help you see what the current parts are for different build levels.

JoeWPgh · Post by **JoeWPgh** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 1:54 pm

El_Presidente_Pufferfish wrote:I don't plan on putting a standalone GFX card in, so as long as the minja fits, I should be fine right? Regular height PCI cards(tv tuner) should fit fine, right?

Yes. Standard height cards will fit, but they will make a "floor to ceiling wall" inside the case. I haven't found this to be an issue, so I doubt it will be a problem for you if you're not using a hot running graphics card.
The Minja has decorative nuts hot melt glued to the top of the heatpipes. You'll probably have to grab a pr of pliers and twist these off. From there your case lid may or may not make contact with the heatpipes. As long as you don't need a hammer to get the lid back on, you should be fine.

sikbok · Post by **sikbok** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 2:03 pm

PretzelB wrote:Boy, I've been away for too long. Corsair makes PSU's now? I'm getting too old for this.

I believe it's an undercover Seasonic, with a fan mod.

El_Presidente_Pufferfish wrote:Any comments on how this will run under linux?

No, sorry, i've given in to Vista. There's some nice Linux sites out there though. Think I hit upon them google'ing for "PVR". Looking for some hardware compatibility list for your specific linux distro might also work out.

El_Presidente_Pufferfish wrote:I don't plan on putting a standalone GFX card in, so as long as the minja fits, I should be fine right? Regular height PCI cards(tv tuner) should fit fine, right?

Had a quick look on the nMEDIA site. Looks like you should be fine. Backpanel looks like a regular backpanel. The site even says: "Support all standard video card and up to 6 PCI devices."

On compatibility with the Ninja, there's some pictures on the site that might help you:

http://www.scythe-usa.com/product/cpu/0 ... eight.html

And someone from Scythe.de send me this:

[img=http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/8901/cpuhsscytheninjaminidimdb2.th.jpg]

El_Presidente_Pufferfish · Post by **El_Presidente_Pufferfish** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 3:26 pm

I should be all right playing back 1080p content without a standalone video card, right?

sikbok · Post by **sikbok** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 3:54 pm

Just did a quick check and found:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=928397

You might do some googling, just to make sure.
I found some posts in dutch that mentioned a AMD BE might do the job, but nothing was confirmed.

djkest · Post by **djkest** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 5:19 pm

It really depends what onboard video you have. There are only a couple of onboard video chipsets that work with 1080p.

AMD 690G
nVidia 7050

AMD recommends nothing less than 2.4GHz dual core for the 690G to play flawless 1080p. Anything less and you may get some skipping.

The 7050 is supposed to be a little faster, and use less CPU load. If you do some searching around on the forums, you can actually find out a lot about these two chipsets.

mascot · Post by **mascot** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 2:55 am

Beware of the difference between the Geforce 7050 and the 7050PV (nvidia purevideo) onboard graphics! The PV version includes purevideo acceleration support, not the 7050. (see the .pdf spec list on nvidias homepage of all their omboard graphics)

The AN-M2HD has the 7050PV (purevideo) graphics onboard, wich means hardware acceleration can be opted.

I'm lookinh at this motherboard myself, and looking at the reviews it seems you will be able to handle flawless 1080p h264 for example with a much slower CPU than the one youÃ¤ve chosen since the acceleration offloads the CPU usage a hole bunch with nvidias purevideo.

the cheapest AMD Athlon XP 64 should do the trick, or am I wrong?