I'm now trying to build a truly silent HTPC -- not for gaming, so only with enough horsepower to view videos off of a NAS (with some sort of front-end) and eventually also Netflix. I also want to have an optical drive, which apparently is totally not done by any of the ready-made providers. Also, I had quite a hard time finding a Blue Ray drive with a slot load mechanism. Lastly, the thing should look more "hi-fi" than "pc" so I'd like to have as few ports and reset switches ( ) on the front as possible. (And finally, I don't want to drop £850+ for a pre-built system... )
Here is what I came up with:
- Case: SilverStone MILO ML06 (link)
- Motherboard: ASRock AM1H-ITX (link)
- PSU (1): 80W PicoPSU (link)
- PSU (2): an external 90W "brick" (link)
- RAM: Any 1x8 GB (link)
- CPU: AMD Sempron 2650 Kabini Dual-Core 1.4GHz Socket AM1 (25W Thermal) (link)
- CPU cooler: Scythe Kozuti SCKZT-1000 (link) - I had hoped to be able to use a passive one, but I only have 50mm between the top of the CPU and the bottom of the DVD ... and the Kozuti is 48mm tall.
- GPU: onboard (AMD Radeon HD 8240)
- Disk: Any SSD > 64Gb (link)
- Optical: LG GS40N 9.5 mm Slot Loading DVD (link)
- Wifi: USB stick with antenna (link)
- Will this system overheat?
- Will it be powerful enough to run (for instance) Ubuntu + Plex + 720+1080 video?
- What adapter cable will I need for the DVD drive (I'm pretty sure I do need something)?
- Any idea how much noise that drive is going to make? The one in my ThinkPad is nice and quiet, but the full-size one in my daily driver goes at full speed just playing a cd.
...more thoughts (and price quotes) to follow as I have a little more time for typing it up...