System advice!

Eduardo · Post by **Eduardo** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 12:46 pm

Hi to everyone, this is my first post.

I have my computer, connected to a 32 lcd tv, but the main problem is the noise and the size of the computer, imagine a tower besides my tv, with a loudly athlon xp 2400+ and ati x1300 inside.

That computer has also a Tunner Card TDT (HDTV) and FM radio, 320 gb of space and a DVD burner, runs windows xp and cyberlink powercinema, the problem is...THE NOISE and the computer can't handle HD content.

...and now i would like to buil a noise less system.

CPU: Via Isaiah

I think with this CPU and a little cooler would be more than enough to keep the system cold, i know this CPU is not available now, but i think in a few weeks it's going to be available.

Motherboard: Don't Know

I'm searching a motherboard with a PCI-Express slot and 1 or two PCI slots.

i've found: Via Epia SN.

Graphic card: MSI Radeon 3450 Low Profile Card

I want to output video and audio, from only one cable and use my TV speakers., because if you see my actual setup, IT'S A MESS!! (Speakers cables, USB cables, TV cable, radio cable, Â·!$Â·&$%)

If you find a motherboard with a chipset, that can ouput audio-video via HDMI without an addon card, i would really appreciate that)

Case: Don't Know

I would like a small case, i'm open to suggestions, because i don't need a lot of space, because i think i'm going to stream everything through the network, so a big hard-disk isn't needed or a dvd-rw drive.

Thanks for helping me out and sorry for my english, i'm not used to write or speak in english.

Eduardo

sjoukew · Post by **sjoukew** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 12:06 pm

Eduardo, first: Welcome !!

Don't bother about your english, there are a lot of not-native English typers here.

The via processor you have selected will NOT handle hd content!
You need a decent dual-core cpu (amd/intel) and a nice vga card before hd-content will run smoothly. Seen the size of your tv I quess you want to play hd-content.
I think you need to 'step up' onto the performance ladder and go for a more powerful quiet pc. It isn't that hard to achieve, good case and good components and you are there. Real silent can be somewhat harder but also still doable.

Eduardo · Post by **Eduardo** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 1:50 pm

sjoukew wrote:Eduardo, first: Welcome !!

Don't bother about your english, there are a lot of not-native English typers here.

The via processor you have selected will NOT handle hd content!
You need a decent dual-core cpu (amd/intel) and a nice vga card before hd-content will run smoothly. Seen the size of your tv I quess you want to play hd-content.
I think you need to 'step up' onto the performance ladder and go for a more powerful quiet pc. It isn't that hard to achieve, good case and good components and you are there. Real silent can be somewhat harder but also still doable.

sjoukew thank you for answering, i think i'm going to check the other forums, because the other day i've found some builds that are amazing!

Again, Thanks!

sjoukew · Post by **sjoukew** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 12:22 pm

I do totally agree that those things are cool and nice etc. I have an old computer running with even less calculating power, and I am still happy with that.

Eduardo · Post by **Eduardo** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 8:07 pm

Ok, after a lot of thinking, my setup would be:

Motherboard: Open to suggestions
Case: Antec Fusion 430 Black: 158 â‚¬
Graphic card:Sapphire 3850 165 â‚¬
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 2,0 Ghz 101 â‚¬
Memory: 2GB Kingston Hyper X 66 â‚¬
Hard Disk: Samsung 320 gb 73 â‚¬
Cooler: CoolerMaster GeminII 40 â‚¬
DVD-RW: LG Black 27 â‚¬[/code]

After reading a lot of post, i think the Antec Fusion 430 is a very good case, for a HTPC.

I would like to put a motherboard that has HDMI and can ouput Audio and video, i've read that AMD/ATI chipset can do that, someone knows a good m-atx motherboard?

Candidates:

Abit Fatal1ty F-I90HD Hard to find

Asus M2A-VM HDMI * FOR AMD NOT C2D *

Abit I-N73HD * don't know if it can output audio thru HDMI interface *

I need 2 PCI slots for the wifi card and the tuner card + 1pci express slot for the video card.

Another question, ATI 3850 makes a lot of noise? i've read some reviews that say that this card gets pretty damn hot when playing video games.

Thanks for reading this, but if you can help i'll appreciate your help.

Eduardo[/list]

Eduardo · Post by **Eduardo** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 6:19 pm

Motherboard: MSI k9agm3-fih HDMI
Case: Antec Fusion 430 Black
Graphic card: No video card
TV Tunner: Hauppage WinTv HVR-1300
CPU: AMD BE-ADH2400
Memory: 2GB Kingston Hyper X
Hard Disk: Samsung 320
Cooler: CoolerMaster GeminII
DVD-RW: LG DVD-RW Black

I think this is my final setup, at the end i switched to the AMD platform, because their CPU uses as litle as 45W, the GeminII is enough to cool that CPU, the motherboard has an AMD chipset with HDMI output, no need for a dedicated graphic card (less heat and less watts).

Any last suggestions? because i think it's a great setup as a HTPC, low noise, low consumption, and enough power to handle HD content.

K9-Cop · Post by **K9-Cop** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 6:35 pm

I'd go with a Samsung SH-S203B. Its gotten good reviews.

If you want a DVD drive with LightScribe, then go with the Samsung SH-S203N. Again, good reviews.

Eduardo · Post by **Eduardo** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 6:42 pm

K9-Cop wrote:I'd go with a Samsung SH-S203B. Its gotten good reviews.

If you want a DVD drive with LightScribe, then go with the Samsung SH-S203N. Again, good reviews.

Thanks for answering, i think i'll go for Sh-S203B without lightscribe.

Motherboard: MSI k9agm3-fih HDMI
Case: Antec Fusion 430 Black
Graphic card: No video card
TV Tunner: Hauppage WinTv HVR-1300
CPU: AMD BE-ADH2400
Memory: 2GB Kingston Hyper X
Hard Disk: Samsung 320
Cooler: CoolerMaster GeminII
DVD-RW: Samsung SH-S203B

Update:
I've just read, that GeminII can only be installed on motherboards that horizontal orientation and maybe it also block some of the Ram solts.

Anyone had any problem installing this cooler?

Eduardo · Post by **Eduardo** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 6:43 pm

* deleted * My mistake, double post

K9-Cop · Post by **K9-Cop** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 6:57 pm

What about going with a Scythe Ninja Mini? aka the Minja.

Eduardo · Post by **Eduardo** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 7:21 pm

K9-Cop wrote:What about going with a Scythe Ninja Mini? aka the Minja.

I would like to use a fanless solution for that computer, or at least a very silent configuration.

I've just read some reviews of GeminII and they say that the cooling efficiency is not that great, but in all the reviews they used CPU's from amd & intel, with a higher wattge output that this one.

I think in this case i have enough room for the "SCYTHE NINJA PLUS" and in my store they only have this one.

Â¿Do you think it could work fanless on this 45W Amd cpu?

Update:
After reading a review of a similar configuration than mine on this site.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article795-page1.html

I think i'll need cooling on the southbridge and nortbridge, i'll put something better but still it's going to be fanless!

http://www.ibertronica.es/xilence-componentes.htm

Thanks again!

Eduardo · Post by **Eduardo** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 6:27 pm

Ok, the final build is:

Motherboard: MSI k9agm3-fih HDMI
Case: Antec Fusion 430 Black
Graphic card: Integrated graphics
TV Tunner: Hauppage WinTv HVR-1300
CPU: AMD BE-ADH2400 2.3 Ghz
Memory: 2GB Kingston Hyper X
Hard Disk: Samsung 320
Cooler: Scythe Ninja Plus
DVD-RW: Samsung SH-S203B

I've already bought everything, and the next post will be in the gallery.

Total cost: 519 â‚¬ (Without tuner card)

Thanks to everyone.

kieran45 · Post by **kieran45** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 11:16 pm

Ninja Plus won't fit in the Fusion case. You can use the Ninja mini, but the plus will not fit. You can run the mini passively as long as you have some airflow around the case.

nitram_tpr · Post by **nitram_tpr** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 5:41 am

You don't need a HDMI capapble motherboard, the 3850 will output HDMI via a DVI-HDMI convertor. (AFAIK, someone else might shoot this down)
You could then get the ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP with built in Wifi, this will save the cost of the wifi card and also save you a PCI slot.
The Ninja Mini can run a 92mm fan, there are a lot of quiet 92mm fans out there that will cool your CPU.

Eduardo · Post by **Eduardo** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 11:07 am

nitram_tpr wrote:You don't need a HDMI capapble motherboard, the 3850 will output HDMI via a DVI-HDMI convertor. (AFAIK, someone else might shoot this down)
You could then get the ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP with built in Wifi, this will save the cost of the wifi card and also save you a PCI slot.
The Ninja Mini can run a 92mm fan, there are a lot of quiet 92mm fans out there that will cool your CPU.

Thanks for answering, but i changed my mind and i prefer not playing games for now and having a system that consumes a lo less watts.

But maybe in the future i'll get a graphic card, but not now. Ati has just announced a price drop on 3850 and 3870 (40$ nice...)

kieran45 wrote:Ninja Plus won't fit in the Fusion case. You can use the Ninja mini, but the plus will not fit. You can run the mini passively as long as you have some airflow around the case.

They don't have the mini, for now i'm going to put TACENS GELUS PRO 12CM, it seems a fine cooler (not a great one) & i hope that at minimum spin setting, it will cool down the cpu and be near silent.

PS: Thanks for this, i didn't check the height of the cooler and the height of the case.

Thanks for the last comments.

andyy32 · Post by **andyy32** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 9:19 am

I was just curious if you knew the power consumption of your whole system. Also, how well is it handling your HD content?

Plekto · Post by **Plekto** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 3:36 pm

I'd personally get an e8200 or similar CPU. It should generate low enough heat and make passive cooling with a decent heatsink an option. Maybe one exhaust fan.

The big problem though is the video. They all generate tons of heat and I just don't see how you can get by without at least one big exhaust fan. No built-in video that I know of will do decent hi-def.

Note - if you have a PS3, you might consider building a media server rig. That way, you don't need the high-end video card since the PS3 is running the video.