All, I'm interested in getting feedback regarding router / switch cooling options. I have an apple airport extreme dual band router and it is very warm to touch. In reading various forums, it seems that is normal because apple designs the case to act as a heat sink. Given that I want to keep it cool...

I guess lack of knowledge on my part regarding the Hard drive technologies drove the decision of Seagate Obviously, now I'm curious to learn more about the gain in performance from 8Mb to 16Mb versus 32. Actually that's really the only reason I bought the seagate drive, figured 32Mb is double the 16...

Thank you for all the feedbacks. After much consideration, and research, I opted to purchase the Antec Minuet 350 case. It has a $25 rebate so my final price became $60. Antec case generally have a solid reputation for workmanship and design. I had read elsewhere that the power supply fan of 'in win...

Thanks for the feedback. I'm leaning towards the In Win cases but wanted to make sure I'm looking at all the options. In this particular pc configuration, I'm not building it from the 'silent' perspectives, I'm going after the compact size of the case first. Silencing and cooling will be the next pr...

Can someone please recommend a decent slim case that will house a micro ATX motherboard ?

To give an example of the type of case I'm looking for:

cases made by " In Win" or The dell "Studio Slim" desktop case.

Thank you

I found an AC "muffin" fan, its 4 1/2", runs super quiet on a fixed, low speed. Its called a 'QFAN' , <30dba, with a 50CFM. Its working out well.

Gadgetzilla

Hey Folks, Can someone please provide some info about the PS3's cooling ? Recently, while watching a Blu-Ray DVD, around the midpoint of the movie, I heard a loud roaring noise, come to find out, it was coming from the PS3. Seems like the fan inside was about to take off. My PS3 is stored horizontal...

Thanks for the replies ;-) Yes, the 'cooler' will be for my receiver. The clearance in the cabinet is rather tight. I've seen commercial products that do the same but cost $100+ so thought to make something myself for fraction of the cost. Essentially, I'm looking for a case, a low profile one, arou...

Hello All, I'm looking to build my own 'laptop cooler' type device. It will go under (or above) my audio receiver. I'd like to put at least three 120mm PC style 12V silent fans in it, spread out, similarly to what the laptop cooler devices have it, I don't want to use an inexpensive laptop cooler be...

Thank you for your feedbacks. Here are addtional details, perhaps that will help clarify. Prior to building an HTPC, I was using a DVD player and using the VGA to component cables. The projector is mounted on the wall. I purchased two 50ft VGA to Component cables and routed that through the walls. T...

Some months back I purchased the Powercolor AX3650 video card for my HTPC. The powercolor video card is based on ATI's 3650 chipset. It was purchased via newegg website. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131085 My NEC projector does not have an HDMI connector, it only does com...

i believe you can do lossless files for the ipod as well or if not much closer than mp3. acc or something is the file extension...im not sure i dont use ipods I'm currently experimenting with FLAC format. It offers lossless audio. I believe there are converter programs that will convert FLAC to MP3...

Gadgetzilla, Quick Question, I just purchased a Powercolor passive 3650 from newegg.com, and it didnt say if it came with a HDMI adapter or not. However powercolor's website says that it comes with an HDMI adapter. Where did you get your powercolor and did it come with the HDMI adapter? Yes, there ...

I too thought the same BUT..not sure if the iPod can handle anything other than what apple creates and mp3. [/quote] i believe you can do lossless files for the ipod as well or if not much closer than mp3. acc or something is the file extension...im not sure i dont use ipods[/quote] I'm currently e...

Great pics! I love when people post their setups! However.. 2 bad you didn't research more about HTPC hardware.. Your hardware is a little overkill and you could easily done it cheaper / better. Why intel btw? What PSU did you use? What software are you using? And why is the WLAN for? Streaming at ...

I was able to find a discarded box of the 120mm Noctua fan.

The model of the fan is NF-S12

i highly recommend not wasting your time ripping to 192 kbps as mp3's are a dying format in terms of quality. At the price of storage now, you should easily be able to rip them to flac or another lossless format with 1 TB of space. If not another 100 bucks buys you another 750 GB. Does the vid card...

The blu-ray drive is working out just fine. I had a bit of an issue initially as the video was very choppy. I went to ATI's website and downloaded the latest drivers. After that, it was just fine. I ran into a a bit of a hurdle this afternoon. My display is a Sharp Aquos 26" TV. I wasn't able to fin...

Which Noctua fans did you go with. I just purchased the NF-P12 fans for my NSK-2480 in hopes of cutting down on the sound and keeping great airflow. Depending on how I like these, if they're that good, I may replace the YL's I have in my P180B. Yes, I did use three NF-P12 fans. Two on the case, the...

Link to pics has been posted in the original post

Thanks,
Gadgetzilla

Fellow SPCR’s – With the help of this website and your excellent responses over the course of past several months, I too am now a proud owner of my very first HTPC. Prior to reading all the posts and the extensive research, this was just a dream. Though I’ve put together PC’s in the past, HT...

Folks - I found the DiNovo Edge keyboard at the absolute lowest price and bought it. regular price $167 - $28 mwave instant discount = $139, while supplies last! THEN...on top of that, there the $45 Mail-In Manufacturer Rebate Available from 02/01/08 till 03/27/08) The final price is unbeatable on t...

After much research, I decided to install the PowerColor HD3650 card in my antec Fusion. It is available at Newegg.com

The video card fits well in the antec fusion case. I will provide pictures and additional details in the next couple of days.

Regards,
Gadgetzilla

The Card has been delivered I will be installing it over the weekend.

By the way, we never did hear from the original poster (djkest) as to why the 'unfortunate' comment . Its always good to know why a particular brand / card is not liked.

Cheers,
Gadgetzilla

Excellent feedback - Thank you !! With the listed choices, it will be hard to make a decision. I was originally leaning towards the sleek Logitech DiNovo Edge but the 'mini' gives something else to think about. For a lot of folks, the ability to play movies from their HTPC and using the remote to co...

I just ordered one (powercolor) for my Antec Fusion, hoping it will indeed fit.

I will post the results when done.

Just wondering what keyboard everyone is using with their HTPC ???

The ideal keyboard (wireless, of course) would let you do most everything while you were sitting on the couch. I can't see using a separate mouse (LOL).

In researching, the logitech DiNovo Edge seems an ideal one.

-Gadgetzilla

In speaking with Sapphire Techs, they claim the only difference is that one allows you to add upto 1Gb of memory whereas the other is fixed at 256M.

any thoughts ??

Does anyone know if this will fit in Antec Fusion ?

Great feedback - Thank you.

I'm planning on using Cyberlink's PowerDVD Ultra for Blu-Ray playback hopefully the MCE Remote will support it. I'll research this further.

Thanks,
Gadgetzilla