I'm planning to build a low power HTPC as soon as Intel release the Skylake i3's. Of my several goals for the HTPC, two may be significantly effected by the choice of PSU. The power consumption and the noise level. One of my main goals is to see just how little power I can make the system use without sacrificing stability (as I'll be undervolting the CPU if possible). Before I go further, I should list the components I'll be using. I'm afraid I can't be specific as some haven't even been announced yet.
- CPU: Skylake i3, undervolted if possible
Heatsink: A Noctua NH-L9i (or similar)
Mobo: mATX, low power consumption, high quality and supported by SpeedFan
RAM: 1x 8GB DDR4... probably made by Crucial as they seem to use the least wattage
SSD: Preferable mSATA or M.2. Again because they tend to use fractionally less wattage than SATA SSD's
HDD: 1x 2TB WD AV drive
ODD: A Samsung Bluray drive... I may put it in an external enclosure as it'll only be used for ripping disks to the HDD in order to watch them in relative silence
Case: Silverstone Milo ML04B
Case Fans: Most likely a single 80mm fan by either Noctua or Be Quiet!
Misc.: A DVB-S or DVB-S2 dual antenna satellite tuner card (power consumption between 10w and 20w)
Note: I may add a second tuner card at a later date but no other components.
Then there's TFX PSU's. Prime example being the Seasonic SS-300TGW. It's a not ideal at 300w but it is 80 Plus Gold, semi-passive and SPCR gave a positive review to a very similar model, the SS-350TGM (see second link)... it sure ticks a lot of boxes. There might be a clearance issue in the case I've chosen if I decide to have an optical drive and I would have to find/make some kind of ATX to TFX bracket.
So fellow SPCRers, what do you think the best option is?
1. http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?na ... 3&reid=368
2. http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1246-page1.html