HTP2C Project Part 3 - 2X faster, 1/2 noise?

[ST]

Haven't been here in a while, but after selling my previous computer (see viewtopic.php?t=32410&highlight= ), I am now building my new setup based around either a Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 or a Core 2 Quad Q9300 and wanted to document it in this thread.

The choice i had to make was the case itself, as this sets which mobo and thus platform which i would base the entire system on. Since this setup is going into my living room in a cabinet, i had specific dimensions and criterias for it including:

- Max 12" (H) x 20" (W) x 16" (D)
- Qty. (2) 120mm fan support (front and rear)
- Support for 3 HDDs

With those sort of dimensions, all standard ATX cases went out the window (and even most HTPC styled cases in general) and my selection was only in uATX cases. I narrowed down my choices to the following:

- Silverstone SG03 (Pros: 2 front fan support, brushed aluminum front finish, aluminum radiated hdd setup. Cons: very tight fit, only 2 hdd bays, unconvential layout limits cpu HSF selection)

- Silverstone TJ08 (Pros: Brushed aluminum front finish, lots of space for different cpu HSFs. Cons: only 2 hdd bays, fan position not for hdd)

- Enermax ECA2020-B (Pros: 4 hdd bays, fan positioned for hdd, lots of space for different cpu HSFs, great price. Cons: Cheap plasticy finish in front

In the end, I ended up with a Enermax clone:

M-120 Mid-Tower uATX chassis
Model Nbr: NSPIRE M-120
Color: Black
Dimension: 470mm*230mm*390mm(H*W*L)
Input/Output: USB2.0 X2 + Audio Out
Power Supply: 350Watt CE (24pin (20+4pin))
Cooling Features: Intel TAC1.1 Air-Duct Compliant
Compatiblity: Pentium 4 Prescott, AMD Athlon
Expansion Slots: 1 AGP, 3 PCI
Bays: 3X5.25 inch external, 2X3.5 inch External, 4X3.5 inch Internal
Cooling Fan: 80mm / 90mm / 120mm fan(s) are optional for front and rear
Input: Universal 100~240VAC, 50/60Hz
Weight: 18lb (gross)
http://www.nspiregear.com/M120.asp



Besides the front face, everything is identical to the Enermax (they utilize the standard base steel chassis frame). I chose this over the Enermax because for the same price, I got an extra no-frills psu that can be used for another system. I also like that it was trying too stylish like Enermax and it seemed to look better mounted on its side.

Next up: Motherboard selection

[ST]

Motherboards

Since I was limited to uATX mobos and on Intel uProcessors, the selection was very limited to say the least. Combine with the fact I wanted onboard graphics and 5.1+ sound w/ digital output, the field came down to really 2 choices:

- Asus P5E-VM HDMI: G35 base Intel chipset shows promise with the new Intel GMA X3500 IGP, but the driver support is still lacking. The fact it is Asus and plethora of CPU menus was nice, but from what others have written, there is limited undervolting options, which is a necessity in my book. The other big drawback is its $$$ price. But with G45 around the corner, is it worth it?

- 630i / 7150 mobos: XFX, eVGA, etc., - nVidia is tops when it comes to graphics, and its newer 7150 IGP, while mediocore, is still king in the intel world (i won't mention amd's newest offerings). while they are priced very nicely (~$85), the lack of dual channel support is a big mystery. However you do get all the other goodies like HDMI/DVD/7.1+ sound.

I ended up choosing 2 boards: XFX and eVGA 630i boards. Why you ask? Because i preferred the eVGA 630i/7150 mobo, since it has a nice optical spidf output (unlike XFX), but the bios support is sorely lacking for newer 45nm Intel CPUs. XFX does support the new Wolfdales and Yorkfields natively and to boot has a $35 rebate offering pushing its price point down to the <$50 category. Im holding out hope eVGA can solve their BIOS woes, but from their tech forums, I think its a lost cause. Anyhow, besides the lack of dual channel memory support, the rest looks up to snuff. Let's hope the 7150 IGP can handle 1080p traffic okay. If not, I'll have to add on a discrete solution, but then that would of defeat the whole purpose of my going with the 630i setup.

[ST]

HDDs

Since I was planning to do a BR setup to compliment my archived DVD libray, I needed some serious storage space (on my last system, i ran a 1.5TB setup and was maxed out already). Being an avid reader of storagereview.com, i was well aware of the offerings out there, and my first choice was to go with the WD 1TB green power setup due to its lower noice and power consumption. However, it has not been on sale a while and with my planned operation of 3-4TB, the price would of accumulated quickly. Hitachi makes one of, if not the best 1TB out there outperforming the competition in almost all measured categories. My old 1.5 TB was 3X500gb Hitachis and they performed without any issues for 3 years, however, these drives are quite $$$! So right when i was about to jump the gun one of the 2 above, Fry's comes out and sells the Seagate 1TB drives for $189 each! Although lackluster in most performance categories and only average on noice / power consumption, the price was just too good to pass up! So now i have 3TB of storage to work with!

(PS: after reading more on the Seagate drives, it looks like some of the performance reviews on this drive may be misleading as they are set for 1.5 Gbits/sec instead of 3.0Gb/s from the factory. Hmmm....)

[ST]

Found out yesterday that my Seasonic 380W PSU didn't have the needed 8 pin ATX connector, so stopped by Fry's this morning to get a converter. While I was browsing around, I saw this interesting board:



It's basically the older ATI Xpress 1250 chipset, but the features on it were really nice: x700 series igp, 7.1 sound w/ optical spidf, dual channel memory, and supports 45nm cpus. It's also really beefy, as you look underneath the lgs775 socket, there are no protruding vias...they're buried in the inner layers, so must have good signal integrity. This board was designed for mobile gamers, which is perfect for HTPC enthusiasts! Since this is an older model under the Fatal1ty marketing brand, it was on clearance for an unbeliable $100. Needless to say, I grabbed it quickly and will give this the first shot. I consider myself more of a nVidia advocate, but their 7150 solutions still leave a lot to be desired!

[treker]

I tried this same board last summer for my HTPC. Worked fine with E4300. HOWEVER, it does NOT undervolt!! I wish Abit bios writers would get with the new wave intel cpu's that thrive with undervolting for cool and quiet operation so necessary in HTPC. I sent it back for the undervolt issue. Went with Gigabyte mobo(s) and have never looked back. Built about 12 systems since, all undervolted, all cool, and some overclocked with less than vid.

[ntavlas]

I also wanted to upgrade to similar specs as you but decided to wait until nvidia`s new igp and 45nm quads are available.

Intel`s g35 would be my choice today. Even though it consumes more power and offers limited undervolting options it seems the most capable in HD. Nidia`s chipset is single channel DDR2 and is artificially crippled when it comes to HD. The 1250 has good features and looks good in red but I`ve heard it has a bad reliability record.

Some reviews that might be useful:
780G vs G35
http://techreport.com/articles.x/14261

1250 vs G33
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3111

Make sure to check spcr`s own review on the g35 if you haven`t already.

[ST]

thanks for the feedback and those reviews! The 780g chipset looks phenomenal, now only if AMD get off their buts and move to 45nm Phenoms, as the power requiremetns are way too high compared to 45nm Intels:



I'll stop by Fry's again though and see if they the Gigabyte board...looks awesome. If B3 Phenoms are cheap enough, I might pull the trigger, since my Q9300 is really $$$. I'm shying away from the G35 at this time because I'd really like to keep my mobo to an IGP setup because of the space constraints of my case. We'll see though....

[ST]

ran into some major issues tonight trying to install the Abit f-i90hd board....seems my ddr2 800 4-4-4 memory has a too high of a default voltage for the board or something. it just won't post at all, so tomorrow i have to get some "normal" 1.8V ddr2 sdrams. I tried my XFX 630i/7150 board briefly and it works like a champ.....and not i just read on Anandtech about the upcoming nVidia 8200 chipset (http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=423) ....decisions, decisions.....

[Strid]

ran into some major issues tonight trying to install the Abit f-i90hd board....seems my ddr2 800 4-4-4 memory has a too high of a default voltage for the board or something. it just won't post at all, so tomorrow i have to get some "normal" 1.8V ddr2 sdrams. I tried my XFX 630i/7150 board briefly and it works like a champ.....and not i just read on Anandtech about the upcoming nVidia 8200 chipset (http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=423) ....decisions, decisions.....

Can't you just lower the timings instead of buying new RAM? (Of course, if you return it, it's another matter)

[Avalanche]

He can't change anything if it won't POST.

[ST]

welp, I returned the abit f-i90hd board. it was toast from the onset, as confirmed by the Fry's tech who tried to boot it. So it looks like I'm back at square one for the mobo. HOwever through the miracle that is Craigslist, I scored on a Core 2 Quad Q9450 for $250! Now only if i can figure out what board it will go into... =(

[ST]

okay, just some brief updates. Still tinkering with mobo selection, so I picked up the Asus P5E-VM HDMI....been working like a champ right now, save for the fact it can't undervolt worth a dime even with RMClock. Some picks below of all the mobos i've been trying:

XFX 6150 setup (worked good, but single channel was disappointing):




Abit F-I90HD was a total dud (did not post at all):



Now the Asus P5E-VM HDMI (not going to install it into the case after I'm sure i want it!) :



Brief shot of my 47" 1920x1080p resolution LCD HTPC setup:

[ST]

some good news finally. with some tweaking of the bios, i am able to finally undervolt manually, albeit it sucks I can't control it via RMClock....thus far, I've been able to go down to ~1.00v under load @ 2.7GHz without a glitch (OCCT'd) and this is with the stock crappy heatsink!