In a quest for a silent/eco/cheap HTPC
Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2019 2:41 pm
Hi there SPCRers!
I'm in the process of building a new (HT)PC and after some rabbit hole plunging I figured out I may be faster with some help
My requirements are:
- GNU/Linux only (Debian)
- Playing/streaming 1080p video, including h264 and h265 decoding, and of course music
- Otherwise surfing the web, coding (but nothing power hungry)
- Dual screen (a smaller one for working/surfing, a larger HDMI one for media)
- No games, no 4K, no blurays
- Lots of storage space for my music/movie collection/backups
- USB 3.0
- Backing up other machines (laptops/smartphones)
- Maybe setting up a file server (extremely low traffic, not 24/7, just for home)
- Possibly/maybe in the future: a media server (low traffic, home only, no transcoding)
What I think I need based on my requirements:
- 1 CPU/1 PWR/3 Chassis PMW fan heads
- versatile fan control in BIOS (I cannot rely on OS programs, unless I found a setup which is well experimented with under Linux)
- maybe underclocking/undervolting
My constraints:
- silent
- low power consumption
- there's enough garbage around that fits my requirement so I should be able to build mostly using cheap 2nd hand components
- I'm in EU so prices are different (both for new and second hand stuff)
What I have got so far:
- a Cooler Master Silencio 550 (with an older ASUS mb and Core 2 duo which I will give away)
- including a fanless graphic card (Asus GeForce GT 520, 1 GB), a SSD and a dvd+rw that I can reuse
I bought this build for the case because it was extremely cheap (30€ in total) and had a good review here (not the best, I see, but availability and price are factors as well). It actually is pretty noisy with its current hardware, especially the front fan, but I'm confident it can be turned into what I need. Also, it has room for 7 internal 3.5" disks, +1 hotswappable in an external bay, and two 5.25", so it's pretty future proof in terms of storage expansion. Hence my quest for more recent hardware...
CPU/Socket/Chipset
Based on 2nd hand market and this neat guide I will go for an Intel on LGA1155 socket but I still have lots of questions...
- AMD is hotter AFAIK, am I wrong?
- CPU: I think Sandy Bridge ones are already overkill for what I need, but maybe an Ivy Bridge will consume less/be easier to cool?
I have read somewhere (here?) that Ivy Bridge does consume less power but it's denser, so it can get hotter than Sandy?
- Chipset: Z77 would allow me to buy a sandy bridge now (they're way cheaper) and upgrade to Ivy later. On the other hand,
if I stick with Sandy Bridge I could go for a cheaper/easier to find P67 or so.
Motherboard
I think that I will go for an ATX as it seems to me that they're more expandable, and I would like to be able to fill up the rack if I need to, so I need at least 8 SATA ports: I don't care about their speeds but from what I see most MBs with so many ports have 4 6x + 4 3x. I have also read somewhere that smaller boards tend to be hotter. Are there reasons to pick a smaller MB, such as a microATX? Less power maybe?
Also I 'm a bit lost regarding which one. I have read a lot here and elsewhere, here's what I got:
- Asus P8Z77-V and variants: easy to find and relatively cheap, got good reviews here (PRO version), especially related to fan control; but they seem to be power hungry according to this comparison, and ASUS seems to cheat on 4-pin fan headers (in a later model), so I'm not sure any more…
- MSI boards got the lowest power consumption in the above comparisons but they seem to be more limited in terms of fan control?
- Intel got excellent reviews here and their fan control seems to be even better than Asus', but I'm not sure how much can be done in BIOS? Also I still have to research their models, the names all look the same and I start getting tired...
Graphics
I already have a fanless video card (Asus GeForce GT 520, 1 GB), but I was thinking that onboard video that comes with a modern CPU would probably be sufficient for my requirements, and easier in terms of heat (hence noise) and power, am I right? That may change the requirements for choosing the MB.
Sound Onboard 5.1 and digital out would be a plus, but I guess I will buy a sound card later on, or maybe something more modern such as an external DAC.
Fans
- I still have a Scythe Shuriken Rev B from an old Pentium IV build which was deadly silent. I actually never used the 4-pin fan that came with it as I had to buy a 3-pin model for my mobo at the time, so the 4-pin one is brand new, and I can reuse it on a LGA 1155 socket! If it was enough for a Pentium IV, I assume it will be enough for a more modern CPU?
- I'm willing to buy new fans for the case, will think about it later, I can start using it with the current fans
PSU
I guess I'll have to buy this new, and it seems to me it will be the most expensive single thing I buy, especially as I would like a semifanless Gold at least, but I can start using the case with the current PSU and improve along the way
So here I am, probably wrong about everything, if you can answer just one of my questions or correct what I think I got right please do
PS if you know an alternative to pcpartpicker where I can also set requirements on fan connectors it would be a great help
I'm in the process of building a new (HT)PC and after some rabbit hole plunging I figured out I may be faster with some help
My requirements are:
- GNU/Linux only (Debian)
- Playing/streaming 1080p video, including h264 and h265 decoding, and of course music
- Otherwise surfing the web, coding (but nothing power hungry)
- Dual screen (a smaller one for working/surfing, a larger HDMI one for media)
- No games, no 4K, no blurays
- Lots of storage space for my music/movie collection/backups
- USB 3.0
- Backing up other machines (laptops/smartphones)
- Maybe setting up a file server (extremely low traffic, not 24/7, just for home)
- Possibly/maybe in the future: a media server (low traffic, home only, no transcoding)
What I think I need based on my requirements:
- 1 CPU/1 PWR/3 Chassis PMW fan heads
- versatile fan control in BIOS (I cannot rely on OS programs, unless I found a setup which is well experimented with under Linux)
- maybe underclocking/undervolting
My constraints:
- silent
- low power consumption
- there's enough garbage around that fits my requirement so I should be able to build mostly using cheap 2nd hand components
- I'm in EU so prices are different (both for new and second hand stuff)
What I have got so far:
- a Cooler Master Silencio 550 (with an older ASUS mb and Core 2 duo which I will give away)
- including a fanless graphic card (Asus GeForce GT 520, 1 GB), a SSD and a dvd+rw that I can reuse
I bought this build for the case because it was extremely cheap (30€ in total) and had a good review here (not the best, I see, but availability and price are factors as well). It actually is pretty noisy with its current hardware, especially the front fan, but I'm confident it can be turned into what I need. Also, it has room for 7 internal 3.5" disks, +1 hotswappable in an external bay, and two 5.25", so it's pretty future proof in terms of storage expansion. Hence my quest for more recent hardware...
CPU/Socket/Chipset
Based on 2nd hand market and this neat guide I will go for an Intel on LGA1155 socket but I still have lots of questions...
- AMD is hotter AFAIK, am I wrong?
- CPU: I think Sandy Bridge ones are already overkill for what I need, but maybe an Ivy Bridge will consume less/be easier to cool?
I have read somewhere (here?) that Ivy Bridge does consume less power but it's denser, so it can get hotter than Sandy?
- Chipset: Z77 would allow me to buy a sandy bridge now (they're way cheaper) and upgrade to Ivy later. On the other hand,
if I stick with Sandy Bridge I could go for a cheaper/easier to find P67 or so.
Motherboard
I think that I will go for an ATX as it seems to me that they're more expandable, and I would like to be able to fill up the rack if I need to, so I need at least 8 SATA ports: I don't care about their speeds but from what I see most MBs with so many ports have 4 6x + 4 3x. I have also read somewhere that smaller boards tend to be hotter. Are there reasons to pick a smaller MB, such as a microATX? Less power maybe?
Also I 'm a bit lost regarding which one. I have read a lot here and elsewhere, here's what I got:
- Asus P8Z77-V and variants: easy to find and relatively cheap, got good reviews here (PRO version), especially related to fan control; but they seem to be power hungry according to this comparison, and ASUS seems to cheat on 4-pin fan headers (in a later model), so I'm not sure any more…
- MSI boards got the lowest power consumption in the above comparisons but they seem to be more limited in terms of fan control?
- Intel got excellent reviews here and their fan control seems to be even better than Asus', but I'm not sure how much can be done in BIOS? Also I still have to research their models, the names all look the same and I start getting tired...
Graphics
I already have a fanless video card (Asus GeForce GT 520, 1 GB), but I was thinking that onboard video that comes with a modern CPU would probably be sufficient for my requirements, and easier in terms of heat (hence noise) and power, am I right? That may change the requirements for choosing the MB.
Sound Onboard 5.1 and digital out would be a plus, but I guess I will buy a sound card later on, or maybe something more modern such as an external DAC.
Fans
- I still have a Scythe Shuriken Rev B from an old Pentium IV build which was deadly silent. I actually never used the 4-pin fan that came with it as I had to buy a 3-pin model for my mobo at the time, so the 4-pin one is brand new, and I can reuse it on a LGA 1155 socket! If it was enough for a Pentium IV, I assume it will be enough for a more modern CPU?
- I'm willing to buy new fans for the case, will think about it later, I can start using it with the current fans
PSU
I guess I'll have to buy this new, and it seems to me it will be the most expensive single thing I buy, especially as I would like a semifanless Gold at least, but I can start using the case with the current PSU and improve along the way
So here I am, probably wrong about everything, if you can answer just one of my questions or correct what I think I got right please do
PS if you know an alternative to pcpartpicker where I can also set requirements on fan connectors it would be a great help