HTPC build list almost complete, review appreciated

Eyor · Post by **Eyor** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 1:33 pm

I'll be using this primarily, to store/play music and watch shows over the internet. Planning on building my own case from wood so I'm trying to get most of the components settled to make sure I've got the measurements correct. I jumped the gun on some of them as they were on sale and I have already spent > 15 hours researching.

Some notes on the case
The case will be made out of hard wood (likely Maple) with some brass handles thrown in. I'll be sure to take pictures if anyone is interested once I've got all my measurements down and start building. The top and bottom will be completely enclosed (i.e. no ventillation there). I had wanted to cut 4 fan holes, two on each side (left/right), but I'm not sure if there is any way to control 4 fans. The PSU will be isolated in the back corner and mostly have it's own ventilation.

Currently On Hand or Ordered:

MOBO - ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - $90

Granted, I didn't need to get an AM3 board and definitely don't need the DDR3 but....well it was on sale and I couldn't resist, plus I want to do some 'future proofing' although I'm not entirely sure what that means...

SoundCard - ASUS Xonar D2X 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card. - Don't remember, purchased over a year ago

I already had this in another machine but would rather hook it up to my full size stereo so I'll be transferring it to this system.

Data HDD - Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EADS 2TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5 - $180

Wish Listed, open to suggestions

CPU - AMD Sempron 140 Sargas 2.7GHz Socket AM3 45W Single-Core Processor - $36

PSU - SeaSonic X650 Gold 650W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD - $170

3 or 4 Case Fans - Noctua NF-S12B ULN 120mm, 2 Speed Setting - $71 or $94

HTPC Remote functionality - Antec Mult-Station Premier Deluxe IR receiver and remote - $80

Still Need to choose, suggestions welcome

Apps/OS HDD - Maybe a 150GB Velociraptor? Any inexpensive SSD's that can store Win 7 x64 with a little extra room for apps?

Memory - Some DDR3 modules needed

CPU Cooler - Can I get away with just a heatsink rather than a fan if I go with the Sempron? What would you recommend.

OS - Windows based, likely Win7 x64?

Anything I missed?

Thanks for reading

Vicotnik · Post by **Vicotnik** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 2:17 pm

I would have gone with a cheaper mATX motherboard, a cheap SSD (like the 40GB Kingston), a faster CPU like perhaps a X2 240e, a PicoPSU or similar (perhaps something like this) and a single 120mm fan. I cannot understand why people seem to want a ton of case fans for a simple low power system.

edit: I missed the WD 1TB, thought you would play media from a remote system. If the HTPC will have a large HDD for storage I would skip the SSD, like RoGuE suggests in a comment below. I would also skip the sound card if it really idles at 50W. Perhaps that's justifiable in a high end gaming rig but for a small HTPC a Xonar must be considered overkill.

boost · Post by **boost** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 3:23 pm

CPU - AMD Sempron 140 Sargas 2.7GHz Socket AM3 45W Single-Core Processor - $36

You can cool it passively with a Ninja in a case with large venting holes top and bottom.
If you choose a faster dual core you need a fan.

PSU - SeaSonic X650 Gold 650W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD - $170

SERIOUS overkill. This system should draw ~80 watts full load.
+1 for Pico PSU for both case design and airflow.

3 or 4 Case Fans - Noctua NF-S12B ULN 120mm, 2 Speed Setting - $71 or $94

One for the Ninja if the case design impedes airflow.

Apps/OS HDD - Maybe a 150GB Velociraptor? Any inexpensive SSD's that can store Win 7 x64 with a little extra room for apps?

A Kingston SSD V 40GB is faster and big enough for some apps.

OS - Windows based, likely Win7 x64?

Get x64 if you are shure there are drivers for all your hardware. Should work with everything listed above.

Memory - Some DDR3 modules needed

A kit of two modules, 2GB minimum 4GB if you don't mind spending a bit more.

RoGuE · Post by **RoGuE** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 4:02 pm

If you plan on putting the OS on an SSD, don't install x64. It is a larger OS than the 32-bit, and it won't be giving you any benefit in terms of responsiveness, load speeds etc. I personally think getting an SSD for an HTPC is a little silly while prices are still astronomical. Are you really going to be shutting down every day? Win 7 sleeps/unsleeps very quickly, and your memory only draws a couple watts at best. Boot up time is really the only advantage to the SSD if you're putting it in an HTPC, since all your media will still be loading from the HDD.

As for the CPU cooling, keep the fan on it..even it you throttle it wayyy down. Even a little convection over the heatsink is much much better than natural convection only. Besides, the stock heat sink is designed to work with the fan, not fanless.

Eyor · Post by **Eyor** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 4:43 pm

Thanks Everyone!

The sound card uses 155 Watts under load (see http://techreport.com/articles.x/14500/5), so I would need at least that much power. It seems 650W is definitely way overkill, so I guess I'll keep looking for a PSU. Maybe this one:

ENERMAX Liberty ELT400AWT-ECO (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817194042), as it's the lowest powered modular PSU I could find on Newegg.

And as for this

I cannot understand why people seem to want a ton of case fans for a simple low power system.

Well that's simple; ignorance, lack of experience and a tendency to be super-cautious, after all that's why I'm here

I'm kinda worried about my case being too enclosed. Then again looking at the P180 I currently have, that's a fairly well enclosed case as well. Maybe one fan would do but...it's kinda scary since I'd have to take the whole things apart, cut a new fan hole and refinish in order to add a fan later. Maybe two fans at least?

BTW, here's a pic of the planed case

Rogue, thanks for the info. You're right, I will likely have this on all the time so SSD is likely unecessary. Really, I just want something at least as quiet as the WD Caviar Green but with faster access time for the OS drive.

Also, realized I almost forgot to mention a DVD reader

crays · Post by **crays** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 6:52 pm

Eyor wrote:Thanks Everyone!

The sound card uses 155 Watts under load (see http://techreport.com/articles.x/14500/5), so I would need at least that much power. It seems 650W is definitely way overkill, so I guess I'll keep looking for a PSU. Maybe this one:

You're misreading those numbers. That is the total system draw for a system that's running the original 8800GTS 640MB card.

That card idles at roughly 50 watts, and at full load draws roughly 100 watts. AFAICT, this is not a gaming rig (and I see no GPU listed in your build). I have no desire to figure out what you need, but unless your CPU draws much more power than the E6700, you'll probably use significantly less than the 155 watts.

FWIW, whenever looking at GPU draw, i always look here. It's a nice compliation of data from several sites and helps keep things in perspective. If you read enthusiast sites, you'd swear that every build needs at least 600W and 1KW is best if you want a little wiggle room

loimlo · Post by **loimlo** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 9:27 pm

Since you're willing to spend that much on Seasonic X650, please purchase a budget dual core like X2 240/245. Dual core is far superior to single core in terms of performance without costing you an arm and a leg.

Memory: the more, the merrier.

2GB is minimum, 4GB is recommended for smooth Win7 experience.

RoGuE · Post by **RoGuE** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 9:40 pm

loimlo wrote:
Memory: the more, the merrier.
2GB is minimum, 4GB is recommended for smooth Win7 experience.

Ehh...I beg to differ loimlo. If you aren't running anything that's memory intensive, 64-bit windows with a couple applications open uses almost exactly 1gb of ram. Im looking at it as I type this. Even when I load into a game, I sit at around 80% usage of ram..thats with only 2gb installed.

For an HTPC, there will be no video editing, large photoshop sessions, or more than a few applications open at any given time. There's no way he will break 2gb, and in that case, he just wasted money on the other two that are just collecting dust and contributing to heat production in the case...

boost · Post by **boost** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 2:46 am

The sound card uses 155 Watts under load (see http://techreport.com/articles.x/14500/5), so I would need at least that much power.

Read more closely. The WHOLE gaming system WITH sound card uses 17 watts MORE than the same system without it, which btw is a gaming system.
I raise my power estimate for your system to ~100 watts under full load.

I would put the exhaust fan in the separator panel next to the CPU, and make cutout in the back(?) panel for an exhaust. This is a low power system you don't need many fans. Don't worry about the hard drive, a 5400 RPM model doesn't get hot.