My eskro based build...
#1
So because of limitations with slots as i want live TV (dual DVB-s HDTV), i am going to go along with eskros ATX build using the following..

Gigabyte GA-H61M-S2-B3 £42.50

Intel Pentium Dual-Core Processor G620 £50.45

Asus nVidia GeForce GT430 1GB DDR3 £51.51

Corsair TW3X4G1333C9A
£0.00 (going to rape my 8gb rig)

Scythe Shuriken BIG Low Profile Quiet CPU Cooler £31.49

SilverStone Milo ML03 black (SST-ML03B) £50.10

So thats the main line up, with regard to the GPU, that fans looking pretty much like a jet engine to me but it was suggested i go with that because i intend to do 3D and live TV...is this a quiet card ? are there after market cooling alternatives for this that fit nice in the case ?, which brings me onto the case, looks ok, i had a pukka case with with 7" screen on it and sold it as i never used the screen on it once..now im kicking myself as that would have been PERFECT for this project but im not buying another at £400.

I will need some sort of receiver but i am not keen on a plug in, im not sure the mobo even has an IR header on it or whether the case has a window for one, if the mobo has the header i would consider another case.

My next concern is the psu, i belevie this is going to be the main source of noise, 'included' psu's usually are poorly made and not made to be quiet out of the box..im interested in the pico power things..what are they all about and will it be good for my setup.

For my live TV im looking towards this, it even states for HTPC and XBMC uses and says low profile, think thats a good find Wink

Please give my any suggestions, kind critisisms (if i could spell it correctly) warmly accepted.
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#2
the ANTEC EARTHWATTS are quiet PSU's....
they are often used in HTPC because they have an 120mm cooling fan which keeps the noise down,,,
i dont see issues there at all,,,
if those were noisy, we would have known by now,,,

PICO PSU's are good, totally silent, kinda like a laptop power brick,
but they are pricey in my opinion
and in a build like yours, u need too much POWER
so a PICO PSU is out of question,,,

CPU wise, i think that for $10, you should pick the G840...
its a bit stronger and a good choice for PVR stuff...

again, the GT430 is used alot in HTPC's....
there's only 1 model thats low profile and FanLess,
and its made by Sparkle, pretty hard to find in the USA...
but even then, in a small compact case, your probably better
getting an Active cooling GPU card,,,
or if not, at least place an 80mm quiet fan in front of it to keep it cooL,,,
if u think it'll be noisy, then, try to buy a GT430 that has bigger FAN size,,
as anything else, a 40mm FAN will be noisier then a 80mm fan,,,
keep that in mind,,,
u may take a look at the Gigabyte GT430 Low Profile,,
check reviews on newegg --> http://ow.ly/1wPkNU

if your going with windows as O/S, u can also take a look at the HD6450!
it'll play 3D and it'll Bitstream HD-AUdio too!
you also wont have problems with 1080i Live TV content,,,
i know theres a FanLEss one --> http://ow.ly/1wPlaZ
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#3
Thanks a lot !!....ill deffo go with the HD6450, does it leave me with options to play with linux or others even though i wont be able to bitstream ?

What i could do is fill the side of that case with some cheap fans but put a strong resistor in the lines on them so they dont run at full tilt
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#4
if u plan to use Linux, stick with Nvidia GPU
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#5
I dont want to game on it. will linux run very well of a thumb drive inside the case ? And will i be able to use the digital out to mt av switch fine
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#6
linux on a thumbDrive = OpenELEC
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#7
And is that noob friendly linux ? Like gui setup and running...hmmm not sure to have windows on a small ssd for performance along with the windiws gpu card
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#8
loady Wrote:What i could do is fill the side of that case with some cheap fans but put a strong resistor in the lines on them so they dont run at full tilt
I ordered up a couple of these, one blowing in the back, one blowing out the front along the side. You can fit 4, I'm pretty happy with two. These are wicked quiet!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6811999199
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#9
Ok, i have had to tweak some of the parts, the mainboard because it was available for delivery tomorrow (saturday)...i would have prefered the gigabyte..the ASUS seems to be better spec except no USB3 but thats no real issue..so heres the new line up.

Intel Pentium G840 2.8GHz Socket 1155
Asus P8H61-M LE H61 Socket 1155 8 Channel HD Audio
Sapphire HD 6450 1GB DDR3 DVI VGA HDMI PCI-E
Scythe BIG Shuriken SCBSK-1000
OCZ 60GB Solid 3 2.5" SSD - SATA-III - Read 500MB/s Write 450MB/s
Antec NSK 2480 MATX Desktop Case With 380W EarthWatts PSU

Checkout the case, i think you'll agree i made a cracking find there, the ML03B wasnt available next day anywhere and it was without a PSU, i done a search for antec earthwatts on the website i bought the parts from and that beauty popped up..i wish the front was black but hey ho.

So thats the hardware sorted, DVB-S2 card on its way....what setup of XBMC should i be looking at for optimum performance ?...i assume i need to put windows onto the SSD first ?...whats the slickest skin out there ?Nerd
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#10
thats a bulky case, i think you can fit a regular sized GPU card in there!
investigate this possibility more Tongue

as always, i would avoid OCZ,
they have high if not THE highest SSD Failure rate on the market,,,

besides that, it looks perfect to me!
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#11
Don't the G-series Pentiums come with low profile coolers? Not sure the aftermarket cooler is completely necessary. A quick bios change has made my i3 cooler nearly silent.

I've got the same case and absolutely love it....though i've made a slight modification:

Image
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#12
considering a pretty similar build myself.

Just out of interest, does the Scythe BIG Shuriken cooler fit a 1155 board?

Cant see any confirmation that it fits that particular socket size....
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#13
djglenn Wrote:considering a pretty similar build myself.

Just out of interest, does the Scythe BIG Shuriken cooler fit a 1155 board?

Cant see any confirmation that it fits that particular socket size....

Youll be hard pressed to find it quoted but the 1156 hole placement are exactly the same. so if says 1156 it will fit 1155..i think (dont quote me) the same also applies to the 1336..nice to see at last that intel whilst moving the benchmarks are not moving the goalposts !!!

Mallet21 Wrote:Don't the G-series Pentiums come with low profile coolers? Not sure the aftermarket cooler is completely necessary. A quick bios change has made my i3 cooler nearly silent.

I've got the same case and absolutely love it....though i've made a slight modification:

Image

Took me a while to realise the modification...nice finish, did you wet paper it first or just go straight over ? (after cleaning with alcohol of course)..with matt or gloss ?

Hmmmm...the stock cooler...just becasue its low profile doesnt mean its quieter...its clear that a 120mm can push more air at a slower rate than the stock cooler..its the noise of the air ripping over the sink that causes the noise..what you will find with these stock coolers is that they are PWM so they change speed with useage..are you pushing your setup ?Nerd...i found with my i7 stock cooler on my pc..."wow thats quiet, i can hardly hear it"...then when i fired up photoshop i kept getting whoooshing noises when i moved a picture or done some rendering..i think that was actually more annoying that a constant humm.

eskro Wrote:thats a bulky case, i think you can fit a regular sized GPU card in there!
investigate this possibility more Tongue

as always, i would avoid OCZ,
they have high if not THE highest SSD Failure rate on the market,,,

besides that, it looks perfect to me!

Are you intent on burning a hole in my pocket ?? you know i am in rip off britain ??Rolleyes..seriously...do i, would i need a better card..are you thinking less heat here ?..yes the case is slightly bulkier than the one on your builds..but its waaaaay more sexier..come on admit it Nod and its got the psu already...two birds..one stone
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#14
You check the depth of that NSK case?

I was looking at it...also put off by the silver finish..

The deal breaker for me was the depth....would stick out in my stand... (literary)
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#15
check these HD 6570 GPU cards

http://www.crescentelectronics.co.uk/node/345691

http://www.crescentelectronics.co.uk/node/288512

http://www.crescentelectronics.co.uk/node/288413

http://www.crescentelectronics.co.uk/node/618744
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