[slekvak]

Hi,

I'm in the midst of upgrading my HTPC. I was initially going for a Zotac ZBOX ND22, but decided on using my existing case, hoping to finally getting a complete silent, 1080p-playing, HTPC.

I read just today this thread, Great Gift, and it seems that the AMD A8-3850 GPU fit my needs (playing 1080p flawlessly, and heavy XBMC skins, as a minimum).

This is what I'm considering buying:
[CASE] Chieftec HM-03 (44x41x10cm)
[MOBO] Gigabyte GA-A75M-UD2H
[CPU] AMD A8-3850
[MEMORY] Crucial DDR3 BallistiX 1600MHz 4GB CL8
[SSD] Corsair SSD Force Series F60A, 60GB

(I have this [TV] Samsung Led UN40B6000 (PAL), would I have any trouble with this, playing 1080p, under Windows?)

My current HTPC is noisy as hell (mainly because of HDDs, but also fans). My PSU is already passive/fanless, and since I have my HTPC in my bedrom, I want it to be as silent as possible. I'm probably going to remove the HDDs to an external NAS, using only the SSD.

Could a build like this work as a fanless design? What would I need? Any recommendations on a passive CPU-cooler? I am used to using bundeled fans, which I understand is not good. But if I could get rid of fans all together, that would be great. Any extremely silent fans someone could recommend alternatively?

[aptalca]

It's a 100W cpu, I doubt you could do a fanless setup.

You might want to look into intel T series processors such as i3-2100T, i3-2120T and i5-2390T that are all 35W TDP or the quad-core i5-2500T that is 45W TDP

They *might* work fanless with the right setup in terms of big and efficient enough heatsink and sufficient airflow, etc.

Check out this article for the processor info

[Balinus]

You might want to look into the A6-3500. Lower power consumption than the A8-3850 and powerful enough for heavy skin and some gaming. It's also a 65W TDP CPU vs the 100W TDP CPU of the A8-3850. As this is an APU, you won't need a discrete GPU, hence less heat and more airflow.

If you want to go fanless, I guess it depend on which case you're using.

Some numbers : http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/dis...-i3_8.html

Keep in mind that if you go towards Intel, you might need a discrete GPU if you want to game. Otherwise, if you don' game, the intel CPU is powerful enough to software decode the HD files.

edit - If you are patient enough, I'm waiting for a replacement of my MB and once built, I'll do a video of the performance of the A6-3500. But don't expect the videos before another 2 weeks.

[Mallet21]

I'd argue that a CPU fan at 1200rpm and an exhaust fan at 800rpm is darn near silent and more realistic than trying to go fanless on a 100w quad build.

[slekvak]

You might want to look into intel T series processors such as i3-2100T, i3-2120T and i5-2390T that are all 35W TDP or the quad-core i5-2500T that is 45W TDP

They *might* work fanless with the right setup in terms of big and efficient enough heatsink and sufficient airflow, etc.

Keep in mind that if you go towards Intel, you might need a discrete GPU if you want to game. Otherwise, if you don' game, the intel CPU is powerful enough to software decode the HD files.

I was actually thinking about going for an Intel i3, maybe then an i3-2120T. I'm not going to use this computer for games, just playing HD video, surfing and the like. I just want to get a responsive and a powerfull HTPC able to play 1080p flawlessly and also be able to use heavy XBMC skins this time.

So not considering gaming, and only HD-video (I wont stand any stuttering video ), there would not be any big "difference" going for an i3-2120T instead of the AMD-solution (maybe together with MSI H67MA-E45 mobo)? It would in other words do just as fine for HD video than the AMD, without a dedicated GPU?

I'd argue that a CPU fan at 1200rpm and an exhaust fan at 800rpm is darn near silent and more realistic than trying to go fanless on a 100w quad build.

I guess I could live with a couple of fans if they were silent enough. Is fans at these speeds sufficient for the AMD A8-3850?

(Thanks guys!)

[bluray]

this cool looking fanless cpu cooler might work with fm1 a8-3850 Nofan CR-95C IcePipe 95W Fanless CPU Cooler Review.

[bluray]

I guess I could live with a couple of fans if they were silent enough. Is fans at these speeds sufficient for the AMD A8-3850?

(Thanks guys!)

scythe is known for it silent fan, and this one should be very silent- Scythe SCSK-1100 100mm Shuriken Rev. B 3 Heat Pipes CPU Cooler.

[slekvak]

this cool looking fanless cpu cooler might work with fm1 a8-3850 Nofan CR-95C IcePipe 95W Fanless CPU Cooler Review.

That would have been awesome. Too bad my case requires a low profile fan - so I guess a fanless cooler is impossible, at least improbable, with the A8-3850 =\

scythe is known for it silent fan, and this one should be very silent- Scythe SCSK-1100 100mm Shuriken Rev. B 3 Heat Pipes CPU Cooler.

This one could work I guess - if this alone is sufficient to cool the A8-3850.

I kind of got excited about the AMD - if it works as well as I think. The alternatie Intel i3-2120T would probably be good enough though!?

[teaguecl]

I'd argue that a CPU fan at 1200rpm and an exhaust fan at 800rpm is darn near silent and more realistic than trying to go fanless on a 100w quad build.

I agree that going fanless with 100w cpu is not a viable solution. I would try the fans out at a shop or something before you decide, I've found "darn near silent" to be quite subjective. Some people have a high tolerance for fan noise and call nearly anything "silent". I went fanless (objectively silent) and am happy, but it comes with it's own set of challenges.

[bluray]

This one could work I guess - if this alone is sufficient to cool the A8-3850.

you can always try the included heatsink/fan with AMD A8-3850 package. with silent case fans, it should be good to go. if you don't like it, you can always upgrade it with the silencer Scythe Shuriken.

I kind of got excited about the AMD - if it works as well as I think. The alternatie Intel i3-2120T would probably be good enough though!?

for me- for almost the same price, i'll go for a8-3850. almost every reports shown that it's a better choice for htpc purpose.

we can only provide you information on it, but at the end you have to make your own choice.

[Beer40oz]

you can always try the included heatsink/fan with AMD A8-3850 package. with silent case fans, it should be good to go. if you don't like it, you can always upgrade it with the silencer Scythe Shuriken.

for me- for almost the same price, i'll go for a8-3850. almost every reports shown that it's a better choice for htpc purpose.

we can only provide you information on it, but at the end you have to make your own choice.

True that!

[slekvak]

we can only provide you information on it, but at the end you have to make your own choice.

You are right, but it's too easy to get torn between different options reading through different experiences... I think going for a fan like this would work well considering that I will remove noisy HDDs and another extra fan..

I've come up with 3 alternatives, in most desired order. I might always go wrong with the AMD, but it feels good

[MOBO] Gigabyte GA-A75M-UD2H, Socket FM1
m-ATX, Hudson-D3, DDR3, 1xPCIe(2.0)x16, SATA 6Gb/s, eSATA, USB3.0, FW, VGA, DVI, HDMI
[CPU AMD A-Series A8-3850
Socket- FM1, Quad Core, 2.9Ghz, 100W, 4MB, Radeon HD6550D, GPU = 600MHz
[SSD] Corsair SSD Force Series F60A, 60GB
SATA2, 2,5", 280B/270B/s read/write, incl 2,5" to 3,5" bracket
[RAM] Crucial DDR3 BallistiX 1600MHz 4GB CL8
[COOL] Scythe SCSK-1100
100mm Shuriken Rev. B 3 Heat Pipes CPU Cooler kr 400,00

or

[MOBO] ASUS P8H67-M PRO B3, Socket-1155
m-ATX, H67, DDR3, 2xPCIe(2.0)x16, SATA 6Gb/s, USB 3.0, VGA, DVI, HDMI, EFI
[CPU] CPU Intel® Core i3-2120 Processor
Socket-LGA1155, Dual Core, 3.3Ghz, 3MB, 65W, Boxed w/fan
[SSD] Corsair SSD Force Series F60A, 60GB
SATA2, 2,5", 280B/270B/s read/write, incl 2,5" to 3,5" bracket
[RAM] Crucial DDR3 1333MHz 4GB KIT CL9
[COOL] Akasa AK-CC7111 U1 Passive CPU Cooler
Socket 775/1156, Low Profile, Passive

or

[MOBO] MSI H67MA-E45 B3, Socket-1155
m-ATX, H67, DDR3, 1xPCIe(2.0)x16, SATA 6Gb/s, USB3.0, FW, VGA,DVI,HDMI, THX, EFI
[CPU] Intel® Core i3-2120T Processor
Socket-LGA1155, Dual Core, 2.6Ghz, 3MB, 35W, Boxed w/fan
[SSD] Corsair SSD Force Series F60A, 60GB
SATA2, 2,5", 280B/270B/s read/write, incl 2,5" to 3,5" bracket
[RAM] Crucial DDR3 1333MHz 4GB KIT CL9
[COOL] Akasa AK-CC7111 U1 Passive CPU Cooler
Socket 775/1156, Low Profile, Passive

[bluray]

out of those 3 groups on your list- if it is for a desktop pc, i'll go for i3 cpu. if it is for a htpc, i'll go for a8-3850. i'll have better playback experience with amd hd6550d than intel igpu.

you'll be happy either way, and either way you still need case fans!

[slekvak]

Yea, it seems to fit well for a HTPC (XBMC) build - probably good enough for surfing/torrenting in-between... However this review put me back a couple of steps; http://www.anandtech.com/show/4479/amd-a...erspective

[eskro]

1st build wins