[eskro]

i'd never cheap out on a PSU..
its one of the most important computer part to me!
the only PSU i'd try if i were on a budget,
would be the COOLER MASTER GX 450W

[dannycorker]

i'd never cheap out on a PSU..
its one of the most important computer part to me!
the only PSU i'd try if i were on a budget,
would be the COOLER MASTER GX 450W

Hmm, very tempting at almost half the price! You're the expert around here, and I'll go off of your recommendations - would you be comfortable with the Coolermaster? With it providing an extra 70W of power what would be the downside when compared with the Seasonic?

[eskro]

it wasnt about wattage...
380W is more then enough for an HTPC....
its about quality...
SeaSonic are the BEST PSU hands down...
again, as i said, the only PSU i'd try if i were on a budget,
would be the COOLER MASTER GX 450W...
and i mean 'try' ....
but it seems to receive good reviews overall...
u can read some on newegg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...llFullInfo

[mikepegg]

nothing at all wrong with that PSU, infact its quite good.

[steveaggie]

eskro, the SeaSonic SS-400ET 80+ Bronze 400W ATX12V is out of stock at most places and difficult to find. Is there another one you'd recommend?

[eskro]

eskro, the SeaSonic SS-400ET 80+ Bronze 400W ATX12V is out of stock at most places and difficult to find. Is there another one you'd recommend?

http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=30145

[dannycorker]

Well, just made this build it's all up and running fine, but it's the first computer I've ever built from scratch, and I have a couple of questions about cooling.

Right now I have the supplied heatsink and 1 Arctic Edge F8 fan, and it makes a right racket! Louder than my current desktop, unRAID box and PS3 combined! Being quiet is a major plus for me, so what do you all suggest?

I am in the UK, which can makes parts more difficult sometimes. I found this - http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop/cust...11898.html - which I think is the same as one of Eskros reccomendations. Should I buy one of them? 2 of them? I can't stick with the fan I have now, makes far too much noise. What I don't know is how much noise the heatsink is generating, as I can't hear it over the fan!

Also, the MOBO has one fan connector. If I have more than one fan, how do I connect them?

Sorry for the newb-ness, just want a nice cool, quiet build at the end of the day

[TeKo]

So you need a CPU cooler and case fans?
Right now have no case fan in my ML03 and I dont think you should get more than 2, you just dont need them.
I have the Shuriken revB for my A6 it fits perfectly in the case leaving about 1-2mm between the fan and this stabilisation thing.

The Enermax you linked and a be quiet 80mm are the best you can get, for 120mm I like scythe because they are cheap and silent but their 80mm are not that good.

You can connect one to your board and the other direct to the PSU (adapter should be included).

So: Scythe Shuriken revB or 2 + 2 Enermax TB 80mm and you should be happy.

[dannycorker]

So you need a CPU cooler and case fans?
Right now have no case fan in my ML03 and I dont think you should get more than 2, you just dont need them.
I have the Shuriken revB for my A6 it fits perfectly in the case leaving about 1-2mm between the fan and this stabilisation thing.

The Enermax you linked and a be quiet 80mm are the best you can get, for 120mm I like scythe because they are cheap and silent but their 80mm are not that good.

You can connect one to your board and the other direct to the PSU (adapter should be included).

So: Scythe Shuriken revB or 2 + 2 Enermax TB 80mm and you should be happy.

OK thank you, I've found this link that I think is correct? http://www.ebuyer.com/148079-scythe-shur...m=products

What about thermal paste? And would 2 fans be about right along with that heatsink?

[eskro]

u probably can get away with just the CPU cooler... no 80mm fans...

or unplug your 80mm fan, and using the BIOS, tweak the CPU FAN speed to ~1500RPM.

u can even do this using an app called SPeedFAN under windows7...

see how the noise is before buying anything,,,

[dannycorker]

u probably can get away with just the CPU cooler... no 80mm fans...

or unplug your 80mm fan, and using the BIOS, tweak the CPU FAN speed to ~1500RPM.

u can even do this using an app called SPeedFAN under windows7...

see how the noise is before buying anything,,,

You mean just the stock CPU fan? That would definitely be ideal! Will give it a go, for reference what kind of temperatures would indicate all is fine? At the moment the BIOS is set up to aim for 55 degrees and Fan level 1

[eskro]

well, under FULL LOAD, i wouldnt want my CPU to go over 70 degrees.

[TeKo]

Try to get Shuriken Rev. B:
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Component...=skinflint.

I set my Bios to 55°C and level1. If you have the Asrock board do that in Bios I dont really like to control stuff like that with Win Software.


If you have fans in your case (PSU and CPU) you can always hear them but with that combo I have to go really really near to hear something.

Imo the only thing that would need case fans are the HDD and I have a Samsung Green that was in a external case without vents before so I dont think I get trouble in the ML03.

[Riderzzz]

Thank you alot for a good read in this thread!

I like the build alot and im planning to buy these components for my HTPC.
Now i live in Denmark so im trying to hit the specs as close as possoble (and i never tried to build a htpc before)

I found these components: (prices in Danish kroners and recalculated into usd)
[CPU+iGPU] AMD A6-3500 3x2.1Ghz/2.4Ghz HD6530D FM1 65W (dkk 612,- = usd 106,-)
[MOBO] ASRock A75M FM1 CIR USB3.0 SATAIII UEFI μATX (dkk 530,- = usd 92,-)
[CASE] SilverStone MILO ML03 (dkk 582,- = usd 101,-)
[PSU] Seasonic S12II-380 Netzteil (SS-380GB) - 380 Watt (dkk 501,- = usd 87,-)
[RAM] Kingston HyperX Genesis Special Edition Grey 2 x 2Gb (dkk 229,- = usd 39,-)
[HDD] Corsair Force Series GT - Solid state drive - 60 GB (dkk 784,- = usd 136,-)

Total price: dkk 3238,- = usd 562,- (Without SSD it will be dkk 2454,- = usd 426,-)


I actually would like a Lian Li PC-C37 MUSE CASE but i dont know if it will fit and if the heat-flow will be good enough. (also a bit pricey)
A also choose a different PSU because the one in the first post i couldnt find in the danish stores, so i took the one recently advices in this thread.
I am btw not using cd/dvd player so that takes some space into the case.
And i will be using SSD because it will be 100% a HTPC and my data will be on my server.
I could drop the SSD with a 2,5" i have still laying around in the house.


1. Im a making a good HTPC here for the money? (its a bit higher because im living in Denmark + just want to be able to play all HD content and build low-price)
2. Will this system be silent enough?
3. any tips/ideas?


Thanks for this great help you are all providing here!!!

[bluray]

1. Im a making a good HTPC here for the money? (its a bit higher because im living in Denmark + just want to be able to play all HD content and build low-price)
2. Will this system be silent enough?
3. any tips/ideas?


Thanks for this great help you are all providing here!!!

It'll be a solid HTPC. As far as the noise, you can try it "As Is" first. If you think that it is too noisy, you can always replace the fan afterward!