Building a S197-H80 mini-ITX HTPC!

Hi,

I've been heavily influenced by the knowledge and creativity of this forum and decided to make the leap. My aim is to build a very small HTPC with bluray. Here is my component list:

==================

Final specs based on wonderful help by Dougie Fresh and Beer40oz!
Last edited on July 16 @ 7:10pm PT

Case: S197-H80 mini-ITX

MOBO: ASRock Socket FM1/AMD A75 FCH/SATA3&USB3.0/A&GbE/Mini-ITX Motherboard A75M-ITX - ASRock

CPU: AMD A6-3500 APU with AMD Radeon 6530 HD Graphics 2.1/2.4GHz Socket FM1 65W Triple-Core Processor - Retail AD3500OJGXBOX - AMD

FAN: Gelid Slim Silence AM2 (28mm aka 1U)

PSU: picoPSU-90 with the 8A/96W AC adapter

ODD: LG BT20N Internal Slim 6X 3D Blu-ray Burner Writer BD-RE DVD RW SATA Drive

SATA CABLE FOR ODD: StarTech Slimline SATA to SATA with LP4 Power Cable Adapter - 12-Inches (SLSATAF12)

HDD: OCZ 90GB Vertex 3 SATA 6Gb/s 2.5-Inch Performance Solid State Drive (SSD)

RAM: Kingston Technology HyperX 8 GB (2x4 GB Modules) 1600 MHz DDR3 Dual Channel Kit (PC3 12800) 240-Pin SDRAM KHX1600C9D3K2/8GX

==========================
Pictures


The case is so unbelievably small. Exactly what I was looking for.


With the lid off.


Under the cover.


The SSD fits just above the bluray.

Congrats on your S197-H80 purchase!

You're going to also need one of these for you Blu-ray: http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-Slimline-...004ZMYA8C/

You are very limited on the height of the heatsink in this case when using an ODD. 30mm is about the maximum. That leaves you with a couple of choices:

Akasa Low Profile AMD CPU Cooler (29mm)
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/13116/cpu-aka-06/

Gelid Slim Silence AM2 (28mm aka 1U)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gelid-Slim-Silen...1095886165
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-unopened-Gel...1092036884

Thank you Dougie Fresh! In fact, it was your post that got me excited about this case and build. I'm going with AMD in mine to reduce the heat levels. Based on your recommendation, I'm going with Akasa Low Profile AMD CPU Cooler (29mm) and the cable .. geez .. can't believe I forgot to add that!

One final question. Is the PicoPSU-90 sufficient with these specs and Bluray? Also, I didn't see a picture of the back of your build. Is the PicoPSU connection clean?

I hope you are still enjoying your S197-H80 build.

- Tony

Here's a picture with the picoPSU installed.



The picoPSU-90 with the 80W adapter is going to be cutting it very close if you ever run your PC at maximum load. In normal usage (30-40W with the bluray) it will not be an issue. If you run Prime95 to "burn it in" it will reboot on you when it hits 80W. I've seen 77W-84W with the A6-3500/A75M depending on the AC adapter. If that's a concern, for $4 more from the same vendor there's the same picoPSU-90 but with a 96W AC adapter. Generally, you're better off not trying to max out the picoPSU and under normal usage you'll be right around 50% of load which is perfect.

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Supply-PicoP...007Y71K4C/

My latest S197-H80 build is a G530/H61 with a Titan 30mm HSF. I am always testing new things in the various cases. Then the build goes off to a customer (at least I hope!)

Yes.... the 90 will be sufficient. Why not the Pico 90w with the pico 90w brick?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/picoPSU-90-12V-7...207wt_1396


http://www.short-circuit.com/categories/...ombos.html

Short-circuit is a very good vendor. My guess is though from the Amazon links you have Amazon Prime .

Thank you helping out Dougie Fresh and Beer40oz! Yes .. I do have Amazon Prime. I'm on the 1 month free deal and trying to take advantage of it as much as possible.

I'll press send on my order in a few mins and start the waiting game for the components to arrive. In the mean time I'll update the first posting the reflect the latest build. Thanks again!

(2012-07-06 00:57)trossi Wrote:  One final question. Is the PicoPSU-90 sufficient with these specs and Bluray?

If you are talking about BD-ROM, it'll be safer w/ 120W Pico......

Ug! I just pressed enter on my order within minutes before your posting. Anyway, I was able to cancel the PicoPSU 90. While I was at it, I kept thinking about the clearance in the case and decided to go with the Gelid Slim Silence AM2 after all, so cancelled the Akasa Low Profile AMD CPU Cooler so save a whole millimeter ;-)

My new PSU and FAN are the following:

FAN: Gelid Slim Silence AM2 (28mm aka 1U)

PSU: picoPSU-120/8.5A 110W AC-DC

The picoPSU-90 was a fine choice with the BD-ROM. I have tested this configuration myself, with an actual picoPSU. So has Beer40oz.

What bluray fails to let you know in his recommendation is that you now need an adapter and a splitter for the P4 CPU power because the picoPSU-120, unlike the picoPSU-90, does not come with a P4 CPU power connector. All these wires and connectors will take up space in the S197-H80 that it does not have. The picoPSU-90 with the 8A/96W AC adapter was the best choice for that case. It also was within spec of the picoPSU's wiring harness which maxes out at 8A.