[Joe K]

In pursuit of keeping the A10-5800k idea, would the following be viable?

• E-i7 case with 192W PicoPSU
  
  • Can you buy this case without power supply, or with higher wattage one?
    
    
  • What kind of Bluray drive will work with it?
  
  
• Noctua NF-R8 80mm Fan x2-4
  
  
• Scythe BIG SHURIKEN 2 Rev B
  
  • Would this fan fit in the case along with a wireless PCI card and a Bluray drive?
  
  
• Indigo Xtreme Thermal Paste
  
  

 

The goal is to have a fairly powerful HTPC that is in a very small case, AND is very quiet. I know it is a difficult feat, and switching to an A10-5700 may be the only option, but roll with it.

[UsernameXBMC]

So your idea is to have that big ass extremely powerfull cpu in the most compact little plastic case ever.. I cant stress how bad an idea that is. Further more, the cpu is total overkill. Listen to they others and choose the a10-5700. And why do think it is a good idea to be power hungry? Power is bad m'kay? Dont use a lot of power.. You may not nothing. You will take the a10-5700. Also you say, you have been toying with the idea to have several fans to keep it cool? Multiple fans is bad m'kay.. Dont use a lot of fans.. Plus that case dosnt have any spare room for anything. Else you will end up with a high consuming loud htpc, and that my friend is pretty much what we try to avoid..

Change the case, ram, cpu/gpu, and you will have something to be proud of. If it was me, i would go for a i3 with a fanless gpu heavy enoug for that skyrim playing and then a proper case like the e-i5 realan. Also your wife would like a hand in the kitchen instead of you playing video games

[bluray]

In pursuit of keeping the A10-5800k idea, would the following be viable?

[*]E-i7 case with 192W PicoPSU

• Can you buy this case without power supply, or with higher wattage one?
  
  
• What kind of Bluray drive will work with it?

[*]Noctua NF-R8 80mm Fan x2-4

[*]Scythe BIG SHURIKEN 2 Rev B

• Would this fan fit in the case along with a wireless PCI card and a Bluray drive?

[*]Indigo Xtreme Thermal Paste

It's still a bad idea to stuff a powerful 100W CPU and everything in your list in that Mini-ITX case. I'm even hesitate to stuff the 65W A10-5700 in it. It might be more appropriate for the 65W A6-5400K APU.....

[Dougie Fresh]

In pursuit of keeping the A10-5800k idea, would the following be viable?

• E-i7 case with 192W PicoPSU
  
  Can you buy this case without power supply, or with higher wattage one?

Today, I tested the A10-5700 in the E-i7 with 120W DC/120W AC power supply and it wasn't pretty with the ASRock FM2A75M-ITX. The E-i7 is available with a 150W power supply which I should have in a couple of weeks. I'll also be getting a 19V 180W version as well. You can also just remove the power supply from the case. It's just two screws and a nut at the back. You'll have to mod where the power input is to fit the different picoPSU plug (4-pin mini-DIN).

[What kind of Bluray drive will work with it?

Any 12.7mm slot-load slim blu-ray will work with it. You have to use software eject for the drive.

Noctua NF-R8 80mm Fan x2-4
Scythe BIG SHURIKEN 2 Rev B
Would this fan fit in the case along with a wireless PCI card and a Bluray drive?[/list]

The Noctua will fit, the Big Shuriken will not. The Scythe Kozuti will however. You have about 42mm of clearance to work with.

The goal is to have a fairly powerful HTPC that is in a very small case, AND is very quiet. I know it is a difficult feat, and switching to an A10-5700 may be the only option, but roll with it.

I think with the 100W TDP CPU you're going to have a tough time with quiet to keep it cool. I would not recommend more than a 65W AMD or 77W Intel for the E-mini cases.

If you're interested I can let you know when the 150W E-i7 is available (right after I test the A10-5700 in it of course). I also have a A6-5400K coming to try. If you want something that works, I also put a i3-2120T and Sapphire LP 6670 in the E-i7 and it worked great even with the 120W AC adapter. I saw just under 100W max with Furmark. It's probably still best to use the 150W power supply. It ran pretty darn quiet and very low power usage with video or idle.

[bluray]

The E-i7 is available with a 150W power supply which I should have in a couple of weeks.

He is pursuing A10-5800k APU plus blu-ray drive. I wouldn't recommend E-i7 with 150W PSU....

These cases with 80plus PSU and 120mm fan might be appropriate for it-

-SilverStone Sugo Series SG05B-USB3.0
-SilverStone Sugo Series SG06B-USB3.0

[Joe K]

Thank you for all the helpful suggestions, 2 paths that look possible at this point is:

A10-5700 with the E-i7 case and (maybe) the 150W PSU.

Other option is A10-5800k with a bigger case such as bluray suggested.

I really like the cooling ability of the Big Shuriken, does it fit in the E-i5 at all? I'm willing to forego having an internal bluray player because I wouldn't use it too often (my desktop already has one for converting everything to mkv's).

Once I get some spare time (hopefully tomorrow) I will update the op and try to consolidate my thoughts.


Thanks again for all the helpful suggestions!!

[bluray]

@Joe K,
Since you are looking for smaller case with low power, I thought you might like this little guy "Arctic MC101 Barebone (A10)" . At the end, it might be cheaper than all the builds in your list......

Here are some reviews on it-

-ARCTIC MC101 HTPC Review

-Arctic MC101: A Trinity Powered HTPC

[Dougie Fresh]

Thank you for all the helpful suggestions, 2 paths that look possible at this point is:

A10-5700 with the E-i7 case and (maybe) the 150W PSU.

Other option is A10-5800k with a bigger case such as bluray suggested.

I really like the cooling ability of the Big Shuriken, does it fit in the E-i5 at all? I'm willing to forego having an internal bluray player because I wouldn't use it too often (my desktop already has one for converting everything to mkv's).

Once I get some spare time (hopefully tomorrow) I will update the op and try to consolidate my thoughts.


Thanks again for all the helpful suggestions!!

You're welcome. The E-i5 is only 75mm tall while the Big Shiruken is 58mm tall so it won't fit. What'd probably work best is an E-i7 without the optical slot. That is something I am working on. I can't get an ETA though.

I got the A10-5700 working in the E-i7 with some undervolting and underclocking. That's good for HTPC but not so good for gaming.

[Joe K]

Bluray,
That case is nice and small, but I would really prefer a more powerful processor so I can play newer games at decent settings. I also like to build it myself.

Dougie,
I saw in another thread the 120w psu wasn't good enough with the ASRock mobo. Any idea if the 150w psu would work without underclocking/undervolting?

Also, did you add any extra fans to cut down on heat? I'm now toying with the idea of E-i7 + A10-5700 + Scythe Kozuti + a few 80mm fans. Those 80mm fans can push a fair amount of heat while still remaining extremely quiet. I'm thinking it may still leave room for an internal optical drive.

You also mentioned you had an i3 and 6670 combo. Any idea how well its performance is in newer games?

[Dougie Fresh]

Dougie,
I saw in another thread the 120w psu wasn't good enough with the ASRock mobo. Any idea if the 150w psu would work without underclocking/undervolting?

With undervolting to 1.0375V and 25x multiplier it runs cool and at 86W max. You could probably move it up a little from there and still be safe. There is another thread here where the A10-5700 is running at 3.1GHz undervolted and in that range.

Also, did you add any extra fans to cut down on heat? I'm now toying with the idea of E-i7 + A10-5700 + Scythe Kozuti + a few 80mm fans. Those 80mm fans can push a fair amount of heat while still remaining extremely quiet. I'm thinking it may still leave room for an internal optical drive.

I like to have one 80mm fan in the more powerful systems. It makes about a 10C difference. I think you have a great combination lined up here. It's the same one I am working on for testing.

You also mentioned you had an i3 and 6670 combo. Any idea how well its performance is in newer games?

I put together the i3-2120T and Sapphire LP 6670 a couple of weeks back. It have a 180W powerboard and I was trying it with the 120W AC adapter until I can get the 150W adapters in. It max'd out around 100W or so using Furmark. I installed Steam and ran a few games but I have so little experience with games I couldn't tell you if it ran "great" or not. I tried a few demos. They looked good to me . The LP 7750 cards might be worth looking into for better gaming performance but I have not tried it in the E-i7. From the reviews I've read, it should run with the 150W PSU. My plan is to offer a gaming barebones for gaming HTPC/Steam Big Picture.

[Joe K]

You should let me know when you get those 150W adapters in or if you'd sell the case without the PSU so I could get a PicoPSU 192W. I'm thinking I may be able to push the thermal envelope with a regularly clocked A10-5700 as long as it has enough juice to run it.

Current plan is to snag up some get sales come Black Friday, so I'm not in too big of a rush.

[Dougie Fresh]

You should let me know when you get those 150W adapters in or if you'd sell the case without the PSU so I could get a PicoPSU 192W. I'm thinking I may be able to push the thermal envelope with a regularly clocked A10-5700 as long as it has enough juice to run it.

Current plan is to snag up some get sales come Black Friday, so I'm not in too big of a rush.

Visit my site and send me an email and I'll be happy to help out.

[Joe K]

Updated op a bit.

[Dougie Fresh]

Updated op a bit.

The motherboard is available here: http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-F2A75IX with free shipping after coupon code SBZ4PRZ. I order a lot of stuff from these guys. They are trustworthy.

[Joe K]

Updated op a bit.

The motherboard is available here: http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-F2A75IX with free shipping after coupon code SBZ4PRZ. I order a lot of stuff from these guys. They are trustworthy.

Very cool, I will keep them in mind in the future.