[reltech]

I chose this build to meet the following needs:

• Extremely compact
  
• Extremely quiet
  
• Extremely power efficient
  
• Extremely low heat output
  
• Bare minimum for playing 1080p media via Windows 7 x64 + XBMC
  
• No ancient optical drive
  

CASE: Morex 557 ~$50
I chose the 557 over the M350 because it looked better. Not sure if it was worth the extra $20, but whatever.

CPU/iGPU: Celeron G540 ~$45
The G530, G540, and G550 are virtually the same, but I chose the G540 because for the best price. If you live near a Micro Center, you can grab the G550 for only $35.

HS/F: Dynatron T459 ~$30
Chosen over the following because I'm sure it will fit and there are enough reports that it is very quiet and effective. Also much cheaper than the alternatives.
Noctua NH-L9I - Good contender, but expensive.
Scythe BIG SHURIKEN 2 Rev B - I would consider this if I knew there was enough clearance in the 557. There is no manual for the 557 or any technical specifications that indicate heatsink requirements.

MOBO: ASRock B75M-ITX LGA 1155 ~$90
Chosen for HDMI, USB3, and quick boot features.

RAM: 1x Samsung 30nm 4GB ~$15
Best DDR3 you can buy. Enough said.
Stuck with 1 stick since dual channel is overkill. 2x2GB would have been costlier.

PSU: picoPSU-90 / 12V 7.5A 90W AC-DC switching adapter combo ~$55
Tricky decision since there are hardly any reviews on PicoPSU power blocks. Can't wait till these become more mainstream and with better kits.

DRIVE: M4 SSD

Still waiting for PicoPSU and motherboard to arrive. Will keep thread updated if users are interested.

[RaggSokk3n]

looks good

[reltech]

Does anyone know if the Scythe BIG SHURIKEN 2 Rev B will fit in this case? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0070066DI

[bluray]

Does anyone know if the Scythe BIG SHURIKEN 2 Rev B will fit in this case? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0070066DI

If the case spec listed on Amazon is correct "L x W x H 12 x 6 x 12 inches", it should have enough room to support Shuriken with the dimension- "125 x 135 x 58 mm"....

[reltech]

The Morex 557 is much smaller than that. Amazon must be incorrect.

http://www.mitxpc.com/proddetail.asp?prod=557
190mm x 196mm x 62mm
7.48" x 7.72" x 2.44" (in inches)

[reltech]

Does anyone know if the Scythe BIG SHURIKEN 2 Rev B will fit in this case? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0070066DI

If the case spec listed on Amazon is correct "L x W x H 12 x 6 x 12 inches", it should have enough room to support Shuriken with the dimension- "125 x 135 x 58 mm"....

Morex 557 is 62mm or 2.44" tall
BIG SURIKEN is 58mm or 2.28" tall

By the time you figure in the board and top plate, I doubt this would fit. It's also disappointing that Morex doesn't state the heatsink requirements and expects their customers to do trial and error.

[dvandriesen]

Looks like a nice build in the hunt for something similar myself

[bluray]

Does anyone know if the Scythe BIG SHURIKEN 2 Rev B will fit in this case? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0070066DI

If the case spec listed on Amazon is correct "L x W x H 12 x 6 x 12 inches", it should have enough room to support Shuriken with the dimension- "125 x 135 x 58 mm"....

Morex 557 is 62mm or 2.44" tall
BIG SURIKEN is 58mm or 2.28" tall

By the time you figure in the board and top plate, I doubt this would fit. It's also disappointing that Morex doesn't state the heatsink requirements and expects their customers to do trial and error.

In that case, this "Gelid CPU COOLER SLIM SILENCE I-PLUS" CPU cooler might be your best choice then....

[reltech]

Is there a reason I should choose that over the Dynatron T459 ?

[bluray]

Is there a reason I should choose that over the Dynatron T459 ?

It seems to be a nice little CPU cooler...the spec is very similar to Gelid...

[reltech]

I just realized the fan size for both was about the same. The Gelid fan looked smaller because the surrounding block around it is larger.

Hmmm...

[Dougie Fresh]

Having used the Gelid and Dynatron, I prefer the Dynatron. It does a better job cooling (probably the copper heatsink vs. aluminum) and the fan is quieter. Neither is bad though. Oh, and it's easier to mount -- no backplate required. WIth the backplates sometimes you run into components on the back getting in the way.

[rbrohman]

How has this build worked out for you reltech? I need to build 3 boxes, looking at either barebones Zotac ID84's or going home built with an M350/Morex 557.

Was the build tricky, with such a small case?

What OS are you using and what has performance been like?

Thanks

[reltech]

Equipped with Windows 7 x64. The build was a little tricky, but not bad. Was fun for the most part. Just make sure you pick up the Dynatron or another low profile heatsink that will fit. My biggest issue was finding a PicoPSU/power brick that I could buy with confidence. PicoPSU has been around for years and there hasn't been one official guide on how to find a quality one. Closest thing was johnnyguru but that article is far outdated.

You can't go wrong with the Celeron 530/540/550/etc if you just want to play 1080p. Can't play 3D content but I don't care for 3D. If 3D becomes important to me some day, just replace the CPU with the i3-3225. If you can wait, I would recommend waiting until the next-gen Celerons hit the market. They will be Ivy Bridge - more power efficient (including ultra-low TDP models) and I would expect superior Intel HD Graphics. They come out Q1 2013.

Overall the build is working quite nicely. It's not dead silent, but I haven't tried tweaking it either. If I could go back, I might consider a passive cooler with a couple 40mm quiet case fans.

[rbrohman]

Thanks for the extra info. Glad to hear it went well. I think I'm still leaning more towards the barebone Zotac, simply because there's tons of info out there and I'm not overly keen on experimenting. This particular project the main constraint is size, so I can't go with a trusty micro-atx htpc case/build.