Hiper Media Chassis w/ FloppyDTV

[barryharris]

Hi,

I have built a media pc in this case without any issues - all in all I'm very pleased with it. The only problem I have is that I'm getting some errors when reading cds or dvds. It seems to happen after the machine has been on for a while - I'm 99.9% certain it's down to the hard drive making the dvd drive very hot - any tips on how to cool it? I'm thinking of putting some cardboard below the dvd drive to try to insulate it a bit from the hard drive underneath. Any thoughts?

Thanks for any ideas,

Barry

[Gixxer]

Originally Posted by barryharris

Hi,

I have built a media pc in this case without any issues - all in all I'm very pleased with it. The only problem I have is that I'm getting some errors when reading cds or dvds. It seems to happen after the machine has been on for a while - I'm 99.9% certain it's down to the hard drive making the dvd drive very hot - any tips on how to cool it? I'm thinking of putting some cardboard below the dvd drive to try to insulate it a bit from the hard drive underneath. Any thoughts?

Thanks for any ideas,

Barry

hi barryharris, i dont think the cardboard idea will be very usefull, you will have conduction through it and it will get as hot as before, maybe if u post a picture of your setup it will be easier to help you cause if it continues getting so hot you will damage your reader (has happened to me.

[OrionHall]

Hi All,
I've built a HTPC based on the Hiper HMC-1S53A and found it does need some work to get the noise levels right.

The power supply fan is a nasty little thing - 5cm high and quite a whiny noise. It's wired straight to the PSU but it's easy enough to remove it and put in a better quality, quieter fan. That helped, but not enough. Then I got out my Dremel and removed the grill on the left-side of the case where this fan exhausts. It was easy enough to pop-rivet a 5cm fan grill in its place - the holes in the case were too small and this added to the noise. In addition I fitted a Zalman fan regulator (i.e. variable resistor!) in-line wih the fan - mine is running fine at about 50% of the original speed and no heat problems. I've been meaning to post my project photos so you can see how it looks with the mods - I'll get round to it one day. 5cm fan grills are hard to find but I found them on eBay eventually.

Finally though, I tested my HTPC with a power meter and found I'm only using about 65 Watts when at full load. Because of this I'm planning on binning the Hiper power supply and fitting a PicoPSU so it'll be totally silent! Google PicoPSU and you'll find them - excellent idea for silent power. Of course that renders my fan grill mod redundant, but hey, you live and learn!

Despite the work involved this is a lovely case for a living room PC - the newer models from Hiper look cool but too 'busy' on the front for my setup. The last thing I need is yet more LED displays under the TV!

Hope that helps,

OrionHall.

[moiristo]

Talking about LEDs, I found the blue LED so bright that I (carefully) removed the frontpanel and put some semi-transparent tape on the inside to dim it a little. Simple solution, but works like a charm

[moiristo]

Originally Posted by OrionHall

Hi All,
Finally though, I tested my HTPC with a power meter and found I'm only using about 65 Watts when at full load. Because of this I'm planning on binning the Hiper power supply and fitting a PicoPSU so it'll be totally silent! Google PicoPSU and you'll find them - excellent idea for silent power.

What are the hardware specs of your system? Intel MB?

[moiristo]

I've added some pictures to show you how it looks now. I've installed it at my parents place. I still find that its small size is a big plus over other HTPCs.

[OrionHall]

Originally Posted by moiristo

What are the hardware specs of your system? Intel MB?

Hi Moiristo,

Sorry - only just saw your question. I must have missed the auto-e-mail when you posted.

Nope - it's an AMD Sempron 3000 1.6Ghz based system. Sapphire PE-AM2RS485M-2 mobo and 1GB RAM. Only a small hard disk since all my media is on a server. I only found out recently that there's another version of that processor which uses even less power! Ah well - you live and learn. It works fine for my needs, though I admit it'll need an upgrade to handle HDTV quality.

Cheers,

OrionHall.

[moiristo]

Have you already bought the picoPSU? I read about the thing having a power brick with a fan in it, which turns on when it is at 90 watts...

[OrionHall]

Originally Posted by moiristo

Have you already bought the picoPSU? I read about the thing having a power brick with a fan in it, which turns on when it is at 90 watts...

Nope - unfortunately not. I was going to at the end of last year, but then my better half bought me Unreal Tournament 3 and I had to use my spare cash upgrading my main PC to cope with the game!

I've also heard about the fan in the power pack, but that's only the 120W model. I'll be going for the 90W model which doesn't have a fan in the brick. Also, you can get 12V AC-DC converters that don't have fans, it's just tricky to find one which can give enough power (100W+) - I hear they're out there though!

Cheers,

OrionHall.

[nfuse01]

Iam using the HMC-2K53A-A3 from hiper and removed the original powersupply due to problems with it i fitted a picco psu (M3-ATX 125w) and an adapter from a laptop 90w this is running for 2 months and is very stable. i use the following components with it.

Abit AN-M2HD (replaced the original fitted mainboard) witch was a MSI K9AGM3-FIH
AMD X2 BE-2400 (45w)
1gb memory
2.5" sata HD 80gb
Firedtv
and offcourse buildin IR controller, VFD Display and Wifi/bluetooth adapter.
no dvd player Because i dont need it.

the only problem i had was that i had to remove the card reader because the power connector from the mainboard is to close to it.

GrTz

Henry