HTPC for a small living room :)

lsandini · 2008-04-19, 14:04

So I finally brought my HTPC to the living room, despite some minor problems with the remote, and cables are not all hidden yet, but it will be done when I change the AV rack.

The HTPC details are in "my system" under my avatar. On the picture, the HTPC in its Zalman HD160Plus is on top, the Harman & Kardon DVD-31 under it, and the Harman & Kardon AVR-235 receiver/amp on the bottom. Speakers are BOSE acoustimass, small but powerful.

TV is a 32" HD-ready Philips, no full HD, but watching Blu-Rays scaled down to 720 is good enough.

Too bad the sun is shining, can't make the living room dark enough. It will be a long summer here...

Lorenzo

DaFixer · 2008-05-07, 16:41

Nice living room

lsandini · 2008-11-23, 21:03

Thanks for the nice comment. I have made some modifications, and besides adding a PS3, I also changed the TV set. The graphic card also changed from a radeon HD2600XT to a HD4350 with its HDMI output.

TV set is a Sony KDL-40E4020, absolutely superb TV set.

I hope this suggestion will encourage some to make the move...

Lorenzo

Kossu · 2008-11-24, 11:56

heh that TV fits really nicely there tbh

etheesdad · 2008-12-07, 03:13

interested to know more about the passive cooling on the cpu. How did you set this up? What heatsync are you using? What is your fan setup?

milhouse · 2008-12-07, 03:28

Nice - very clean setup with the wires hidden.

Where's the receiver for the remote? I see it in the early picture on the floor, and can't find it on the second picture. That's the hardest thing for me to hide, so I am curious what you did.

Jason

lsandini · 2008-12-07, 10:23

Hi,

Thanks for the kind words

Etheesdad, the cooling is done with a passive Scythe Ninja mini. I replaced the 2 fans at the back of the Zalman case with better more silent ones (Noctua), and attached them to a Zalman fan controller, so that I can manually set them to a rpm speed that fits my needs in terms of noise/cooling ratio. I originally had an Antec Phantom semi-passive PSU, but had to replace it with a standard BeQuiet model because of heat concerns. As you can see on the pictures (link below), I had to make holes in the sides of the little shelf to allow airflow through the sides of the case. I was using an ATI HD2600XT at that time, which is more power hungry than the current ATI HD4350. I might well try the Antec PSU again when I find the time for that. You can find a picture of my HTPC open here.

Milhouse, I made a hole behind the TV for all the cables going directly to the TV itself, and another smaller hole behind the piano at floor level for the loudspeaker cables, the IR receiver cable, etc... The receiver itself is on the piano, well hidden between the glass birds.

What you can't see on the picture is the PS3, hidden in the closet right behind the TV, on the other side of the wall. The use of bluetooth for the game controllers and remote controller was an excellent idea from Sony

Lorenzo

2008-04-19, 14:04	#1 (permalink)
lsandini MP Donator Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Kuopio Age: 38 Posts: 64 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country: My System	HTPC for a small living room :) So I finally brought my HTPC to the living room, despite some minor problems with the remote, and cables are not all hidden yet, but it will be done when I change the AV rack. The HTPC details are in "my system" under my avatar. On the picture, the HTPC in its Zalman HD160Plus is on top, the Harman & Kardon DVD-31 under it, and the Harman & Kardon AVR-235 receiver/amp on the bottom. Speakers are BOSE acoustimass, small but powerful. TV is a 32" HD-ready Philips, no full HD, but watching Blu-Rays scaled down to 720 is good enough. Too bad the sun is shining, can't make the living room dark enough. It will be a long summer here... Lorenzo

2008-11-23, 21:03	#3 (permalink)
lsandini MP Donator Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Kuopio Age: 38 Posts: 64 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country: My System	Thanks for the nice comment. I have made some modifications, and besides adding a PS3, I also changed the TV set. The graphic card also changed from a radeon HD2600XT to a HD4350 with its HDMI output. TV set is a Sony KDL-40E4020, absolutely superb TV set. I hope this suggestion will encourage some to make the move... Lorenzo Last edited by lsandini; 2008-11-24 at 16:15.

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2008-05-07, 16:41	#2 (permalink)
DaFixer Portal Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Age: 25 Posts: 72 Thanks: 5 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Country:	Nice living room

2008-11-24, 11:56	#4 (permalink)
Kossu Portal Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 26 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country:	heh that TV fits really nicely there tbh

2008-12-07, 03:13	#5 (permalink)
etheesdad Portal Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 113 Thanks: 0 Thanked 7 Times in 6 Posts Country: My System	interested to know more about the passive cooling on the cpu. How did you set this up? What heatsync are you using? What is your fan setup?

2008-12-07, 03:28	#6 (permalink)
milhouse Portal Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Minneapolis, MN U.S. Age: 34 Posts: 274 Thanks: 2 Thanked 16 Times in 15 Posts Country: My System	Nice - very clean setup with the wires hidden. Where's the receiver for the remote? I see it in the early picture on the floor, and can't find it on the second picture. That's the hardest thing for me to hide, so I am curious what you did. Jason

2008-12-07, 10:23	#7 (permalink)
lsandini MP Donator Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Kuopio Age: 38 Posts: 64 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country: My System	Hi, Thanks for the kind words Etheesdad, the cooling is done with a passive Scythe Ninja mini. I replaced the 2 fans at the back of the Zalman case with better more silent ones (Noctua), and attached them to a Zalman fan controller, so that I can manually set them to a rpm speed that fits my needs in terms of noise/cooling ratio. I originally had an Antec Phantom semi-passive PSU, but had to replace it with a standard BeQuiet model because of heat concerns. As you can see on the pictures (link below), I had to make holes in the sides of the little shelf to allow airflow through the sides of the case. I was using an ATI HD2600XT at that time, which is more power hungry than the current ATI HD4350. I might well try the Antec PSU again when I find the time for that. You can find a picture of my HTPC open here. Milhouse, I made a hole behind the TV for all the cables going directly to the TV itself, and another smaller hole behind the piano at floor level for the loudspeaker cables, the IR receiver cable, etc... The receiver itself is on the piano, well hidden between the glass birds. What you can't see on the picture is the PS3, hidden in the closet right behind the TV, on the other side of the wall. The use of bluetooth for the game controllers and remote controller was an excellent idea from Sony Lorenzo