My Cooler Master Cavalier 4 HTPC

[SweMart]

Hi,

This HTPC has been an ongoing project since march 2006, I've changed chassis 3 times and added some other stuff along the way.

This is the current setup.

HW and SW:
OS: MCE 2005 with the latest RU
SW: MediaPortal 0.2.0.4 + DVB Viewer 3.5 + Nvidia PureVideo
Chassis: Cooler Master Cavalier 4 - Black
CPU: AMD64 3200+ socket 939
GPU: Asus Geforce 6600LE Silencer 256MB
RAM: 2 * 1GB A-Data DDR400
MB: ASUS A8N-E FM
HDD: Seagate Baracuda 320GB
DVD: NEC DVD+-RW
Nic 1: Linksys Wireless USB2
Nic 2: Onboard 100Mbit bridged with my Xbox 360 in order to allow Xbox Live access
Remote: MCE 2005 Keyboard + Remote
TV: Samsung LE40R51 40" LCD
Audio: Yamaha YSP-800 connected via Soundblaster X-FI Xtreme Music (coaxial S/PDIF)

Tuners:
Tuner 1: FloppyDTV-T with CAM
Tuner 2: FloppyDTV-T with CAM
Tuner 3: Hauppauge PVR USB2

Cooling:
- Removed the dual 60mm and the 80mm fans
- Added an Antec Cyclone PCI slot blower (stolen from my old Aria chassis)
- Replaced the standard AMD heatsink and fan with an Artic Cooling Silencer Ultra TC

CPU temp is about 52C and the MB temp is at about 39C, pretty good considdering the removal of the chassis fans.

Some pictures:
Cover removed
In cabinett - please note the 3.5" modification in order to allow the Smart WI card

The dog and the wife loves it.

[NLS]

well if dog and wife loves it, who are we to argue

keep up man

[Callifo]

I did the same thing, those antec aria pci slot coolers are great. I found the HDD was running too hot in mine though so I added an external 80mm fan to the case and cut out the holes on the side of the HDD.

[SweMart]

Originally Posted by Callifo

I did the same thing, those antec aria pci slot coolers are great. I found the HDD was running too hot in mine though so I added an external 80mm fan to the case and cut out the holes on the side of the HDD.

Yeah my HDD is a bit hot, like 40-45C on average but I'll take the risk as I value the almost noicefree setup.

I got the idea with the Aria blower from your post, it really does magic. Seem to have decreased the temp of my passively cooled GPU by 10-15 degrees C.

Now it's just a matter of finding a place to hide med Hauppauge USB device and the MS IR receiver.

[Callifo]

I hope the pci blower doesnt wear out as I cant imagine that specific antec aria model will be easy to find now they stopped making them. Ive tried a lot of other pci coolers and they were all too noisy.

[SweMart]

Originally Posted by Callifo

I hope the pci blower doesnt wear out as I cant imagine that specific antec aria model will be easy to find now they stopped making them. Ive tried a lot of other pci coolers and they were all too noisy.

Have you seen the dual Cyclone?
http://www.antec.com/Detail.bok?no=344

My friend is using it with very good results, only problem is that it takes up 2 PCI slots. If my blower goes t*ts up I'll let the system run without it until it brakes and then purchase a mCubed chassis.

[Callifo]

Yeh I actually got one of those for my main pc. It died within a few months, piece of crap that was. Cant fit that much in the htpc anymore, as Im using 4 of the 5 pci slots for tv cards + wireless card. The last slot is taken by the cooler and boy is that jammed in there. TV cards might not be that tall but the thickness really messes stuff up.

[SweMart]

Added a Yamaha YSP-800 sound projector to the setup yesterday, amazing stuff!

[SweMart]

Threw out the Twinhan CI-TER and replaced it with another FloppyDTV, everything works much better now and the intermittent stuttering on DVB-T channels has disapeared. The FloppyDTV-T is mounted in a PCI slot and connected directly to the 10-pin firewire connector on the motherboard, these cables are available through Digital Everywhere retailers - the cable is hand made by the D-E staff

Also added a Soundblaster X-FI Xtreme Music.

I really like both of the additions and they weren't that expensive since I bought bulk versions of both of them.