Ongoing Diary of an HTPC Dabbler (3 Viewers)

[dcwp]

This weekend I upgraded to a 1.5Tb Western Digital GreenPower drive. I partitioned it with 80 Gb for system and the remainder for media, then migrated all of the info from my other drives onto the Green Monster. I have it suspended in the elastic strap shock mount from my pictures above (the one that goes immediately under the optical drive).

The result is amazing. When the drive was being cloned, I had it resting on top of the OD and I was a little disappointed about the amount of seek noise (I'm not sure what I was thinking for a drive resting on an irregular metal surface, but hey I'm impatient). But once I put it in the shock mount and closed the case, the result was immediately noticeable. I really don't hear it at all unless I listen hard while it's seeking. Plus less heat and clutter (one efficient 5400 RPM drive replacing three old 7400s) means less overall case heat and lower fan speeds.

Now the only noise is coming from the PSU. It's a CompUSA branded 300W PSU from about four years ago. It must be hugely inefficient and as you can imagine, it's only slightly quieter than my motorcycle. I was about to order an efficient Nexus PSU, but then I went back to the idea of replacing the case. I think the current one is ugly and it's got lots of little quirks. So now I'm thinking I'll buy a slim case of some sort within the next few weeks. I really like the way Silverstone LC19 and the Hiper cases look, but prob noisy/hot and def expensive. Likely to go with a Silverstone LC04, which has a stock PSU with replaceable 80mm fan.

I'll definitely have photos when that happens.

 

[SpudR]

I got me one of these Antec - Phantom500PGB
They are discontinued though
ZERO noise unless things get hot

 

[dcwp]

That looks like a nice power supply, too bad it isn't available any more. 500W is way more power than I need anyway. I was looking at the Nexus Value400, but realistically I don't think I need more than 150-200W. The LC04 case comes with a 200W PSU and I've considered even going to a PicoPSU 150 in the interest of absolute silence.

 

[SpudR]

These look nice:
Nexus | The World's Quietest Power Supplies | Pure Quality Silent PSU's
No idea what they are like in the real world but they get some good reviews

 

[dcwp]

The good folks at SilentPCReview silentpcreview.com | Everything about Silent / Quiet Computers give some of these very high marks. Particularly that Value430 model was recently tested and came out as one of the most efficient and quiet PSUs around. That's almost definitely where I'll go if I end up going with an aftermarket ATX PSU.

 

[SpudR]

After market is the ONLY way IMHO - the stuff provided is, at best, adequate in most cases.
Nice to see the HDD shock mounting worked - I too was amazed at the difference!

 

[dcwp]

Isn't is odd how a little tweaking can turn into major upgrading and from there into obsessive rennovation?

A little over a month ago I decided maybe I should finally upgrade my PCI vid card to take advantage of HD streams from the web and QAM. I really didn't intend to spend much money or time, in fact I started a thread in the Hardware Selection forum asking about tolerable vid cards around $50. I figured that if I did a minor upgrade, maybe even spent as much as $100, then I could enjoy HD cable and the streams on Boxee.

Fortunately, after a period of denial, the MP community helped me realize that upgrading my PCI card would only get me so far and that a new MoBo with integrated graphics, plus a better processor would be preferred. So I jumped in, spent a (very) little more than planned and that's when I started this thread.

As documented here, I've done considerably more than just upgrading my graphics chip. In fact today I put in an order for a new case (Silverstone LC04) and a couple of Nexus Real Silent 80mm fans. With these new parts, the entire PC will have been replaced since February; only peripherals and displays remain. Plus I am starting to think of where to go next - better wall furniture, surround sound, more sound proofing, RF remote, etc.

So my little $50 upgrade got a bit out of control, but the best part is that I still haven't spent much more than that. I set a rule for myself (ok, more of a guideline) that I can only purchase things that can be paid out of my existing PayPal balance and set to work cleaning out the attic. Between some old junk in the attic and the components that have been replaced in my old HTPC, I've paid for basically everything but the RAM (bought in a local shop) by selling old junk! This means I've basically gotten a new HTPC free (plus paid a self-imposed "upgrade tax" as donation to Team-MediaPortal) and also cleaned out the attic so my wife will be thrilled when she gets home from working out of town.

Anyway, I'm starting to run out of steam. More precisely I'm running out of junk. If I can come up with another trove of ebay-worthy junk then I'll start upgrading again, but until then it looks like I've reached junk-goodness equilibrium.

I'll be sure to post details and pics when I get the new case.

 

[SpudR]

Sell the missus - she'll only start moaning when you give her no attention and MP takes over your life...
Even the dog hates me - no more walkies for him...!

ONLY KIDDING

 

[dcwp]

Good ideas, I'll have to think about it...

Actually my wife loves MP since she's more of a TV/movie buff than I am, so I think this new setup (and the clean attic) will be a winner.

You're dead on about the dog though. One of mine comes and tries to knock the keyboard off my lap when he sees me sit down with it. He knows that if I'm using the KB rather than remote, I'm in for a long haul of tweaking and configuring. At least when I'm watching a movie I let him curl up next to me and get pets.

 

[FantaXP7]

You are right, htpcs and upgrading/modifying is certainly an obsession. I do love it though. I see it as a hobby and have learned quite a bit over the months since I first discovered mediaportal and became addicted.

I had gone from being frustrated by my little understanding of how the program works to today where every little tweak yields very pleasing results.

Looking forward to seeing pics and your opinon on the case and fans.