Completed HTPC Build - Antec Fusion 430 (Black) (1 Viewer)

[SamAus]

Also Building a Antec 430

Hi All, I am a novice in HTPC but have been inspired by what Media Portal can do..

I am was also inspired by this post and am looking at building a HTPC based on the Fusion 430 Silver.

I know that Shopping Square are about to release this case in Australia for $255 ex Delivery in the end of September and this is the cheapest price I can find here..

Antec 'Fusion V2' HTPC Desktop Case Silver - ShoppingSquare.COM.AU Online Bargain & Discount Shopping Square

I will be using similar specs but adding some extra components like dedicated video card down the track and also looking at a different motherboard... is there somewhere that lists what mobo will work with this case?

Aaron_AUS I believe you are also building one and you are based in Australia I would also love to hear your experiences considering your in Australia as well.

Will keep you all posted on how I go...

At this point I am looking at all the components, costs and seeing how they all fit together.. I will be documenting all my experiences I hope so that others can also benefit from such... I will be hooking this up to my old non-plasma TV for now until I upgrade to my Pioneer that I have my eye on... using HDMI to component for now but that will do the job for now...

Thanks ArmandP - your post and details have inspired me with this project...

SamAus.

 

[flintstone99]

New model of Fusion and price in Germany

Hi SamAus,

I'm not in Australia, however back over here in Germany Antec pushed a new model onto the market.
They removed the power supply and added an Imon Pad remote to the Fusion. This way it is called "Antec Fusion remote". Along went a drop in price, it currently is available at 105€ or ~185 AUD. Fusion 430 was at ~135€.

They also removed the old model from their webpage, so if you still want the package with the power supply, you should maybe hurry

regards

Dietmar

 

[SamAus]

Thanks Dietmar for your reply... Yeah your right... this must have just been updated on their website in the last day or so.....As i am sure yesterday it was not the case...

Here in Australia they are saying end of September they will be selling the original Antec Fusion 430 with Power Supply - so I hope this is still be the case. I will find the power supply more useful then the remote at this stage. I am thinking of using Logitech Dinovo Mini if I can afford it as part of the build down the track.... i have heard some good reviews on this... does anyone have any comments??

Also is it right that the Fusion can only hold 2 HDD's ?? The only thing i find annoying about the 430 is the fact it only has one external bay where i was hoping to add a card reader for my digital camera built in where now i would need to add this as an external device...

Any other comments from others experience with the 430 would be great....

I have also been looking at Media Portal and i have found that if you go away from the default skins applications and plugins dont work they are meant to without a lot of messing around...

SamAus

 

[kszabo]

Hi guys,

I just got my Antec Fusion Remote Black! I bought an Antec NeoPower 430W to it, fits well with the 8 cm fan (don´t buy PSU with 12 cm because they have air inflow on the bottom, which is pretty blocked with this case).

The only concern I have is the strange Veris Remote with it... Is it possible to set it up with MP? Anyone experience with this?

EDIT:
I've just mailed Antec Support. They say you can put a PSU with 12 cm fan inside but have to mount upside down. Above the PSU you have 2-3 cm space to get the air circulating.

 

[flintstone99]

Hi SamAus,

yes, you are right, the Fusion can hold only two internal drives plus one external. As there is a flip down cover on the external bay, it is also hard to put in a card reader.
Regarding the power supply of the Fusion 430: I had one and was not very impressed on the noise level. I changed to the Fusion remote for other reasons and put in an older Tagan 330W supply which is a lot more quiet.

Also the supplied case fans are not that silent to my ears. I am using only one of the two, at lowest level but still I am not satisfied, so one of my next action will be to change this to a scythe slip stream 800rpm fan.

However, optics of the case is just great.

regards

Dietmar

 

[kszabo]

Hi SamAus,

yes, you are right, the Fusion can hold only two internal drives plus one external.
Dietmar

I guess you could mount a 3rd harddrive above the optical drive (behind the display).

You just need a 4,5'' -> 3,5'' adapter. Costs 2-3 €.

 

[flintstone99]

OK,

yes that should be possible forgot that option

regards

Dietmar

 

[SamAus]

Dietmar what would you recommend then as the perfect power supply for the FUSION 430 that is silent and works well ??? And would I need a cooling fan to reduce the noise such as the Arctic Cooling Arctic Fan 12 120mm Extreme Silent (exhaust) ??

I am new to building a PC from scratch and I am not sure exactly what is completely required... I understand the concept of the CPU having its fan replaced and I am looking at the Scythe Ninja Mini (Fanless) which everybody recommends. Just wondering how the power supply works and being silent....

Maybe all these questions should be in another forum... will look and see...

Finally with regard to installing the Power Supply and CPU which I have never done before is it queit easy?? I work in IT but never built a PC from scratch so I am confident in working with PC but not sure about the CPU and power supply for example...

Thanks again..

 

[flintstone99]

Hi SamAus,

I do not believe that there is something like the perfect power supply

However, the fusion separates the power supply area from the motherboard area and therefore the power supply only has to cool itself. So you can choose one with low air throughput.
Regarding power: I have a Gigabyte GA-MA 78GPM-DS2H motherboard with integrated graphis and a AMD 4850e processor with a TDP of only 45W. So no power hungry graphics card and no other demanding things, just one DVB S satelite receiver. For me an old Tagan330 is well suffiecient and with temp controlled fans still silent due to the low power consumption. Have a look at that site for some details silentpcreview.com | Everything about Silent / Quiet Computers
Regarding chassis fan: I tried without and it worked but with high temps. So today the stock Antec fan is running, but will be replaced with a more silent Sythe slipstream 800.

Putting everything together is quite simple, should be no problem

regards
Dietmar

 

[kszabo]

Dietmar what would you recommend then as the perfect power supply for the FUSION 430 that is silent and works well ??? And would I need a cooling fan to reduce the noise such as the Arctic Cooling Arctic Fan 12 120mm Extreme Silent (exhaust) ??

You can buy one with big 12 cm fan and put it in upside down (fan on top) or an Antec NeoPower HE 430 (this is nice because you can remove all cables you don't need).

I use my Antec with a Scynthe Ninja mini CPU Heatsink without fan, but both 12 cm case fans running on lowest level. This is enough for my 45W X2 BE-2400. There is a plastic plate coming with the Antec Fusion so you can remove one fan and cover the slot with this. I guess the CPU would be still cool, but I would have concernes about the Northbridge with the HD3200 integrated.