Completed My ASUS Pundit-R HTPC (1 Viewer)

[Scholle]

pundit-r + PVR 500

Moin,

to give you a first look to "your" Pundit-R with a PVR 500:

(sorry, the camera of my mobile is not the best)

With a pliers, a little bit of extra force, a peace of paper to avoid short-circuits and a construction from tupperware (guarantee that your wife does not notice it) its possible.

Regards
Scholle

 

[ymerguer]

Re: pundit-r + PVR 500

Moin,

to give you a first look to "your" Pundit-R with a PVR 500:

<img>
(sorry, the camera of my mobile is not the best)

With a pliers, a little bit of extra force, a peace of paper to avoid short-circuits and a construction from tupperware (guarantee that your wife does not notice it) its possible.

Hmmm, looks a rather thight fit in there...

Since I will use Miknord's mod on my Pundit-R, I'll might try to fit the PVR500 into the lower PCI-slot, and make room for it in the new duct I'll make for the Papst-fan. Will that interfere with the passive cooler underneath?

On the HDD-side, I'm probably going for an external 3.5"-disk SATA-solution using the other PCI-bracket (with an adapter). It seems that the price for the 2.5"-SATA disk is a bit too stiff for my budget at the moment (and I have a Seagate 7200.8 250 GB SATA-disk lying around).

So with that I'm going to remove the source of a lot of internal heat from the cab. And I'll have plenty of storage space for movies, recording TV, etc.

I might just leave the internal 3.5"-slot empty, or insert the Samsung 80 GB 2.5"-disk there (as a system-disk, etc.) and just use the external one for storage.

So, things have changed a bit, but I think for the better.

I have just started out with Miknords mod, and I'll report back when I get the SATA-disk setup ready.

 

[Scholle]

Re: pundit-r + PVR 500

Moin,

Hmmm, looks a rather thight fit in there...

Since I will use Miknord's mod on my Pundit-R, I'll might try to fit the PVR500 into the lower PCI-slot, and make room for it in the new duct I'll make for the Papst-fan. Will that interfere with the passive cooler underneath?

You will not be able to insert the PVR 500 into the lower Slot! The cooler underneath and also the copper cpu-cooler prevent this.

If you should try using the 80 x 25 Papst, it rather closely to develop a reasonable airflow but if you use the P4 Northwood, then the original fan should be sufficiently quiet.

So with that I'm going to remove the source of a lot of internal heat from the cab. And I'll have plenty of storage space for movies, recording TV, etc.

I think the PVR would be the hottest component in our system .. (56°C CPU, 52°C MB(!), 48°C HD). In the next few days I will also extend the vent-holes (the originals are not more than a bad joke). Maybe that will bring the system temperature to a acceptably level.

Regards
Scholle

PS: sorry for my my terrible English

 

[ymerguer]

Re: pundit-r + PVR 500

hmmm,

is the PVR500 in itself a "heat-generator", or is it the combination of:
- Original CPU-fan blowing hot air into the cab.,
- The 3.5"-disk u have in there,
- and the PVR500,
which makes your cab. so warm?

With the original setup (2.4 cpu, 3.5" seagate SATA, original fans) I get the following readings:
- CPU 32-33 degrees C.
- MB 44-45 ----"--------.
- HDD 44-45 ----"------.

And just in case I wanted to buy another and smaller TV-card, do u have any recommendations?

 

[Scholle]

Re: pundit-r + PVR 500

Moin,

is the PVR500 in itself a "heat-generator", or is it the combination of:
- Original CPU-fan blowing hot air into the cab.,
- The 3.5"-disk u have in there,
- and the PVR500,
which makes your cab. so warm?

hm ... i think i should test that ...
At present I use the original air circulation direction. I will change the direction and check the temperatures again.
A main problem of my pundit is at the moment the Celeron Prescott. I think if I change this into a P4 Northwood the Temperature shold be much less then now.

And just in case I wanted to buy another and smaller TV-card, do u have any recommendations?

No sorry ... I began to build my HTPC as I found the PVR 500 .. so I never search for other TV-cards ^^


PS: Maybe you need a newer Bios to install the PVR 500 in a correct way ... I got a Beta from an other Forum ... since I update the Pundit-Bios my PVR work without Problems

 

[ymerguer]

Re: pundit-r + PVR 500

hm ... i think i should test that ...
At present I use the original air circulation direction. I will change the direction and check the temperatures again.
A main problem of my pundit is at the moment the Celeron Prescott. I think if I change this into a P4 Northwood the Temperature shold be much less then now.

PS: Maybe you need a newer Bios to install the PVR 500 in a correct way ... I got a Beta from an other Forum ... since I update the Pundit-Bios my PVR work without Problems

Good to hear that u're happy with your PVR500... That way I'm more sure that I've made the right decison (even though I'll have to mod the CPU-cooling system to fit it).

I already have the latest Pundit-R bios, which I needed for the fan-speed-control to work correctly. Or do you mean a totally different bios?

In that case, can u send me a link for the bios, or make it available somewhere?
And do check the temps with reversed air circulation.

At the moment I'm finished modding the PSU - inserted the Zalman OP-41 as per Miknord's specs.

 

[Pingus]

Re: pundit-r + PVR 500

Moin,

is the PVR500 in itself a "heat-generator", or is it the combination of:
- Original CPU-fan blowing hot air into the cab.,
- The 3.5"-disk u have in there,
- and the PVR500,
which makes your cab. so warm?

hm ... i think i should test that ...
At present I use the original air circulation direction. I will change the direction and check the temperatures again.
A main problem of my pundit is at the moment the Celeron Prescott. I think if I change this into a P4 Northwood the Temperature shold be much less then now.

And just in case I wanted to buy another and smaller TV-card, do u have any recommendations?

No sorry ... I began to build my HTPC as I found the PVR 500 .. so I never search for other TV-cards ^^


PS: Maybe you need a newer Bios to install the PVR 500 in a correct way ... I got a Beta from an other Forum ... since I update the Pundit-Bios my PVR work without Problems

Moin

About the Pundit-R and heat problems I have some notes:

I have a PVR150 which generates a fair aomunt of heat when recording (I assume it must be twice as bad for the duel pvr150=pvr500 ) ? ...

I have a Celeron D CPU which generates less heat than a P4 (newer models anyway )

I have modded the PSU the Mikmod way -. no problems !

I have run a few weeks with a reversed CPU fan - which made the CPU 10 degrees hotter (65C+) with full load - reversed it again and got around 55C again).

The main problem with the Pundit-R case is the space - or lack of space!!

After running CPU burin test (100% CPU load) for around an hour the case itself is getting HOT!! that heates up my 3.5 inch. Maxtor HD to 50C and that is not good!!.

Using the Pundit-R for recording over an evening makes it too hot for normal operations, sorry!

Taking of the sides helpes ... a lot ... so the problem is the design!

I like my Pundit-R for now and when I don't use it MP goes into Standby from the Power-plugin (currenty set at 30min.) that helpes a bit, but I don't think the Pundit is "that a good chioche" .. but hey that just me!

Perhaps the 21 degrees C in the day is more than you have i Norway, but what about when it gets summer 30+ ?? I think the Pundit-R will be gasping for COOL air then ??

Right now I am saving up enough to buy a Silverstone / heat-pipe system for silent AND cooler operations.

Wanna buy a Pundit-R with the specs. below ??

 

[ymerguer]

CPU burn-in

Hi,

I ran CPU burn-in for 15 minutes, and these were the results:

Stabilized:
CPU: 47 degrees C.
MB: 41 ---"----
HDD: 39 ---"----

Fan speed averaged around 2850 - 3000 rpm, on the original (but reversed) cpu-fan.

Room temp, around 23 degrees C.

I think I will get better readings on the Papst-setup, with better airflow and less turbulence.

I'm not quite sure why the disk gets so hot compared to Miknord's. It might be because I use an 3.5" disk, which gets hotter by default.

And I look forward to trying the system with the PVR500 in it.

 

[ymerguer]

updated results on Pundit-R

2nd run, CPU burn-in for 30 minutes:

Stabilized temperatures:
CPU: 42
MB: 46
HDD: 28

CPU-fan: Non-reversed
HDD: Cooled by papst-fan (test-setup)

Average rpm for CPU-fan around 2600.

When running in idle-mode, I get the following results:

CPU: 29-30 degrees C
MB: 38-39 ---"----
HDD: 27 ---"---

CPU-fan stabilized around 1650-1700 rpm.

As u can see it hardly makes any difference to the HDD if I'm running CPU at 100% or idle. Which is the desired effect.

I might go for a similar setup to this one in the end, and make me a separate and sexy little case for the SATA-drive.
The system ends up with low noise (even lower when I get the papst in there instead of the CPU-fan originally supplied),
cool HDD and CPU. I think the MB will survive just fine, but I'm glad for any comments on this.
The PSU-temp seems to be just fine as well (subjectively measured).

So I think I have reached a conclusion on this:
- The wisest move I did was to remove the HDD from the cab, and cool it separately on a low-spin fan (5V).
- Follow through with Miknords mod when I get the PVR500. I'll have to see what temp's I get then.
- Then finetune the system using Speedfan, until I get a silent and cool system.

 

[ymerguer]

My new HDD-case for use with Pundit-R

Hi, I've almost finished my HDD-case, and I wanted to share some photos.

What I did was take an old Creative Soundworks 4.1-subwoofer, and converted it into a cooling case for my HDD-drive(s).

I fitted it with an Papst 18 dB 120x120x15 mm fan, which actually was a perfect fit for the subwoofer case.

Then I inserted some pieces of 5 1/4" HDD-slot from an old cab, in which I put an HDD-silencer (suspension-system with rubber bands).

I was kind of happy with this solution, which leaves me with a cool Pundit and a cool HDD (in both senses).

I still have to find some cover for the backside of the woofer-case, and to cover up the cables.