Parts for a SILENT HTPC (2 Viewers)

[Darre]

Hi!

Im looking for some new parts for my HTPC. The one I have is fairly new, but I want to swap the parts thats inside it now for some that aren't noisy The spare parts go into another PC.

The only req of this PC - other then what I list below - is that it is without effort able to playback 1080p material (and later maybe blu-ray).


What I need:
- A _Silent_ cpu (passive cooling?)
- A mobo that fits the CPU, has to have PCIe 16x, 1x firewire, 4x usb and 7.1 sound - S/PDIF
- 2 gig ram

* I don't need any mobo with HDMI, as I have a passivly cooled 8500gt for that


What I might get:
- A new case, if its a really cool one


Budget:
- I don't really have a upper limit, but I want to spend as little as possible while retaining quality. Getting this silent is my #1 priority.




If anybody could be so kind as to give me some tip on what to grab I would be most grateful!

 

[Shazell]

Well my plan is:

Mother Board: 780G kinda of new on the market so not 100% sure on which board yet, fully passivlely cooled and low power, bonus is the IGP can do all the video you need so no need for the separate gfx card

CPU: AMD Athlon X2 BE-2350, low power at 45W

CPU Cooler: Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme

PSU: Well this setup should be able to be run using a Pico 120W , so totally silent. But I would probably keep my Corsair VX450W.

2Gb Ram.

Suspended HDD:

 

[revs]

I have what I consider to be a Silent PC. It took me years, but I finally got there! Its so silent that when I first turned it on I didnt think it worked!

The componenets I have are:

- A Seasonic S12 PSU (has a huge slow turning 120mm fan).
- AMD X2 3800
- Arctic Cooling CPU Fan (runs around 600rpm)
- One big 120mm fan at the back of the case set to at about half speed (Noctua 800rpm)
- Fanless Gigabyte GFX card (6600GT).

(I cant remember the HD make, but I looked up the quietest HD and bought that, I then used a DOS tool to make it quieter).

As you can see there are fans in the system, but they run so slowly that there is no noise - trying to be fanless is just asking for trouble!.

The biggest contributor of Noise I found was the Hard Drive. It vibrated slightly, causing the whole case to vibrate, which then caused some deep/loud acoustics! I put it on some foam at the bottom of the case and now all is well!.

The case itself is a Antec Mid-Tower.


What I have found is that you have to pay attention to every single component. Remove all vibrations to the case. Use fans, but have them turn slowly! (And buy good fans!). Check out reviews and dBa ratings for everything before buying!

 

[petsa]

Hi Darre,

I use the Scythe Ninja Mini for CPU cooling. Works without fan and is then completely silent. Works for both AMD and Intel.

/Peter

 

[Darre]

Thx to all of you Ill look into the tips! The mini thing sounds good as I don't think I can fit a 120mm fan inside my HTPC. The hight is around 13cm, and the fan has to go on to of the mainboard..

 

[James]

Hi Darre,

See my post here -> https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/hardware-selection-help-62/silent-cooling-30727/

I can highly recommend this heat sink (works with both AMD and Intel). I have a silent HTPC (only the hard disks can be heard).

Passively cooling new CPUs is not a problem as long as you stay with the lower models and not the performance / gamer CPUs. Undervolting is the way to go.

CPU: I would personally choose an Intel E8200 45nm (Undervolt and maybe underclock)

/James

 

[ThaClown]

(not meaning to hijack this topic, just a question)

I own a Silverstone LC-11 and the only part that is still noisy is the PSU:
TFX 300W PFC (it sucks)

Now I have found this PSU:
Shuttle SilentX XPC 250W

Would this fit? and will it be enouth to power my setup?


Anther (expencive) option would be this:
mCubed external EF28, 280W

What do you guys think?

 

[lsandini]

Many excellent suggestions here, here is how I did mine:

Zalman HD160Plus case, backplate fans 2x8cm Zalman fans replaced with 2x8cm Noctua fans, all the rest is that HTPC is passive.

Intel DP35DP motherboard, E4600 CPU, Scythe Ninja Mini passive cooler. Antec Phantom 500W PSU, haven't heard the fan spin up even once. Radeon HD2600XT with passive Zalman cooler, WD Scorpio 160GB 2.5" (laptop) HDD.

The noise emitted by the 2x8cm Noctua fans is negligible, and since all the other components are passively cooled, regulating those fans to have a good airflow-cooling / noise ratio is important. I use a Zalman "front panel" fan controller, that is placed inside the HTPC case. Not easy to find the right settings for the fans initially, but now they seem to spin at exactly the same speed, limiting vibrations, and all the case vents are open.

The Intel Hardware Monitor thingy reports CPU temps of 38-42C, NB is hotter though, 78-85C, which is still in the green range. Room temp is about 21C. The final result is excellent, but the contents of the case are quite modest.

Lorenzo

 

[IceHappy]

HiYa

Have you looked at QuietPC.com? I have two HTPC one watercooled by Asetek and the other in a SilentMaxx case and a Silentmaxx semifanless 450watt PSU along with a Gigbyte 7600 GS silent pipe 2 no fan and Acoustic ultra silent 2 x 120mm fans and 2 x 80mm fans all with power reduction adapters. Seagates in silent boxes as well... Also using a Zalman's CNPS9500A-LED cpu cooler on my 2.8 Intel Pent D. Unless you looked at the blue strips on the Silentmaxx case you would not know it was on.... I am currently working on a dual xeon 3.6 with both processors and just imported in from koolance the watercooling company from the States their latest water blocks for both Xeons and North n South bridge chipsets which are unavailable here in the UK.... along with koolance Exos external box which includes radiator, fans, pump and reservoir in an external box so no case cutting is involved as with my Asetek HTPC. This new dual Xeon HTPC will have Blueray DVD recorder which also plays HD. For the graphic card I choosed the MSI 8800GT 512mb Zilent with Zalmans heatsink and quiet fan which also has HDCP circuit on it.... Oh the PSU is a new Zalman heatsinked 750 watt jobbie.... Both the aircooled Silentmaxx and "new" dual Xeon HTPC's are for Toshibas 37Z and 42Z respectively. Bedroom and New TV room. Asetek is connected to a Acer 720 Hd 20 month old 26" wide LCD....

Any questions Andy in quietpc.com UK will help you with questions regarding suitability...

Hope this helps

 

[IceHappy]

Many excellent suggestions here, here is how I did mine:

Zalman HD160Plus case, backplate fans 2x8cm Zalman fans replaced with 2x8cm Noctua fans, all the rest is that HTPC is passive.

Intel DP35DP motherboard, E4600 CPU, Scythe Ninja Mini passive cooler. Antec Phantom 500W PSU, haven't heard the fan spin up even once. Radeon HD2600XT with passive Zalman cooler, WD Scorpio 160GB 2.5" (laptop) HDD.

The noise emitted by the 2x8cm Noctua fans is negligible, and since all the other components are passively cooled, regulating those fans to have a good airflow-cooling / noise ratio is important. I use a Zalman "front panel" fan controller, that is placed inside the HTPC case. Not easy to find the right settings for the fans initially, but now they seem to spin at exactly the same speed, limiting vibrations, and all the case vents are open.

The Intel Hardware Monitor thingy reports CPU temps of 38-42C, NB is hotter though, 78-85C, which is still in the green range. Room temp is about 21C. The final result is excellent, but the contents of the case are quite modest.

Lorenzo

HiYa Lorenzo

Cool setup. My bedroom HTPC made with Silentmaxx was done almost 20 months ago. I tried the Noctua Cpu cooler for the 775 but with Xeon mounts but alas the xeon mounts would not fit my Supermicro X6DA8-G2 motherboard..... Neither Xeon chips..... After 2.5 weeks of consideration I went with the koolance CPU 340 Xeon waterblocks and koolance CHC 125 Northbridge and Southbridge chipset waterblocks. I have not installed them yet but the koolance Exos 2 External water box with radiator, water pump, fans and reservoir looks awesome. I will be rebuilding this 4 year old computer into a great Blueray recording HTPC. After seeing your temps I am glad I went with watercooling as the four fans I will be running at 7.5 volts are the Acoustic dust proof 80mm fans and realize with your temps that the chipset would not be cool enough with the excellent heat sinks that came with the Supermicro Motherboard. Watercooling is 5 x more expensive than the two Noctua Xeon coolers but I was not counting on the chipset being so hot.... Normally this beast sounds like a 777 on the runway waiting for take off. I am hoping that the new Zalman 750 watt psu will fit in this case which is really a 4 U server chassis with extra removable plastic top and bottom I now also realize that the powerful fan in the old PSU was an exhaust and not having such an active fan and replacing it with heatsink psu would have really challenged this system. You made it easier for me to justify the extra expense... I cannot wait to get started rebuilding....
Thanks for sharing!!!
IceHappy

If it ain't frozen your really not trying