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Silverstone LC06 and MSI K8NGM2-FID based HTPC
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<blockquote data-quote="Mars Warrior" data-source="post: 39420" data-attributes="member: 10351"><p>A colleque of mine wants to use MP, and as a computer-noob he asked me to think of a nice HTPC configuration, nice looking, silent, low power consumption and not too expensive.</p><p></p><p>I'm thinking of the following configuration:</p><p></p><p>1. The <a href="http://www.silverstonetek.com/products-lc06.htm" target="_blank"><strong>Silverstone LC06 case</strong></a> (150 Euro)</p><p>This is a rather small ITX case (he has not much space) whith a 60W-80W external power supply without a fan, so dead silent. According to a test <a href="http://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/lc06/lc06_4.htm" target="_blank">here</a>, this case should also fit a mATX style board. Of course due to the not-that-beefy powersupply the components should not draw too much power...</p><p></p><p>2. mATX motherboard from MSI, the <a href="http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_detail.php?UID=702" target="_blank"><strong>MSI K8NGM2-FID</strong></a> (87 Euro)</p><p>I don't think you can get a better mATX board suited for HTPC use. It has everything needed...</p><p></p><p>3. An <a href="http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_9485_9487,00.html" target="_blank"><strong>AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice</strong></a> (140 Euro)</p><p>Suprise, surprise. This nice CPU has a very low power consumption. If you look at tests done with a <a href="http://www.lostcircuits.com/cpu/amd_x2-3800+/10.shtml" target="_blank">Venice 3800+</a>, you see an amazing 8Watt idle and 30Watt full load power draw. My assumption is that the 3000+ does even need less power at full load, since it is running on a lower CPU speed.</p><p></p><p>4. Either a silent 3,5"disk like the <a href="http://www.samsung.com/Products/HardDiskDrive/SpinPointP80Series/SP1213N.asp?page=Features" target="_blank"><strong>Samsung</strong></a> or a 2.5"disk like the <a href="http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=103" target="_blank"><strong>Western Digital Scorpio</strong></a> (both around 85 Euro)</p><p>These disks are both silent, although the 2.5" is of course much more silent than the 3.5" one (1 sone against 0.5 sone). The laptop drive is of course a bit slower, but I think still fast enough for HTPC use, and it consumes far less power than the desktop drive (12Watt against 3Watt). This might be important regarding the 60-80Watt powersupply and possible cooling issues.</p><p></p><p>5. 1GB of ram, or possibly only 512MB (42 Euro per 512MB)</p><p></p><p>6. A dual layer DVD Writer like the <a href="http://www.benq.com/products/product.cfm?product=554" target="_blank"><strong>BENQ DW1640</strong></a> (40 Euro)</p><p>This nice drive automatically slows down when playing a DVD, so should be very silent. And it does burn nicely...</p><p>It also has a flat front, which is required to attach the stealth front supplied with the case.</p><p></p><p>7. As input device either a <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/netherlands/hardware/desktop/rkmediacenter.aspx" target="_blank"><strong>MS Remote Keyboard</strong></a> or <a href="http://www.multimediamachines.nl/pd1101563853.htm?defaultVariants=search0_EQ_compleet_AND_&categoryId=16" target="_blank"><strong>MCE 2005 Remote</strong></a>. (Both for around 40 Euro)</p><p></p><p>8. A standard <strong>Hauppauge 150MCE</strong> TV card (0 Euro)</p><p>He has a spare one, so a very simple choice...</p><p></p><p></p><p>This makes the total price just under <strong>600</strong> Euro's, which is not bad for such a combination...</p><p></p><p>Of course, some questions still are unanswered:</p><p></p><p>1. Power draw.</p><p>I think these components should not draw more power than 55-60Watts. Say the CPU takes max 25W, laptop drive 5W, DVD 10W, TV Card 5W. This adds up to 45W excluding the mainboard...</p><p>If it is not enough, an stronger powersupply (120W) should be installed, also external / passive. Silverstone does deliver this powersupply as an option for other cases, but not for this one...</p><p></p><p>2. Cooling issues</p><p>The external powersupply already saves a lot of hassle regarding cooling in the case and the noise, so the only thing that should be cooled down is the CPU. At this moment I have NO idea yet which heatsink should fit into the case (must be probably a low profile one as the motherboard is on top of the DVD and harddisk) and makes hardly any noise!</p><p></p><p>3. TV Out quality</p><p>My collegue doesn't have a HD TV or something, so the DVI, VGA and Components output won't be used. And I don't know the quality of the S-Video output!</p><p>This means I might have to try a scanconverter, such as the high quality, but also a bit expensive <a href="http://www.grand.com.tw/en/product_form.asp?lwk_series=45&lwk_product=a-009&lwk_page=1" target="_blank">Grand Ultimate Vision</a> (120 Euro), or some cheaper model like the <a href="http://www.grand.com.tw/en/product_form.asp?lwk_series=45&lwk_product=a-0091&lwk_page=1" target="_blank">Grand Hand View III</a> (80 Euro). The more expensive one has all the controls you would probably need to get a very good SCART quality on the TV set.</p><p></p><p>Any comments on this setup would be appreciated <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big Grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mars Warrior, post: 39420, member: 10351"] A colleque of mine wants to use MP, and as a computer-noob he asked me to think of a nice HTPC configuration, nice looking, silent, low power consumption and not too expensive. I'm thinking of the following configuration: 1. The [url=http://www.silverstonetek.com/products-lc06.htm][b]Silverstone LC06 case[/b][/url] (150 Euro) This is a rather small ITX case (he has not much space) whith a 60W-80W external power supply without a fan, so dead silent. According to a test [url=http://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/lc06/lc06_4.htm]here[/url], this case should also fit a mATX style board. Of course due to the not-that-beefy powersupply the components should not draw too much power... 2. mATX motherboard from MSI, the [url=http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_detail.php?UID=702][b]MSI K8NGM2-FID[/b][/url] (87 Euro) I don't think you can get a better mATX board suited for HTPC use. It has everything needed... 3. An [url=http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_9485_9487,00.html][b]AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice[/b][/url] (140 Euro) Suprise, surprise. This nice CPU has a very low power consumption. If you look at tests done with a [url=http://www.lostcircuits.com/cpu/amd_x2-3800+/10.shtml]Venice 3800+[/url], you see an amazing 8Watt idle and 30Watt full load power draw. My assumption is that the 3000+ does even need less power at full load, since it is running on a lower CPU speed. 4. Either a silent 3,5"disk like the [url=http://www.samsung.com/Products/HardDiskDrive/SpinPointP80Series/SP1213N.asp?page=Features][b]Samsung[/b][/url] or a 2.5"disk like the [url=http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=103][b]Western Digital Scorpio[/b][/url] (both around 85 Euro) These disks are both silent, although the 2.5" is of course much more silent than the 3.5" one (1 sone against 0.5 sone). The laptop drive is of course a bit slower, but I think still fast enough for HTPC use, and it consumes far less power than the desktop drive (12Watt against 3Watt). This might be important regarding the 60-80Watt powersupply and possible cooling issues. 5. 1GB of ram, or possibly only 512MB (42 Euro per 512MB) 6. A dual layer DVD Writer like the [url=http://www.benq.com/products/product.cfm?product=554][b]BENQ DW1640[/b][/url] (40 Euro) This nice drive automatically slows down when playing a DVD, so should be very silent. And it does burn nicely... It also has a flat front, which is required to attach the stealth front supplied with the case. 7. As input device either a [url=http://www.microsoft.com/netherlands/hardware/desktop/rkmediacenter.aspx][b]MS Remote Keyboard[/b][/url] or [url=http://www.multimediamachines.nl/pd1101563853.htm?defaultVariants=search0_EQ_compleet_AND_&categoryId=16][b]MCE 2005 Remote[/b][/url]. (Both for around 40 Euro) 8. A standard [b]Hauppauge 150MCE[/b] TV card (0 Euro) He has a spare one, so a very simple choice... This makes the total price just under [b]600[/b] Euro's, which is not bad for such a combination... Of course, some questions still are unanswered: 1. Power draw. I think these components should not draw more power than 55-60Watts. Say the CPU takes max 25W, laptop drive 5W, DVD 10W, TV Card 5W. This adds up to 45W excluding the mainboard... If it is not enough, an stronger powersupply (120W) should be installed, also external / passive. Silverstone does deliver this powersupply as an option for other cases, but not for this one... 2. Cooling issues The external powersupply already saves a lot of hassle regarding cooling in the case and the noise, so the only thing that should be cooled down is the CPU. At this moment I have NO idea yet which heatsink should fit into the case (must be probably a low profile one as the motherboard is on top of the DVD and harddisk) and makes hardly any noise! 3. TV Out quality My collegue doesn't have a HD TV or something, so the DVI, VGA and Components output won't be used. And I don't know the quality of the S-Video output! This means I might have to try a scanconverter, such as the high quality, but also a bit expensive [url=http://www.grand.com.tw/en/product_form.asp?lwk_series=45&lwk_product=a-009&lwk_page=1]Grand Ultimate Vision[/url] (120 Euro), or some cheaper model like the [url=http://www.grand.com.tw/en/product_form.asp?lwk_series=45&lwk_product=a-0091&lwk_page=1]Grand Hand View III[/url] (80 Euro). The more expensive one has all the controls you would probably need to get a very good SCART quality on the TV set. Any comments on this setup would be appreciated :D [/QUOTE]
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