HTPC plans

[cdawall]

thinking about building a gamer/movie storage HTPC

parts i have

ECS 890GX blackseries mobo
4x2GB DDR3 ~1800 cas7 low voltage


now from there i am looking at these parts

nmediapc 6000B $69.99

HIS 5770 1GB (maybe 2) $149.99

Phenom X6 1055t $199.99

2-3 seagate 5900RPM 1.5tb HDD $79.99

samsung 2TB 5400RPM and Tt TR2 TRX 750w PSU $169.99 ($144.99AMIR)

i don't know how i want to cool it though i want to do water cooling but i don't think it will fit well/easily.

 

[sttubs]

That would be one nice machine. I'm going to grab that case now after I saw this post.

 

[dr_dream]

Water-cooling in an HTPC case ? Are you sure you have enough place ?
The system sounds good, even if the DDR3 with a guaranteed frequency of 1800 CAS7 is out of the platform's reach.

 

[cdawall]

Water-cooling in an HTPC case ? Are you sure you have enough place ?
The system sounds good, even if the DDR3 with a guaranteed frequency of 1800 CAS7 is out of the platform's reach.

Not sure if there will be enough room as for ram its not out of reach I have been there done that sorta thing.

 

[twilyth]

I think you'll need to add a couple of 120mm fans. 2 80's and a 120 aren't going to cut it - especially if you do any overclocking.

There's also the issue of the height (6.6" = 167mm). The best coolers are 120mm and I think that's just for the radiator section. The only one I have handy to measure is a Zalman CNPS9000 and it's just under 130mm from base to top. Something like a TRUE 120 is going to be substantially more.

But for an HTPC case, it's probably the nicest one I've seen so far. If you run at stock and add a couple fans, it should do nicely.

 

[[Ion]]

If you want an aftermarket cooler, maybe get a Corsair H50? Not sure where you'd mount the rad, but it's low-profile and works very well

 

[cdawall]

I think you'll need to add a couple of 120mm fans. 2 80's and a 120 aren't going to cut it - especially if you do any overclocking.

There's also the issue of the height (6.6" = 167mm). The best coolers are 120mm and I think that's just for the radiator section. The only one I have handy to measure is a Zalman CNPS9000 and it's just under 130mm from base to top. Something like a TRUE 120 is going to be substantially more.

But for an HTPC case, it's probably the nicest one I've seen so far. If you run at stock and add a couple fans, it should do nicely.

I think I could sneak a 2x120 or 3x120 rad in the side were the stock 120mm fan goes it will cover the lower pci and 3rd pcie slot. Or possibly in the top of the case..

 

[dr_dream]

WOW, 2x120 and even 3x120mm radiator ??? I can't see where you would put it.. The radiator must be cooled, so there has to be a large exhaust.. The HTPC we are talking about offers support only for 1x 120mm on a side and 2x 80mm fans at the back. I think you are going too far with this and I recommend to get a tower chassis if you really are into water-cooling ! Or just stick to an traditional aircooling with a low CPU heatsink

 

[cdawall]

WOW, 2x120 and even 3x120mm radiator ??? I can't see where you would put it.. The radiator must be cooled, so there has to be a large exhaust.. The HTPC we are talking about offers support only for 1x 120mm on a side and 2x 80mm fans at the back. I think you are going too far with this and I recommend to get a tower chassis if you really are into water-cooling ! Or just stick to an traditional aircooling with a low CPU heatsink

I'm not a very traditional design person hell I fit a 2x120 and 3x120 in a midtower and a 3x120mm and 4x120 in my current full tower.

 

[twilyth]

I think I could sneak a 2x120 or 3x120 rad in the side were the stock 120mm fan goes it will cover the lower pci and 3rd pcie slot. Or possibly in the top of the case..

Sorry about that. I keep thinking 'air cooling' because that's all I do. I read the part about your wanting to water cool the rig, but it didn't stick (story of my life btw :shadedshu ).

I don't know if it would be a lot more complicated, but I think I would make the water cooling look like part of the installation. You could run the intake and exhaust lines through the case and use illuminated, transparent lines with cooling fluid in a cool color like green or blue. It probably wouldn't be bright enough to be distracting and would look tres pimped.

On the downside, a leak would probably be more of a disaster though.

 

[AsRock]

How about this case ARK Black Aluminum / Steel HTPC 400BA Black ATX Me... Been great for me ( the front is not cheap plastic but thick metal ( unless they made it cheaper now) ).

 

[twilyth]

How about this case ARK Black Aluminum / Steel HTPC 400BA Black ATX Me... Been great for me ( the front is not cheap plastic but thick metal ( unless they made it cheaper now) ).

It's a very nice looking case, but they don't give dimensions.

You might have to do some cutting to add fans though. The other case has more passive ventilation. That's great if you don't need X cfm of air going through, but a liability if you want to add fans to create a specific air flow pattern.

 

[AsRock]

It's a very nice looking case, but they don't give dimensions.

You might have to do some cutting to add fans though. The other case has more passive ventilation. That's great if you don't need X cfm of air going through, but a liability if you want to add fans to create a specific air flow pattern.

Basically full HIFI size. But details can be found here
http://www.arktechinc.com/htpc/htpc400.htm

 

[brandonwh64]

Im also trying to water cool my HTPC but its proven to be hard. here is my HTPC at beta stage. i need 3/8 nylon elbows to finish this project.

 

[dr_dream]

why don't you get a regular tower ? A midi-tower like the Cooler Master CM690 II should be fine. you are complicating things just for the looks.... so your PC will look like a Hi-Fi ?? And as we can see, the end-result can look much worse if you leave for system like brandonwh64 did

 

[cdawall]

why don't you get a regular tower ? A midi-tower like the Cooler Master CM690 II should be fine. you are complicating things just for the looks.... so your PC will look like a Hi-Fi ?? And as we can see, the end-result can look much worse if you leave for system like brandonwh64 did

if i wanted a regular tower i would keep this

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=124608

i want to get something that looks like a component on a component rack

 

[brandonwh64]

why don't you get a regular tower ? A midi-tower like the Cooler Master CM690 II should be fine. you are complicating things just for the looks.... so your PC will look like a Hi-Fi ?? And as we can see, the end-result can look much worse if you leave for system like brandonwh64 did

Just to let you know this ISNT the end result. if you would have read my post correctly, you would have seen its in its beta stages. all im waiting on is some 3/8s nylon elbows to run it through the motherboard tray and to mount down the pump and it will be put back together. its only running like this to do some benches on my unlocked X3 720

 

[RejZoR]

If you'e planning a small case, take the Thermalright AXP-140. It's an older low profile cooler that can pack some punch even on newer quad cores. 120mm or 140mm fan can be used on it.
It's a bit more expensive but also quite powerful.