Semi-Passive open air Console replacing sofa gaming machine / HTPC

[Rydeen]

Build spec is here, but also listed below: PCPartPicker part list

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570T (Purchased For £157.76 from eBay)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L12 37.8 CFM CPU Cooler  (NOT PURCHASED - Circa £35)

Motherboard: Asus P8H67-I DELUXE (REV 3.0) Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard  (Purchased For £87.30 from eBay)

Memory: Samsung 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (Already had)

Memory: Samsung 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (Already had)

Storage: Kingston SSDNow KC300 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (Exchanging for a 120GB 850 Evo with £20.00 coming my way)

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card  (NOT PURCHASED - Circa £130.00)

Case: Inwin H-Frame Mini Green Mini ITX Tower Case w/180W Power Supply  (Purchased £147.99 from Overclockers)

Keyboard: Logitech Wireless Touch k400 Wireless Slim Keyboard w/Touchpad  (Purchased For £26.99 from PC World)

 

Mods:

 

1. Case wise, one of the green panels (which will be mounted on top - with the glass on the bottom) will be sprayed BURNT ORANGE to match our living room layout. The spare green panel will be kept for possible future use

 

2. The GPU is a tricky one. The MSI one will have the fan shroud removed as I only have 24mm to play with. Hoping that'll be enough and it will then become a passive GPU. Future mods to suck air away / blow air may be needed, but we'll see... (if it even fits!)

 

 

The cost overall should be down on this. I will be looking at getting some deals on the go, and have some money to come back to raise for the extras. I understand the case is costly, but I genuinely love it and as this will replace the White PS4 in the living room and this will also act as our movie machine / streaming PC as well as a jukebox from time to time. Oh yeah, and an emulation PC for classic games from MAME to GENESIS to PS2.

 

I'm not counting the cost of the spray can as that was used for other things before this idea!

 

From sales to pay for this I have:

 

£310 for a White 2TB PS4 

£20 for NHL 15 that was unwanted with the PS4

£50 for Ouya Android console w/ extra pad

£25 for a PS4 Dualshock 4 controller

£60 for parts coming friend on his new build, 7870 Myst / 3x NZXT fans that I didn't need from my H440 and swapping the used Kingston 120GB of his for my brand new 120GB Samsung Evo 850 120GB as he is going for a H440 Krait B&W build that I will be building in the coming weeks based on his love of my Vyper (see sig).

 

TOTAL: £465 (leaving a balance of just short of £150 for this whole build - final price will be got later on)

 

As I said, I may be looking for changes, the CPU choice is purely on cost and I want the 4 cores, not 2 from an i3.

 

Going through the motions to get feelers on butchering a 750TI right now... http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/375125-anyone-have-an-msi-750ti-lp-or-is-just-good-at-judging-size-from-a-pic

 

Thoughts, comments, hates / follows.. be awesome to have you on board...

[Guest Philosophy]

That CPU has a high TDP for passive air cooling...

[Rydeen]

@ - It's on the border. Reading on silentPC etc they all say 65w is highest.

 

I am a big fan of Noctua, so to be fair, COULD chance a fan, I really also like the look of the Scythe Kozuti.

 

BUT considering I'm potentially hacking 3mm off a GPU heatsink, I kinda wanna give this a go @ being passive. With the case being open, that'll help shift air too.

[Guest Philosophy]

@ - It's on the border. Reading on silentPC etc they all say 65w is highest.

 

I am a big fan of Noctua, so to be fair, COULD chance a fan, I really also like the look of the Scythe Kozuti.

 

BUT considering I'm potentially hacking 3mm off a GPU heatsink, I kinda wanna give this a go @ being passive. With the case being open, that'll help shift air too.

Your cutting it really close. With a low profile heatsink it might now be do-able. I'd look for a a nice low wattage i3. 

[Rydeen]

@ - I know, but even checking this out: http://www.amazon.co.uk/CPU-Cooler-Titan-TTC-NC25-HS-Low-Profile/dp/B004ULTUYW has made me wonder more.

 

Need to check if it'll fit length and width wise (height is fine), but..

 

Titan launches the low profile CPU cooler-TTC-NC25/HS, a 31mm low height design with four 6mm heat pipes and direct contact tech for maximum heat conductivity and supporting TDP 130W" - 65 is a walk in the park with that if you even shave off 30% for manufacturer BS, and halving their quoted TDP would hit 65w.

[Guest Philosophy]

@ - I know, but even checking this out: http://www.amazon.co.uk/CPU-Cooler-Titan-TTC-NC25-HS-Low-Profile/dp/B004ULTUYW has made me wonder more.

 

Need to check if it'll fit length and width wise (height is fine), but..

 

Titan launches the low profile CPU cooler-TTC-NC25/HS, a 31mm low height design with four 6mm heat pipes and direct contact tech for maximum heat conductivity and supporting TDP 130W" - 65 is a walk in the park with that if you even shave off 30% for manufacturer BS, and halving their quoted TDP would hit 65w.

If you go for it, let me know how it works. I own a custom computer company this would be a pretty cool gaming/HTPC idea. 

[Rydeen]

@ - Sure, the cooler in particular you're interested in? Or the build as a whole? - As it's going ahead, just things like this that need tweaking.

 

I'm pretty sold on the Titan TTC-NC25 now, so will just need to check the sizes etc.

 

A lot of this relies on me getting the said motherboard above (which has pretty much everything I need, the other 3 that I was looking at aren't up to it) - Problem is, I may need a BIOS update. I won't have a spare CPU around as I'm pretty sure I'd need one to update the board. But we'll see...

[Rydeen]

Updated OP with CPU Cooler

[Fgtfv567]

I don't think this is a very good idea. A 180W PSU to power an i5 and 750Ti might not even be possible... Not to mention your CPU and GPU are going to be running extremely hot if it's completely passive. I'd recommend a hybrid solution using speedfan/MSI Afterburner to turn off/slow down all/most of your fans and ramp them up during load.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($64.88 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: ASRock H81M-ITX/WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($68.38 @ Newegg) 

Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($54.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.75 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 260X 2GB Core Edition Video Card  ($115.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: Cooler Master Elite 110 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($24.99 @ NCIX US) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($86.98 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $494.94

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-28 02:10 EDT-0400

[Rydeen]

@Fgtfv567 That may be true, PC Part Picker hads stated its within the wattage. There's no external power to the GPU either.

The case is non negotiable unless it's something special. The one you've listed is too tall. The height needs to be under 115mm.

Also, that case I've chosen is open air to allow air to dissipate and even flow in within the room.

Nothing will be overclocked

[Fgtfv567]

@Fgtfv567 That may be true, PC Part Picker hads stated its within the wattage. There's no external power to the GPU either.

The case is non negotiable unless it's something special. The one you've listed is too tall. The height needs to be under 115mm.

Also, that case I've chosen is open air to allow air to dissipate and even flow in within the room.

Nothing will be overclocked

Quote your posts

 

Ok, even if it's in the wattage right now, should you upgrade it, that itty bitty PSU won't help the upgrade, especially a new GPU. I'm also scared for the longevity of the parts, as little airflow means dissipated heat, and that means a shorter lifespan

[Rydeen]

@Fgtfv567

It's hard to quote ok my phone, so the @ will work I think to notify others of a response.

I won't be upgrading unless there is another low wattage killer like the 750ti.

I have been in 2 minds anyway regarding i5, I just want the higher cores. The plan was to under volt too. BUT as it was added on the premise of me getting a 2nd hand one cheap and with an aftermarket cooler with Arctic silver paste, if I can't, then I may buy a small fan one like the Scythe Kotuzi or an i3. Not sure which one.

But the GPU will be the test. That needs to go in some how

[Fgtfv567]

@Fgtfv567

It's hard to quote ok my phone, so the @ will work I think to notify others of a response.

I won't be upgrading unless there is another low wattage killer like the 750ti.

I have been in 2 minds anyway regarding i5, I just want the higher cores. The plan was to under volt too. BUT as it was added on the premise of me getting a 2nd hand one cheap and with an aftermarket cooler with Arctic silver paste, if I can't, then I may buy a small fan one like the Scythe Kotuzi or an i3. Not sure which one.

But the GPU will be the test. That needs to go in some how

Tap my post, and you'll see quote and marked solved. Yeah, I genuinely doubt you'll be able to fend off the itch to upgrade, and you won't be able to due to the low powered PSU

[Stefan1024]

- snip -

You may have a look on the Streacom FC10 Fanless Chassis or something like this. 65 w CPU cooled passive is no problem...

[Rydeen]

Tap my post, and you'll see quote and marked solved. Yeah, I genuinely doubt you'll be able to fend off the itch to upgrade, and you won't be able to due to the low powered PSU

 

I won't upgrade this for a while, seriously. Check my signature and you'll see my actual gaming build. This is merely a build to prove a few points to myself and a few others and now, perhaps open peoples eyes here.

 

1) To build a very beautiful machine that is as strong as a PS4/Xbox One gaming wise (to be fair, I haven't put in the price of a Logitech K400 or 2x Xbox 360 controllers!)

2) That it can be passively cooled

3) It can be a very efficient machine

 

As I said, there will be zero over-clocking and I'm looking at possibly undervolting the CPU a little.

 

However, I'm now looking at the Jetway JNF9J-Q87 - It seems to handle 1600Mhz Memory which is what I have. Also, PCPartpicker was wrong as the Asus does not support the CPU I have listed on ASUS' website. Other 65w+ CPU's, but not that one. So may look at something else now. I'm totally open.

 

Will have to flag it as an error there. Not good, but then, people don't go for these builds often I guess.

 

You may have a look on the Streacom FC10 Fanless Chassis or something like this. 65 w CPU cooled passive is no problem...

 

The Streacom FC10 was looked at as I was going to take my mate's new build Micro ATX off him, but it's like $365 over here. So screw that. I need to get this on the cheap, which the only thing traking me around £80 over is the case. Otherwise, I could get a Silverstone Milo series case and make it pay for itself based on things I've sold.

 

Definitely gotta go this case and with that, I still think the passive cooler will work.

[Stefan1024]

 

The Streacom FC10 was looked at as I was going to take my mate's new build Micro ATX off him, but it's like $365 over here. So screw that. I need to get this on the cheap, which the only thing traking me around £80 over is the case. Otherwise, I could get a Silverstone Milo series case and make it pay for itself based on things I've sold.

 

Definitely gotta go this case and with that, I still think the passive cooler will work.

 

Yes 365$ for a case is a lot. But I think it not possible to fit a cooler big enougth for good passive performance into your case. But with a silent, low RPM fan it should work. So go on

I interested in the temps. once you are finished.

[Rydeen]

@Stefan1024

 

The Titan TTC-NC25 will be the cooler I'm going for. Trying to get the best on passive is a pain. The board supports some 3rd Gen CPU's, but not others on their list. The Jetway's are expensive. Ugly too, not that that matters, but there's something off putting about 3x com ports and 3x VGA ports on a mobo! lol.

 

Also, after searching and searching. It's just too difficult to find certain things I want.

 

I've been moaching at a 2120T, but as I said, I want to push this more. That's a 2nd Gen 2 core i3 @ 35w TDP. I want something more, so came across the i5-3570T. Now that is finally pretty much perfect. It's supported by the mobo, is 45w, have a decent spec, 4 cores, 6MB cache etc. So going to go searching for that for now.

[Stefan1024]

Yes the i5 is a much better option for 10 watts more.

I hate to destroy your dreams, but 45 watts on the TTC-NC25 is not going to happen passive without some airflow from a (case) fan. The low profile once are simply to smal and can't trick physics. Are you in the mood to DIY something?

[Rydeen]

@Stefan1024

 

"Titan launches the low profile CPU cooler-TTC-NC25/HS, a 31mm low height design with four 6mm heat pipes and direct contact tech for maximum heat conductivity and supporting TDP 130W. The 31mm low height design makes an ideal cooling for various slim HTPC cases. Fully compatible with most Intel and AMD systems."

 

Is from: http://www.amazon.co.uk/CPU-Cooler-Titan-TTC-NC25-HS-Low-Profile/dp/B004ULTUYW

 

As above, lol @ 130W. No chance. But halving that for their PR crap, even then it's 65W.

 

What you mean "DIY"?

[Stefan1024]

@Rydeen

 

You know the rated wattage is only valid with a decent cooling fan running at full speed?

 

With DIY I mean you can make a case like the Streacom FC10 by yourself. http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/342534-finished-full-passive-powerful-workstation-gaming-rig-who-said-it-cant-be-done/ but scaled down.

Get a heat sink, a set of heat pipes (https://www.caseking.de/impactics-coolset-as-5al-fr-asus-1150-mini-itx-mainboard-csip-038.html for example) and make your own case around it.

[Rydeen]

@Stefan1024

Yeah, God knows what a CPU would run without a heatsink, but I'm sure they trialled it on something to get that "compliant with 130w" thing. I mean the lowest is only 10w below, so surely this extra 10w will be better than the extra 105w they say it will support. As long as it doesn't go to like 70c idle!

I am going the 45w way so I even had 20w headroom. The case is open so air can escape and the arctic silver should reduce heat by our I remember around 2~5c itself compared to standard paste.

 

Just read down your build. It's a beast. I could apply fans, so just want to clear up it's not all about total silence, but ever since I saw the low TDP and the Titan heatsink, I thought, OK, I could this and I've always been conservative when building.

[Rydeen]

So I'm thinking more and more of http://www.amazon.co.uk/Noctua-NH-L9i-Cooler-Socket-1155/dp/B009VCAJ7W/ref=pd_sim_147_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0PAA7JGYZNM4QTZ15RE7

 

How much wattage does the fan add? What's it require from a CPU? Not matter how small?

[Stefan1024]

@ Rydeen

 

If you use a fan optimized heat sink passive, you only get 10 - 30% performance. A fan needs ~5 watt, but boosts the cooling up the rated wattage of the cooler. The fan should be as big as the heat sink.

The Noctua NH-L9i will fork for you. A bigger one like the Thermalright AXP-200 would allow you to use it as semi-passive cooler. But it won't fin in your case I think.

[Rydeen]

@Stefan1024

 

I genuinely have noe idea what I meant by "What's it require from a CPU?" lol. I've been building since DX2 66 days. Yes, that long ago, and no I'm not 40/45 etc. Just gone past but I was building at school and I don't think I've ever been so confused by a question I've ever asked. I have no idea what I meant by that.

 

What do you mean by 10-30% Perf?

 

 

I'm more worried about the PSU, though I've read many comments around the web that 180w will sort everything.

 

I'm sure I've heard you can turn off the boost, Turbo Mode on the i5-3570T that I have now ordered. I'm sure that'll help with wattage etc, I'll look around at voltage settings for that.

 

I am looking at the Noctua NH-L12 and I have some left over low noise adapters that will down-volt the fans that I will use with them to keep the wattage down and the volume of the machine. The only scary thing with that is 2 fans, hence more power than one fan. But I'm looking at it to assist getting air out too as there are no case fans and the top is open anyway.

 

Everything points to this working. Case is ordered, Motherboard is ordered (but delayed - due to a lost I/O shield by the seller), CPU is ordered, SSD will be here mid-month when I start my mates Krait B/W build and the memory is already here.

 

We'll see...

 

But let me know your thoughts ont hat NH-L12. If it goes over what I'm prepared to pay for a 2nd hand one, I'll get the NH-L9i

[Stefan1024]

@Rydeen

 

If you use a cooler that can cool 100 watts with a fan, it can oly cool ~15 watts without a fan. But this is oly a rougth approximation and is depended on a lot of other factors.

 

So lets summ up you power consumtion:

i5-3570T: 45 watts

750Ti: 60 watts

MoBo & RAM: 20 watts

SSD: 3 watts

 

Your max. power consumtion without fans is ~140 watts. A fan needs around 5 watts (PWM fans uses less power than the one with lowe noise adapter, since the adapter is a series resitor). So you can have up to 8 fans.

 

The HN-L12 will perform much better than the NH-L9i because of the much bigger heat sink. But please check it by yourself it it fitts. The NH-L9i will cool your 45 watt CPU without a problem but the fan has to work harder and produces more noice.