Hush-Build: Simple passively cooled HTPC

[Tordal]

Hi!

After getting a bit into e-sports and wanting to use my TV a bit more, I decided to build myself a HTPC.

This is my 2nd build ever, and it's a pretty simple build. It's a bit fiddly installing the CPU cooler, but other than that it's straight forward.

And it's completely silent (as long as I'm not using the optical drive). A bit strange since I'm used to at least have silent fans as a confirmation that the system is running. Nice when watching movies though!

Specs:

- Case: Streacom FC5B Evo

- Mobo: Gigabyte GA-Z87M.D3H

- CPU: Intel Core i5-4570S

- RAM: Crucial Ballistix Tactic LP (8GB)

- Storage: Kingston HyperX 3k SSD (240GB)

- PSU: Streacom NANO150 PSU adapter (150W)

- ODD: Streacom ST-OB2 DVD/Blu-Ray

Images:

Super ready to start building!! :)

The inside of the case without any components in it

Motherboard is in and... Damn it... Lesson learned, never ask Komplett.no for help with picking components for you build!

Take two! Let's try again. Self picked motherboard this time :)

Passive CPU cooler in place! (came with the case)

SSD, RAM and the Nano-PSU installed. And some ugly cables as well! Glad there's no window :)

Ready to boot soon... Damn it #2... Not standard size. At least that's my fault for not noticing :)

Take three! Cable installed! The PSU cable was a bit short, and no way of extending it without modding, so it'll have to stay like it is :)

Finished build:

A lousy attempt of doing some glamour shots with a mobile phone, roof lighting and on the floor :P

[Guerrero]

Beautiful, looks real great and looks like something that should be by the tv lol

[xToFxREAPER]

Whats a system like this cost? i was thinking about doing something like this for movies and whatnot :) looks great btw

[Tordal]

In Norway (where everything is ridiculously expensive) the total cost is around 1150 USD. All the parts are listed in the first post so if you would like to check what it costs then just look up those parts on the shop you usually buy from :)

 

Obviously you can make a HTPC with way cheaper parts than the ones I have in my build. This is completely overkill for it's purpose, unless you want to do some simple gaming on the system as well :)

 

EDIT: Oh, and thanks for the compliments! :)

[Guest GRRigger]

Fastest small HTPC machine on the planet :D How hot does it get tho? 

[Tordal]

Fastest small HTPC machine on the planet :D How hot does it get tho? 

Hehe, fast enough at least :) The CPU temp is around 38-42°C on idle. Haven't had the time to put it under load yet :)

[Nicktrance]

That looks really cool and sleek :).

 

Hehe, fast enough at least :) The CPU temp is around 38-42°C on idle. Haven't had the time to put it under load yet :)

 

I wonder how hot the case gets since it's basically a giant heatsink :D.

[Guest]

That slimness really looks good :)

How does the psu work?

[mvitkun]

looks really nice,does the case get hot?

 

also why not go with an AMD socket FM2 A6 or A8 series processor instead?

seems like a better and cheaper solution for an HTPC.

[Tordal]

Thanks everyone :)

 

I wonder how hot the case gets since it's basically a giant heatsink :D.

It doesn't really get that hot. I expected much worse, but while viewing 1080p movies and under a little bit of simple gaming the case doesn't really get hotter than 30-35°C when the CPU is sitting at around 50°C.

 

How does the psu work?

Quite fine actually. Haven't had any issues with it yet at least. Don't think it's good for any more components than what I already have though :)

 

also why not go with an AMD socket FM2 A6 or A8 series processor instead?

seems like a better and cheaper solution for an HTPC.

I'm an Intel fanboy :) Well not really. But I'm not too familiar with AMD products. I've hardly ever used any of their CPU/GPUs :) And I didn't really look at the prices when I ordered the parts :P

EDIT: Oh, and I'm not sure about the heat output from AMD processors. The passive cooler can only handle so much. That's my main reason for going with a haswell CPU. :)

[mvitkun]

I'm an Intel fanboy :) Well not really. But I'm not too familiar with AMD products. I've hardly ever used any of their CPU/GPUs :) And I didn't really look at the prices when I ordered the parts :P

EDIT: Oh, and I'm not sure about the heat output from AMD processors. The passive cooler can only handle so much. That's my main reason for going with a haswell CPU. :)

well the A6 has a 65 watt TDP,same as haswell.

 

and the A8 has a 100 watt TDP.

 

but even the A8 is half the price of the 4570s on komplett.no

[Tordal]

well the A6 has a 65 watt TDP,same as haswell.

 

and the A8 has a 100 watt TDP.

 

but even the A8 is half the price of the 4570s on komplett.no

Oh well. Might not be the best price/performance CPU. I'm not too bothered about the price though, as long as it works as intended then I'm happy :)

But I'll check with the red camp next time I'm building a HTPC. Thanks for the tip :)

[Guest]

 

Quite fine actually. Haven't had any issues with it yet at least. Don't think it's good for any more components than what I already have though :)

Cool cool  - i meant what kind of psu is that, that you can fit in such a thin case! Is it external?

[Tordal]

Cool cool - i meant what kind of psu is that, that you can fit in such a thin case! Is it external?

Oh! Yes it's external. It's pretty much a PCB with a 16pin connector and wires sticking out of it, plus an external brick like the ones you find om laptops.

If you google the PSU in the first post you'll fins more info about it :)

[Homicidium]

Awesome! Looks absolutely gorgeous. 

I'm curious about what temps you're getting!

[TicTac]

Nice job looks awesome!

[pcexplosion]

Nice

[MakeMebad1978]

Looks nice, hugely benificial for me as i've been looking at that case for a while but not found any build logs or youtube vids of builds in english. Your 1st "damn it" with the heatpipes not reaching could have been solved by getting the extended heatpipe kit. What was the 2nd motherboard you ended up using? what was your 2nd "damn it" moment refering to as not being standard?

[Raboo]

Damn that's nice

[Tordal]

Looks nice, hugely benificial for me as i've been looking at that case for a while but not found any build logs or youtube vids of builds in english. Your 1st "damn it" with the heatpipes not reaching could have been solved by getting the extended heatpipe kit. What was the 2nd motherboard you ended up using? what was your 2nd "damn it" moment refering to as not being standard?

Nice to hear that it's been useful for you :)

I'm afraid that the extended heatpipe kit wouldn't have done much, since the heatpipes also covered the power connector on the motherboard. The motherboard I use is in the spec list :)

The 2nd "damn it" was that the power for the ODD was a slim-line connector, so I had to go and buy a new cable since it didn't come with either the ODD or the PSU :)

For those of you who are wondering about temps: I had some problems installing Windows 8 on the PC (kept getting an error halfways through the installation). I didn't have time to fix it before I left on vacation, so expect updates no sooner than in around two weeks time :(

[Tordal]

Just a quick update for those of you asking about temps.

I ran 3-4 hours of Dota 2 on the PC while listening to music, and the case was a little warm to the touch but that's it I would guess aroudn 40 deg. C

[spwath]

Just a quick update for those of you asking about temps.

I ran 3-4 hours of Dota 2 on the PC while listening to music, and the case was a little warm to the touch but that's it I would guess aroudn 40 deg. C

What about CPU temp?

[JAKEBAB]

wow that is so sexy it would be awesome if they made it a bit taller so u could get a pcie ribbon cable and put a discrete gpu i would love that.

[spwath]

wow that is so sexy it would be awesome if they made it a bit taller so u could get a pcie ribbon cable and put a discrete gpu i would love that.

You can put a single slot GPU in if you look at the pics

[Tordal]

What about CPU temp?

50-ish deg C