[prawnee]

I've decided to replace my AMD Zacate E350 lounge HTPC for no other reason but to speed things up as the E350 is getting a little bit tried. Having said that the E350 has been an excellent little HTPC for me over the last year or so and introduced me to the wonderful world of XBMC and for the price (at the time) couldn't be beaten. Having saved a bit of cash over the last couple of pay days I decided to buy the following;

AMD A6 5400K Black Edition CPU (3.6GHZ, 1MB Cache, 2Core, HD7540D, Socket FM2, 65W)
MSI FM2-A75IA-E53 mini itx motherboard
PicoPSU 120w Power Supply & 120w external PSU
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 Memory
Noctua NH-L9a Low Profile CPU Cooler

I'm recycling the following until I can get my grubby little paws on some more cash;

WD Scorpio Blue 320GB 2.5 inch HDD
Inwin BQ656 Mini ITX Case

I’m using a Harmony Touch and RC6 receiver to control the whole thing.

watch gallery

My plan is to replace the Inwin case with a Streacom F7C case if I can get one on the cheap. The thing is that I do really like the look of the Inwin case my only worry is the heat and air flow inside the case. Although the Noctua HSF is the lowest profile fan I could find at only 37mm it is noisy! The Inwin case is supplied with a 80w power supply which I have removed both to make more space in the case and because, well it's redundant due to the PicoPSU. So I guess my question is what is the best way to monitor temps and control fan speed and what temps should I be aiming for? I’m also planning to get a SSD to speed up booting times.

The only other issue to deal with is fabricating I mounting plate for the Pico which I will be doing at some point this week. Oh and BTW this is a Windows build.

[GortWillSaveUs]

Check out the Cooler Master GeminII M4 - CPU Cooler with 4 Direct Contact Heat Pipes. It's a very low profile cooler that is extremely quite.

Temps for an A6 should range between 35-45C
Anything above 50C would show me that I had a problem.
Over 55C trouble.

Ping user Dougie in regards to the Pico mounting plate. I believe he might have what you need.
Thanks for sharing the pictures!

The SSD will also drop temps down if you swap out the 320GB drive.

[EndersShadow]

I have the Noctua AMD version of that same cooler and it runs quite quiet. I would look at what your BIOS settings are for the CPU fan. I am using a Wesena ITX-6 case and while there is a slight whoosh with the CPU cooler, its nothing I can hear from very far away.

Also keep in mind with that case the more vent holes you have the most noise can escape. With a Streamcom case that wont be an issue, since you will be going with their heatsinks.

I would suggest also looking at the Wesena and Orgien cases. The Wesena ones are VERY nice and cheaper and you could use all your hardware still in a smaller form factor.

[prawnee]

Check out the Cooler Master GeminII M4 - CPU Cooler with 4 Direct Contact Heat Pipes. It's a very low profile cooler that is extremely quite.

Temps for an A6 should range between 35-45C
Anything above 50C would show me that I had a problem.
Over 55C trouble.

Ping user Dougie in regards to the Pico mounting plate. I believe he might have what you need.
Thanks for sharing the pictures!

The SSD will also drop temps down if you swap out the 320GB drive.

I actually have a GeminII M4 in my desktop and it's way to big to get in the case. Thanks for the other info though.