2013-11-11, 21:27
Stuck it out with my Boxee Box, but the little guy is starting choke on some recent things thrown at it. Decided to build up an HTPC for the living room that will also double as an emulator box.
Here are my Streacom build specs
Case - FC8 Evo
CPU - Intel Core i5-4570S Haswell 2.9GHz
Mobo - MSI Z87I
Memory - Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB)
Hard Drive - Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB
PSU - Pico PSU 150 + 150W adapter
IR - Wesena IR
I also ordered an internal USB 3 cable but the usb 3 port on this motherboard is directly under the heatpipes. The included cable is too bulky to fit under there. I think I found one that looks a bit less bulky, so i'm going to order it today and see if it'll work.
The PSU connector is also right against the wall that the heat pipes sit against. The cables of the Pico PSU are kind of crammed against the wall of the case, but i don't think it's enough to cause any damage to the connectors of the PSU.
One bank of heat pipes aren't sitting flush against the wall of the case. I thought the screws included in the case weren't long enough, but after heading to the hardware store some longer ones, i realized that there isn't any thread in the wall of the case. This means that the metal piece holding the heat pipes on are basically just held in place by tension. (this pic is before getting the longer screws, so it's not as bad as this, but still not flush.) I'm going to need to pull everything apart to put the new USB 3.0 cable in, so i'm going to bend the heat pipes slightly and hope they sit against the case a bit better.
CPU Cooling....
After getting everything up and running for a while, I noticed my PC was idling around 85C. Not good. I pulled everything apart and re-applied thermal paste to every nook and cranny I could think of. Put it all back together - now I'm idling around 75C. Better, but still not good.
I'm sure it will get slightly better once the 2 heat pipes are sitting flush against the case, but I can't help but think the proc is just too hot for this case. Contemplating going down to a 35w i3 or finding a low profile heatsink if adjusting the pipes don't make any difference.
Here are my Streacom build specs
Case - FC8 Evo
CPU - Intel Core i5-4570S Haswell 2.9GHz
Mobo - MSI Z87I
Memory - Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB)
Hard Drive - Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB
PSU - Pico PSU 150 + 150W adapter
IR - Wesena IR
I also ordered an internal USB 3 cable but the usb 3 port on this motherboard is directly under the heatpipes. The included cable is too bulky to fit under there. I think I found one that looks a bit less bulky, so i'm going to order it today and see if it'll work.
The PSU connector is also right against the wall that the heat pipes sit against. The cables of the Pico PSU are kind of crammed against the wall of the case, but i don't think it's enough to cause any damage to the connectors of the PSU.
One bank of heat pipes aren't sitting flush against the wall of the case. I thought the screws included in the case weren't long enough, but after heading to the hardware store some longer ones, i realized that there isn't any thread in the wall of the case. This means that the metal piece holding the heat pipes on are basically just held in place by tension. (this pic is before getting the longer screws, so it's not as bad as this, but still not flush.) I'm going to need to pull everything apart to put the new USB 3.0 cable in, so i'm going to bend the heat pipes slightly and hope they sit against the case a bit better.
CPU Cooling....
After getting everything up and running for a while, I noticed my PC was idling around 85C. Not good. I pulled everything apart and re-applied thermal paste to every nook and cranny I could think of. Put it all back together - now I'm idling around 75C. Better, but still not good.
I'm sure it will get slightly better once the 2 heat pipes are sitting flush against the case, but I can't help but think the proc is just too hot for this case. Contemplating going down to a 35w i3 or finding a low profile heatsink if adjusting the pipes don't make any difference.