[JoachimL]

Howdy, people!

Long time lurker, first time poster here. I'm in the process of specing up an HTPC for our living room. I'll be running a linux version of XBMC, streaming media from a NAS in another room.

Requirements:
1. SILENCIO
2. 1080p
3. 3D capable

After perusing these here forums for a couple of weeks, this is what I'm planning on buying unless someone tells me otherwise. Excuse the norwegian links.

PSU: Corsair TX 650W PSU (on sale right now) or Enermax PRO87+ 500W
CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 640
MB: Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H
GPU: Zotac GeForce GT 430 1 GB Zone Edition
HD: OCZ Vertex 2 40 GB
RAM: Kingston HyperX DDR3-1333 4 GB CL7 or OCZ DDR3 4 GB Platinum Dual Channel i5 (latter on sale right now)
Case: Silverstone GD05B

So, what does the XBMC community think?

Should i save about 600 nok and get the corsair psu, or should I get enermax with detachable cables (has anyone tried the GD05B with non-detachable cable PSUs)?
Is the RAM I've selected OK?
How about the passively cooled Zotac GT 430, will that do?

And most importantly, will this be a quiet build?

[Talaysen70]

I have the Silverstone GD05B case and the Zotac GT430 video card. Be aware that the heat sink on that video card doesn't fit very well in the Silverstone case. You will either need to shave off some of the heat sink or modify the case top. Other than the clearance problems between the heat sink and the case, I haven't had any problems with the passive Zotac GT430 card. There are some good tips about configuring the card here: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid...otac+gt430

I found the case fans in the Silverstone to be quiet enough for my use. They aren't totally silent, but they are pretty darn quiet. The stock CPU fan will probably be louder than the case fans.

There is lots of room inside the Silverstone case. I had no problems with routing non-modular power supply cables around inside the case.

[eskro]

Honestly, the PSU 650W is overkill,,,,
even the 500W one...

If you dont plan to use your HTPC for Intensive Video Editing Tasks
such as Encoding/Ripping/Converting/Transcoding,
buying an Athlon X4 is totally overkill....

Reduce the CPU to a Dual-Core. the PSU to 350W & the RAM to 2GB (2x1GB)...

[JoachimL]

Talaysen70: Thanks. I'm a man of many thumbs, so modifying either the case or the heat sink isn't that tempting. Are the GT 430s with fans noisy?

Eskro: My thought on getting a rather hefty PSU is twofold: It's recommended by silentpcreview.com, and by getting an overdimensioned PSU it wouldn't be taxed hard enough for it to make any noise.

I do get your point with the CPU and RAM, though. I'm sort of future-proofing a bit, I might want to transcode some stuff to the xbox at some point.

[JoachimL]

Eskro: Would you say that a e.g. 350W PSU would be as silent as the two I mentioned? If so, have you got any recommendations?

[eskro]

its not about being silent or not,,,

Any PSU can be silent or Noisy....

its about not paying too much for a PSU that u dont need,,,

i like the ANTEC EARTHWATTS 380W

[JoachimL]

What does that mean? "Any PSU can be silent or noisy"? I appreciate your input, but I get the feeling you're not quite gettting what my goal is. From silentpcreview's review of an EarthWatts PSU:

"The Earth Watts seems best suited to systems where absolute silence is not the goal."

[eskro]

i understand you want a Silent HTPC....
What i also meant was, no need to pay for a 650W PSU when
your setup would only require like 350W to run properly....

Now if you dont wanna hear nothing at all,
then go for a Passive PSU (FanLess) like the Antec Phantom 350W
review --> http://www.silentpcreview.com/article188-page1.html

[bmcclure937]

For the PSU you can go two ways... passively cooled (such as a Seasonic) or active.

Obviously, the passively cooled will be silent but it will also be more costly.

For an actively cooled PSU I also highly recommend the Antec EarthWatts. They are solid PSUs and are efficient. You do not want to purchase a PSU that is way overpowered, as it will run less efficiently. Modern PSUs run most efficiently under a larger load.

[bmcclure937]

By the way, having the goal of a completely silent HTPC is all fine and dandy... but it is honestly not practical.

My HTPC is not silent when I am crouched next to it with my ear on the case. The main culprit is the GPU/CPU fans. The case fans and the PSU fan are hardly noticeable besides the "whir" sound of air moving. The 120mm fans are great for moving air while remaining relatively quiet.

If you find passive cooling systems for your CPU/GPU then you will be fine. And the reason I say aiming for a "silent" HTPC is not practical is because you will usually be sitting 15 feet away from the device and will be playing media (with sound).

Any sound from the media (even when very quiet) will overpower the little noise your HTPC makes.

[eskro]

Any sound from the media (even when very quiet) will overpower the little noise your HTPC makes.

+1

[maxinc]

Long time lurker, first time poster here. I'm in the process of specing up an HTPC for our living room. I'll be running a linux version of XBMC, streaming media from a NAS in another room.

Requirements:
1. SILENCIO
2. 1080p
3. 3D capable

I could be wrong but I don't think there is 3D support in linux yet so unless you plan to put Windows on it and use a 3rd party software, the 430 may be too much.

If you want to keep it as silent as possible, a lower CPU would play everything just as well but will use less power, generate less heat and ultimately less noise. Most of the transcoding stuff is Windows based so you may want to consider your choices. For non transcoding tasks like ripping, downloading, muxing etc, you can do with only 2 cores just fine, with plenty of room to spare.

[JoachimL]

All right, understood. i'll look for a lower power PSU. Thanks again for the advice, both of you. I guess it's no secret that I've based my build on bmcclure937's.

I guess I'll go for a slightly modified fanless Zotac as well. How about the RAM I've selected? Will it do the trick?

[eskro]

post your build again plz

[maxinc]

How about the RAM I've selected? Will it do the trick?

For linux I would say it's too much but for a Windows transcoding setup, any extra ram is welcome.