2012-08-25, 16:49
I would like to share my build of an high performance HTPC for XBMC Eden with a power consumption as low as possible cause it is completely fanless and is also used as a family gaming console in the livving room.
So aim was a balance of enough 3D power and low consumption to be cooled passive. Housing host is the HFX micro from the austrian HFX company. The housing is extreme small - just a bit wider than its ITX-mini mainboard and is able the cool around 80-90W passive.
Here is the bill of parts used:
CPU/APU: AMD A6-3500, 2,1/2,4GHz, tripple core
MAINBOARD: Asrock A75M-ITX
RAM: DDR3-1666, low voltage, 2 x 2GB
SSD: OCZ Petrol 64GB
HOUSING: HFX micro
POWER: PicoPSU 90W with NB power supply 90W
The AMD A6-3500 APU has a TDP of 65W. Including mainboard the power draw was around 110W out of the box.
Thanks to the APUs quite low frequency is it very well undervoltagable so I ended up with 1,05V (default 1,4V) max core voltage with a PC performing on maximum with only 75W power consumption instead of 110W. Idle is round 21W. So undervoltage is necessarily with passive cooling here.
The gaming performance of the A6-3500 is quite on the same level as Xbox 360/PS3 running even high end games at mid detail level. It has a real DX11 engine and therefore performing better than any intel APU with TDP 65W or less.
But even with undervoltage passive cooling needs at least five heatpipes for getting away the heat when gaming. In XBMC mode max power consumption is around 42W when playing full HD videos leaving enough reserves for what to come in future.
Here are some pictures of my build:
HFX mini-ITX housing with passive cooling
the inside with optical drive build in
continue in next message----->
four heatpipes onto the APU and one additional for the northbridge
the northbridge cooler is selfmade - PicoPSU and optical drive bay
Have fun!
Mike
So aim was a balance of enough 3D power and low consumption to be cooled passive. Housing host is the HFX micro from the austrian HFX company. The housing is extreme small - just a bit wider than its ITX-mini mainboard and is able the cool around 80-90W passive.
Here is the bill of parts used:
CPU/APU: AMD A6-3500, 2,1/2,4GHz, tripple core
MAINBOARD: Asrock A75M-ITX
RAM: DDR3-1666, low voltage, 2 x 2GB
SSD: OCZ Petrol 64GB
HOUSING: HFX micro
POWER: PicoPSU 90W with NB power supply 90W
The AMD A6-3500 APU has a TDP of 65W. Including mainboard the power draw was around 110W out of the box.
Thanks to the APUs quite low frequency is it very well undervoltagable so I ended up with 1,05V (default 1,4V) max core voltage with a PC performing on maximum with only 75W power consumption instead of 110W. Idle is round 21W. So undervoltage is necessarily with passive cooling here.
The gaming performance of the A6-3500 is quite on the same level as Xbox 360/PS3 running even high end games at mid detail level. It has a real DX11 engine and therefore performing better than any intel APU with TDP 65W or less.
But even with undervoltage passive cooling needs at least five heatpipes for getting away the heat when gaming. In XBMC mode max power consumption is around 42W when playing full HD videos leaving enough reserves for what to come in future.
Here are some pictures of my build:
HFX mini-ITX housing with passive cooling
the inside with optical drive build in
continue in next message----->
four heatpipes onto the APU and one additional for the northbridge
the northbridge cooler is selfmade - PicoPSU and optical drive bay
Have fun!
Mike