[customx86]

This is my little HTPC setup.





Mind the finger prints near the power button

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I installed the Noctua CPU cooler because sometimes you could hear the stock fan over what you were watching
This cooler is awesome, its whisper quiet and keeps is pretty cool.


Connected to my sound system via optical S/PDIF (its really old and doesn't have HDMI ) which decodes dolby and dts sent from XBMC.
I wanna get a new amp one day so I could bit stream HD audio.


The controls.



HTPC Specs:

[CASE] Silverstone GD05 Black USB3.0
[MOBO] ASRock H77M. H77 2xDDR3 2 *PCIex16 GBL RAID DVI HDMI VGA USB3.0 SATA3
[CPU/GPU] Intel Core i3-3225 55W / Intel HD 4000
[CPU FAN] Noctua NH-L9i Low Profile (using the Low-Noise Adaptor that came with this fan)
[RAM] G Skill 4G (2x2G) DDR3 1600Mhz
[SSD] Intel 520 series 120GB SSD
[HDD] Western Digital Green 3TB Green 64MB SATA 3
[PSU] SeaSonic S12II 430W 80+ PSU
[WIFI] TP-Link TL-WN951N Wireless N PCI Adapter (currently renting and I cant drill holes everywhere to run cables)
[KEYBOARD] Logitech K400
[REMOTE] HP MCE remtoe
[MISC] BitFenix Sleeved Power Cable,5V, 20CM, 1x 4-Pin Male Molex to 3x 3-Pin (I used this for the 3 case fans to reduce the fan voltage from 12V to 5V)

I built this HTPC about 8 months ago after the macbook I used to run XBMC on started to struggle playing anything above 720p and some sports that was 60fps.
Took a little bit of work to get everything working just right but now its setup perfect. It doesn't even get above 10% cpu usage playing high quality 1080p movies. This thing is quiet too! I have to sometimes look at the power led to see if its on. With this motherboard you can power on the pc by usb keyboard once its enabled in the bios and this works with my wireless keyboard. I want to say thanks to elitegamer360 for his Custom Registry XBMC now works perfectly with my MCE remote. I also use EventGhost so I can quickly launch firefox when I need it with a press of a button on the remote or keyboard.

[Jetster]

Clean lines. Love the case I have one too. Also the K400

Check mine out if you haven't yet

[customx86]

Thanks mate. It's the best keyboard to have for a HTPC.

[customx86]

Just a few more pics

The receiver for the HP remote and the two logitech dongles for the wireless keyboard and mouse.
I used usb extension cables to hide the dongles and give the front of the HTPC case a nice and clean look.




The rats nest of cables, I tried to tidy them up the best I could.

[asa79]

You don't find it overheating with that little space around it?

[customx86]

It usually idles at around 40°C and I've seen it max out at about 50°C. I live in Australia and it gets pretty hot here, are those temps ok?
Soon I'm going to cut a bigger hole in the back of the cabinet for more hot air to escape out of.

[asa79]

It usually idles at around 40°C and I've seen it max out at about 50°C. I live in Australia and it gets pretty hot here, are those temps ok?
Soon I'm going to cut a bigger hole in the back of the cabinet for more hot air to escape out of.

Your main fans are on the side of the case. I had same issue with my lian li case fans on side and had to move it to have better side air flow. If your going to make holes the side fans are your best if that's possible

[Jetster]

Your airflow and temps are fine. Leave it be. It has all kind of space

[Solidify]

Hey customx86, nice build. I should have opted for that case. Check out my build thread if you can. I'm using some of the same parts as you, by fluke: PSU, RAM. But I'm building it all in the a tiny Silverstone case which is turning out to be a nightmare. Would love to get your feedback...

[nooryani84]

Wow, really great design!

I dig your movie lounge btw