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A6-PACK ☆ ISK 300-90 picoPSU HTPC A6-3500 Very Silent!
doesnt seem to block the PCIe port for me http://imgur.com/a/Ib1Op#0

the Big Shuriken v2 can even cool effectively a 130w TDP CPU.
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Hello,
Do you think A8-3850 is ok for this built? I am thinking of spending some extra money on the apu in order to extend the period that I will need an upgrade.

Thanks
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well, the A8-3850 is 100w TDP.
altho i`ve seen a successful user here,
were still investigating the needed power brick for such a APU...
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The A8-3800/3820 (65W) would have been perfect for the job - nowhere to be found. Confused

I think A8-3850 in this build should be very possible provided some undervolting & underclocking is done.

Quote:We toyed around a bit and finally achieved a stable -0.275V undervolt. When we set the voltage offset to -0.3V the system crashed with a blue screen. With our stable setting though, it ran the CPU and GPU stress tests without a hassle. With only the CPU cores loaded power consumption was down to 123W. Adding GPU load to that raised it to about 142W. As you can see on the CPU-Z screenshot, with this setting, the CPU cores were operated with only 1.136V (note that due to how VIDs work, this is actually -0.288V). Running idle, power drain dropped to 55.6W, which is only a minor improvement, since most savings come from power gating in this state.
Link


The guys doing the undervolting kept the APU at stock 2.9Mhz & got the power consumption down to 142W from 209W under full load.
I think by dropping clock rate say to 2.4Ghz it will allow further undervolting & than a135/120W power brick might be plenty.

In fact the elusive A8-3820 is stock clocked at 2.5Mhz & runs at 65W TDP. So with some underclocking & undervolting i feel confident we can get the 3850 down to 65W also.

I would be happy to drop little clock speed & in return have an additional CPU core & a 25% faster GPU over A6-3500.

In the future if needs change could always use CPU in a new build & overclock to 3.6+ & with additional twin slot graphics card.

I have never used water cooling to date & is something i might consider. Corsair H60 for next build if i can find the right case. To be honest i haven't found one that i'm entirly happy with & the Antec is the best compromise i have come across. Lian Li QC09 would have done the trick for me but than it doesn't have a single PCI slot - how daft.


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be careful with readings here...

u must compare apples with apples...

a microATX board consumes more Watts then a mini-ITX system obviously...,,,
and they used a 7200rpm mechanical HDD and a 600W PSU...

u cant compare readings with Beer40's A6-PacK!
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This build is exactly what I was looking to accomplish. Super low power, nice and cool, nice and small, fast and affordable. Nice to see a vetted build and place an order knowing everything is going to work well together. Great not having to worry if the ram is too tall or the hsf won't fit. I decided to go for a 64GB crucial M4 SSD, but everything else is the same Smile Well, I also went for the no-cutting Scythe..

Can anyone answer this though? Will the higher power brick make the system draw more watts overall? I know we can get away with the 65W, but for 10-15 bucks more, I wanna be cautious..

P.S., the prices for the bricks are lower than what's posted in the op link!

Also, if anyone has a microcenter nearby, they're selling the CPU for $60.

Thanks!
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Beer40oz
have you tried using AMD post processing...like noise reduction, etc?

I'm curious as to how that 6530D GPU handles it. My HD 6450 does not handle it. I'd like to get an A6 or A8 but would like to see a substantial improvement in GPU post processing ability.
I'm not an expert but I play one at work.
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(2012-04-27, 02:57)JoeBar Wrote: This build is exactly what I was looking to accomplish. Super low power, nice and cool, nice and small, fast and affordable. Nice to see a vetted build and place an order knowing everything is going to work well together. Great not having to worry if the ram is too tall or the hsf won't fit. I decided to go for a 64GB crucial M4 SSD, but everything else is the same Smile Well, I also went for the no-cutting Scythe..

Can anyone answer this though? Will the higher power brick make the system draw more watts overall? I know we can get away with the 65W, but for 10-15 bucks more, I wanna be cautious..

P.S., the prices for the bricks are lower than what's posted in the op link!

Also, if anyone has a microcenter nearby, they're selling the CPU for $60.

Thanks!

What can I say .... I tired.... lol

Umm I have not clue if the 65w or 90w draws more power I don't have a power meter.....
I think I should get one and test out for you guys..... I can't believe I don't have one of them and I do a lot of computer work! lol....
But honestly stick with the 65w...... problem solved. (im using my 65w, 90w brick going to another that will use it better witch it will need for PARs 100% full load.)
Pretty amazing how many people are building this now.

(2012-04-27, 03:30)Livin Wrote: Beer40oz
have you tried using AMD post processing...like noise reduction, etc?

I'm curious as to how that 6530D GPU handles it. My HD 6450 does not handle it. I'd like to get an A6 or A8 but would like to see a substantial improvement in GPU post processing ability.

Never had... im sorry I can not help you on this.... maybe someone can..... or I could try one of this days! Wink

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I really like this build, the only problem I am having is ordering the mini keyboard...
I live in Holland, Europe.
mini keyboard

Maybe someone knows of a european or dutch reseller for this product?
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Can you pop a Blu-ray drive in this additionally?
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(2012-04-27, 17:09)Systemic33 Wrote: Can you pop a Blu-ray drive in this additionally?

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid...pid1080482

You may! and if you get the 1100 Shuriken that needs no cutting of the bracket.... even more room....Wink

But no one has tried yet that I know off.....
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were waiting for one to try Smile
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(2012-04-27, 18:33)eskro Wrote: were waiting for one to try Smile

I will be doing this with mine..

as soon as I have funds Wink
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perfect, keep us up2date
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I have just ordered this case and want to go fan less like your build. Only problem is where can i get a 120W or 135W power brick in uk that will work with this case thanks
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A6-PACK ☆ ISK 300-90 picoPSU HTPC A6-3500 Very Silent!10