Going for a Sugo SG01 build :)

[skullkid]

Well I’ve been meaning to put together a new build for a while, constantly changing my mind on what I want. I’ve decided I’m going to build a HTPC but will be used for very light gaming (xbox for the main stuff!), general PC use and also as a Bluray player and to be able to stream via HDMI to my plasma + also as a jukebox. It’s to replace my aging Lian Li build with an old XP chip.

Budget wise I haven’t set one, just want value for money and something nice and quick for video conversion.

SG01 w/ 520w Antec Neo Eco modular psu
Asus p8p67-m pro mATX mobo
I5 2500k cpu
Big Shuriken cooler
Crucial M4 128gb SSD
LG BR RW
8gb Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey ram
AMD Radeon 1GB HD 5570

I’ll probably fit a soundcard. I’m not sure how far onboard sound has come but I will be outputting it to a decent AVR and some decent speakers so I think a dedicated PCI soundcard is worthwhile.

I’ll be using a usb IR receiver to program remote to for using as a media centre and use Windows 7. I’ve never done anything like this before so it will be interesting I’m sure. As a side note, how does the Xbox 360 interact with media centre and are there any benefits/pros of having my Xbox and HTPC work with each other?

I’ve only ordered a few parts so far as don’t have the time to build it at the moment. Any glaring errors and thoughts would be appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[skullkid]

Thanks a lot gents.

What IR receiver should I use? It will be controlled with a Harmony One so I don’t need a remote. Will any old USB IR receiver work well?

The tip on the HSF is well received. I did debate going for something like the NT06 but it has very poor reviews and if I do end up clocking the 2500k it’s not going to let me go too far. Plus I heard the Big Shuriken is pretty quiet and similarly priced.

I’m a little disappointed that my spec is working out quite pricey even with a budget gfx card but I’m just useless at down grading components once I make my mind up.

I will use a Toslink from my onboard soundcard then – my AVR although will accept HDMI w/ audio, it doesn’t decode the audio – it simply acts as a throughput. So I will have to run audio separately. It’s not a problem though.

With the latest Windows Media Center, is it quite straight forwards/quick to run Blurays from a setup like this?

 

[skullkid]

Because from what I've read there's a not a huge difference and the equivalent z68 for example would be more of a budget board. The Asus Pro is reasonably priced and should clock better if I want to.

If anything I think that z68 uses SSD caching which can slow down boot times?

The Asus board I'll be using has some great reviews.

If you're leaving it stock, go for the NT06 but I believe the NT06 performs worse than stock HSF coolers. But obviously you've got the benefit of it being totally silent.

 

[skullkid]

how are you getting on with the Shuriken? I wanted to keep it as quiet as possible hence going for the NT06 but my supplier has let me down and most other places are order on request. I need a cooler ASAP really.

Hi mate, I've not actually built it yet. I've got some parts at home, just been so busy recently. I'd imagine it's a pretty damn quiet cooler though.

I'm thinking of altering my spec anyway though as I am not sure I'll need an i5 2500k. I will not do any real gaming on this rig and I think it will be a waste.

 

[skullkid]

Well I spent most of my weekend building and playing around with my new setup.

I went for the Shuriken Rev. B and it was okay. I did what people said here and flipped the fan over so it was blowing air towards my PSU. The only thing that concerns me slightly is blowing warm air into the PSU could be a problem but so far, so good. At first I was worried I hadn’t installed the cooler properly. It’s the first time I’ve used push pins and 1 of the corners in particular was being a complete b!tch. No matter what sequence I pressed them down in, it kept popping up. A bit of brute force and some hail mary’s and it seemed to go in. I was still a bit concerned if a) I put on enough or too much thermal paste and b) that I kept moving the heatsink around a lot. However, after having a scare from Speedfan (said CPU was 88deg C on idle!!!) I downloaded CoreTest which gets the temps of each core and they are around 30-36deg C on idle with light load. I still need to run a stress test mind you but so far so good.

Also, is it normal for the BIOS temps to keep rising? I read somewhere that during initial boot (BIOS) the CPU is under load, because it starts at 30 and keeps rising until late 40’s. However, as I say, had PC on for a few hours yesterday mainly idling with CoreTest and it was stable.

I have a couple of teething problems still that I’m not sure if anyone here could help with….

Firstly is my monitor; I am using the DVI and HDMI output on my Radeon HD card. The HDMI goes to my plasma and the DVI goes to my monitor. However, sometimes my monitor will just go to sleep. I tried putting my PC to sleep yesterday (as it will always be ‘going to sleep’ as will be using as a media centre) and on wake-up, every time, my monitor would not wake up, but my plasma would do. Has anyone come across this at all? First things first I’m going to replace the DVI cable. I have had issues on my old PC though using the same DVI cable and monitor with sometimes the monitor not coming on when I initially boot up my PC. If the DVI cable doesn’t do anything it looks like I’ll have to invest in a new monitor.

The only other teething issues is just setting up my Harmony One to do all the things I need it to. I need to program the ‘Off’ button to also exit out from WMC and put my computer into sleep mode.

 

[skullkid]

I sorted the noise issue, I used the fan power splitter in the ASUS mobo box. I now have both chasis fans running off the CHA_FAN1 connector. Previously I had the drive bay one running on PWR_FAN and it was just running high constantly.

Haha - I didn't even know there was a splitter with the motherboard - I just disconnected the drive fan as I feel it doesn't really do much anyway.

Mine also reports as 1333mhz - have you sorted this out at all?

Cheers.

 

[skullkid]

Okay mate, thanks a lot – I’ll check tonight. I have a problem at the moment with my HDTV + my monitor both hooked up (DVI + HDMI) where my BIOS is unreadable (can only see top left) so I have to disconnect the HDMI if I am to change BIOS – more annoying than anything. I’ll check to see if I can run 1600mhz without any problems.

Like you I had my HDD cage fan plugged into the PWR_FAN and then I realised what was causing the horrific fan noise.

As I’m only running an SSD in there it’s okay. I’m going to get a 3TB HDD but I will go for an eco one with low heat – shouldn’t need a fan with that as the new ones do run cool from what I’ve read. Less fan noise the better.

I have flipped my fan over as suggested on here (as you know the clearance between the HSF and the PSU can isn’t much at all) so air is blowing away from the CPU. My temps are around 30-38deg on idle/light use. What are yours?

I really wasn’t a fan of the Shuriken clips – they didn’t fill me with confidence.

 

[skullkid]

Hi,

The noise difference is majorily significant isn't it when taking it off the PWR_FAN jack.

Myu operating temps in idle are similar 30-38, I've not put much stress on it yet but am happy with these so far I did find I was getting a knocking noise after flipping the fan but I wedged a small bit of plastic between the heat sink and fan and it sorted out.

I’ll check I haven’t thrown the splitter away. but still, after I’ve installed my storage drive I’ll use Crystal Disk Info to make sure it’s not overheating. I too am happy with the temps when you consider how tight it is in that part of the case + my case is in a cupboard so the airflow isn’t great.

My SSD is running at a cool 30 deg.

I did run 100% stress test on the CPU for about 30-45 minutes and the temps stabilised at about 68ish.

I’ll try and get some pictures up of my internals.

 

[skullkid]

Well I found out how to get it to 1600mhz (you need to change the DRAM settings in the BIOS to force it at 1600mhz). However, doing so does increase the CPU speed slightly (talking like 100mhz!) however it has made it run slightly warmer (mid to high 30's idle).

I'm about to run Prime95....

 

[skullkid]

Okay well I ran Prime95 for 1 hour (going to bed now zzz) and it stabilised at around 75 deg which is about the maximum I would be happy with from reading what these CPU's can handle. I was thinking of dropping the voltage back but at those temps I'll leave it. My PC is never running 100% load.

 

[skullkid]

Sorry, I must have been mistaken with the CPU speeds, as it's showing as stock - not sure why I thought it was higher.

However, I have played around with turbo boost on and off. I'm not sure, but tbh I think Turbo Boost is probably a good thing for me as I watch a lot of movies off here and so I think the processors would run at a more power-saving state (and cooler!) when watching films without compromising on performance.

For example, it's running at just over 1600mhz at the moment (as it's at idle) and my temps are 29-30deg.

Do you have turbo boost on or off?

 

[skullkid]

Our temps are about the same.

IIRC it’s because the Asus tool is just detecting the CPU temp where as CoreTemp is showing the temps of the actual cores. I think that’s correct anyway.

I think Turbo Boost is worthwhile enabling.

I have used SpeedFan but for some reason it doesn’t read the CPU temp correctly – had a bit of a fright using that as it was saying my idle was around 80deg! God knows why.

It’s good to know we are getting the same results on very similar set ups. Peace of mind at least.