HTPC with Core 2 Quad Processor Q9550 LGA775 build help.

[saayinla]

Hi All,

Pulled this processessor at work from an old Server with 4Gb of PC2 667 Ram, thinking of using it for an HTPC build, but looking for the smallest Case possible with an ITX Case??? if possible LGA 775. Fanless CPU coller if possible and silent power supply.

Overall my question is, is it worth it really as this build is just an impulse build based on the availability of both items above.

Please advise.

Thanks in advance.

 

[saayinla]

I think you'll find it hard to find a Mini itx motherboard TBH (zotac used to do them) Micro ATX shouldn't be a problem.

I think M-ATX should be fine, any pointers would be appreciated. Thinking of getting a proper HTPC Media Centre Case actually. Would this be a problem you think?

 

[saayinla]

getting a compatible mitx 775 board might be tricky/dear, but the pc would be plenty potent enough for a htpc. Considered using a pi and streaming from your main desktop instead though?

Thanks for the info. I actually just got a pi-2 , just set it up today in the bedroom pretty impressive, thinking of getting another, probably stream like you said as I have a dedicated proliant Server in the loft for back up media storage, so just need a device to serve the media to the living TV etc.

 

[saayinla]

Small & Fanless with that CPU will be difficult.

my suggestions on what to buy (Cheapest & Small & Quiet)

YOUR BASKET
1 x Seasonic G series 360w '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply £52.99
1 x Silverstone Milo ML03 HTPC Case - Black (SST-ML03B) £47.99
1 x Raijintek Pallas 140mm Low Profile CPU Cooler £33.95
1 x Asus GeForce GT 210 SILENT Low Profile 1024MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card £16.99
Total : £165.42 (includes shipping : £11.25).



The G series is quiet (Well my 550W version is anyway) Every Seasonic PSU I've bought has been quiet, a feature I insist on.

The card has an HDMI output, which consider an essential for HTPC & will take the load off the CPU for media playback, blu-rays in particular if you plan on going down that road, good luck with that.

Storage I'll leave down to you, I'm still researching on what HDD to buy for my HTPC as I'm getting smart failure readings on the Samsung 500GB thats in there right now.

Optical = Pioneer = never let me down.

Thanks for the time and effort, this seems really reasonable. Was looking around this price point earlier as I would really like to keep the processor and not flog it on.

 

[saayinla]

Take a step back and decide what you need it to do and what you want it to do (they may not be the same). If it's simply to stream local/LAN content then a Pi will do that easily. If it's to stream online sources such as Navi-X etc then the extra grunt the Pi2 is a good shout.

If that is your main usage then i'd struggle to see why on earth you'd hang on to a power hungry quad that gets given a run for it's money by an i3 in many instances, where as a Pi2 will run on a fraction of the power silently and take up much less space. If you want to do more advanced stuff like run background downloads via your chosen method and file serving/network services then by all means consider something like a NUC, you'll still see reasonable money for the Q9550 which go towards funding the above.

Yeah you're really going to struggle doing low power and/or fanless with one of these old Yorkfield chips: they were pretty power hungry even by 2008-09 standards.

As Avalon said, ask yourself what it will do that a Chromecast or Raspberry Pi won't, then decide if you have other uses that require the extra grunt.

If you don't mind the fan and want to run a Minecraft server, for example, it could be a good compromise.

Thanks for both, really reasonable.