Looking To Build Llano Based SFF HTPC Very Soon

Coln

Coln

Coln

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Joined
18 Oct 2002
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238
Location
Scotland
Hey all,

I've decided a Llano based SFF HTPC is the way forward for me (and if my g/f likes it she might want one too!)

I've had Lian Li cases for the last wee while and love the style and construction so just wondering if a PC-Q09B would suit my purposes.

Right first thing is it needs to be quiet, i've a PC60 here at the moment and after replacing the 80mm ones with quieter fans it's still quite loud. Also needs to have a dvd-r in it (for blu-ray i have a Sony standalone player) and will have an SSD along with a larger 3.5" storage drive. Use will mainly be for surfing, music playing and very light photoshop work, so the Llano seems ideal for this.

So would this all work?

Lian Li PC-Q09FB
Llano A8-3850 (its only £'s dearer than lower ones so best getting biggest one??)
Very quiet CPU cooler??
Motherboard??? (For sound i'd like optical or hdmi (preferably both). Sound going into a Marantz AV receiver
DDR3 memory??
Silent PSU??
DVD-RW??
SSD??
WD 1TB (at least) HDD for general storage

Already have NEC 20WGX2 20.1" monitor, Logitech wireless keyboard/mouse, so the rig is the only thing to think on.

Budget of around £300-£400

Many thanks for any help, appreciated
 
I went for an A4-3400 since I couldn't justify the extra expense for an HTPC which will only be used for watching movies/tv shows so no need for the extra power (also the A4-3400 is 65W compared to 100W for the A8-3850).

I assume it's the Lian Li PC-Q09FB that you are looking at? (The Q09B is a more expensive case than the FB model). I believe this only has space for a 2.5" HDD so that will be quite a bit more expensive (and I don't even know if WD produce a 2.5" 1TB drive) than a 3.5" drive but other than that you shouldn't have much problems.

Asus have a mini-ITX board out with a free remote but Overclockers don't seem to stock it at this moment unfortunately.
 
Ah right just noticed the higher power draw from the bigger Llano cpu's.

It was the Q09FB that i was looking at, but have to say the after looking further afield the Q08B is taking my fancy. Still small 140 & 120mm fans would be quiet, room for HDD's and ATX PSU, very tempting. No stock around until next month seemingly tho and defo don't want a red one lol
 
You want to look for a8-3800 llano for the quad 65w, ocuk only have the a8-3850. Personally I'd just grab the tri core a6-3500 which is 65w and available now.

As to the case, I've looked at this for myself and it's just 1 2.5" drive in it unless you mod it....
 
Cheers for that, Would even consider an i3 based system as well.

The one 2.5" sdd would be a bit restrictive, as then it's either optical or 3.5" hdd or external.

Trying to source a Lian Li PC-Q08B which seems ideal for what i'm looking for, few places have stock coming in next month according to websites.

Ah too many choices for my little brain here lol
 
As far as silent PSU's go they aren't cheap. I have a Seasonic X-460FL. Completely fanless design, but you can get a cheaper 400W version. Super high efficiency so less heat is producted. (Not in stock @ OcUK)
But if you are looking to go very small then you'll need to find some flex or Pico PSU's

It won't matter which Llano APU you go for really. if your using it to simply play media then all the work will be offloaded to the onchip GPU: 6410D/6530D/6550D depending on your choice.
lsg1r's suggestion: The A8-3800 looks a good one for power consumption though: review

In small cases you'll need to look for a low profile CPU cooler. like the Scythe Shuriken

Edit: for quiet 120mm fans have a look for some 850RPM Scythe Gentle Typhoons.
 
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I thought I'd add some ramblings...

I have a triple cored A6-3500 and have been very impressed with both it and the AMD CPU fan. I haven't got my build fully up and running yet (it hasn't been a fun build :() but in general use and windows updating the system seems very quiet. I don't think blu-ray playback, which should be it's main use, will push it that hard either.

The Asus deluxe mitx board is feature packed and the UEFI bios is neat, but the layout has caused me some issues with one custom heatsink. The general "fiddlyness" of working with it has been a drag too, though the case I'm using and its stupidly short cables haven't helped at all. :(

As for ram, I used 4GB of 1600mhz Corsair XMS. I'm astonished at how cheap ram is at the moment.

The small Lian Li cases are lovely, but rather fiddly, occasionally quirky and prone to scratching unless handled carefully. My current PC Q11b and v351 are testament to all that. :D
 
Thanks guys, definitely something to think about. Might hold off until the Q08B becomes more available next month, seems a better choice with loads more space, and not too much bigger
 
Personally I would go for:

Lian Li PC-Q07 - £50
120W PicoPSU setup - I just made mine for £32, can get kits for £50
Llano of your choice, I'd probably go bottom range for a htpc myself
Same with motherboard, not really sure on that. Ideally go for one with voltage control on cpu and ram.
4gb DDR3, the speed won't matter.
Finally go for something like the Thermalright HR02, it will fit with you using a PicoPSU.

You will then get away with running a single fan on the heatsink at like 500rpm and still have excellent results. You might not even have to go that good to make the pc very quiet, but I do wonder whether passive could be possible.
 
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