Mighty Mini-ITX HTPC Build

I think I'm going to get one of these mobo's and sell my Atom board.

Does anyone know if the stock Intel cooler will fit ok in the Noah Mini ITX Case?
 
Not 100% (think it was the wolfdale low profile heatsink) but i saw one picture showing a small cut to the optical bay mount frame. Nothing massive but possibly fiddly none the less.

gt
 
gt_junkie said:
Not 100% (think it was the wolfdale low profile heatsink) but i saw one picture showing a small cut to the optical bay mount frame. Nothing massive but possibly fiddly none the less.

gt
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Ah fair enough. How much bigger is Inwin case compared to the Noah? And is it of similar build quality?
 
Noah's better built plus i think i prefer the space in it too.

Only limiting factor is the need for a lappy optical drive rather than a full sized 5.25".

Other benefit of the Inwin is the 120w PSU vs the Noah's 80w.

gt
 
Hahaha, I like that a lot, I just can't justify ever getting one as I have no need for one, unless I came into some money, and wanted a HTPC for a projector setup I'd just bought ;), and my family wouldn't want one, as they have about 4 PCs I've built for them already. As it takes a C2D I'd imagine that'd make a nice little business PC actually - not much space, dual monitor support and relatively power sipping, not to mention faster than most of the cr*ppy business pcs the likes of HP stick out in small form factor. I know a mate who might be very interested in that build (he gets obssessive with smaller...he'd probably stick an ASUS D1 in the spare port!)
 
Would it be possible to use a Q8200 with this case; considering the cooling and noise with Intel's stock cooler?

Also if I were to use a slimline laptop optical drive what good CPU cooler for Q8200 would fit?
 
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Hey supra,

First off your sig should only be four lines rather than five - the rules unfortunately.

As for the quad the q8200 is supposed to be a very cool runner (one of the coolest - even compared to duals) so should be ok using the supplied low profile cooler. Also, if you do use a slim drive then you'll have loads of spare space free which will allow that same heatsink to cool better meaning you wouldn't need anything else.

Biggest impact to temps i've seem relate to incoming cool air. Initially i tried the side fan as an exhaust but temps were uncontrollable. Keeping it as an intake sorted it but make sure to use a filter of some kind or the case will fill with dust.

gt
 
Thanks for the quick reply!

I am actually more concerned about the noise levels. If i understand correctly, even with a laptop optical drive you cannot fit anything bigger than the Intel stock cooler?
 
You may be able to fit some of the lower profile coolers from Hiper, Silverstone and Thermaltake if you wanted but TBH i've found intel's own low profile stock cooler to be very quiet indeed.

Cooled an e6600 @ stock for hours, kept temps well controlled and never got noisy.

I'd quite honestly give the stock cooler a try and if you decide it's too noisy go for an aftermarket model - that way you won't be spending money for the sake of it. :)

gt
 
gizmo1990 said:
Have you connected this up via HDMI to a LCD tv? I'd be interested to know if the 2 handshake properly and you get a picture from it every time?
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I have it hooked up to a 24" monitor, a BenQ FP241W. No problems so far.

supra21 said:
Would it be possible to use a Q8200 with this case; considering the cooling and noise with Intel's stock cooler?

Also if I were to use a slimline laptop optical drive what good CPU cooler for Q8200 would fit?
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The Q8200 is a pretty nice chip. I have seen a build in this case using E8x00 dual cores, which are not any different in terms of power or heat. As gt says, there should be no problems.

The Intel stock cooler is fairly decent, it only gets noisy in my build when the temperatures start to climb during prolonged viewing. It is worth trying out the stock cooler first, especially if you are using a full size 5.25" drive.

If you do use a slimline optical drive, then I should imagine that the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Low Profile that I tried would fit. It was a tight fit on my motherboard and too tall for the full size 5.25" drive bay by a good few millimetres.

gt_junkie said:
Biggest impact to temps i've seem relate to incoming cool air. Initially i tried the side fan as an exhaust but temps were uncontrollable. Keeping it as an intake sorted it but make sure to use a filter of some kind or the case will fill with dust.
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Really? I currently have the fan as an exhaust. If I try it the other way round, maybe I can reduce the noise from the cooler during prolonged load. :)

Happy said:
Great looking build :)
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Thanks! :D
 
Total-Game said:
Really? I currently have the fan as an exhaust. If I try it the other way round, maybe I can reduce the noise from the cooler during prolonged load. :)
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Yep, really! :)

Idle figures after prolonged use were reaching close to 60c with the case fan as an exhaust. With it as an intake (filtered) my idle max's at 52c and general system temps are lower.

gt
 
Check this case out, you get 120w power supply and better looking in my opinion.
I wonder if there is enough space for a low profile after market cooler.

Youtube video:
 
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supra21 said:
Check this case out, you get 120w power supply and better looking in my opinion.
I wonder if there is enough space for a low profile after market cooler.
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That's a competitor link, I suggest that you remove it.

The Compucase 8K01 is alright, but it has no option for a full size 5.25" drive, no PCI expansion slots and does not offer any extra headroom for the CPU cooler. It does not really compare with the BM648, which manages to offer a much greater level of flexibility in a package which is only slightly larger.

That said, the choice is entirely dependant on what you want to achieve. For my build, I needed a low profile PCI slot for a TV card. Plus the fact that a full size 5.25" Blu-Ray drive is about £100 cheaper than a similar slim version.
 
supra21 said:
Check this case out, you get 120w power supply and better looking in my opinion.
I wonder if there is enough space for a low profile after market cooler.

Youtube video:
*snip*
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God ! Don't know whether to weep or laugh. Seen his videos before and his attempts of dry humour just runs chills down my spine.

Yeah competitor link... Best remove it.

Oh btw be careful if you even think about using them... The PSUs are cheap, nasty and very noisy. (he's actually demonstrated a few on camera LOL)
 
Looking good.

Am I right in saying the Zotac wouldn't take a pci card such as a X-Fi Gamer soundcard?

I am interested in a Itx build for the small footprint it offers and as I would use it a lot for music listening I would be wanting to use a soundcard.

Also how would a build like this compare to a 780G+4850e in terms of power consumption and across the board performance?
 
Atom said:
Looking good.

Am I right in saying the Zotac wouldn't take a pci card such as a X-Fi Gamer soundcard?

I am interested in a Itx build for the small footprint it offers and as I would use it a lot for music listening I would be wanting to use a soundcard.

Also how would a build like this compare to a 780G+4850e in terms of power consumption and across the board performance?
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hiya,

total-game will have to answer questions about what soundcard would fit, I'm gonna order this motherboard tonight so I could let u know later in the week.

Another option for good sound could be a DAC/headphone amp instead. Doing that would mean you wouldn't need a decent soundcard as the DAC / amp would do the work.
 
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