My Girlfriends Htpc
- Thread starter Davedree
- Start date
The case has arrived and I've got a few more pics.
The case isn't the greatest looking but it was cheap and came with a psu and has room for a slimline dvd/bluray drive.
I'm well impressed with the speed of the little thing despite the low clock speed and single channel memory etc and an old sata hdd. When opening programs its feels very responsive and suprisingly snappy.
Running it on windows 7 ult with 4 gig of 1333.,
It handles 1080p blu-ray and 1080p youtube superbly using powerdvd 11 or mp4 etc on wpc, (Cpu load hovers between 20-50 % with no slowdowns.
But as peeps may know it cannot play hd streams on bbc iplayer. The flash software needs updating.
Future plans involve either a samsung f3 1tb or an ssd, I'd make more use out of a hdd than an ssd at the moment due to the storage space.
The next thing i plan to buy is a slim-line internal dvd drive, or blu-ray drive,
but as my main pc has a blu-ray drive I may jusy get the dvd.
Overall it does everything that its intended to be used for.
Blu-ray playback to a 42 inch tv in the front room with the ability to browse the internet whilst being small and quiet with acceptable thermal levels.
.
The case isn't the greatest looking but it was cheap and came with a psu and has room for a slimline dvd/bluray drive.
I'm well impressed with the speed of the little thing despite the low clock speed and single channel memory etc and an old sata hdd. When opening programs its feels very responsive and suprisingly snappy.
Running it on windows 7 ult with 4 gig of 1333.,
It handles 1080p blu-ray and 1080p youtube superbly using powerdvd 11 or mp4 etc on wpc, (Cpu load hovers between 20-50 % with no slowdowns.
But as peeps may know it cannot play hd streams on bbc iplayer. The flash software needs updating.
Future plans involve either a samsung f3 1tb or an ssd, I'd make more use out of a hdd than an ssd at the moment due to the storage space.
The next thing i plan to buy is a slim-line internal dvd drive, or blu-ray drive,
but as my main pc has a blu-ray drive I may jusy get the dvd.
Overall it does everything that its intended to be used for.
Blu-ray playback to a 42 inch tv in the front room with the ability to browse the internet whilst being small and quiet with acceptable thermal levels.
.
thanks for the comment,
I looked into this for quite a while and I wanted to go mini-itx as opposed to m-atx.
The sandybridge option looked great but I know theres a bug for 24p playback that can't be fixed. For the price the e350 can't be beat but with Llano not too far away It may have been wiser for me to have waited. I'd like to think that bbc iplayer will improve as i sometimes experience dropouts even when using my 6950.
I can honestly say you wouldn't be dissapointed by zacate, but if you can afford to wait get Llano, or If you want more cpu power then get a mini itx 1155.
I looked into this for quite a while and I wanted to go mini-itx as opposed to m-atx.
The sandybridge option looked great but I know theres a bug for 24p playback that can't be fixed. For the price the e350 can't be beat but with Llano not too far away It may have been wiser for me to have waited. I'd like to think that bbc iplayer will improve as i sometimes experience dropouts even when using my 6950.
I can honestly say you wouldn't be dissapointed by zacate, but if you can afford to wait get Llano, or If you want more cpu power then get a mini itx 1155.
Its just been the Iplayer Hd streams so far. i've tried the hardware accleration options and it made no difference. To me it seems that the flash software is poorly optimised and the cpu cores cannot cope with the workload due to this.
For my dropouts on my 6950 I think thats due to my broadband being capped at peak times.
For my dropouts on my 6950 I think thats due to my broadband being capped at peak times.
What kind of case is that?I'm using a wee IBM now which works no problem, but that case looks ideal!
i'm not sure if i'm allowed to state the company name but will anyway
Envizage MTX-002B Black Mini ITX Case.
Hello there, Yeah nice to see you bought one too. The fan on the motherboard is almost inaudible but has no speed control and is fixed at arund 3000rpm. I have had to strip down the case due to temperature problems, When first installed it idled at 41 and load was 53 ish. It then idled at 53 and load hit 68 c.
After playing about the culprit is the psu supplied only has a fan to cool the transformer/switching heatsinks and it sucks in the air within the case.
As I didn't have any airflow through the case or exhaust(thinking it didnt need it)
The apu heatsink was suffering form heatsoak due to the psu.
I'm now idling at 38 with a load off 55 c on prime cool & quiet enabled.
With two silent 60mm fans and an old 80mm aimed over the cooler.
You might experience temperature problems with that case you've chosen and these chips don't undervolt very well, I've just fitted a slimline dvd drive but need a slim line sata power cable !! doh
let me know how you get on fella
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I drilled a series of holes on the side panel and rotated my psu 180 degrees so that the fan can extract the psu heat out the case. Seems to have helped with temps a bit.
I've still got temp problems. Bios reads 41-43 with a vcore of 1.280v.
aida64, core temp and hwmonitor all show the same idle temps but these seem to be 10c higher than the temp displayed in et6 or bios.
I'm just about the download xbmc and have a play thats the main reason i wanted a htpc for that program. Get some pics of yours and create a thread mate.
I've still got temp problems. Bios reads 41-43 with a vcore of 1.280v.
aida64, core temp and hwmonitor all show the same idle temps but these seem to be 10c higher than the temp displayed in et6 or bios.
I'm just about the download xbmc and have a play thats the main reason i wanted a htpc for that program. Get some pics of yours and create a thread mate.
thats a really nice case, can see the exhaust fans are right next to the heatsink for the apu etc.
I've managed to get mine to idle at around 41 now, max load sees 55-58.
How well does it work with the ssd? as i'm still using a 6 year old sata lol.
I've managed to get mine to idle at around 41 now, max load sees 55-58.
How well does it work with the ssd? as i'm still using a 6 year old sata lol.
lol hi, nope to the gf, but my gdad now has the case with a h61 and a g540.
Its an m-itx case, so I don't think a micro atx would line up to the rear backplate, However I have a g31-gs so can measure it to the case. I'm seeing my gdad tmrow so if you want me to measure the internal dimensions of q1-3 I can.
There will be a few issues though,
i dont think the holes will line up to atx board and then the baord to the backplate entrance??
the cpu cooler has to be either standard or low profile,
the power supply is pretty good but I had to modify it to stop it dumping heat into the case.
the case really makes a hdd run hot, so i'd advise you use a ssd.
theres no slot for a gpu, so you'd need to gary grinder a slot for the gcard !
Its an m-itx case, so I don't think a micro atx would line up to the rear backplate, However I have a g31-gs so can measure it to the case. I'm seeing my gdad tmrow so if you want me to measure the internal dimensions of q1-3 I can.
There will be a few issues though,
i dont think the holes will line up to atx board and then the baord to the backplate entrance??
the cpu cooler has to be either standard or low profile,
the power supply is pretty good but I had to modify it to stop it dumping heat into the case.
the case really makes a hdd run hot, so i'd advise you use a ssd.
theres no slot for a gpu, so you'd need to gary grinder a slot for the gcard !
Ok physically the motherboard would fit width ways and depth is just about doable, I have made up a mock of your board dimesnions with paper, My psu is rotated 90 degrees too.
Depth is going to be your problem if you need an extra 25mm for overhang for a gpu then the max you could get is 15mm and that would involve cutting away the bulkhead support at the front of the case. pictures here
Seems a lot of effort when m-itx h61 and celeron so cheap bud. Or a better case is available.
Depth is going to be your problem if you need an extra 25mm for overhang for a gpu then the max you could get is 15mm and that would involve cutting away the bulkhead support at the front of the case. pictures here
Seems a lot of effort when m-itx h61 and celeron so cheap bud. Or a better case is available.