Speccing Media Center PC - case & water cooling

FrankGrimes

I’m trying to spec a Windows Media Center PC for my sister. I’ve recently built one myself but her requirements are different as it will be in the same room as the TV so needs to be quiet (I’m using extenders so have the PC in another room so the fact my machine sounds like an Apache attack helicopter is not vital, though as you’ll see in my other thread it is a bit much).

So my sister needs a machine that looks like a piece of home entertainment equipment and not a PC, and also needs it to be silent.

I’m ok with the specs needed for MCE so think I know what CPU, motherboard, RAM, hard disk, TV Tuner (Hauppage PVR 500 MCE) and peripherals to get. So I’m looking for any suggestions on decent looking reasonably priced HTPC units that will fit enough gear into it, and also advice on how to cool it silently. I think I’ll find a fanless graphics card to recommend as it won’t be used for any games.

What does water cooling involve and can it be used to totally replace all fans? What price is a decent one?

Overall budget is €1800, to include the €130 for MCE (comes with XP) itself.

Nice one.

dalk

Hi,

I have a Media Center in my living room that is extremely quiet, rock solid (has never actually crashed in 6months of use) without using water cooling and like your sister it is not used for games so does not need to be super fast...

My spec:

Asus mobo with passive heatsink on the northbridge. No annoying whine from those small fans...

Slightly underclocked (reduced the voltage a bit) AMD Atlon XP 2400+ CPU: Speed adjustable fan on top of OTT (for the CPU) copper heatsink. Result: Fan cannot be heard. CPU more than powerfull enough and kept reasonably cool. (Remember no gaming, but perfect for MCE duties).

Nvidia 5200 GFX with passive heatsink. Result: Silent. (Again not for gaming, but perfect for MCE duties)

Harddrive enclosure like this. Result: In conjunction with one of the quieter HD's on the market, means that you only hear it when it is really doing a lot of seeking. Removes the whine... As a bonus, it actually reduced running temp by 1degree C.

This fanless powersupply. Result: Silent and more than enough power for a mid spec PC. There are a good few on the market now...

All put into this case which has one speed adjustable 80mm fan on the back. A lot of the MCE cases have (often dual) 60mm fans which are generally noisy. The case is big btw but airflow is good, meaning fan can be run slow.

I then put some damping material into the case, again to try and reduce noise...

Overall a very quiet system that can only be heard at night with the sound off. And then it is only the sound of air moving and not whinning fans... You will have to believe me that i would not be able 'relax' in the same room as the vast majority of PC's out there. Their noise drives me up the wall...

Water cooling is not neccessary in my opinion for a quiet PC. (Plus it requires more maintainence, which means you will probably be called on...)

Anyway, your budget is pretty generous, so to avoid the above maybe go for one of these babies.

I wish you could buy these enclosures and build yourself...:rolleyes:

FrankGrimes

dalk - thanks a million for that

Your setup sounds pretty much spot on for whats needed and looks like it'll work out nice and quiet. Does that mobo support S3 Standby?

My sister is pretty sound sensitive - she can't sleep with if a toothbrush charger is plugged in in the bathroom next to her room so it does need to be damn quiet, but from what it sounds like your setup can't be heard when the TV is actually running so it should do just fine.

I'll put together a spec along similar lines to yours later on and see what it comes in at and maybe post for advice on it. Nice one.

dalk

Hi...

Off the top of my head its an Asus A7N8X...i think. I'll check later and confirm. Nforce based chipset. Good quality board... Should be going quite cheap now that Socket A boards are on the way out.

Yes it does support S3 standby, and more importantly it works with the PVR500, which i have found to be one finicky bastard when it comes to what it feels like working properly with (hardware wise)...

FrankGrimes

I've stuck together a provisional spec on Komplett here

In that spec I have an AMD 64 processor and an Asus 8N mobo with PCI-Express (this would be nice to have for future compatibility). But I'd still be interested in seeing what parts you have in your setup as the saving might justify it as future-proofing is not a high priority if its sole purpose is MCE.

Can I get passive heatsinks to add onto any mobo or do I need to get one with it built in? Likewise for the CPU?

I basically just chose the first PCI_E gfx card with passive cooling that was on the MCE compatibility list, but as with all, am open to suggestions (this one doesnt seem to have a VGA out which I think is weird).

So I think it might be possible to get some cheaper components and knock a few quid off this price which currently comes to about €1450 inc. delivery if I get the HD siliencer and dampener you recommended.

Glenagoolie

Quick question for ye as ye have MCE running. Is the Irish EPG up and running for MCE ?

thank
R

dalk

Spec is pretty sweet ...but for an MCE that wont be gaming, you could build cheaper.

The criteria for my MCE was to build a stable, quiet PC at as low a cost as possible. Futureproofing (which costs extra) was not one of my aims. Depends on what you want, of course. Hence i chose outgoing SktA components... if my budget had been €1800 it would be a different beasty

To answer questions:

You can get a passive heatsink for the northbridge chip. I've installed a few on mobos with no hassle... cant say for sure with the board you've chosen.

The 6600 will be more than adequate and mean you can even use this with your MCE (for what its worth).

AMD64 will come with a stock heatsink and fan, which will do the job. But if you want some peace you may have to replace the fan and/or the heatsink. Just make sure its skt939 compatible and will fit on your motherboard (some of them are monsters). Have a look at Kompletts range and do some googling, in regards to your mobo choice. (I have had at least one occasion where a heatsink would not fit because of a capacitor on the mobo being in the way...)

While you are at it. See if you can google anyone who has the PVR500 working in conjunction with your mobo choice. I've found it to be a very fussy card indeed. Better to be sure.

You will also have to buy a case fan. Make sure you get one with speed adjustment, so you can tweak it and find the sweet spot of noise versus ariflow... Same goes for the CPU heatsink fan.

One thing to note about the fanless PSU i have, is that unlike most, there is a big heatsink sticking out the back of it. No big deal, just in case you hadnt noticed and found the fecker was in the way when ya get it :rolleyes:

Quick question for ye as ye have MCE running. Is the Irish EPG up and running for MCE ?

thank
R

Answer: Yes