HTPC GA-Z68MX-UD2H-B3 1-1-2012
Parts List HTPC:
1 GIGABYTE GA-Z68MX-UD2H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
1 G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9Q-16GBXL
1 Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K
1 SeaSonic X series SS-400FL Active PFC F3 400W ATX12V Fanless 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
1 Crucial M4 CT256M4SSD2 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
1 Western Digital Caviar Green WD30EZRX 3TB IntelliPower 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
1 LITE-ON 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM 8MB Cache SATA Blu-ray Burner with 3D Playback iHBS212-08 LightScribe Support
1 IOGEAR GKM561R Black 2.4GHz Wireless HTPC Multimedia Keyboard with Laser Trackball and Scroll Wheel
1 SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum / 0.8mm SECC Grandia Series GD05B micro-ATX / Mini-DTX / Mini-ITX MB, 1x5.25", 2x3.5"+1x2.5"HDD or 1x3.5"+2x2.5"HDD, 3x120mm golf bladed fan, 11" expansion card capable HTPC Case
1 USB 3.0 Module Part Number: 14G000516101
References:
1 Arctic Silver Manual for i5 Sandy Bridge (2nd Generation i5)
Extra Software:
1 Allawy Sync
Other items that I already had:
1 Artic Silver 5
1 Artic Silver CAN-60ML (2-PC-Set) Thermal material Remover & Surface Purifier
After the build I added the Logitech C910 I had to the setup.
This build was essentially the same as my previous HTPC build. The following items were changed from the previous build: CPU, RAM, OS drive, Data drive, Keyboard.
As with my previous build I can hardly say enough good things about this build. When I first started up the new build I ran Prime95 for a substantial amount of time and was seeing maximum temps like shown below after continuous running for 2 hrs (my intention was to cook it).
Shortly after this run and a number of reboots I again turned on the Hardware monitor for 4 days and got some amazingly low temps when the build was idle and not so bad temps when the build was running 100%
The minimum on Core#4 was 20C while the max on Core#2 was 49C. Note also the idle temp on the 30EZRX was 25C – this is consistent with the lower drive temps I’m seeing on the 20EZRX’s I put into my server last month.
I am using the Stock CPU cooler which for the i5 is about the same size as the one for the i3 but the base of the coolers are different – the i5 Stock cooler is heavier I believe and the base is copper while the base for the i3 cooler appeared to be aluminum. The Stock cooler for the i5 is quite silent and overall the case is pretty quiet.
My Windows Performance index is higher in all categories but the biggest jump is with the HD3000 graphics in the i5-2500K.
Here is my System Information Page:
I’m finding this build to be quite solid and stable.
The performance of the Cricial M4 has been outstanding (this is a HTPC so I'm mostly concerned about the read speeds -- but the write speeds aren't shabby either):
While the Data drive WD30EZRX is pretty good and gives me plenty of space to back up my OS drive, store recorded TV programs, and do some testing with AllwaySync to back up some files from my Server.
You can see in the picture below the copper based heat sink and the CPU – you may noticed that both have been cleaned and tinted and the Artic Silver 5 has been applied (in a relatively straight line) in preparation for mounting the heat sink.
In the next picture you see the inside wiring before the Hard Drive assembly and the BluRay assembly are mounted onto the case.
So, after some finishing touches:
I am ready to install:
I really like this machine – the performance is exceptional and the power usage at idle is a respectable 35-40W. It has been very solid so far and I’m expecting to get a lot of use out of it.
