tojoski 3 Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 I'm looking at replacing my existing HTPC with a smaller fanless / noiseless htpc that I can leave on 24/7 and use very little power. Here are the parts I have picked out so far: Case / PS: Akasa Euler passively cooled thin-itx case. http://www.akasa.com.tw/update.php?tpl=product/product.detail.tpl&no=181&type=Chassis&type_sub=Mini%20ITX&model=AK-ITX05-BK Motherboard: Intel DH61AG thin-itx motherboard http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/motherboards/desktop-motherboards/desktop-board-dh61ag.html CPU: Intel Pentium G630T http://ark.intel.com/products/53484 Ram: Kingston Valueram 8Gb PC1600 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0089JIDUI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER Storage - OS: Intel 60Gb msata http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BD8LV0G/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3LJ5WMKNRFKQS Storage - Timeshift / TV Recording Western Digital 500Gb 2.5 AV-GP http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004SB8YQ4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER I looked at several of the embedded atom and amd based barebones mini pc's, but after testing media center on an atom N2800, I was left unimpressed.. maybe it would be ok with something like xbmc, but playing 1080p mkv's with lossless audio from WCM / My Movies is just more than the atom could handle smoothly. The G630T is a 35w TDP processor, so it should hopefully run passive without an issue, and yet is almost 4 times as powerful as the N2800 and a decent upgrade from the LGA775 e6500 that I'm using now. All in all I'm looking at about $550 to build this not including the OS which I already have.. either Windows 7 or Windows 8, I haven't decided yet..I have an extra unused copy of both. Thanks and I appreciate any opinions you guys may mave, including other options to go fanless. Link to post Share on other sites
ikon 439 Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 I'm interested to know what info you've found on whether that CPU can actually run without a fan? I'm wondering if the drive is big enough; maybe a 1TB would be better? Link to post Share on other sites
tojoski 3 Posted February 21, 2013 Author Share Posted February 21, 2013 The case itself is the heatsink for the processor, the mfg reccommends a 35w TDP cpu, but it has been tested here:http://www.silentpcreview.com/Akasa_Euler_Fanless_Thin_ITX_Case with a 55w cpu. TV shows are automatically archived to my WHS2011 box; I think the 500 should be big enough. Link to post Share on other sites
ikon 439 Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 That's an interesting chassis. I've never hard of them before. Maybe they're not available in North America. Link to post Share on other sites
schoondoggy 895 Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 The picture on their website is the application I have been thinking about. This case has VESA mounting holes. Your configuration would make a nice Windows 8 PC mounted to the back of a touchscreen monitor, do it yourself AIO. Link to post Share on other sites
tojoski 3 Posted February 21, 2013 Author Share Posted February 21, 2013 It's the cheapest AIO form factor case I could find that was truly passively cooled. This company has some really nice cases too, but a bit out of my price range: http://www.hd-plex.com/ Link to post Share on other sites
tojoski 3 Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 I may use this board instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128587 most of my previous builds have been Gigabyte boards. Link to post Share on other sites
ikon 439 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Gotta like Gigabyte. Link to post Share on other sites
schoondoggy 895 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Who sells the Akasa cases? Link to post Share on other sites
ikon 439 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 In North America, I have no idea. Link to post Share on other sites
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