HTPC Build

[Phobia]

Well, i've finally got almost all of the parts in for my htpc.

That, obviously is my case. I painted the inside all black, and cut a plexiglass window for the top, so you can see in.

That is with the plexiglass just laying on top. I have got to figure out a way to mount it. I am also kind of nervous of drilling ventilation holes in it, because i don't want to crack it. So i've got to try it on the rest of the plexiglass sheet. I just haven't done it yet.


The rest of my build is including the Asus M3A78 HDMI 780G motherboard, AMD x2 4800+, 2 gigs of crucial rendition 667 mhz ram, and an asus 3450 Fanless video card. I'm hoping the case's 250W mATX psu will be enough, i'm not sure though :( i can't find any other mATX psus


I'm also going to water cool it :P I'm using the DB-1 because it is small and cheap, the mcr120 qp res and a swiftech apogee GT cpu block.

I messed up on the mcr120. I thought it said g1/4" threaded, but it was 1/4" barbs, so i'm going to have to order 1/4" tubing, and a 1/2 to 1/4" reducer. I also need to figure out a way to mount my rad. I was hoping to mount it inside, but that is looking grim. the only fan port on the case is an 80 mm and the rad is 120

[CMetaphor]

Looks like a good build so far! I do have a concern though = your power supply. A mATX (or SFX) power supply normally doesn't have the strong 12v rails (probably just one 12v rail actually) so I'm be a bit worried about how much current your watercooling setup is going to pull. And you've already bought your processor? I might've suggested getting a newer "e" processor that uses much less power and has a lower TDP than the regular X2 AM2 ones. Just some food for thought!

**Don't forget to cover the plexiglass with masking tape! Should stop scratches and may help with the cracknig issues somewhat**

[Phobia]

yes, i've already bought my cpu. I too have concerns for my psu. however since i cannot find a bigger one for local pick up *can't do internet orders, as i do not have a credit card* i'm kind of in trouble. I'm in vancouver, if you guys know of a place i could get a decent one.

[Nodscene]

Phobia, you dont' need a credit card to order from NCIX. They do email money transfers which is a great option. I had to do that for a while when I didn't have a credit card either.

[Supergrover]

Originally Posted by Nodscene

Phobia, you dont' need a credit card to order from NCIX. They do email money transfers which is a great option. I had to do that for a while when I didn't have a credit card either.

NCIX has stores in the Vancouver area, click the link just head on over.;)

http://www.ncix.com/contact/

[Synth]

Originally Posted by Phobia

I messed up on the mcr120. I thought it said g1/4" threaded, but it was 1/4" barbs, so i'm going to have to order 1/4" tubing, and a 1/2 to 1/4" reducer.

The MCR120, unless you got an old or unique model, IS G1/4" threaded. As a matter of fact, almost all rads are, except for the thermochills and some few others...

1/4" tubing and barbs are useless and reduce flow way too much IMO.

Can you swap out the barbs on your rad?

[Phobia]

Originally Posted by Synth

The MCR120, unless you got an old or unique model, IS G1/4" threaded. As a matter of fact, almost all rads are, except for the thermochills and some few others...

1/4" tubing and barbs are useless and reduce flow way too much IMO.

Can you swap out the barbs on your rad?

yeah i know most are, but this has built in barbs :( i already tried.

and yes i know about ncix, its the only store i buy from.. lol :P


thanks about the email money thingy, i didn't know about that.. but they still don't have any mATX power supplies

[CMetaphor]

Another option would be to get an "extra" power supply into the system to power the watercooling or almost anything else (even the system itself). Its called a pico-PSU: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...ure=Mini%2DBox

Could be a good option to help you out!

Edit: Looks like that one is no longer available... but you should be able to find/order a similar one for most computer stores.

[Phobia]

yay i finally got all of the parts in, and my head out of my ass.


put cable cover or whatever its called over some of the wires, which will be seen, makes it look prettier





where my harddrive goes, its actually pretty cool. got a 500 gb 7200.10 on there



i was trying to find a decent place for the pump. it just barely fits, infact my harddrive cage is ontop of it, and doesn't close by about 2 mm. but, close enough for me, as i can bend the plexiglass to cover it.


the finished case, without water in it.

[Phobia]

Edit: I fixed my problem.

However, i do have a new one. I have a copy of Top gear Polar Special in HD. its 7 gigs, and a .mkv I use vlc media player to play it, and on my gamer pc it plays fine. however, in my HTPC the video freezes on one frame for about 10 seconds, then jumps to another. Is it because my video card, or cpu isn't powerful enough?