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HTPC Thin M-ITX Build

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by manvadher, 10 May 2014.

  1. manvadher

    manvadher What's a Dremel?

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    Looking to build a HTPC that will run near silent as possible (ie, not pay a crazy amount for 100% fanless)

    Used to know the PC market well from back in the day, but a lots changed and I got stuck when looking at the Mobo / PSU.

    Mobo in question is the Asus Q87T (as it has 6gb SATA port). It uses a power brick of which the Asus website lists a selection. Great :)

    but... How do you power the SDD inside? Where / What provides the SSD the power connector? Given you only have an external brick...

    Stumped

    Also, additional question is that the case i want to put the potential build in is a Lian Li Q05.
    But then i want to have another Q05 underneath it, gut out the insides and use it has as HDD storage box (looks like 3x3.5HDD's can fit) with SATA cables running to the box above. Second Question would be how can the brick be used to power the storage box if thats even possible.

    Still figuring out if i can do some sort of suspensed trick in the second box to make the noise of the HDD's disappear but its an idea for a nice little HTPC and storage box :)

    Let me know

    thanks
     
  2. dancingbear84

    dancingbear84 error 404

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    Never used one myself, but the manual says that there is a sata power connection on the board and a sata power cable in the box. How that works in the real world with 4 x sata ports I have no idea, unless they can be chained together or something like a psu sata power hoojit.
    Would it be simpler to just pop all your media on a NAS type device and only run 1 disk in the htpc and stream the rest to it?

    Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
     
  3. manvadher

    manvadher What's a Dremel?

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    Thanks dancing bear. I'll check out the manual on the Asus site to see what it says for powering sata's of the board.

    Whilst a NAS is a possibility I don't have a need for one and justify the costs for having one. Having a htpc with ample storage is more than enough for what I need.

    But what about the brick. It provides ~120 to 150 watts of power. Is there a way to piggy back some of this power and make 3x data power connectors?
     
  4. manvadher

    manvadher What's a Dremel?

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    Your correct dancing bear. The board provides one sata power connector.

    This would work fine for the internal drive but can anyone provide input on how the storage box with potentially 3x 3.5 hdds run? Thanks all
     
  5. cdb

    cdb No comment

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  6. manvadher

    manvadher What's a Dremel?

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    Potentially but worried about drawing too much power from the on board power socket. My thoughts are that it would be designed to run one ssd + one odd. Having it run 3xhdd+ssd would probably cause a problem?
     
  7. biojellywobbles

    biojellywobbles Minimodder

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    Yes that could potentially cause a problem. When you turn on the machine and all the HDD draw the power needed to start spinning. It might be possible to use a larger capacity power brick but then I'm not sure how the on board power supply for stepping down from 12v would handle the power draw.
     
  8. Unicorn

    Unicorn Uniform November India

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    The Q05 a nice small case, but not when stacked one on top of the other! I don't think the power brick is going to power everything you want. I don't really see the point in using a thin client capable motherboard in a build with two cases. The board is designed in such a way as to take up as little space as possible in a case where space is a premium, like a tiny Streacom HTPC case or one of your Q05's.
     
    Last edited: 11 May 2014
  9. 13eightyfour

    13eightyfour Formerly Titanium Angel

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    I agree with both of the above really, but if you've got your heart set on a 'Stacked HiFi' look then you could buy an external HDD enclosure that supports 3+ drives and put the internals from it into the the second Q05 that way you would only need a single USB cable running between the 2 cases, although you will have a power source for each case. You would need to make sure that 'guts' of the enclosure would fit though.
     
  10. manvadher

    manvadher What's a Dremel?

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    Yeh that's look I want to go for but actually making the stack will be something in the future and was trying to figure out how it could actually work (might buy the second case now and leave it lying around) Like the idea of using the guts of a 3x external hdd box to power the second box of hdds.

    Came across these power bricks -http://www.usbnow.co.uk/p52/USB_2.0_IDE_&_SATA_Cable_(with_Power_Supply)/product_info.html

    Seem like they can power one or two hdds so that might be the cheap and low cost solution for now

    Going to find the rest of the components and post back to see if it would be all compatible

    Thanks all so far
     
  11. manvadher

    manvadher What's a Dremel?

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    Now onto the parts list - Please feel free to provide inputs as its been a while since I've built a PC and worried about height, size, clearance given its a thin mitx

    Asus Q87T
    i3-4350T (or I3-4330T if i cant find the refresh)
    Intel Thermal Solution HTS1155LP
    Lian Li PC-Q05B
    Any 2x4GB SO-DIMM 1600 Ram 1.35v (does it matter?)
    Samsung 120GB Msata
    Intel Centrino 6235n (half height PICE)

    No other HDD yet as I want to see how noisy a 3.5" hdd is inside this case and if one would even fit and based on that might buy a 2.5" SSD

    The last problem i have right now is finding a "good" power brick to run this device on (ie, branded brick). Only thing one I have see is this, http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/ttWWW/Product.aspx?S=1338&ID=1958

    Anyone have ideas on what else can be used? (i've heard that old dell laptop chargers work too, should i ebay one?)

    Thanks
     
  12. manvadher

    manvadher What's a Dremel?

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    Final Review

    Pretty much done on what I want to order now - Last final check if anyone sees anything wrong with the items below.

    Changed from a low power CPU to a normal version as it will still be inside the power requirements of the cooler. Still an open issue around which power brick to use with the motherboard, but going for a cheap one now and fingers crossed it works.

    (Lian Li PC-Q05B - Lian Li PC-Q05B Black)
    (Asus Q87T Thin ITX Intel Q87)
    (Intel BX80646I34350 - Intel Core i3 (4350) 3.6GHz Processor 4MB L3 Cache 5GT/s Bus Speed (Boxed))
    (Intel BXHTS1155LP - Intel Thermal Solution HTS1155LP)
    (Crucial BLS2C4G3N18AES4CEU - (4GBx2) DDR3 1866 Ballistix Sport SODIMM)
    (Samsung MZ-MTE120BW - Samsung mSATA 120GB 840 Evo SSD)
    (Intel 7260.HMWANWB - Intel Dual Band Wireless-N 7260 - Network adapter - PCI Express Half Mini Card)
    (MicroBattery MBA50022 - AC Adapter for HP - 19V 7.11A 135W Plug: 7.4*5.1)

    Working out to be about £470, not bad!

    Looking to order from LambdaTek - Anyone had any experience with this company before?

    Thanks
     
  13. nimbu

    nimbu Multimodder

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    Sorry to throw a spanner in the works.... Have you considered a nuc. I just bought a brix from the deal at ebuyer for an esxi lab box. Though first I decided to stick openelec on it and I was really impressed. Yes there is a fan but by all means wasn't loud and if u set you power states correctly will only come on when you are doing some thing intensive.

    I'm gonna write an article when I get a chance.

    If this is who I think it is your more than welcome to pop over and take a look though I have move from hayes , though not too far in Wembley.
     
  14. manvadher

    manvadher What's a Dremel?

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    Haha it is who you think it is. Been looking at the nuc but really like the look of the pc05 and thoughts are to use one as the pc and the second one filled with hdds. No real need for a nas as that was what I wanted to buy first but decided on a pc for the living room. I could do a nuc and nas but nas would be running 5 days a week with no one to access it (work is still demanding)
    Do you work anywhere in central area? I think you mentioned last time in Paddington?
     
  15. nimbu

    nimbu Multimodder

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    Figured it would be you. I was based in canary wharf but have been in London bridge for the last 4 years. Hence the move, 40minute commute now and I don't ever have to deal with first great western. You still at dB? I was actually in the shop to see jack and ur name came up... ah the good old days.

    At the end of the day its about what you like. Currently I have a box running windows home server 2011 with smb shares for the jailbroken apple TV in the bedroom. It also runs plex for the roku for the TV in the living room. Servers in the study so no local noise.

    If you wanna pop down or meet up some time just give me a shout, my numbers still the same.
     
  16. MSHunter

    MSHunter Minimodder

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    Just a though but would not this be easier to do with a HP Micro server?
    I have an old NL36 which runs the home server and my Father has a few g7/HL ones at work for general file servers. They are quite good for the price, at least when mail in rebates where £100 off the price.
     
  17. manvadher

    manvadher What's a Dremel?

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    Been a little busy over the past few weeks due to indian wedding season kicking off but now free to get back on this. Mshunter I agree the microservers are a pretty cheap and decent bit of kit but not really my style and wouldn't look great in the living room.
    I've now started looking at the akasa Galileo and looking at the pictures of the internals they are only using two of the four heatpipes on the CPU block. What if the other two are used and new holes or slots made for them towards the bottom of where the current two go now?
    http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2013/08/akasa-galileo-review/galileo-7-1280x1024.jpg
    Given its currently rated at 35w tpd this would increase it or provide more efficiency? How hard would it be to drill into the metal?
    Nims now at gs let me know if your free for a pint tomorrow or Wednesday
     
  18. nimbu

    nimbu Multimodder

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    Sweet, buddy of mine works there too. I can do Wednesday. I'll pm you my mobile number.
     

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