BlackHoleSun

So I finally am getting down to making an HTPC for myself. I'm going to sell my Cosmos 1000 and DFI DK P35 and use the innards of that build.

I am wondering if these parts are good for an HTPC, paired with a Q6600 since that is all I have lying around:

Lian-Li Mini ITX tower - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811112227

Zotac ION LGA775 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813500022

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opty165

well i would say a q6600 is overkill, and i have no experience with an ION platform. My 780G board though plays bluray great through the onboard chipset paired with a dual core 4050e

just to put things in prospective...

if all your going to do is watch HD content then that should be fine i would think.

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rfjunkie

Id go with a lower wattage CPU in that case.. I have that set up with an E8200 in it and it Idles anywhere from 50 to 60c.... Here are some pictures. It gets really crowded in that case after getting the PSU installed... I do like the set up though. I added a couple of fans to the one side panel (40mm ones that I zip tied to it), doesn't really seem to help though.)

I had to modify a Thermal Take CPU cooler to work on this board too. The silverstone one that I tried first didn't work well at all... The stock Intel cooler wouldn't clear the memory or GPU heatsink, and the Thermaltake that I picked up wouldn't clear the PSU, So I changed the fan on the Thermaltake.

The board you have the link to isn't an ION, its the GF9300 board like the one that I have in my mini ITX set up.

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BlackHoleSun

I just remembered that I have an E2200 sitting in my basement in a blown mobo. That is a 30W power reduction, but I already have a 500W supply for this. Couldn't I just get a good cooler for the Q6600?

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rfjunkie

Once you get the PSU in there isn't much room for a cooler. I tried several different coolers. I would give it a shot with your quad core and see what you get for temps. It may be fine. I would leave the speed stepping turned on to help cut down on the heat. I had mine over clocked for a little while too. It over clocks really easy. I might be trying out some other things to get the temps down on mine this weekend. I was thinking about seeing if the Freezer 7 LP will fit. If that doesn't work I was thinking about taking everything out of the case and bringing the case to work and machining out a place in the front for a 120mm Scythe slim type fan to get more air into the case.

TaT3rs

If your going to use the q6600 I would go with a micro atx case instead of the mini. That way you can get a good cooler.

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BlackHoleSun

I honestly haven't had any problems with heat on a stock clocked Q6600, even on the stock cooler. I don't want a Micro ATX case because of size. I feel an HTPC should be small, but the Atom is too underpowered for my taste. Maybe I am wrong and I should just grab an ION platform with an ATOM?

Hmm, maybe I should offload my E2200 and Q6600 and just pick up a dual core atom? That sounds pretty good actually.

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MalVeauX

Heya,

The Q6600 is fine for your HTPC. It's not `too much power' electricity wise, it's overkill yes for now, but later on, it may be what you need. Since you already have it, there's no real reason to buy something else. Heat is not a huge issue with HTPC's. You're not leaving this thing on `at all times' right? A HTPC, unless it is meant to be on 24/7, doesn't really matter if it's high powered or not. That's more of the mentality of someone looking to build a server or any machine that will be active and on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A HTPC generally doesn't fall into this category. But, if it does for you, like if you leave it on to DVR all the time from several channels (several tuners), then yes, the power consumption of the machine would be something to question and consider if you care about your electric bill. Even then, depending on the equipment, we're talking an extra $5 a month on your electric bill--not something to truly worry about.

With HTPC, the real issue is sound. Do you want to hear your cooling components for those high powered high-heat producing parts? Probably not. The buzzing, whirling, whistling, etc, is going to be audible during quiet moments depending on what you're doing. That can be really irritating. It reminds you that it's a computer, and not a silent custom made device for this. So instead of worrying about power consumption so much (again, unless this is for 24/7 use), look into making sure it's as quiet as possible. You can under power a CPU to make it produce less heat and require less active cooling and make it into a passively cooled unit--like the megahalem for example, a huge heat sink on a low powered low heat chip is possible for a passively cooled CPU. That equates to zero noise, as nothing is moving. The only thing you'll hear at that point is the PSU fan, which is unavoidable. But there are some really close to silent PSU's out there. And after that, the next sound producer are the hard drives. WD green drives are very quiet, so that's a starting point. Then, you can look into silencing the case itself.

That's a start at least.

Very best,

PeaceMaker

I'm in the same boat as you man. I am trying to figure out if I should sell my stuff and get something more efficient, but I love my Q6600 and I still play the occasional game every now and then... heat + noise is my #1 concern. With the smaller case, its harder for everything to breath.

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BlackHoleSun

Well today my Atom 330 Ion board should arrive with my PC-Q07. Thanks for the help guys, and I'll be sure to post some pics.

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#3160 LC9Z

Buy my motherboards! Please?