Silent HTPC Build

Intro:
I completed the HTPC build not too long after my NAS build. I have been testing both the NAS and the HTPC builds in conjunction with each other for a few weeks now. I am quite happy with the build on its performance along with some small modifications as I expand my home network. I wanted to share my experience with this build, as well as, to give back to forums that have been a wealth of information for me personally. I hope my posts help others in some small form even if it’s just to look at the pictures of the build. In my HTPC post, I will discuss about the components used and the modifications needed for my build to fit an H60 Corsair water-cooling unit in this unique case (LIAN LI PC-TU200B). I will also attach an Itemized list of all my components that will include the cost per item at the time of purchase, as well as, the vendors I used to purchase each item.

Why I built an HTPC?
I have a few TV’s throughout my home on multiple floors that are not very close to an internet port. Also, I did not want any running/exposed internet cables to be seen from the wall ports to the TV’s. As a result, I wanted to build a wireless HTPC unit to connect my TV’s to the home network. The HTPC needed to be portable and easily transferable from one room to another, including usage for possible LAN parties. My HTPC would be used mainly for streaming my backup media of movies, access to family albums, music, internet, some light emulator gaming, and the occasional DVR (Tuner) to be added in the near future.

Key points to a successful build:
Not all HTPC’s will be the same since everyone will have a different take, but some will share similar characteristics. The key to a successful HTPC build before shopping for components is to figure out what are your unique wants for the build.

For Example:
Do you want a silent/fan-less build?
What form factor are you looking for regarding size?
Where will the HTPC live, like on a shelf or the floor?
Do you want to stay within a budget?
Best value/performance? Etc.

You may or may not be able to satisfy all of your wants in your HTPC build, however my suggestion would be to choose your top three no-compromise points and go from there.

For example, my key points for the build:
*Absolute must --- Needs to be Silent (Makes no sense if your HTPC is louder than your TV/ Media Player)
*Absolute must --- Built in wi-fi (Stream media between floors – no extra cables)
*Absolute must --- Portable
*Minimum of two 6GB/s SATA ports
*On board graphics
*Room for expandability
*Looks Good.

Here is a link to a one stop shop that I think is one of the best available DIY helpful online guides for HTPC building. Please review other forums and websites if further information is needed.
http://mymediaexperience.com/getting-started-with-my-media-experience/

Online PSU calculator
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

Itemized List of components used.
SilentNAS_and_SilentHTPC_Itemized_List.xls 38k .xls file


I have chosen to use the LIAN LI PC-TU200B as my HTPC case. It is small and like most other Lian-Li cases very versatile. The added handle (very sturdy) gives the case the portability I was looking for in an HTPC. The case has a resemblance that reminds me of a small lunch box or an electric guitar speaker unit. I initially contemplated a fan-less build with a much smaller case footprint, but decided not to in the end. This allowed me to explore a few more expandable options regarding cases. It was a tossup between the Prodigy case (http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/chassis/prodigy/) and the Lian Li PC-TU 200B cases (http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/product06.php?pr_index=585&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=64&g=f).

Description and images of the HTPC Build:
0Mobo_and_CPU.jpg 338k .jpg file
Closeup of Mobo and CPU -- nothing special.

1HTPC_stripped_down.jpg 296k .jpg file
I first removed the HD tray and side panels from the case. I then lay the front side of the case facing the floor to help detach the front fan and install the H60 unit. I then removed the front side fan from the bracket by sliding it backwards with respect to the case shown in this image.

2Closeup_Inside_Front_of_Case.jpg 287k .jpg file
Here is a close up shot of the Front Fan bracket.

3h60mounted_to_case.jpg 193k .jpg file , 4Closeup_H60_mounted_incase.jpg 174k .jpg file and 5back_side_ofh60.jpg 243k .jpg file
These three images gives a heads-up shot of the H60 unit attached to the inside-front of the case.

6order_of_adapter_fan_h60_mounting.jpg 326k .jpg file
Here you can see the order of the pre-setup of the Adapter, Fan and H60 unit... 6/32 x 1 inch flat head screws were used to attached the 140mm to 120mm adapter and fan to the H60 unit. However I needed to trim approximately 2-3mm of the 1 inch screws with a pair of pliers such that it does not pierce the radiator.

7closeup_of_adapter_and_screws.jpg 306k .jpg file
I transferred the mounting rubber bushing from the original 140mm fan to the 140mm Adapter mounting holes. I used the screws that came with the adapter and it turned out to be just the perfect fit as shown in 8closeup_of_adapter_and_screws2

8closeup_of_adapter_and_screws2.jpg 274k .jpg file
Here is a close up side profile of the bushing attached to the 140mm mounting holes of the adapter.

9adapter_fan_h60_mounted.jpg 220k .jpg file
After transferring all four rubber bushings to the adapter, the next step was attaching the fan to the H60 unit. I trimmed approximately 3mm of four 6/32 x 1inch flat head screws using a pair of pliers such that it does not pierce into the radiator of the H60 unit. The screws passed through the 120mm mounting adapter holes, through the (120mm x 120mm x 15mm) Xtraflo mounting holes and then screwed into the H60 unit. Flat head screws were used, such that it does not interfere with the spacing needed to slide the H60 unit back into the front of the case.

10Inside_HTPC_all_connected.jpg 300k .jpg file
Everything mounted.

11HTPC_enclosed.jpg 299k .jpg file
HTPC attached to my TV and using a Cideko Air Keyboard Conqueror to control mouse wirelessly. This unit worked flawlessly and was the overall winner over other miniature RF keyboards I tried. The benefits of this keyboard is its Full QWERTY keyboard with all the function keys. Logical placing of mouse buttons. Works as described and it is also a very comfortable xbox controller.

===========================HTPC============================
Case:......LIAN LI PC-TU200B Mini-ITX
Mobo:......ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX
GPU........HIS H657H1G Radeon HD 6570 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready
RAM:.......G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Low Voltage Desktop
CPU:.......Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 Quad-Core
Cooler:....CORSAIR CWCH60 Hydro Series H60 High Performance Liquid CPU
PSU:.......SeaSonic X series SS-400FL Active PFC F3 400W ATX12V Fanless
HD:........Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARX 2TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s
SSD:.......OCZ Vertex 4 VTX4-25SAT3-128G 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC
Fan:.......(120mm x120mm x 15mm) CoolerMaster Blade Master XtraFlo 120 Slim Case Fan


===========================NAS==================== ========
Case:.....LIAN LI PC-V354B Micro ATX
Mobo:.....ASUS M5A88-M AM3+ AMD 880G HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
RAM:......G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Low Voltage Desktop
CPU:.......AMD FX-8150 FX 8-Core Black Edition Processor Socket AM3+ - FD8150FRGUBOX
Cooler:....CORSAIR CWCH60 Hydro Series H60 High Performance Liquid CPU
PSU:.......KINGWIN Lazer Platinum Series LZP-550 550W ATX SLI Ready
HD:.........Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARX 2TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s (x4) Raid5
SSD:.......Intel 520 Series Solid-State Drive 120 GB SATA 6 Gb/s 2.5-Inch
Fan:........(120mm x120mm x 15mm) CoolerMaster Blade Master XtraFlo 120 Slim Case Fan
BD-RW:....Home Surplus


====================Full Tower Build - Water Cooled================
Case:.....HAF-X
CPU:......Intel core i7 3960x
Mobo:....Rampage IV Extreme x79
GPU:......EVGA GeForce GTX 580 Classified Hydro Copper (x3)
PSU:......Enermax MaxRevo EVO EMR1350EWT
HD:........WD VelociRaptor 600 GB SATA III 10,000 RPM (x2) in Raid1
SSD:......OCZ 120 GB Vertex 3 SATA III 6.0 Gb-s
Sound:...Asus Xonar Xense Premium Gaming Audio Set
RAM:......G.Skill Ripjaws @ 2133Mhz 32GB RAM
Fan Controller:......Lamptron FC-5 V2 Black Fan Speed Controller

=================================================================================














Edited by RogueRage - 11/3/12 at 8:15am

Thanks!

Yeah, I am happy it is working as expected. So far no issues.

I am happy to say that I have no issues with streaming HD media wirelessly. HTPC is on first floor, NAS and Routers are on 2nd, other hardware on third. I can stream ISO's over the wi-fi network seamlessly upto 30-35GB with no buffering or artifacts. I did experience some buffering using straight BD backup ISO flles of (40-50GB)... Depending on the movie there are buffering every 20-30mins for about 15 secs over wi-fi. But at that level you are already pushing the limits of the wi-fi bandwidth over the distance and/or obstructions to and from the router. In any case, keeping ISO files that large will just eat up your HD space. I compressed the ISO files from 40-50GB to 7-8GB. The sustained quality of the image and sound for 1080p is astounding using the following tools. I have tested quite a few of them.

I have tested DVDNEXTCOPY, leawo, DVDRANGER along with the others listed below.

One key decision to choosing your media player and software is to figure out what format(s) to save the backup files or your preference. Then match up what software best works to produce the best results or vice versa. I wanted to use ISO files as my format for backup video media files along with XBMC as my media player for my home network. Remember, everyone will have a different taste or take, so in retrospect its just best to try and figure out what works best for your wants after you have some basis to build on.

The following software combo gave the best results over all I have tested.
DVDFAB for cloning Disc to Disc
AnyDVD HD backup from disc to HD
Virtual Clone Drive
BD-Rebuilder twith ImageBurn to create Movie only to ISO

Other applications that will be needed to install in conjunction with BD-Rebuilder FFSHOW, HAALI, AVISYNTH . I will try not to take away too much from what others posted in many other forums. BD-rebuilder will work well with certain versions of FFSHOW, HAALI, AVISYNTH due to the constant updates, so be sure you are downloading the compatible respective versions.

The entire process takes about 2-2.5 hours per BD backup from placing a DVD/BD in the drive to creating the final 7-8GB ISO backup file.
Edited by RogueRage - 10/28/12 at 1:30pm

Let me say honestly I was skeptical at first. I had terrible performance issues with other mini RF keyboards with built-in mouse pads... I figure I would give this a shot before considering a regular wireless keyboard and mouse as my only option left.

Surprisingly, it is actually very comfortable, and the same size as a regular xbox controller with a Full QWERTY keyboard addition. The mouse buttons are divided, such that the left click is on the left side and right click on the right side. The controller acts like a laser pointer to move the mouse pointer. So, where ever you aim the controller the mouse pointer moves in that direction. The pointer movement is well calibrated, such that you are not zooming off the screen at the speed of light. There is a button on the left side of the keyboard that has a diagonal arrow, when pressed, turns the laser pointer feature on and off. You can then use the tab and arrow keys to control the pointer just like a regular keyboard if needed. The power button lights up when in use which I think is a nice small feature. Technically you can control the mouse with one hand since it acts like a laser pointer.

The USB receiver (slightly smaller than a regular thumb drive) is plugged into the back of the HTPC. I am still able to control the mouse effortlessly from 14 feet away on the couch. The specs list a range of 10meters though I have not tested that distance, it was still very responsive at 18-20th feet away. It is actually the only wireless controller that worked perfectly compared to all the variations of the FAVI RF laser pointers. The FAVI I received was only responsive sitting at 3 feet in front of the receiver. The signal rapidly decreased as you moved further away.

Other Advantages of the Cideko:
It has a small footprint.
It is immediately responsive once it is turned on... no lag or sync delays.
It turns itself off to save power if its not in motion or when left on a table after use.
It supposedly lasts 20 hours of constant usage -- though I have not tested that limitation. The rechargeable battery charges very fast.
It is well balanced and feels like its the same weight as a regular xbox controller to me.
The control keys feel very sturdy but not rubberized. Still comfortable to use though.
For travel there is a hidden compartment to store the receiver in the controller.
It is easy to map keys using their wizard... very intuitive.
It is very easy to type with a tactile/click response.

Overall I think they did a pretty good job with the design. It was pretty intuitive to use. I did not have to upload any drivers or firmware to get it going. For a device that has a Full QWERTY keyboard and a controller that works well. I am a happy camper. It was the perfect solution for my HTPC.
Edited by RogueRage - 11/4/12 at 8:31pm

I should note that there are a few variations of this product from the same company. Some do not have the functions keys others are just the keyboard with no xbox controller addition.

http://www.cideko.com/product.php?cat_id=20

Video here on this page about the product
http://www.cideko.com/pro_con.php?id=15

Linus Tech Tips unboxing/review
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vMaMCJrGVc

Demo of Keyboard only version at 3:30
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvsEu0utv1A
Edited by RogueRage - 10/31/12 at 7:35pm

No Problem, I am happy the review helped