HTPC build – power & cooling questions

[NAC]

For my HTPC case, I want something less than 10” deep, and less than 12” tall and not too wide. The Lian Li Q07 fits the bill perfectly. The computer will have an Intel G530 processor, a dual channel TV card, probably a blue ray drive and one, and in the future more hard drives. I'll use integrated graphics. My key question is what to do for power and cooling. Quiet is mandatory, and the PC will be on 24*7.

I have few ideas:
A pico power supply. I'm unsure, but I think I'd want 150 watts to be safe. Cheapest I found this was $95. I'm concerned that the voltage will not be as steady as with a regular ATX seasonic supply. But I'd then have space to fit a monster vertical 120mm heat sink and ultra quiet fan in the case.

Or fit a regular seasonic 300 or 400 watt ATX supply in with a horizontal cooler – the coolermaster geminii S will fit with less than a cm to spare. I would duct the power supply to the fanless heat sink, which would then suck the warm air through the heat sink and out of the case. I'm worried that wont keep things very cool, and could be loud when the processor is stressed. But I'm confident the power would be smooth and I would obviously have plenty of headroom to add more drives and other devices in the future. Certainly more than could fit in the case. I could get a modular 400 watt PC Power and Cooling for $50 after rebate.

Or fit a SFX or TFX seasonic power supply. That would give me a bit extra room inside the case, but it would be fairly useless space since the heatsink couldn't be enlarged much, and the smaller fan would do a worse job of taking heat away from the CPU. So I might need another fan. I don't like this idea.

Thoughts?

 

[Zap]

Why a micro tower? Do you have other equipment such as BD player or DVR or surround sound receiver? I personally prefer a case to match those equipment (ie look like a DVD player). For instance, I've been recommending the Silverstone Milo ML03B case as a nice HTPC case.

For a few HDDs + a G530 with IGP, a Pico PSU sounds nice. Don't worry about the voltage regulation and ripple as long as the unit stays within ATX spec.

 

[Slugbait]

Why a micro tower? Do you have other equipment such as BD player or DVR or surround sound receiver? I personally prefer a case to match those equipment (ie look like a DVD player). For instance, I've been recommending the Silverstone Milo ML03B case as a nice HTPC case.

I still luvum my Silverstone LC-17.

"It's a TURBO!"

Sorry, still have X-mas on da brain...

 

[GoStumpy]

I have a Lian-Li PC-Q07 with a G530... I'm quite sure you can only fit 1 SSD and 1 HDD in this case... Which really should be fine, a SSD and a 2/3TB storage drive is enough, no?

It's a beautiful case. I am using a Corsair CX430V2 (surprise surprise!) with the fan pointing at the CPU cooler, I think it helps a bit in removing excess heat. The PC is almost completely silent, stock Intel fans aren't too noisy.

I think you would have room for a Scythe Shuriken:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16835185097

Just to make sure the CPU fan can spin very slowly

Pics:

 

[NAC]

Thanks for the responses.

After further thought, I think I'll do one of the two:

Lian Li Q07 with a pico power supply. I could then use the space where the power supply used to be to jury rig some extra hard drives when I want. A 160 watt pico is $80. http://www.mini-box.com/Power-Supplies-Kits. According to http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine I'll need 160 watts even with 3 hdd and a sdd. So I should be fine.

Lian Li Q08 with a pico or traditional supply. It has the build in hdd rack for six drives – more than I'll need. I wouldn't have to jury rig anything. I'd spend more on the Q08, but could save money and buy a traditional power supply, and still have the space for hhds.

In either case if I go pico, I should have more than enough space for a big quiet heat sink. Perhaps even fanless.

As to wanting a tower shape – the cabinet I have my audio equipment in now would fit a small tower case better. Later I might move the equipment to a shelf, where low depth will be key, and most horizontal cases are much deeper than the Q07. It looks like the mentioned Milo case is as deep as the Q08, but only has space for 2 hdd. Then again, I'm researching receivers – and all are about 14” + depth – so I might need a solution other than the 12” deep shelf anyway.

 

[Lonyo]

I have a G620T, 3x2TB mechanical HDDs, HD6450 on a 150w PicoPSU.
The main issue with HDDs is the power draw when they spin up, more than the general use power draw.

And I did what you mention, replaced the default PSU my case came with and use the freed up space to put in a third HDD, since my case only has space for 2.

 

[boomhower]

The Milo has room for more than two drives. I have 2 3.5's and one 2.5 in mine. If you don't use an optical you can fit another 3.5 or two more 2.5's. I used a 380W Seasonic and it's silent. I used a Shuriken and it's not silent but I haven't had a chance to mess with the BIOS to slow it down, I bet it will be once I get done with it.