Comments on: the hdtv mini htpc that may never be

By: Charles

Charles — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:11:44 +0000

I've dabbled in some similar hardware adventures, and here are a few more pieces of hardware you might want to consider:

A mini-pci-express video decoder card, it does all of it in hardware:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390078283244

Adapter bracket for above card (since I noticed you have a pci express slot on that board)
You could remove the bracket entirely, and it should fit with that board and case
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180408170019

I've used a ton of the picopsu power supplies, and I whole-heartedly endorse them.
Here's a site that seems to have the best deals, IMO. Especially if you want the higher wattage units, the 120W unit with 120W brick is the cheapest I've found. You probably won't need that. These guys shipped free, too.
http://www.short-circuit.com/categories/pscombos.html

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:01:20 +0000

Thanks, Henry, I was *just* looking at those, too ... they seem pretty slick.

By: Henry B

Henry B — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 05:26:50 +0000

If your looking for a powersupply for the silverstone case and want it to be silent look into getting a picoPSU. There are a few different ones so you can probably get one with enough use. You can find them at a few other vendors online if you look.

By: Jon B.

Jon B. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:39:23 +0000

As for the "won't boot in case X issue" I've seen that caused by a standoff in the case that needed to be removed because it's shorting on components on the back of the board. It's hard to notice unless you police every standoff.

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:54:15 +0000

Ah, thanks, Ryan. I looked at the other reviews regarding heat issues, but didn't find anything relevant. I also wasn't using the stock Intel cooler, I have one from Silverstone that is low-profile and much nicer (quieter).

I'm pretty sure though that its just a matter of good ventilation.

By: RyanE

RyanE — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:45:26 +0000

On NewEgg reviews, someone posted re: this board:

-----------------------------
Cons: ***INTEL STOCK COOLER PROBLEM***

If you are using an intel stock CPU cooler, be sure to position the heatsink with the fan cable clip AWAY from the GPU heatsink. The "normal" position will press on the GPU heatsink and the GPU will overheat! A quick email to tech support provided me with a PDF with diagrams showing the problem, it is very common (no loss of egg, since I should've noticed it myself).

After i fixed this the GPU temp went from 85C to 30C idle/48C load
-----------------------------

Sounds like this *could* be your problem.

Good luck with it.