EPTOn my laptop with an i5-2520M with HT disabled and limited to 60% CPU speed (via Windows power plan, to save battery power), it goes up to I think 1.6GHz maximum and has NO issue whatsoever playing any 1080p stream I could think of loading. It's using the HD graphics, of course.
i3-2120T fast enough for 1080p stream watching? - Page 3
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Wabbit
United States1028 Posts
On my laptop with an i5-2520M with HT disabled and limited to 60% CPU speed (via Windows power plan, to save battery power), it goes up to I think 1.6GHz maximum and has NO issue whatsoever playing any 1080p stream I could think of loading. It's using the HD graphics, of course. | ||
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ilovelings
Argentina776 Posts
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propulsion
Germany65 Posts
The bad news: The CPU-cooler is slightly too high for my old case. => I do need a new case! It should be upgradeable with a fast CPU and a fast graphics card in a year or two ...and still be quiet. And of course this time the new 15.2cm CPU-cooler has to fit in. I can get this one at a computer shop nearby for a good price: Cooler Master Silencio 550 (RC-550-KKN1) I definitely do like the look! What do you think? Any objections? In this new case the CPU-cooler will not be close to the PSU fan anymore, since its PSU is at the bottom. First I will test my old PSU in combination with the case fan(s). If it is too loud I will order a picoPSU. @Wabbit: Thanks for the reassurance that it will play 1080p streams :-) | ||
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Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
http://www.silentpcreview.com/cm-silencio550 In fact one of the main complaints is that the max CPU cooler height is claimed to be only 154mm (in reality, the space is larger, but the foam gets in the way), where many popular 120mm fan tower coolers are around 159mm. So with the Zalman, that is no problem. If the price is good, I would buy it. | ||
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propulsion
Germany65 Posts
Do you have a recommendation? | ||
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Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
Actually maybe it would be a good idea to run the power supply with the fan facing inwards as possibly that's quieter? It's not like the inside should be any warm. To be honest, I'd most worry about an old 350W power supply having cables that are long enough for such a case, with a bottom-mounted orientation. | ||
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propulsion
Germany65 Posts
"Current" is maybe a better word than "old". It is a "350W be quiet! Straight Power E6" http://www.be-quiet.net/be-quiet.net/index.php?StoryID=31&ProductID=84&websiteLang=en No cable management, but a 12cm fan sitting inside and blowing threw the PSU out of the case. Maybe I can turn off the PSU fan? Just an idea... probably not a good one. But I could test (feel with my hand) whether there is still airflow coming out of the PSU. (still need to read the review) | ||
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propulsion
Germany65 Posts
Otherwise I could replace them. You are right. I do not need extensive cooling power. When I will upgrade the system with faster components, I do expect them to produce less temperature than todays fast CPUs. So it should not be a problem. Silence is paramount and that case seems to deliver. I actually do like your idea to reverse the PSU fan direction and blow air into the case. But I would lose the warranty if I do open the PSU. | ||
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Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
I think you have to keep the clicking in perspective, since even with that included, it's only about 3 dBA higher at 1m than the anechoic chamber's noise floor of 11 dBA. I mean, with the same test setup, the Lancool K59 stock fans alone at the same distance register 31 dBA at 1m. Clicking that registers at 14 dBA is probably going to get drowned out by the power supply fan or ambient noise, or maybe the heatsink fan if that one doesn't slow down enough with your fan speed control. | ||
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propulsion
Germany65 Posts
Most likely I will test both orientations, but am pretty sure not using the vents and taking the air from inside will be more quiet. My current favorite: No front fan, no rear fan, no PSU fan, PSU flipped. Just the CPU fan that is blowing air threw the CPU cooler towards the rear vents and will hopefully pull enough air threw the PSU to keep that cool too. I keep you posted. I heard about the poor low-end-be-quiet quality long after I bought it. For me it still was an improvement, since before I had one with a much smaller and louder fan. The case fans are non PWM - might slow them with resistors or replace them. Since hearing is very subjective I might not hear the clicking. (bought the Silencio 550; will install after IPL; case looks gorgeous) | ||
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propulsion
Germany65 Posts
Multiple twitch.tv 1080p streams at the same time are no problem. Watching youtube in 1080p without preloading also works fine. That could change with higher bandwidth (less compressed video), but currently the CPU only needs to run at 30% during stream watching. Since everything is so quiet now, the PSU became the next problem. Its fan is audible and it makes static/electric noises that have been annoying even in the old build. So yeah, this low end be-quiet PSU is really not that good - or it had to deal with the high temperature from the old CPU for too long. => I did order a 150W-picoPSU! This one: http://www.amazon.de/picoPSU-150-XT-externes-Effizienz-peripheral-extension/dp/B004BEBFVY/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1318386771&sr=8-4 Problem: My Mainboard demands for a 24pin and an 8pin connector! Can I safely use the adapter cable on the 12V-DV to convert it to a 4pin and combine it with the other 4pin into an 8pin? (also ordered a better 12cm fan for the CPU; I do not expect to need the case fans) (tomorrow I write more about temperatures) | ||
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propulsion
Germany65 Posts
Today the new fan finally has arrived and the build is now completed. Everything works flawlessly! Stream watching works as good as it possibly can and the computer makes no noise. And I mean NO noise. The new 12cm Noctua NF-S12B fan is attached to the CPU cooler and running at 550RPM. While watching 1080p+ the temperature of one core is ~40°C, of the other ~33°C. CPU usage is ~20%. Maximum temperature for this CPU is 69.1°C. No case fans are necessary. If Speedfan would not tell me that it is running, I would not believe it. Originally I wanted a switch to turn off the fan while listening to music, but there is no need for it. Thanks again guys for all your valuable advice. I posted here on tl just to find out whether the i3 can play SC2 streams but got much more. TeamLiquid.net really is a great community! Special thanks to Wabbit and Shikyo for convincing me that the Celeron G530 is sufficient, to Myrmidon and Lonyo for bringing up the picoPSU and to Womwomwom for telling me that I was about to buy a mainboard I would not really need. Here is the complete list of components: + Show Spoiler + # CPU: Intel Celeron G530 # CPU cooler: Zalman CNPS10X Performa (15.2cm high) # CPU fan: Noctua NF-S12B ULN (12cm) # Mainboard: ASUS P8H67-V R.3.0 # RAM: Kingston KHX1600C9D3LK2/4GX # PSU: picoPSU-150-XT + 150W Adapter Power Kit # SSD: Crucial m4 # Dedicated graphics card: None # Dedivated sound card: None (A/V-Reveiver connected optically) # Case: Cooler Master Silencio 550 (CPU cooler barely fits; most coolers are too big) # Wireless keyboard: Microsoft Arc (black) # Wireless mouse: Logitech M505 # DVD-Drive: External (with external power) I am pretty sure that this is the best silent HTPC you can build right now. In 1-2 years I will replace it with an Atom/ION and a case that fits my A/V-Reveiver. As of now the Atom/ION is not sufficient for streaming at 1080p. A case this small/flat could not be cooled silently, since the G530 emits too much heat for small CPU coolers and fans. Edit: Added mouse and keyboard to list of components | ||
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gruff
Sweden2276 Posts
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propulsion
Germany65 Posts
Btw the picoPSU should easily handle an internal DVD- or BluRay-drive. Since I rarely watch DVDs, I decided to use the external drive that was lying around anyways. | ||
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Bondator
Finland120 Posts
On October 18 2011 17:05 propulsion wrote: Here is the complete list of components: + Show Spoiler + # CPU: Intel Celeron G530 # CPU cooler: Zalman CNPS10X Performa (15.2cm high) # CPU fan: Noctua NF-S12B ULN (12cm) # Mainboard: ASUS P8H67-V R.3.0 # RAM: Kingston KHX1600C9D3LK2/4GX # PSU: picoPSU-150-XT + 150W Adapter Power Kit # SSD: Crucial m4 # Dedicated graphics card: None # Dedivated sound card: None (A/V-Reveiver connected optically) # Case: Cooler Master Silencio 550 (CPU cooler barely fits; most coolers are too big) # Wireless keyboard: Microsoft Arc (black) # Wireless mouse: Logitech M505 # DVD-Drive: External (with external power) I am pretty sure that this is the best silent HTPC you can build right now. That's funny, because I think I have the best silent HTPC also  Too bad I only just found this thread, maybe I could have given another point of view towards HTPC's. Here's my stuff: + Show Spoiler + Core i3 2100T Scythe mini ninja Asrock Z68 Pro3-M HIS 6570 Silence Asus Xonar HDAV1.3 Slim Antec Fusion Corsair CX400 Intel X25-M G2 80GB 2x WD Caviar Green 2TB Internal 5.25" DVD-drive Peripherals: Ace C5 keyboard/mouse Logitech Harmony 825 Wireless Xbox 360 controller The only three fans are one on the PSU (totally silent) and two case fans (totally silent unless you stick your head down there). The CPU cooler would probably be enough even if it were completely passive, but the case fans synergise really well with the current setup. I could have used integrated graphics, but I wanted to build a rig that also makes Xbox 360 obsolete, so I got HIS 6570 Silence, which was about the most powerful GPU with reasonably sized passive cooler. Sound card is just personal preference, and the WD hard drives are totally silent, unlike Samsung F1/T166 which I have previously had. The VFD display on the case is quite gimmicky but cool nonetheless, and IR-receiver is totally baller. Pics: ![[image loading]](http://users.tkk.fi/~mtkivi/koneet/htpc/htpc2.jpg) ![[image loading]](http://users.tkk.fi/~mtkivi/koneet/htpc/olkkari2.jpg) | ||
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Wabbit
United States1028 Posts
On October 18 2011 17:05 propulsion wrote: + Show Spoiler + ... Everything works flawlessly! Stream watching works as good as it possibly can and the computer makes no noise. And I mean NO noise. The new 12cm Noctua NF-S12B fan is attached to the CPU cooler and running at 550RPM. While watching 1080p+ the temperature of one core is ~40°C, of the other ~33°C. CPU usage is ~20%. Maximum temperature for this CPU is 69.1°C. No case fans are necessary. If Speedfan would not tell me that it is running, I would not believe it. Originally I wanted a switch to turn off the fan while listening to music, but there is no need for it. ... Great to hear. Glad you're happy with everything. As a side-note, FYI, the max temp for the CPU is actually higher. TCASE is 69.1 and it refers to the temperature measured at the center of the CPU's heatspreader. I read about this a while ago and forgot the exact details, but either way the CPU will not throttle until the core temps go to like 90+ IIRC. But you'll never ever get there as long as you keep that fan running even at "only" 550rpm. If you're brave you could test completely passive cooling but not sure that would work and why risk it if it's already silent? | ||
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propulsion
Germany65 Posts
Wow. That gives a lot of room. I did test it without fans while the case was half open. It went to only ~50°C during stream watching. That I could go as high as 90°C is definitely good to know in case I will render out some videos and therefore use the CPU to it's full potential for several hours. Will limit it to something around 60-70°C and feel safe. @Bondator: You did the build I had in mind when I started this topic But then I decided to go with complete silence and had to cut some corners (and saved some money). Remote and LCD are nice features of the HTPC cases. How do you use them? I do have a Logitech Harmony and was thinking about an IR-Reveicer to turn on the PC. But actually I keep it on standby during the day and use the mouse to wake it up - so I did not take the time to find one. Nice living room btw. Especially the dolby plates! Also I was thinking about a picoLCD. Would make a little box for it and place it next to the TV. It could show incoming justin.tv mails and such. But it would not work with the PC on standby. Will have to think a little more about that. Didn't know there is a mini version of the Ninja. Will definitely get one of those if I switch to a HTPC case. Nice keyboard. Never heard of the company "Ace of Sweden". Maybe hard to get in Germany. But looks like really good quality. And it is not glossy like my Microsoft (has to be cleaned quite often). Does the trackball move when you move the keyboard (like putting it back on the table with a fast movement)? I did place a lamp behind my TV. Makes TV watching easier to the eye. Maybe that is something for you too. (also added a link to your post to the OP) | ||
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extcon
Sweden1 Post
Revisiting this old thread to possibly get some answers for a slightly different use case. I'm looking to build a NAS which should also be used as a Plex media server. This means it would have to be able to transcode various HD content to primarily iOS devices. And as a NAS I would like it to be as quiet and low power consuming as possible (thus borrowing this thread). Have you tried to run the Plex Media Server on your HTPC? My biggest concern is the CPU requirements of a dual core 2,4 GHz CPU. No readybuilt NAS within my budget has a sufficient CPU (Netgear ReadyNAS Pro 6 is too expensive). I was set for the i3-2120T but this thread made me think this should work even with the Intel Celeron G530... Have you tested the powerconsumption of your system during idle and load? Thanks, Extcon | ||
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