1 Jul 2009

Latest HTPC

I have decided to build a pure audio-only PC. Component as below:

Silverstone GD-02MT case with touch screen and remote
PC Power & Computing Silencer 750
Intel E7200
Kingston HyperX DDR2-800 2G RAM
Asus P5QPL-CM motherboard, Underclock to 800MHz, RAM 3-3-3-5
Sine Louis Power Cord
Sine 2000W isolation transformer for the PC
Lynx AES 16-E PCI-E sound card

Some notes here:
  • Don't buy this case if you want good sound quality. The touch screen is great but it drags power from mainboard and so affects sound quality.
  • The case is packed and I can't find any space for HDD. So I have to use thumbtek to stick the HDD on the PSU. This is crazy.
  • The PSU is very quiet and cool, and thus I am confident to put the HDD on the PSU. In fact, the HDD is much hotter than the PSU.
  • It's pathetic that E7200, Asus and Kingston HyperX DDR2-800 RAM are extremely difficult to find now
  • CPU running at room temperature, I don't feel any heat when I touch the heat sink
  • I pulled out all "玄人志向" cards out, because it seems that the cards have TRADE OFFs on this new PC which is quite interesting. Sound seems to be more lively without these cards, but the sound stage moved forward. It didn't happen before with my old PC. I will test further and provide more findings.

No comments: