number8 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 I post here a fully silent HTPC assembled in the just released fantastic Plex H5 gen 2 case. It features: AS Rock Extreme 3 Mobo, 256 GO M.2 Gen 3 SSD, 16Go DDR4 3GHz RAM, i7-6700, ZOTAC GeForce GTX 950 AMP! Edition, 100W external linear PSU, USB Audio card V2 from PPA, Win 10 (with AO when it is ready, I might install as a double boot a Win Server 2012 R2JRiver MC21, Roon might come, as of now I find the price tag quite high for a non finished yet software), and a Synology DS1813+. It is dedicated to a 50m2 movie and audio theater room: Sony 4K projector, Request II Martin Logan speakers powered by an YBA power amplifier, YBA pre-amplifier, YBA CD reader, a Rel subwoofer. Center and back speakers are Martin Logan too. As for the DAC, I have a Micromega MYdac, and I am in the process of selecting either the Exasound gear or the Yggdrasil one. I'm in the process of the replacement of the receiver that will be Emotiva XMC-1. Link to comment
ElviaCaprice Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Hi number 8, Are you using the M2 drive for your OS? If so, how does it sound? Did you use SSD before? Any comparison? What are you using for connecting your 100W LPSU to the motherboard (ATX)? Nice looking case. Wish they made a smaller one for mini ITX. Wish Larry would answer my questions sent to him??? (JRiver) Jetway barebones NUC (mod 3 sCLK-EX, Cybershaft OP 14) (PH SR7) => mini pcie adapter to PCIe 1X => tXUSBexp PCIe card (mod sCLK-EX) (PH SR7) => (USPCB) Chord DAVE => Omega Super 8XRS/REL t5i (All powered thru Topaz Isolation Transformer) Link to comment
number8 Posted December 20, 2015 Author Share Posted December 20, 2015 Hi number 8,Are you using the M2 drive for your OS? If so, how does it sound? Did you use SSD before? Any comparison? What are you using for connecting your 100W LPSU to the motherboard (ATX)? Nice looking case. Wish they made a smaller one for mini ITX. Wish Larry would answer my questions sent to him??? Hello ElviaCaprice The OS is installed on the M2 drive indeed. I haven't made any test on SSD prior to that, I won't enter into that kind of debate. The unit is not connected yet, it will take some time before it is done, hopefully during spring. So I'll have to wait quite a bit to test it. It will be interesting to make A/B tests with my legacy high end CD player and the Goldmund T3. The 100W LPSU HDPLEX Fanless Linear Power Supply for PC Audio and CE device feeds an internal power supply and feeds as well the USB audio card. I could have used the 300W PSU in order to achieve a full linear PSU , this is a higher price tag though, I may go this route in the future. This company makes smaller case, you may have a look. Link to comment
ElviaCaprice Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Okay, got an email from Larry. Said he can change the 9V variable output to do 5V on the 300W ATX LPSU. Important so I can get all my hard drives on the 5V rail (4-2.5" 5V) and have another independent 5V rail for my PPA USB 2 Card. The 12V rail will power my CPU and Mobo via ATX. That will leave me a 3.3V ATX rail (I never use a GPU card) and a 19V rail, free. Wonder what use I could put these two rails too? Maybe I should have him change the 19V to ?. Would love if the 3.3V could be change to 5V. Larry didn't say in his response. Unfortunately the HDPlex cases other than the H5, don't have an expansion slot for a mini ITX. (PPA Card) (JRiver) Jetway barebones NUC (mod 3 sCLK-EX, Cybershaft OP 14) (PH SR7) => mini pcie adapter to PCIe 1X => tXUSBexp PCIe card (mod sCLK-EX) (PH SR7) => (USPCB) Chord DAVE => Omega Super 8XRS/REL t5i (All powered thru Topaz Isolation Transformer) Link to comment
baconbrain Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Nice setup. I really like the Plex H5 case. Curious as to why you choose the ASrock Mobo and 950 GTX combo? Link to comment
ElviaCaprice Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Okay, got an email from Larry. Said he can change the 9V variable output to do 5V on the 300W ATX LPSU. Important so I can get all my hard drives on the 5V rail (4-2.5" 5V) and have another independent 5V rail for my PPA USB 2 Card. The 12V rail will power my CPU and Mobo via ATX. That will leave me a 3.3V ATX rail (I never use a GPU card) and a 19V rail, free. Wonder what use I could put these two rails too? Maybe I should have him change the 19V to ?. Would love if the 3.3V could be change to 5V. Larry didn't say in his response. Unfortunately the HDPlex cases other than the H5, don't have an expansion slot for a mini ITX. (PPA Card) I think I am wrong in thinking that the Mobo 24 pin ATX connector doesn't need a 5V and 3.3V rails? Not sure, because it does show the need for them on a 24 pin diagram. If that is the case then powering the 5V HDD's from the ATX or DC is not an option on the 5V rail (since it's shared between the ATX and DC). I really need two separate clean rails for the PPA version 2 card and the 5V HDD's. I want to avoid needing the SOTM filters for (4) 2.5" HDD's 5V. I got one, for sure, by resizing the variable 9V rail down to 5V. Wonder if I should get the 19V rail down to 5V also if possible??? (JRiver) Jetway barebones NUC (mod 3 sCLK-EX, Cybershaft OP 14) (PH SR7) => mini pcie adapter to PCIe 1X => tXUSBexp PCIe card (mod sCLK-EX) (PH SR7) => (USPCB) Chord DAVE => Omega Super 8XRS/REL t5i (All powered thru Topaz Isolation Transformer) Link to comment
number8 Posted December 21, 2015 Author Share Posted December 21, 2015 Nice setup. I really like the Plex H5 case. Curious as to why you choose the ASrock Mobo and 950 GTX combo? This gear will feed a 4K projector so I need an HDMI 2.0 HDCP 2.2 ready graphic card. As for te mobo: I wanted the latest DDR4, USB3.0/3.1, and M.2 interface for fast SSD access. There quite a number of manufacturer out there, it took some time before making the final choice, there are certainly other options. Link to comment
baconbrain Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 This gear will feed a 4K projector so I need an HDMI 2.0 HDCP 2.2 ready graphic card.As for te mobo: I wanted the latest DDR4, USB3.0/3.1, and M.2 interface for fast SSD access. There quite a number of manufacturer out there, it took some time before making the final choice, there are certainly other options. Looks like the 950 is normally actively cooled, have you had a chance to monitor the temp of the system when running under load? I am also curious as to which internal PSU you are using? Thx. Link to comment
number8 Posted December 21, 2015 Author Share Posted December 21, 2015 Looks like the 950 is normally actively cooled, have you had a chance to monitor the temp of the system when running under load? I am also curious as to which internal PSU you are using? Thx. Indeed the 950 is cooled by two fans that have been removed. I did not have the opportunity yet to stress the 950. As for the internal PSU: HDPLEX-250W-Hi-Fi-DC-ATX-Power-Supply (16V-24V Wide Range Voltage Input). This internal PSU is feed by HDPLEX Fanless Linear Power Supply for PC Audio and CE device. This 100W PSU feeds directly the USB PPA card as well Link to comment
number8 Posted December 21, 2015 Author Share Posted December 21, 2015 As a side information, the GPU temperature when playing a HD file is between 45/50°C Link to comment
baconbrain Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Last question from my side, what is your overall impression of the case build quality? Thx! Link to comment
number8 Posted December 23, 2015 Author Share Posted December 23, 2015 Last question from my side, what is your overall impression of the case build quality? Thx! It is an outstanding piece of equipment. Everything is well packaged and documented. I had the first production batch and as such minor problems arose. The supplier has been very reactive to provide two missing parts and one modified part. Link to comment
WMW Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Holy Crow! That is a sa-weet build! The passive cooling arrays for CPU and GPU are gorgeous! I'm happy to see a fanless case designed for HTPC as the 530 graphics built into Intel's Skylake CPUs will not satisfy gaming enthusiasts and a graphics card is a must. If that's an OD I see though where is the slot to load it? I'm drooling over the build! Link to comment
Gadgety Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Wow, what an inspirational build, and great pictures! The great thing with the HDPlex HD5 is the possibility to passively cool the GPU, that's for sure. number8, I wonder if you could do me a favor and measure: the distance from the top of the base of the GPU's aluminum top plate, i e from the aluminum plate, excluding the fins, to the top of the case? What is that distance? Also, if possible, could you measure how far from the rear of the case to the aluminum top plate center, and from the left side of the case, including the fins, to the left side of the aluminum top plate? Link to comment
tichouchou Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Hi number8. Thanks for your post. Why did yoy add a usb audio card if you had a dac? Whats temperature displaying a 4k movie ? Thanks again! Link to comment
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