Bad news, friends. The heatsink I bought blocks the PCIe slot when installed, and I need that slot for the Radeon 5450. I have to return the heatsink for a Thermalright AXP-140, which is known to fit.
Bad research on my part. Bah.
Don't feel bad. Recently I purchased a Zalman Downdraft cooler for a build I was doing for my son. I did a good job planning for clearance of the RAM heat-sinks, that was fine, but I did not measure the mosfet cooler ahead of time, and wouldn't ya know it, the two sets of fins were interfering with each other. I ended up using an entirely different motherboard for him because he liked the look of the cooler so much (my son is more about form than function).
I suppose if I really wanted, I could have gotten the drum sander on the rotary tool and shaped the fins to make it work with our original motherboard selection, but I just could not bring myself to do it to pristine new hardware.
System is complete now, I am going to get him a set of those NZXT Sleeved LED's so I can light it up a little more (he selected a windows case obviously)
Still, no matter how many builds I do, every single one seems to present at least one small challenge I did not bargain for ahead of time.
Still, no matter how many experiences in life I have, every single one seems to present at least one small challenge I did not bargain for ahead of time.
Fix't it for you. I was going to make an additional comment about most of us choosing form over function, but this seemed deep enough.
The Thermalright XP-140-RT is known to fit on this board because the fins are not centered over the base. This leaves about 1.5mm of clearance between the heatpipes and the back of the GPU, and the HSF is tall enough that the RAM is cleared as well.
I think even if that Thermalright fits, it is an overkill for HTPC regarding performance, size, and weight. And, clearances are too close; it might even block the overall air flow in such a small case.
Doing more research indicates that the AXP-140-RT requires jiggery pokery with some washers, as the Gigabyte H55N-USB3 motherboard has ICs on its back face that interfere with the heatsink's backplate.
Based on this information, I have decided to get the Prolimatech Samuel 17. It's known to fit, it only uses mounting bolts (not plates), it has no known clearance issues, and it'll be awesome with a 12mm thick Scythe Sflex fan. This review uses my board, this heatsink, and my case.
//EDIT: Oh, and the Samuel 17 is half the price of the AXP-140. Additionally, it's not sold out of every retailer in the country like the AXP-140 is.
Was there a particular reason you put in a discrete gpu in there? The I3 handles passthrough of both HD Dolby and DTS hd as it is. Or is it Boxee that needs the "beafier" gpu? Are you decked out now with BD files from harddrive? Using Totalmedia?
The HQV score and DXVA potential of a discrete GPU is radically better in the 5000 Series. It's shameful how bad the i3's IGP is at accelerating and displaying high-def content. (Yes, hard drive + DVD drive).
I really like it, but I wish the range was a little longer. Every so often--maybe once a week--it totally freaks out, and I have to re-sync the keyboard with the adapter. It's not a huge deal given the rarity, but it <i>is</i> annoying.
That said, I can't imagine using any other mini keyboard at this point. I am, however, worried that the Logitech remote software available for Android and iPhone will totally obsolete this keyboard when I get an Android handset.
I really like it, but I wish the range was a little longer. Every so often--maybe once a week--it totally freaks out, and I have to re-sync the keyboard with the adapter. It's not a huge deal given the rarity, but it <i>is</i> annoying.
That said, I can't imagine using any other mini keyboard at this point. I am, however, worried that the Logitech remote software available for Android and iPhone will totally obsolete this keyboard when I get an Android handset.
Is there an android remote app that doesn't require google tv? I've been hoping to find one and maybe I just don't know how to search (lrn2google, i know).
Comments
Don't feel bad. Recently I purchased a Zalman Downdraft cooler for a build I was doing for my son. I did a good job planning for clearance of the RAM heat-sinks, that was fine, but I did not measure the mosfet cooler ahead of time, and wouldn't ya know it, the two sets of fins were interfering with each other. I ended up using an entirely different motherboard for him because he liked the look of the cooler so much (my son is more about form than function).
I suppose if I really wanted, I could have gotten the drum sander on the rotary tool and shaped the fins to make it work with our original motherboard selection, but I just could not bring myself to do it to pristine new hardware.
System is complete now, I am going to get him a set of those NZXT Sleeved LED's so I can light it up a little more (he selected a windows case obviously)
Still, no matter how many builds I do, every single one seems to present at least one small challenge I did not bargain for ahead of time.
The default heatsink fits just fine, but it makes more noise than I want to deal with.
Scythe SCBSK-1000 Big Shuriken: 120 L x 120 W x 12 H mm
Thermalright AXP-140 RT: L140 x W140 x H25 mm
Maybe you could get away with this Zalman CNPS8000A
or, this Thermaltake Slim X3
Other coolers include the Cooler Master GeminII S, the Prolimatech Samuel 17, the stock Intel heatsink and one more I can't recall.
Having a heatsink of this size will allow me to keep the RPMs to a minimum, and noise is my leading concern.
Doing more research indicates that the AXP-140-RT requires jiggery pokery with some washers, as the Gigabyte H55N-USB3 motherboard has ICs on its back face that interfere with the heatsink's backplate.
Based on this information, I have decided to get the Prolimatech Samuel 17. It's known to fit, it only uses mounting bolts (not plates), it has no known clearance issues, and it'll be awesome with a 12mm thick Scythe Sflex fan. This review uses my board, this heatsink, and my case.
//EDIT: Oh, and the Samuel 17 is half the price of the AXP-140. Additionally, it's not sold out of every retailer in the country like the AXP-140 is.
Plus, it is lighter and shorter. Win, win, win :thumbup
Was there a particular reason you put in a discrete gpu in there? The I3 handles passthrough of both HD Dolby and DTS hd as it is. Or is it Boxee that needs the "beafier" gpu? Are you decked out now with BD files from harddrive? Using Totalmedia?
@Thrax - How do you like the dinovo mini?
MSI H67MA-E35
SAPPHIRE HD5570
INTEL CORE I3 2100T
GSKILL F3-10666
http://www.amazon.com/Rii-Wireless-Keyboard-Touchpad-RT-MWK01/dp/B003UE52ME/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1305061380&sr=8-2
I really like it, but I wish the range was a little longer. Every so often--maybe once a week--it totally freaks out, and I have to re-sync the keyboard with the adapter. It's not a huge deal given the rarity, but it <i>is</i> annoying.
That said, I can't imagine using any other mini keyboard at this point. I am, however, worried that the Logitech remote software available for Android and iPhone will totally obsolete this keyboard when I get an Android handset.
Is there an android remote app that doesn't require google tv? I've been hoping to find one and maybe I just don't know how to search (lrn2google, i know).
1) Gmote: http://www.gmote.org/
2) RemoteDroid: http://www.remotedroid.net/
3) Unified Remote: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.Relmtech.Remote
All of them are quite good, but their feature sets are a little different.
Needed a bare-essentials remote for visitors using the tv function of MCE, so I went with this.
Media Gate Ultimate
I'll use that for most of the TV functions along with my ipad and/or phone for the rest.
Chuck
Ultra quiet low-prof. alternatives?
Actually, I think he had Intel inside before he became inside AMD ...ya know?