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cyberdeity
Weaksauce
- Joined
- May 19, 2005
- Messages
- 123
Mission Statement
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Old HTPC is full. Drives in other home PCs full too. Can't succomb to the idea of
deleting anything, so I need more space. Also, the old HTPC is noisy because it's
in a crappy case with a slew of loud 99 cent fans. I don't expect some sort of
exotic passive or water cooled beauty, but I don't want to be able to hear it from
the couch. New Case should be visually appealing (wouldn't take much to surpass
the existing one).
After much deliberation, I decided to go with the QPack2 case. I'm not terribly fond
of it, but I had to make a choice. The case is thin and flimsy, but I'm used to
quality Antec cases (yes, I know there are many other quality brands, but Antec is
my personal favorite). It does the job, doesn't look to bad, and came with a power
supply big enough for my needs. Many people have warned me that you get what you
pay for and I'll be replacing that power supply within a year -- that's fine if it
comes to it.
In case someone was curious why I've not raided any of these, it's because I have
a coworker building one similiar and I'll be mirroring my collection to his PC. So,
if either of us lose a drive, we can easily replace the lost info without needing
to spend money on extra drives for raid.
To make this PC quiet, I replaced all the fans with 14dB Silenx Ixtrema ones. I
was very impressed with these fans, and would recommend them to anyone looking to
replace their 28dB fans with something a little more reasonable.
Had to use some right-angle power and SATA cables in order to make the drive cage
fit since it's up against the power supply. Since the QPack2 is slightly longer than
the original, I would assume this build would not have been possible in a QPack1
unless you removed the 80mm fan that cools the drives. (This is possible to do since
the iStorm7 allows you to remove that and mount the drives forward a bit more).
Components used for this build
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144139
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128090
Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103194
2GB RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034
WD 1TB x4: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136151
H 1TB x1: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145167
Cable x2: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812123160
Cable x3: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812123158
Cable x2: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812123167
Drive Cage: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856999209
Card Reader: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820223073
CPU Cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118034
Keyboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823166079
Remote: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16880100851
120mm Fan x2: http://www.svc.com/ixp-74-14.html
80mm Fan x2: http://www.svc.com/ixp-54-14.html
40mm Fan x2: http://www.svc.com/ixp-13-14.html
VGA Cable (have cheapo HDMI cable on order), SPDIF Optical Audio Cable to Receiver,
zip ties, and massive amounts of ninja mojo
I've got a link here to some really nice drive cages from Sytrin.
I ordered two of these with the intent to somehow mount the 3rd drive between them with the
extra brackets they give you. Unfortunately, this just wasn't going to work. Went back
online, did some more googling, stumbled across the iStorm7.
MUCH cheaper, accomplishes the same thing I had in mind (don't need hot-swap capability). But,
depending on your space and needs, I still think these are a respectable product, and would
recommend them. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150085
Wish List
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Some sort of UPS/Conditioning/Protection device for the gear
Better TV
Currently have an Insignia 32" LCD. Plan to downgrade that to the bedroom and
replace with something really nice this summer after remodeling the living room.
Photos
-=-=-=
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Old HTPC is full. Drives in other home PCs full too. Can't succomb to the idea of
deleting anything, so I need more space. Also, the old HTPC is noisy because it's
in a crappy case with a slew of loud 99 cent fans. I don't expect some sort of
exotic passive or water cooled beauty, but I don't want to be able to hear it from
the couch. New Case should be visually appealing (wouldn't take much to surpass
the existing one).
After much deliberation, I decided to go with the QPack2 case. I'm not terribly fond
of it, but I had to make a choice. The case is thin and flimsy, but I'm used to
quality Antec cases (yes, I know there are many other quality brands, but Antec is
my personal favorite). It does the job, doesn't look to bad, and came with a power
supply big enough for my needs. Many people have warned me that you get what you
pay for and I'll be replacing that power supply within a year -- that's fine if it
comes to it.
In case someone was curious why I've not raided any of these, it's because I have
a coworker building one similiar and I'll be mirroring my collection to his PC. So,
if either of us lose a drive, we can easily replace the lost info without needing
to spend money on extra drives for raid.
To make this PC quiet, I replaced all the fans with 14dB Silenx Ixtrema ones. I
was very impressed with these fans, and would recommend them to anyone looking to
replace their 28dB fans with something a little more reasonable.
Had to use some right-angle power and SATA cables in order to make the drive cage
fit since it's up against the power supply. Since the QPack2 is slightly longer than
the original, I would assume this build would not have been possible in a QPack1
unless you removed the 80mm fan that cools the drives. (This is possible to do since
the iStorm7 allows you to remove that and mount the drives forward a bit more).
Components used for this build
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144139
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128090
Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103194
2GB RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034
WD 1TB x4: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136151
H 1TB x1: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145167
Cable x2: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812123160
Cable x3: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812123158
Cable x2: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812123167
Drive Cage: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856999209
Card Reader: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820223073
CPU Cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118034
Keyboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823166079
Remote: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16880100851
120mm Fan x2: http://www.svc.com/ixp-74-14.html
80mm Fan x2: http://www.svc.com/ixp-54-14.html
40mm Fan x2: http://www.svc.com/ixp-13-14.html
VGA Cable (have cheapo HDMI cable on order), SPDIF Optical Audio Cable to Receiver,
zip ties, and massive amounts of ninja mojo
I've got a link here to some really nice drive cages from Sytrin.
I ordered two of these with the intent to somehow mount the 3rd drive between them with the
extra brackets they give you. Unfortunately, this just wasn't going to work. Went back
online, did some more googling, stumbled across the iStorm7.
MUCH cheaper, accomplishes the same thing I had in mind (don't need hot-swap capability). But,
depending on your space and needs, I still think these are a respectable product, and would
recommend them. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150085
Wish List
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Some sort of UPS/Conditioning/Protection device for the gear
Better TV
Currently have an Insignia 32" LCD. Plan to downgrade that to the bedroom andreplace with something really nice this summer after remodeling the living room.
Photos
-=-=-=
