mini HTPC build (Habey EMC-800B, i3-2100T, SSD, etc.) - KEEPING IT SIMPLE - Page 2

Can't say, though I've seen a couple of Intel motherboards (DH55TC) come through my office recently that were DOA with the symtoms you describe. Fan spins for a moment, then nothing. Replacement motherboard powered right up.

We contacted Intel and were told to RMA the boards. Not good, hoping this won't become a trend.

You might check to be sure the CPU you're using is compatible with your motherboard. Perhaps a BIOS upgrade is needed.

I ended up going with a single exhaust fan in my build.

Hope to build my 2nd box (similar components) tomorrow.

I finished my new master bedroom HTPC build last night. Here is the component list I went with:

Habey EMC-800B Mini-ITX Chassis
Intel DH67CFB3 Mini-ITX Motherboard
Intel 2.5 GHz i3-2100T Processor
Kingston KVR1333D3N9K2/8G 2x4GB DDR3 1333
Kingston SSDNow V+ SVP100S2/96G 96GB SSD
Samsung SN-S083F/BEBE Slim DVD-RW Drive
Evercool EC5010M12CA 50mm x 10mm Case Fan
Internal IR Receiver w/CIR Cable

I went with the Kingston 96GB because there was a good rebate going on and the extra capacity might be helpful in the master bedroom where my wife is more likely to make local recordings (though I'm going to advise against it!). Performance is still real good compared to a 7200rpm hard disk, but doesn't seem as snappy as the Crucial in my kitchen build (just based on casual observation). In any case, it's certainly more than fine (as long as it's reliable).

My kitchen HTPC sits in a cabinet, so an external IR receiver is pretty much unavoidable, but this build is sitting on top of our bureau. I decided to order and mount an internal IR receiver, since the Intel motherboard I'm using supports one, to try and get rid of our bulky external USB IR receiver.

I went with this receiver:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...E:L:OC:US:1123
(search eBay for "CIR IR Receiver MCE" and you should find it)

I don't plan on using the included remote, but for the price I can't complain. It's hard to explain, but the IR receiver itself doesn't really protrude much from the board which made me nervous about reliability. I drilled a hole in my Habey and mounted the receiver at an angle (to get the IR receiver into the hole as much as possible) with double-sided adhesive. I added some hot glue for added security. I was pleasantly surprised! Even though the Habey case metal is fairly thick, making the IR receiver is recessed quite a bit, IR reception is flawless from even heavy angles. It works at least as well as the external receiver!

Noise is more of an issue on this build since it is in our bedroom and sitting right on the bureau so I left the BIOS fan controls to start at 20/30% (default) and it's pretty much silent. Heat is less of a concern because it's not in a cabinet. Even at these fan levels temperatures were close to my kitchen build, which I'm fine with.

I do have to say however that the blue LED is bright for a bedroom and might bother some. Doesn't really bother me or my wife (we can sleep through anything), but I might look at trying to dim it somehow or perhaps even disconnect it completely.

Attached is a pic of my new build - you can see the IR receiver to the bottom left of the DVD drive.

Are you using the same motherboard as me? If so, be sure to update to the latest BIOS and check the fan speed and CPU temp settings. By default if the CPU isn't running real hot the fan will stay at a pretty low speed (20% I believe). In the BIOS you can up your minimum fan speed a bit and set your processor temp goal down.

Intel doesn't seem to be overly concerned about 70 degree CPU temps by default with this motherboard.

I have found that it's surprisingly difficult to get the temps up OR down using additional fans, different configurations, etc. on this build. I guess it pretty much is what it is. I did see a small drop when bringing the fans up to 50-60% (both CPU and exhaust).

You can also set the target CPU temp (I think defaulted at 85) so the system will spin the fans up if the processor gets too hot for your liking.

Are you using an SSD?

Can you provide a link for the Desktop Utilies you downloaded?

It's hooked to the motherboard controller and very quiet. I have the motherboard set to run it at 30% for my bedroom HTPC unless there's a temp issue (which I don't think there would be under normal use).

Even at full stream there's no annoying whine - though you can definitely hear it. It's probably the quietest 50mm fan I've owned, though can't say I've owned too many.

Who knows, but it really is very silent at those fan levels and an SSD installed. I can't hear it unless I put my ear right near it, certainly not from my bed.



I installed the Desktop Utilities and oddly enough the processor temp its reporting is lower than the BIOS. After some playback the software was reporting:

Processor: 41
PCH: 56
Memory DIMM: 36
VR: 40

Processor Fan: 3013RPM
Chassis Outlet Fan: 5273 RPM

All green. No entry for hard drive temp that I could see.

At these fan levels the system does put out some noise, but because they are in a kitchen cabinet the noise is not very noticeable to me. I would not run those fan levels in my bedroom however.

I rebooted and went right into the BIOS and noticed the processor temp was listed at about 54 degrees there.

I'm not certain, but there is not very much clearance over the stock i3-2100t cooler in my Habey chassis. I have read that the i3-2100 stock cooler will not fit. I could be wrong, but I thought I read somewhere that the stock i3-2100t cooler was ~30mm high.


Huge improvement. Not sure how I missed that the first time around.


I read that as well. If accurate, it's still not a waste for me because I need the low profile i3-2100t cooler for the Habey anyway.


Absolutely perfect so far. I do wish the IR receiver was flush with the case, but it's really a non-issue as it's really not noticeable.


With these builds I've decided to leave them up and running 24/7, but that receiver sounds cool. Will have to check that out!

Not sure, but I would say no. I'm not 100%, but I remember reading that the i3-2100t stock cooler is about 30mm high and that barely fits. Unless I'm misremembering, removing the optical drive doesn't free up much of any space because you still need the bracket installed to hold the 2.5" hard drive and the cooling fan. Unless you modify the bracket I guess.


The optical drive blocks a majority of the top. Perhaps you could leave out the optical drive, modify the bracket and then cut an exhaust hole.


I don't have anything to measure noise output at the moment, but with the CPU fan and exhaust fan running 100% I'd say it's pretty loud.


I haven't test anything other that HTPC-related tasks. I haven't found performance lacking at all.

The SSD could perhaps sit on the left side but will likely block some ventilation holes on that side. You will likely want to provide some kind of filler for the optical drive, or at least paint the included white filter black. Even with the included filler there will be a slot where someone could accidentally insert a disc unless you somehow block it.

You could also check out the EMC-600B which does not include an optical drive mount but I have no experience with that chassis so not sure what kind of room there is in there.