Not sure if I have posted here before but I know I am a longtime viewer/admire of this site and posters.
I have a HTPC setup currently that is basic (IMO) that I wanna try to make more centralized and to get OUT of my office.
I feel somewhat competent in building PC's and stuff -- but I know there are much more knowledgeable people out there and am hoping for help.
My main issue is HEAT in my small office space. That office space houses 3 PC's. One for my job as I work from home doing customer service. This PC is a Dell Optiplex 755 which is a slow POS (IMO), but it is what is provided to me so I have no choice in this. Also in this room is my server PC which is a custom built PC out of spare parts. The final PC is my main PC, also custom built.
I keep the main PC in an older desk that has a door that opens with a small shelf right above the compartment for the PC. As I sit at the desk working I can feel the heat emanating from the PC on my lower legs and eventually due to both PC heat and body heat the room becomes toasty, and that is being generous.
My thoughts are to move the server PC to my garage and to move all my storage to that PC as opposed to keeping much anymore on my main PC. My main PC has several (5) HDDs in it currently, and I wanna move most of that to the server to minimize the heat coming out of that main PC. However in order to make this work I need to still be able to get decent speeds from the server to the rest of the home. I currently have a setup where I use Powerline Adapters from my office to the rest of the home to serve media from the server to 2 rooms that have HTPC's in them. One is my bedroom and the other the living room. The garage has only one electrical with 2 outlets that are being used and is placed away from where I would like to keep the PC though. I am looking for any thoughts and ideas on the viability of my thinking here as well as other options to try to reduce the heat output whether it be other cases for my PC or cooling options for within my PC.
This is the case I have on my main PC, it is older. And this is a pic of the insides:
As you can (hopefully) see no special cooling, just the standard fan that came with the processor. I had a Radeon HD5770 in this PC initially but it kept dying so I put in an old graphics card until I can upgrade.
My specs on this PC:
Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
[ Summary ]
Computer:
Computer Type ACPI x64-based PC
Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate
OS Service Pack Service Pack 1
Internet Explorer 9.0.8112.16421 (IE 9.0)
DirectX DirectX 11.0
Computer Name SHROOM-PC
User Name shroom
Logon Domain shroom-PC
Date / Time 2012-10-05 / 19:21
Motherboard:
CPU Type QuadCore Intel Core i7-930, 2800 MHz (21 x 133)
Motherboard Name MSI X58M SLI (MS-7593) (1 PCI, 2 PCI-E x16, 6 DDR3 DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN)
Motherboard Chipset Intel Tylersburg X58, Intel Nehalem
System Memory 10231 MB (DDR3 SDRAM)
DIMM1: Patriot Memory 1333EL Series 4 GB DDR3-1066 DDR3 SDRAM (7-7-7-20 @ 533 MHz) (6-6-6-18 @ 457 MHz)
DIMM3: Patriot Memory 1333EL Series 4 GB DDR3-1066 DDR3 SDRAM (7-7-7-20 @ 533 MHz) (6-6-6-18 @ 457 MHz)
DIMM5: OCZ Gold XTC OCZ3G1333LV2G 2 GB DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM (9-9-9-20 @ 666 MHz) (8-8-8-18 @ 592 MHz) (7-7-7-16 @ 518 MHz) (6-6-6-14 @ 444 MHz) (5-5-5-12 @ 370 MHz)
BIOS Type AMI (04/28/10)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Display:
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce GT 240 (1024 MB)
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce GT 240 (1024 MB)
3D Accelerator nVIDIA GeForce GT 240
Monitor Samsung SyncMaster B1940W/B1940WX/B1940EW/B1940EWX (Digital) [19" LCD] (HCLB900209)
Multimedia:
Audio Adapter nVIDIA HDMI/DP @ nVIDIA GT215 - High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Adapter nVIDIA HDMI/DP @ nVIDIA GT215 - High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Adapter nVIDIA HDMI/DP @ nVIDIA GT215 - High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Adapter nVIDIA HDMI/DP @ nVIDIA GT215 - High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Adapter Realtek ALC889 @ Intel 82801JB ICH10 - High Definition Audio Controller
Storage:
IDE Controller Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
IDE Controller Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
IDE Controller Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
Storage Controller A8JIG4LH IDE Controller
Storage Controller H+H Virtual CD 10 SCSI Controller
Disk Drive SAMSUNG HD204UI ATA Device (2000 GB, 5400 RPM, SATA-II)
Disk Drive ST31000340AS ATA Device (1000 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)
Disk Drive ST31000528AS ATA Device (1000 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)
Disk Drive ST31500541AS ATA Device (1500 GB, 5900 RPM, SATA-II)
Disk Drive WD My Book 1110 USB Device (931 GB, USB)
Optical Drive ATAPI iHAS124 B ATA Device (DVD+R9:8x, DVD-R9:8x, DVD+RW:24x/8x, DVD-RW:24x/6x, DVD-RAM:12x, DVD-ROM:16x, CD:48x/32x/48x DVD+RW/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM)
Optical Drive DTSOFT Virtual CdRom Device
Optical Drive JWTIXWT LABO1QNG SCSI CdRom Device
Optical Drive VXDV BD-HD-DVDRAM S15 SCSI CdRom Device
Optical Drive VXDV BD-HD-DVDROM S10 SCSI CdRom Device
Optical Drive WD Virtual CD 1110 USB Device
SMART Hard Disks Status OK
Partitions:
C: (NTFS) 465.8 GB (30.7 GB free)
D: (NTFS) 1397.3 GB (471.9 GB free)
F: (NTFS) 465.8 GB (251.0 GB free)
G: (NTFS) 927.6 GB (55.4 GB free)
H: (NTFS) 935.3 GB (59.7 GB free)
I: (NTFS) 931.5 GB (25.9 GB free)
M: (NTFS) 1396.6 GB (128.4 GB free)
Total Size 6519.8 GB (1023.0 GB free)
Input:
Keyboard Microsoft Digital Media Keyboard 3000 (IntelliType Pro)
Mouse Microsoft USB Trackball Explorer (IntelliPoint)
Mouse Wacom Mouse Monitor
Mouse Wacom Router Mouse
Network:
Primary IP Address 192.168.1.101
Primary MAC Address 00-22-2C-FF-FF-FF
Network Adapter Ceton InfiniTV Network Device (192.168.200.2)
Network Adapter Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller (192.168.1.101)
Peripherals:
Printer \\ABRIL-PC\Brother HL-2040 series
Printer Adobe PDF
Printer Fax
Printer Microsoft XPS Document Writer
Printer Send To OneNote 2010
Printer Snagit 11
FireWire Controller VIA OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller (PHY: VIA VT6307)
USB1 Controller Intel 82801JB ICH10 - USB Universal Host Controller
USB1 Controller Intel 82801JB ICH10 - USB Universal Host Controller
USB1 Controller Intel 82801JB ICH10 - USB Universal Host Controller
USB1 Controller Intel 82801JB ICH10 - USB Universal Host Controller
USB1 Controller Intel 82801JB ICH10 - USB Universal Host Controller
USB1 Controller Intel 82801JB ICH10 - USB Universal Host Controller
USB2 Controller Intel 82801JB ICH10 - USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
USB2 Controller Intel 82801JB ICH10 - USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Device Generic USB Hub
USB Device Microsoft Hardware USB Keyboard
USB Device Microsoft Hardware USB Mouse
USB Device USB Composite Device
USB Device USB Input Device
USB Device USB Input Device
USB Device USB Mass Storage Device
USB Device Wacom Tablet
DMI:
DMI BIOS Vendor American Megatrends Inc.
DMI BIOS Version V3.6
DMI System Manufacturer MSI
DMI System Product MS-7593
DMI System Version 1.0
DMI System Serial Number To Be Filled By O.E.M.
DMI System UUID 00000000-00000000-00006C62-6D85AC99
DMI Motherboard Manufacturer MSI
DMI Motherboard Product MSI X58M (MS-7593)
DMI Motherboard Version 1.0
DMI Motherboard Serial Number To be filled by O.E.M.
DMI Chassis Manufacturer MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL CO.,LTD
DMI Chassis Version 1.0
DMI Chassis Serial Number To Be Filled By O.E.M.
DMI Chassis Asset Tag To Be Filled By O.E.M.
DMI Chassis Type Desktop Case
The Server PC info (coming)
Thanks in advance if anyone is able to provide their knowledge and insight.
Alfred
Edited by burnshroom - 10/5/12 at 5:37pm
I have a HTPC setup currently that is basic (IMO) that I wanna try to make more centralized and to get OUT of my office.
I feel somewhat competent in building PC's and stuff -- but I know there are much more knowledgeable people out there and am hoping for help.
My main issue is HEAT in my small office space. That office space houses 3 PC's. One for my job as I work from home doing customer service. This PC is a Dell Optiplex 755 which is a slow POS (IMO), but it is what is provided to me so I have no choice in this. Also in this room is my server PC which is a custom built PC out of spare parts. The final PC is my main PC, also custom built.
I keep the main PC in an older desk that has a door that opens with a small shelf right above the compartment for the PC. As I sit at the desk working I can feel the heat emanating from the PC on my lower legs and eventually due to both PC heat and body heat the room becomes toasty, and that is being generous.
My thoughts are to move the server PC to my garage and to move all my storage to that PC as opposed to keeping much anymore on my main PC. My main PC has several (5) HDDs in it currently, and I wanna move most of that to the server to minimize the heat coming out of that main PC. However in order to make this work I need to still be able to get decent speeds from the server to the rest of the home. I currently have a setup where I use Powerline Adapters from my office to the rest of the home to serve media from the server to 2 rooms that have HTPC's in them. One is my bedroom and the other the living room. The garage has only one electrical with 2 outlets that are being used and is placed away from where I would like to keep the PC though. I am looking for any thoughts and ideas on the viability of my thinking here as well as other options to try to reduce the heat output whether it be other cases for my PC or cooling options for within my PC.
This is the case I have on my main PC, it is older. And this is a pic of the insides:
As you can (hopefully) see no special cooling, just the standard fan that came with the processor. I had a Radeon HD5770 in this PC initially but it kept dying so I put in an old graphics card until I can upgrade.
My specs on this PC:
Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
[ Summary ]
Computer:
Computer Type ACPI x64-based PC
Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate
OS Service Pack Service Pack 1
Internet Explorer 9.0.8112.16421 (IE 9.0)
DirectX DirectX 11.0
Computer Name SHROOM-PC
User Name shroom
Logon Domain shroom-PC
Date / Time 2012-10-05 / 19:21
Motherboard:
CPU Type QuadCore Intel Core i7-930, 2800 MHz (21 x 133)
Motherboard Name MSI X58M SLI (MS-7593) (1 PCI, 2 PCI-E x16, 6 DDR3 DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN)
Motherboard Chipset Intel Tylersburg X58, Intel Nehalem
System Memory 10231 MB (DDR3 SDRAM)
DIMM1: Patriot Memory 1333EL Series 4 GB DDR3-1066 DDR3 SDRAM (7-7-7-20 @ 533 MHz) (6-6-6-18 @ 457 MHz)
DIMM3: Patriot Memory 1333EL Series 4 GB DDR3-1066 DDR3 SDRAM (7-7-7-20 @ 533 MHz) (6-6-6-18 @ 457 MHz)
DIMM5: OCZ Gold XTC OCZ3G1333LV2G 2 GB DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM (9-9-9-20 @ 666 MHz) (8-8-8-18 @ 592 MHz) (7-7-7-16 @ 518 MHz) (6-6-6-14 @ 444 MHz) (5-5-5-12 @ 370 MHz)
BIOS Type AMI (04/28/10)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Display:
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce GT 240 (1024 MB)
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce GT 240 (1024 MB)
3D Accelerator nVIDIA GeForce GT 240
Monitor Samsung SyncMaster B1940W/B1940WX/B1940EW/B1940EWX (Digital) [19" LCD] (HCLB900209)
Multimedia:
Audio Adapter nVIDIA HDMI/DP @ nVIDIA GT215 - High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Adapter nVIDIA HDMI/DP @ nVIDIA GT215 - High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Adapter nVIDIA HDMI/DP @ nVIDIA GT215 - High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Adapter nVIDIA HDMI/DP @ nVIDIA GT215 - High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Adapter Realtek ALC889 @ Intel 82801JB ICH10 - High Definition Audio Controller
Storage:
IDE Controller Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
IDE Controller Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
IDE Controller Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
Storage Controller A8JIG4LH IDE Controller
Storage Controller H+H Virtual CD 10 SCSI Controller
Disk Drive SAMSUNG HD204UI ATA Device (2000 GB, 5400 RPM, SATA-II)
Disk Drive ST31000340AS ATA Device (1000 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)
Disk Drive ST31000528AS ATA Device (1000 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)
Disk Drive ST31500541AS ATA Device (1500 GB, 5900 RPM, SATA-II)
Disk Drive WD My Book 1110 USB Device (931 GB, USB)
Optical Drive ATAPI iHAS124 B ATA Device (DVD+R9:8x, DVD-R9:8x, DVD+RW:24x/8x, DVD-RW:24x/6x, DVD-RAM:12x, DVD-ROM:16x, CD:48x/32x/48x DVD+RW/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM)
Optical Drive DTSOFT Virtual CdRom Device
Optical Drive JWTIXWT LABO1QNG SCSI CdRom Device
Optical Drive VXDV BD-HD-DVDRAM S15 SCSI CdRom Device
Optical Drive VXDV BD-HD-DVDROM S10 SCSI CdRom Device
Optical Drive WD Virtual CD 1110 USB Device
SMART Hard Disks Status OK
Partitions:
C: (NTFS) 465.8 GB (30.7 GB free)
D: (NTFS) 1397.3 GB (471.9 GB free)
F: (NTFS) 465.8 GB (251.0 GB free)
G: (NTFS) 927.6 GB (55.4 GB free)
H: (NTFS) 935.3 GB (59.7 GB free)
I: (NTFS) 931.5 GB (25.9 GB free)
M: (NTFS) 1396.6 GB (128.4 GB free)
Total Size 6519.8 GB (1023.0 GB free)
Input:
Keyboard Microsoft Digital Media Keyboard 3000 (IntelliType Pro)
Mouse Microsoft USB Trackball Explorer (IntelliPoint)
Mouse Wacom Mouse Monitor
Mouse Wacom Router Mouse
Network:
Primary IP Address 192.168.1.101
Primary MAC Address 00-22-2C-FF-FF-FF
Network Adapter Ceton InfiniTV Network Device (192.168.200.2)
Network Adapter Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller (192.168.1.101)
Peripherals:
Printer \\ABRIL-PC\Brother HL-2040 series
Printer Adobe PDF
Printer Fax
Printer Microsoft XPS Document Writer
Printer Send To OneNote 2010
Printer Snagit 11
FireWire Controller VIA OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller (PHY: VIA VT6307)
USB1 Controller Intel 82801JB ICH10 - USB Universal Host Controller
USB1 Controller Intel 82801JB ICH10 - USB Universal Host Controller
USB1 Controller Intel 82801JB ICH10 - USB Universal Host Controller
USB1 Controller Intel 82801JB ICH10 - USB Universal Host Controller
USB1 Controller Intel 82801JB ICH10 - USB Universal Host Controller
USB1 Controller Intel 82801JB ICH10 - USB Universal Host Controller
USB2 Controller Intel 82801JB ICH10 - USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
USB2 Controller Intel 82801JB ICH10 - USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Device Generic USB Hub
USB Device Microsoft Hardware USB Keyboard
USB Device Microsoft Hardware USB Mouse
USB Device USB Composite Device
USB Device USB Input Device
USB Device USB Input Device
USB Device USB Mass Storage Device
USB Device Wacom Tablet
DMI:
DMI BIOS Vendor American Megatrends Inc.
DMI BIOS Version V3.6
DMI System Manufacturer MSI
DMI System Product MS-7593
DMI System Version 1.0
DMI System Serial Number To Be Filled By O.E.M.
DMI System UUID 00000000-00000000-00006C62-6D85AC99
DMI Motherboard Manufacturer MSI
DMI Motherboard Product MSI X58M (MS-7593)
DMI Motherboard Version 1.0
DMI Motherboard Serial Number To be filled by O.E.M.
DMI Chassis Manufacturer MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL CO.,LTD
DMI Chassis Version 1.0
DMI Chassis Serial Number To Be Filled By O.E.M.
DMI Chassis Asset Tag To Be Filled By O.E.M.
DMI Chassis Type Desktop Case
The Server PC info (coming)
Thanks in advance if anyone is able to provide their knowledge and insight.
Alfred
Edited by burnshroom - 10/5/12 at 5:37pm
