Original Review from Stereo Australia Forum
Here’s a few pics of my latest with the top off, minus the chest hairs…
The HDPlex H5 case is very well built and is a pleasure to work with, top quality. :thumb:
I have used the Intel Core i3-6100T CPU reducing the TDP to under 35 watts.
Well done to HDPlex for another great product!
Also a big thanks to John at Sublime Hifi for the Sotm Card and epic ATC SCM40’s
John is a great guy and an absolute pleasure to deal with, thanks mate :party
Original Review is from Computer Audiophile Forum
My old QNAP NAS installed with Minimserver and KODI. As the hardware is outdated and not powerful enough to handle HEVC 4K, I have choose to build my own one.
Building process is really straight forward. Remember to choose the GX16-2 connector for the case. The Nano 250W DC-ATX must be placed close enough to the GX16-2 connector. Power connection chain as below
100W LPS (19V XLR output) -> GX16-2 connector on the case -> Nano 250W DC-ATX (19V input) -> Motherboard/SATA power connector
Configuration
HDPlex H5 Gen2 case for passive cooling (Can handle 95TPW CPU)
HDPlex 100W LPS (Clean power is important for both Hifi and AV purpose)
HDPlex 250W DC-ATX (Convert the 19V output from LPS into MB/CPU/SATA power)
Gigabyte M.ATX G1 Sniper M7
Intel i5-6500 Skylake (65TPW, CPU power should able to handle HEVC 4K)
Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB Kit
Crucial MX200 M.2 500G SSD (Make it simple without SATA cable)
Broadcom 1G Fiber LAN card with SFP (For LAN ground isolation)
Elfidelity Rainbow Sugar 2 (For noise absorption)
Original build up from Finland.
System details:
Onko kiinnostusta kuulla vesijäähdytetystä HDPLEX H5 koteloprojektista? Projektissa on haettu semipassiivista vesijäähdytettyä HTPC:tä.
Koteloon on kasattu aiemmasta projektistani
ASUS Impact VII + Bitspower block
i5 4670k
XFX Radeon 290(x) + EK block
Laing DDC pumppu + madallettu res.
Corsair 760AX
Original review from SPCR Forum
Hi,
Unboxing, and build of new HD-Plex H5 Silent PC
Overall the build is very straightforward if you follow the instructions in the Guide.
Everything lined up perfectly and nothing needed to be bashed or fettled to get it to fit.
Machining quality is really superb.
All parts were present and correct in neat little bags and trays for easy identification.
I of course had to modify the design slightly so I made myself some extra work, but I got an even better unit for my needs/wants.
Final Parts List
HD-Plex H5 Gen2 Silent PC Case
ASRock Z97 Extreme6/3.1 (Amazon)
Intel i5 5675c Broadwell (Overclockers UK)
HD-PLex AC-DC 160W + DC-ATX 250W Power Supply (Direct)
Corsair Vengence Pro 16GB 1866 (SCAN)
Samsung 950 Pro SSD 500GB (OC UK)
KingWin 2.5 + 3.5 + USB3.0 Drive Bay (5.25) (Amazon USA)
LG GS40N DVD (Ultra Slim Slot Loading Writer) (Kikatek)
Windows 8.1 Pro (eBay from Latvia)
Additions to Standard Kit
10x M3x10mm Cup head screw
4x slim M3 nut
2x Aluminium plate 16 Guage 170mm x 80mm
Background . . .
I have been looking to build a silent PC for quite a while and kept looking at Streacom passive cases but last time I searched for ideas I came across the HD-Plex site and found that these cases were much better and about the same price. More options for internals with a passive GPU option up to say Nvidea 950, a TDP of 95W for both CPU and GPU plus amazing design and build quality.
I was initially going to build around an i5 6600K Skylake but then MS decided to stop support for Skylake going forward with Win 8.1, so I went back to the drawing board and discovered that the i5 5675C was the same power consumption with better onboard graphics. I was starting with no GPU as I probably don’t need one at the moment.
Part One – Unboxing.
Case arrives from German distribution hub.
Contents (without packing foam sheets)
DC-ATX 250W PSU Box
AC-DC 160W PSU Box
GPU Passive Cooler Box (Future Option)
Main Case Box : Printed Manual – Front Panel – Parts Tray – Case Parts
Main Parts Tray
Front Panel Parts Tray
Closer look – Main Parts Tray
Case Bottom Panel – Inner side
Top Panel
Sides and Rear Panel
Case Boxed weighs 8Kg
Glossy Instructions
Solid Copper CPU Heatsink
Heatpipes
CPU Cooler Plate and side panel heat-pipe plates
GPU Cooler
Solid Copper
Front Panel Illuminated Touch Switch parts tray
Next – The Build . . .
: )
Original Review from Computer Audiophile Forum
Here is my just-completed build of a fanless silent music player.
Components:
– HDPLEX 2nd Gen H5 fanless chassis
– HDPLEX HiFi 250W DC-ATX (nanoATX series) power converter
– HDPLEX 160W AC-DC w/PFC (nanoATX series) PSU
– Supermicro X11SAE-M uATX motherboard
– Intel Xeon E3-1275 v5 CPU
– 16GB DDR4-2133 memory
– Samsung 950 Pro 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD
– PPA v2 USB card
This box will be used to run HQPlayer. Target OS is Windows 10. The M.2 SSD is a placeholder which will eventually be removed to make the box diskless, booting from a mounted iSCSI drive served by a silent NUC box acting as NAS and containing my music library.
I’m also waiting for an HDPLEX 300W ATX linear PSU to arrive, and will be able to compare the sound between the above PSU setup and the HDPLEX 300W ATX linear PSU.
New version of HDPLEX H1 series Fanless PC case has the following changes.
1：SSD installation position is being moved to the bottom plate below the motherboard. There is a “bathtub” being carved on the bottom plate for one SSD position or maybe two if it is super slim SSD (<7mm). This change enable H1.SODD to support regular SSD and to allow better heat dissipation since nothing will block the aluminum top plate. Old H1.SODD only supports mSATA/M.2 SSD.
2: CPU aluminum top plate will have teeth. Increase the heat dissipation area and thus efficiency.
3: Improve the backplate for Thin mini ITX PCI Expansion card installation. Due to the decrease of thin ITX mobo options, I might make this thin ITX blackplate an option instead of include it by default. There is no thin ITX board for Intel Boardwell nor for Skylake CPU. Did they give up on Thin ITX??
4: Side I/O board will be improved. One side I/O board with soft silicon based USB 3.0 cable and power button will replace the original two side I/O boards. So only one side will have side I/O. Silicon USB 3.0 head is very low profile as well.
5: New H1 faceplate will have new mounting pattern for power supply.
The mounting for 250W HiFi DC-ATX is unchanged.
In sum:
New H1.S will support:
1： HDPLEX 160W AC-DC+HDPLEX Direct Plug Style 160W DC-ATX (like PicoPSU). This direct plug style 160W DC-ATX is not released yet.
2: HDPLEX 80W AC-DC+HDPLEX 160W DC-ATX
3: HDPLEX 250W HiFi DC-ATX
New H1.SODD will support mini-ITX (with 24PIN on the side only) in addition to thin-ITX.
1： HDPLEX 160W AC-DC+HDPLEX Direct Plug Style 160W DC-ATX (like PicoPSU) if the motherboard 24PIN ATX plug is on the side instead of being on the front.
H1.S will have an updated SSD rack which support two SSD. So H1.S will support max 3 SSD, two via this rack and one on the bottom bathtub.
New version of H1.SODD and H1.S will be avaiable for sale around 2016 April
Original Review could be found at Computer Audiophile Forum
Case: HD-PLEX H5 Gen 2
MB: ASUS MAXIMUS VII GENE
CPU: Intel i7-4785T
Memory: 16 GB G.Skill TridentX PC3-21300
Disk – OS: Plextor M6e Series 256GB M.2 PCIe
Disk – Music: Samsung 840 EVO 1TB
USB: PPA Studio 3.0 V3
Power Sources: HDPLEX 100W LPS with 250W ATX Converter, 2 – TeraDAK X1 LPS (1 for PPA USB Card, 1 for Music disk)
Cables: ModDIY Red sleeved Silver Plated Copper for MB, Light Harmonic Lightspeed 10G USB
Software: OS – Win 10 Pro, Fidelizer (Free version), Roon, JPLAY
Original Review from SPCR Forum
Hello i would like to share ,with my poor English, my first fanless pc build.
A little time ago i have decided to change my eight years old ,but still effective, PC with something new and different from traditional one.
I wanted a general purpose pc (personal productivity, internet surfing – youtube, HD video playing, lo-res gaming, programming) built with fewest possible internal component, with low power consumption, fanless and with a compact case.
Searching the internet (in sites like SPCR) i’he found the components that match my desidered build:
– Case: Hd-Plex 5 second generation fanless case.
This case is stated to support up to 95 TDW CPU whit eight copper heat pipe cooling.
It is not the smallest case but can accept atx motherboard and has a lot of space to support
upgrades / new internal component.
It can accept a low power discrete card that can be passively cooled with
additional pipes.
– CPU: Intel I5 5675C.
It suits my needs because is a desktop class (not underpowered laptop) 65W TDP I5 and it
has an integrate Iris Pro 6200 gpu adeguate for my usage (at this time i don’t want a discre
gpu).
– PSU: Hd-Plex 160W AC-DC fanless and 250W DC-DC fanless atx.
Power is adeguate for the build.
– RAM: Trident X DDR3 2400 16GB
For higher bandwith to the integrated gpu.
– HD: Samsung SSD EVO 850 500GB in M.2 format (sata,ahci)
I like the compact form M.2. The sata,ahci version is the “slower” type of M.2 but costs
less for GB then pcie,nvmi and is more than adequate for general purpose usage.
-MB: Asus Z97-P.
It as a Z97 chipset, M.2 socket and support 4K HDMI.
– OTHER : no need for other internal component (DVD , Hard Disk) because if needed i use
external usb version.
So i built the PC.
Below some pictures of the internals and external of the finished PC.
My impression of the main fanless components from HD-PLEX (case, cpu cooling and PSU) is good, they seems quality built.
I’ve put the pc on test for stability and temperature, below some results and measurements.
I5 cpu standard 3.1 Ghz – DDR3 on 2133 Mhz – room temperature 19.5 C.
After 1:45 hour of prime 95 4 thread blend test , average CPU package temperature 75 C
After 11 hours of mixed used (idle, office, internet, video playing, 3D gaming). Average CPU temp 45 C. MAX 76 C.
Two pictures of case temperature measurement after some hours of 3D Gaming at CPU package temp of 75 C. Below temperature on top of CPU aluminium fins. 54 C room temperature 19.5 C.
Below temperature on the fins on aluminium case side with CPU cooling pipes. 49 C room temperature 19.5 C
Original Review could be found here.
This system contains HDPLEX 2nd Gen H5 fanless HTPC case, Xeon 1265LV3 TDP 45W CPU and Supermicro motherboard.
It is powered by HDPLEX 100W Linear Power Supply plus 250W HiFi DC-ATX combo.
Original review could be found here.
New Plex H5 gen 2 server HTPC
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.
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.
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
As a side information, the GPU temperature when playing a HD file is between 45/50°C
Quiet PC Case – HD PLEX