Hello all

Since I had trouble with my old internet machine it was time for something new. Since I'm out of business with "normal" sized PCs my internet PC is also a barebone like my "workhorse" my Shuttle SD32G2.

Since my internet PC does not need a high performance graphic board and not two HDDs and not the fastest CPU the decision was a Microstar Hetis 965 barebone. The interesting part is this barebone has a PCI and a PCI express slot. In the past MSI offered only Slimline barebones with two PCI slots (no AGP or PCI express).

I got the Hetis 965 and I build in only:

CPU: Intel C2D E6400 - 2.16GHz
RAM: G.Skill PC2-800 CL5 Kit F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ - 4GB CL5
HDD: Samsung HD160HJ - SATAII 160GB
ODD: Toshiba SD-M1712 - DVD-ROM IDE

Additionally I build in:
Parallel port card - PCI
Graphic: PNY Quadro® NVS 285 128MB - PCI-E 2xDVI

The system itself is very silent and perfect for surfing or doing office stuff. I guess there are no negative points, except a 2nd SATA cable would have been nice in case I miss a Plextor PX-760SA in it. Of course the Chipset graphic is not good enough to use it on a 20.1" TFT since there is only a analog output.

A few pictures are attached to this post.

Looking to get this case myself to use as a HTPC. I have chosen the following parts:

SFF Case/Mobo/PSU - MSI HETIS 965
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 (already got)
HSF - Thermaltake Golden Orb II
Graphics - Sapphire Technology Radeon HD 3850 256MB
Memory - Corsair Memory 4GBKIT (2X2GB)
Hard Drive - Samsung 500GB HD501LJ (already got)
Optical Drive - Pioneer 5x BluRay Reader BDC-202BK
Keyboard and Mouse - Microsoft Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000
Digital TV Tuner - Hauppauge WinTV-HVR4000

I have a few questions that I hope you could answer.
1. What HSF are you using and what size is the fan on the heatsink in pic 2?
2. That graphics card looks very close to the CPU heatsink and the card I'm looking at seems on the long side. Can you see this being an issue for me?
3. What is the noise level like from the stock PSU?
4. What size is the stock case fan on the left in pic 2, is it noisy and is that the only one on the case?

Nice pics by the way.

I use the heatsink / fan that was shipped with the Hetis 965.

Yes there is not a lot space between the heatsink ans the video card. I think a ATI 3850 will not fit into the system.

The noise level is for me really great. But that may be the problem, I find it great and it is not acceptable for you? Noise is very subjective. The noise I can hear should be from the CPU fan, but I never investigated this since I did not have any problems with this "noise". This noise does not annoy me, why wasting time?

I don't know since I'm currently not at home till the end of the week. There are additional fans in this case since the slimline case have a temperature problem if there are not enough fans. I guess there are two addional fans in this case. Check out the manual for further information of the fan sizes the positions of the fans. It is very well described in this manual.
http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?f...4&prod_no=1260

But if you need the size you can estimate this since there is the known width of the ODD and / or the size of the HDD. I guess it is a 75mm or 80mm fan, but I'm not sure.

But from what I read I guess the Hetis 965 is not the right barebone for you since the desired video board will not fit, I'm very sure in this point. I also found an additional picture of the case of my PC on my digital camera. Ther you see that there are also holes on the "top" of the case (in this case the top of the case is the left side since the case is upright on this special stand. I marked the ventilation holes for the CPU fan red)

I think you may find a better barebone if you check out the Shuttle Barebones! Mose of the Shuttle Barebones does not have any problems with the size of the video board.
http://www.shuttle.com

Why would get MSIs barebone with outdated hard when Asus have two available that are better?
http://www.asus.com.tw/products.aspx...=3&l3=409&l4=0
http://www.asus.com.tw/products.aspx...=3&l3=483&l4=0
//Danne

Maybe here a few reasons:

The P3-P5G33 supports ONLY low profile cards. And that may be more a problem to get a special card with low profile than a card that is not too long (i.e. Hauppauge WinTV-HVR4000)
And I'm very sure that the differences in speed between G965 and G33 are not that high, if there are differences....

The P2-M2A690G supports only PCI-e x1

But as always, if the system fits to your own demands than it is perfect. The Hetis 965 is perfect for me. I miss nothing.

Yup, Asus Pundit & Co. are good ones.