[dub mon]

Hi folks,

I'm running openelec on my Giada Cube N3 in the basement and I love it.
It's a great little system which I was able to construct at the $200 price point.
I was able to keep the cost down by running a Partriot Xporter USB stick instead of SSD and 2GB of RAM.

Now, I'm looking to build a comparable HTPC system on my main floor but am having troubles sourcing a system as the Giada Cube N3 is largely discontinued.

Here's my requirements:
1. small physical size of the box (like the giada)
2. relatively quiet (like the giada)
3. capable of 1080p (like the giada as it's running the ION chipset with a dual core Intel Atom 330 processor)
4. low cost (I was able to pickup the giada for $149 from newegg.ca)
5. I don't want to be forced to mount the system vertically like some of the shuttle cases. I want to be able to have the box sitting horizontally.

I could have picked up the
"Mini-ITX Bundle Deal Apex MI-008 Mini-ITX Case & Zotac IONITX-G-E Mini-ITX N330 Motherboard bundle" from NCIX for $119 but I checked out the dimensions on the apex case and it's a monster. Waaay too big for my liking.
http://ncix.ca/products/index.php?sku=65...omoid=1190

Can anyone make a recommendation?

I was thinking about the Zotac ZBOXNANO but the price is a little steep for my liking (currently $230 at NCIX).

thanks in advance for the recommendations.

thx!
Dave.

[eskro]

if your still going with OpenELEC,
you could start your quest for a GIADA like build with these...


CASE+PSU: ANTEC ISK-100 $77 price match link
MOBO+CPU+iGPU: ASUS E35M1-I $120 price match link
RAM: Kingston 1x1GB DDR3 1066Mhz $12
FLASH DRIVE: Kingston 8GB USB2.0 $8
TOTAL: $217

note that this antec case is really really tiny and can be placed horizontally.
On top of that, your build will be insanely silent!
the CPU cooler is FanLess and the PSU is FanLess.
only thing that spins is the case's 100mm fan that u can adjust its speed
using its built-in controller.

[dub mon]

not that this antec case can be placed horizontally and,
your build will be insanely silent!

thx eskro! you nailed my requirements.

Can you clarify if this case can be placed horizontally?
I wasn't sure if you meant to write "note" or "not.

thx again!
dave.

[eskro]

yes u can place it horizontally