New HTPC - This is what I ordered last night!
#1
First off, much thanks to all who gave me advice in my Proposed Build thread.

In the end I was constricted quite a bit by what my supplier (I chose Mwave.com.au) had in stock (I know that if I wait too long I will just keep changing my mind, or swapping out components, or waiting for the 'next big thing' to be released. Patience is not my strong point, either!).

Over the course of me looking at different components they went out of stock of the MoBo I wanted in mini- and micro-ATX sizes, so I went up to the full ATX size (and I think I will be much happier for it - I figure I can server it up down the track by adding 6 extra drives {it has the space for them}).

Check out what I ordered (they are putting it together for me; testing, updating, etc. I figure that will save me from receiving any DOA items, at least):

Image
(Edit: silver one instead of black)

(all prices in Australian dollars, and links, where relevant, to my supplier)
Case: $122.10 - Silverstone LC17 Silver ATX and more info/better pics (from the Silverstone site). I nearly went for the silver version, but mwave had the black on special. I have a mix of black and silver components currently, so either would have worked. My hand was forced here; supplier out of stock of the black version. Was quite serendipitous as (after I ordered) I wished I had chosen the silver version Big Grin
MoBo: $135.00 - ASrock A75 Extreme6 ATX This board, combined with that case, will let me turn it into a server down the track, if I choose.
CPU: $99.00 - AMD A6-3500 HD6530D Wanted the 3650, but it was out of stock. Might have gone for the A8, but it was out of stock too (I am an impatient sort of guy!).
SSD: $99.00 - Kingston V100 64Gb 250MB Read/145MB Write I was tempted to save $15 and go for the OCZ 60GB, but the read/write was much slower (180/90) so I figured I would stick with the faster one. I don't need much onboard storage as that is handled by my D-Link DNS-323 NAS. When I am ready to replace my HTPC I will probably put this one to work as my media server.
RAM: $29.99 - GSKill 4GB (2x2GB) 1600MHZ CL9 It was on the recommended list for my MoBO, it is 1600MHZ, and pretty cheap.
PSU: $59.99 - Antec EA 380W Green bluray recommended - thanx!
PSU: $54.99
- Thermaltake Litepower 500W - supplier went out of stock of my first choice.
ODD: $69.99 - LG BluRay combo Lightscribe Cheapest in-stock BD drive, and not the worst brand.
OS: $99.99 - Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit Chosen for overall ease of use, so as not to lose GPU power, and for BluRay.
_______
$836.48 Including the build fee from mwave.com.au

It was a bit more than I intended to spend, and more than I budgeted!, but I figure I will get a lot of enjoyment out of it for a good number of years to come (at least, that is how I rationalised it Rolleyes), and I really didn't want to compromise on anything else, so budget compromise it is.

I will post pics and links to video when it comes in - I think it will be a fast little machine!

Lastly, a huge +1 to eskro for all of the time and work he has put in to his My Very First HTPC, But Where do I Start? thread.

The information contained therein was instrumental in getting me to this stage. Without that information I would have been stuck buying pre-built machines and, although I am getting the supplier to put my machine together (think of it as paying for assembly when you buy something from Ikea), I chose the components, and checked to see if they worked together (with great assistance from these forums!).

This process has put me one step closer to the day when I do roll up my sleeves and build my own Laugh

Cheers,

francis
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#2
nice job francis !
im positive you'll enjoy your new HTPC!
It'll be a pretty powerful box thats for sure!
as usual, our pay days are when users post pics/vids
of their HTPC!!
Smile
Reply
#3
A6-3500 FTW! I would of done the same.
Reply
#4
eskro Wrote:nice job francis !
im positive you'll enjoy your new HTPC!
It'll be a pretty powerful box thats for sure!
as usual, our pay days are when users post pics/vids
of their HTPC!!
Smile

Should have it in about 2 weeks (1 week build, allow 1 week for shipping). Vids/pics shortly thereafter!

Beer40oz Wrote:A6-3500 FTW! I would of done the same.

Looks like I chose well Big Grin
Reply
#5
u did! A6-3500 FTW!
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New HTPC - This is what I ordered last night!0