My first HTPC; hardware feedback?!
#1
Question 
Hi everyone,

Having scheduled two weeks off from work in the beginning of January, I've decided that this is a good time to build my first HTPC. I'm currently using a pair of cheap WDTV's (Gen 1) to do all my viewing on, but I'm getting seriously fed up with the bugs and the poor performance in general.

Goals:
  • It should blend in with the style of my AVR.
  • XBMC running on Linux with VDPAU. Bit-streamed audio to AVR.
  • I will possibly dual-boot Windows for some gaming (and for Bluray support).
  • It should be as silent as possible.
  • It shouldn have decent power efficiency.

Price range
  • Currently the total price is around 700€ for all the parts in my list. Cheaper is better of course but not really an issue in the end. The expensive parts are the chassis and the PSU.

Preliminary hardware list

[CHASSIS] Zalman HD-160 Plus Silver. Matches the look of our AVR's, is all metal and has a nice asthetics/price ratio. Not really cheap but it looks good. Costs around €250.
http://www.boston.co.uk/products/hd160-p...ilver.aspx

[MOTHERBOARD] Asus M4A88T-M. I'm currently eying the Asus M4A88T-M motherboard (AM3 socket, I will probably go with an AMD + NVidia combo). This motherboard was recommended in a thread somewhere on the forum. I'm reluctant to go with more bleeding edge architectures because I want the stability in Linux that comes from older hardware. It has a built in Radeon HD GPU, but I'm no fan of AMD GPU's in general so that part will sit unused. Besides VDPAU for Nvidia seems more stable that the AMD offering from what I've read, and Nvidia is better at OpenGL.
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM3/M4A88TM_LE/

[CPU] AMD Athlon X2 245e. While it's not a performance monster it is pretty power efficient and good enough for an HTPC I guess?

[GPU] Sparkle SXT430. This is a passively cooled low-profile Nvidia 430 card. If possible I'd like to reduce the number of fans in my system to avoid them getting messed up from dust after a while. Except for fans that are easily replaced that is.
http://www.sparkle.com.tw/product_detail.asp?id=114&sub_id=404

[RAM] Corsair XMS3 TW3X4G1333C9 (4GB). Generic Corsair RAM.

[PSU] Seasonic X-400 Fanless. This is an interesting one. It's expensive, but it's fanless and modular. I'm not sure if I should save a few euros and go for a regular PSU with a fan. The current price is around €120.

[COOLER] Silverstone NT01-E. Another interesting piece of hardware because it can be used as a passive CPU cooler. The case will have fans, one placed over the CPU and two small ones in the back which I believe will be enough.

Those are pretty much the main component. I'll add a 40GB SSD and a 1TB regular HDD as well. I'll swap out any stock fans with better ones and I might throw in a Bluray drive. One concern that I have is if the heat will be a problem with passive cooling on the three main components: CPU, GPU and PSU. I'm totally up for swapping all component in my list except for the case.

Comments, feedback and recommendations would be much appreciated
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#2
what about this HTPC case here
Image
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silversto...e+shopping
could match your gear too at a lower price tag of £69.35 Tongue

why not go for the new AMD APU platform?
just add a GT430 to the mix!
or a GT210 if u dont need 3D playback,
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#3
Never been a fan of SilverStone designs Blush. They do have a few nice looking ones but I think other manufacturers have better designs in general. I went with the Zalman after a lot of research and my partner did sign off on it as well Wink

I have no need for 3D. The current main TV isn't going anywhere for a few years (55" Samsung Series 7). I did picked a GT430 over the 210 just in case I want to try some gaming on it. It's the only reason Smile

But what is the this new AMD architecture then? I'm way behind on the hardware front when it comes to AMD stuff and especially when it comes to the new generation with embedded GPU's.

Any further thoughts on having passive cooling on the components, and only relying on the case fans for airflow?
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#4
i was only saying u could maybe go for the current AMD CPU's.
these CPU's have built-in video which means no seperate video card is needed.
however, u can add one if u want, so u can use your GT430.
the new AMD CPU's are actually called APU's now.
since they have onboard video.
they pack alot of punch!

i dont know your case and how good the air flow is inside it
thanks to its current fans.
if the airflow is great, you should be ok.
if not, im afraid of the heat it'll generate been on the 'VERY HOT' side..
Reply
#5
Well, I guess I can always install a proper CPU cooler if needed Smile

Regarding AMD APU's; I heard the combination ATI + Linux ain't that great with XBMC and that the way to go on a Linux build is VDPAU. How well is the AMD APU decoding working on XBMC nowadays?
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#6
under windows its mint
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