[kakouton]

Hi guys,

I love XBMC and have been using it for several months now with a PC that I built with the cheapest/most value components available at the time (AMD E-350 build). However, I decided that wanted more gaming possibilities (emulation up to PS2 or modern games at med-high settings) so I've been researching for possible builds. In addition, I was thinking about repurposing my E-350 build as a server with SABnzbd/CouchPotato/Sick Beard capabilities, that possible?

I am in no means an expert, so if you can provide some criticism or some advice/suggestions on what to do, that would be really great and help me pull the trigger.

HTPC Build (borrowing from eskro's build/thread) Note: $0 means that I already had the item from a previous build

[CPU+iGPU] AMD A8-3850 APU Quad-Core Processor (AD3850WNGXBOX) $125.32
[MOBO]ASRock MB-A75M Socket FM1/ AMD A75 FCH/ SATA3&USB3.0/ A&GbE/ Micro ATX Motherboard $74.99
[CASE] SilverStone Aluminum/Steel Micro ATX Media Center/HTPC Case ML03B (Black) $59.99
[PSU]SilverStone Strider 400W, 80 PLUS, Active PFC Power Supply ST40F-ES (Black) $48.99
[RAM]Kingston Technology HyperX 4 GB Kit (2x2 GB Modules) 4 Dual Channel Kit 1600 (PC3 12800) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM KHX1600C9D3K2/4GX $31.99
[SSD]Corsair Nova Series 2 CSSD-V60GB2 2.5" 60GB SATA II Internal Solid State Drive $0

Question 1: Is an optical drive really necessary if I already installed the OS on the SSD?
Question 2: For this case, I was thinking about getting 2 fans for the case+ a fan to replace the stock cooler on the CPU since it appears to be pretty loud. Do you guys have any suggestions or recommendations?

I'm still working on a server build, so I'll post that one later.


EDIT: i can't post links without telling me its spam.

[bluray]

You did your homework well. You'll enjoy your AMD A8-3850 HTPC. If you want to enjoy rental blu-ray disc from (Redbox, Blockbuster, Netflix, etc), BD-ROM is a must. I never build or buy any PC without BD-ROM. I have 3 PC's and 2 laptops in the house, and all of them have BD-ROM. As for the case fan, you can throw in a couple fans low dBA rating in it. It'll be very silent- ENERMAX UC-8EB 80mm Case Fan.

As for posting the link- why not using "Insert Hyperlink" option instead?

[kakouton]

You did your homework well. You'll enjoy your AMD A8-3850 HTPC. If you want to enjoy rental blu-ray disc from (Redbox, Blockbuster, Netflix, etc), BD-ROM is a must. I never build or buy any PC without BD-ROM. I have 3 PC's and 2 laptops in the house, and all of them have BD-ROM. As for the case fan, you can throw in a couple fans low dBA rating in it. It'll be very silent- ENERMAX UC-8EB 80mm Case Fan.

As for posting the link- why not using "Insert Hyperlink" option instead?

Thanks for the really quick reply! I really appreciate it the info and suggestions. I have a PS3 that plays blue-rays, but if a BD-ROM drive is not too expensive it wouldn't hurt to get one, so I'll definitely look into it.

I tried using the "Insert Hyperlink" option but I still had issues with it...maybe I had too many links (I originally had 5).

[bluray]

but if a BD-ROM drive is not too expensive it wouldn't hurt to get one, so I'll definitely look into it.

BD-ROM is very cheap now- LG GBC-H20N 6x Blu-ray BD-ROM.

[eskro]

wish i was in USA

[kakouton]

Thanks again guys for the help. I got one more question, Would this work as a replacement for the stock CPU cooler on my cpu+motherboard?

Scythe SCBSK-2100 Big Shuriken 2 Rev. B CPU Cooler

[eskro]

yes

[kakouton]

Thanks again for the help, I have now bought all those components and are on the way.

I have a few more questions.

1) Could I add a graphics card for crossfire and possible a little more oomph to gaming? I was looking at this one, Sapphire Radeon HD6770 1 GB DDR5 DVI/ HDMI/ DisplayPort PCI-Express Video Card 100328L If you guys have a better card in mind, please let me know. I am no expert.

2) Could I add a cable card reader for PVR functionality as well? Ceton InfiniTV 4 Digital Cable Quad-tuner Card PCIe If there are better solutions/criticisms, I'd like to know.

3) If I buy both, would they fit on this motherboard? Do I need additional components?

Thanks in advance, I really value you guys' opinions. This forum and threads are amazing and informative reads. (gonna read up on adding CIR so my harmony remote can control that too)

[lagledavid]

but if a BD-ROM drive is not too expensive it wouldn't hurt to get one, so I'll definitely look into it.

BD-ROM is very cheap now- LG GBC-H20N 6x Blu-ray BD-ROM.

would this BD work in a SilverStone Aluminum/Steel Micro ATX Media Center/HTPC Case ML03B
my complete setup is in my sig.

[Tycho91]

It has a 5.25" in the front, so why not?

[lagledavid]

[quote='kakouton' pid='1056730' dateline='1332787776']
Thanks again for the help, I have now bought all those components and are on the way.

I have a few more questions.


2) Could I add a cable card reader for PVR functionality as well? Ceton InfiniTV 4 Digital Cable Quad-tuner Card PCIe If there are better solutions/criticisms, I'd like to know.

I would also like to know if this would work i am running windows 7 so far all the info i see is on Linux based.
what could i use to setup in xbmc (mythbox etc)

[lagledavid]

It has a 5.25" in the front, so why not?

because the power supply sits right behend where th bd is there is very little room in this case