[Angstskrig]

Hi guys

I am a brand new user from Denmark, seeking some help on a topic, that seems to be very hard to find in danish forums. Sure there are lots of builders, that make htpc, but those are all mincro-atx or very large chassises. That's not, what I am looking for. And since my WD Live TV box kinda is getting on my nerves, I have decided to build a small htpc.

I belong in Group #3 it seems. We do not have Netflix/Hulu here - so unless I get an US IP (which might be possible, but not needed) I won't need more.

I have a Synology DS212+ NAS onto which I have ripped my DVD's in .iso format.

I would love to use Lian Li PC-Q09FA Silver and a mini-ITX board - especially one of those with pre-installed CPU and fanless cooling. There are a few options available to me from Asus, MSI and Zotac I believe. Some use Fusion (??) and others Atom CPU. Both have some sort of onboard graphics? I really am a bit confused, so sorry about the mad rambling.

Well my questions are:

Which mini-ITX board would you guys recommend, if I want 1080p playback from XBMC + Ubuntu? I have some DDR3 ram laying around, if the board supports those, that'd be great.
Are there driver issues I should be aware of? Will Linux run on that board?
Would 4 GB Ram be enough? I have 2x2 GB DDR3 1600.
Does any SSD suffice? I have found a OCZ Vertex Plus 60 GB which is kinda affordable here.
Would I be better off with a "real" setup with an i3 CPU?
If I ever want to game a little on this computer - like emulators - what are my options?

Sorry for my terrible english, but as earlier stated, I am danish.

[Tycho91]

Alright, here's my idea:

AsRock A75M-ITX Motherboard
AMD Llano A6-3500
MS-TECH CI 50

4GB RAM will be more than enough
That SSD will suffice.
The CPU has a built in HD 6530D so it will be able to play games.

The case has a built in PSU, you can chose another ITX case if you want, I just think this one looks nice and neutral ^^ But the LianLi will do just fine. Just add a cheap slim dvd/bluray drive

[Angstskrig]

Thx man

How does the AMD hsf run? I mean - is it silent enough for a htpc setup or should I get another?

[Adeiko]

Don't know if this is your cup of tea, but for a full silent htpc you can use the Shuttle XS35GT

It's small and completely silent. Throw in an 16Gb SSD, 2Gb of memory, a IR receptor and it will run XBMCbuntu without problems (mina has for more than 1 year).

http://www.shuttle.eu/index.php?id=852&L=0

Hope it helps

[Angstskrig]

Thx for the reply


The Shuttle XS35GT barebone isn't a bad suggestion, but I do prefer to build it myself. Also the price tag is around 220 £ here in Denmark. Might be a bit much without Ram or HDD.

[guiper]

I can't recommend much AMD and Linux together. You can get into troubles to get everything to work flawlessly, mainly if you want to get GPU acceleration.

I built my HTPC last month, and after a couple of tweaks (running on Ubuntu 12.04) it's working flawlessly, and it's doing a maximum of 8.2 dBa.

My Setup is the following if it matters
ITX Case - Thermaltake Element Q - Forget about the power supply that comes with it, it's way too loud. Replaced by a PicoPSU. Can't recommend also the case, get something else.
CPU - Celeron G530 with a Scythe SCKZT-1000, running most of time at 800 rpm via fancontrol in Ubuntu. Almost impossible to hear unless you are at 30 cms from the case. Temperatures around 40C in idle, with undervolted CPU (0.875v).
Board - Gigabyte H61N-USB3. Basic one, it's enough for an HTPC.
GPU's - After trying out a couple of them also due to space limitations and noise, got the Fanless GT430 from Asus. No issues on Linux due to VDPAU, and everything that is HD runs perfectly with gpu acceleration. Get's quite hot during 1080p decoding, around 70C, but it's fanless so it's expected. On idle sits at 46C.

Since I don't have any NAS, also bought a 2TB Green disk, and my HTPC is 24/7 up working as NAS with Sickbeard, etc. The disk is the only thing that makes noise, but there is not much I can do unless I get a real NAS solution. I didn't make any measures, but I expect that the set up is taking around 30W in idle, not sure if it worth to get a NAS + HTPC configuration.

Regarding my Setup, had a couple of crashes on XBMC while running on Ubuntu 11.10, but after upgrade to 12.04, not even a single crash. I'm really happy with it.

[Angstskrig]

Well I was aiming for a setup without additional GPU power. Something build into the CPU like the newer ION or Fusion (?).

The recommendations with A6 from AMD look quite nice. I am just uncertain of the build in HD GPU - how it performs with both 1080p playback and ofc some gaming - emulators mainly - like the PS1 og SNES. Also the noise of the fan worries me. I suppose on the A6 I could just change the fan to something really good.

There are far to many possibilities...

[bry]

Refurbished Mac mini?

[prae5]

If you want a completely no noise solution that is small compact and fully passively cooled then the Shuttle XS35GT is pretty much the only widely available and reliable option imho.

[Angstskrig]

That's terrible.

I will try to build something around the A6 tho - must be possible to run some ultra silent fans at 800 rpm.

Edit:

Would this system run any of my 1080p wishes and maybe some emulated games (SNES etc)?

OCZ Octane 2 Series SSD 64 GB
ASRock A75M-ITX
AMD A-Series A8-3870K Black Edition (it's on sale here)
Lian Li PC-Q09FB Mini Tower - Black
Corsair 4GB DDR3 1600MHz (2x2) XMS3

[eskro]

yes it will

[Angstskrig]

An additional question just arose.

Which PSU would you guys recommend for a ITX case like this:

http://www.streacom.com/products/f7c-chassis/

[eskro]

a picoPSU

[Angstskrig]

Well I decided to get the Lian Li with the 150W PSU.

Setup will be:

ASRock A75M-ITX
AMD A-Series A8-3870K Black Edition
Corsair Force GT Series SSD 60 GB
Lian Li PC-Q09FA Silver
OCZ DDR3 2x2GB

Should be ready to test this during easter holidays. Will let you know if it all went ok.


Another question: since I havent decided on a bluray drive yet, I would like to know what the easiest way to install Ubuntu is? USB Flash drive? Would a 4 GB be enough?

[eskro]

i would have avoided OCZ ram and SandForced SSD....

yes, install using USB Stick,