[assassin]

I disagree as well.

[witalik]

Original plan is to leave the GT430 out. If i run into any problems then i can always place it afterwards.

I am planning to get the nMedia 1080P case wich can hold up to 3 x 3,5inch HDD. I already own a OCZ vertex 2 series 120GB SSD.

This is what i am thinking to get so far :

Link

I just cant seem to find a 300w modular PSU. Anyone got suggestions for that ?

[assassin]

Original plan is to leave the GT430 out. If i run into any problems then i can always place it afterwards.

I am planning to get the nMedia 1080P case wich can hold up to 3 x 3,5inch HDD. I already own a OCZ vertex 2 series 120GB SSD.

This is what i am thinking to get so far :

Link

I just cant seem to find a 300w modular PSU. Anyone got suggestions for that ?

There are none.

[bluray]

Original plan is to leave the GT430 out. If i run into any problems then i can always place it afterwards.

I am planning to get the nMedia 1080P case wich can hold up to 3 x 3,5inch HDD. I already own a OCZ vertex 2 series 120GB SSD.

This is what i am thinking to get so far :

Link

I just cant seem to find a 300w modular PSU. Anyone got suggestions for that ?

To minimize heat, noise and power consumption, you can leave out GT430. HD3000 in i3-2125 should be more than enough for HTPC......

If you cannot find 300W modular PSU, this "PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III PPCMK3S400" should work....

[assassin]

Original plan is to leave the GT430 out. If i run into any problems then i can always place it afterwards.

I am planning to get the nMedia 1080P case wich can hold up to 3 x 3,5inch HDD. I already own a OCZ vertex 2 series 120GB SSD.

This is what i am thinking to get so far :

Link

I just cant seem to find a 300w modular PSU. Anyone got suggestions for that ?

To minimize heat, noise and power consumption, you can leave out GT430. HD3000 in i3-2125 should be more than enough for HTPC......

If you cannot find 300W modular PSU, this "PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III PPCMK3S400" should work....

Don't send him on a search.

There are no 300w modular PSUs.

[witalik]

Assasin sure seems very sure about that statement !

I would reckon it would just be a waste of power consumption and money to get a 450> one that has the modular design.

I think this one is a winner for me PSU be quiet

[assassin]

I have already searched. No reason for someone else to waste the time as well.

[witalik]

It wasnt meant in a bad way Assasin ! I am glad you are willing to help me with the questions i have !

I will let you guys know when i got all the stuff and i am gonna start building, i think i have the shopping list i need so thanks alot guys !

[bluray]

I think this one is a winner for me PSU be quiet

With slightly higher price, why not go for the modular "PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III PPCMK3S400"? You'll have cleaner interior and more room for air flow. It included quieter 120mm fan too......

[witalik]

I like the idea of the PSU being very efficient. Plus i just orderd the stuff.

So this is what i am gonna use in my first HTPC build :

Processor : Intel Core i3 2125 3.3Ghz
Motherboard : ASRock H77M-ITX
RAM : Kingston hyperX Blu single 4GB
PSU : Be quiet ! Effiecent Power BQT F1-350w
SSD : OCZ Vertex 2 series 120GB

Waiting for reply from Nmedia where i can buy the case in my country from.

[bluray]

I like the idea of the PSU being very efficient.

The modular PSU "PC Power and Cooling Silencer MK III" I suggested should be very efficient and very silent. It's high quality PSU, because it is base on SeaSonic and it included very long 5-Year Warranty......

Processor : Intel Core i3 2125 3.3Ghz
Motherboard : ASRock H77M-ITX
RAM : Kingston hyperX Blu single 4GB
PSU : Be quiet ! Effiecent Power BQT F1-350w
SSD : OCZ Vertex 2 series 120GB

You'll enjoy your HTPC.......

[DavidT99]

I like the idea of the PSU being very efficient. Plus i just orderd the stuff.

So this is what i am gonna use in my first HTPC build :

Processor : Intel Core i3 2125 3.3Ghz
Motherboard : ASRock H77M-ITX
RAM : Kingston hyperX Blu single 4GB
PSU : Be quiet ! Effiecent Power BQT F1-350w
SSD : OCZ Vertex 2 series 120GB

Waiting for reply from Nmedia where i can buy the case in my country from.

Isn't the Vertex2 SATAII? The motherboard will support both SATAII and SATAIII so I would get an SSD that supports the latter.

David

[jaochoo]

I would like to join this thread and the AMD vs. Intel question. Over the last weeks, I have bought all components I would like to have, except CPU+MB. I still can't decide whether I should go A6, A8, or wait for the i3 IVB.

These are my main requirements/applications for the HTPC:

1) Playback: ++++
Highest quality video and audio playback is a number one priority for me. Should handle 1080p, 3D, HD audio without any stutter or things.

2) Mediaserver: ----
I will build a low-energy UnRaid server later. For now, the HTPC will get a 2TB HDD which later will go into the server. Thus, the HTPC won't run 24/7.

3) Desktop: ++--
I am planning to use the HTPC as a workstation with an additional screen. It should be able to rund office software, Adobe Photoshop, BitTorrent, and web development tools.

4) Encoding: +++-
I will be ripping my BluRay- and DVD-collection as well as discs I buy. The HTPC should be able to handle encoding (and maybe post-processing). This doesn't necessarily have to happen while playing a 1080p movie at the same time.

5) Silent: ++++
This goes hand in hand with 1). I don't want any noise bothering me while enjoying a movie.

6) Gaming: +++-
I'm actually not a gamer, but the more I'm thinking about having a HTPC box sitting there, I feel I could get tempted turning that into an all-in-one entertainment solution.

So far, I know that for 1) I need to go A6, A8, or IVB. I also know that for 6), I would need a dGPU anyways, so I tend to get the lowest power consuming/noise creating/cheapest CPU that can do 2)-5) and then add a dGPU later on if I really want to.

What do you recommend?

[winniwinter]

hi,

I recently bought this combo:

Processor : Intel Core i3 2125T 2.60GHz
Motherboard : ASRock H77M-ITX/HT
PSU: picoPSU 160XT
Cooler: Thermalright HR-02 Macho passive cooling
Case: Lian Li PC-Q07B
Tv card: TBS6981
hdd: ocz vertex

I'm on ubuntu 12.04 minimal + xbmc 12 pvr(vnsi)

Here are my pros and cons:

System overall
+ extremly fast bootup (under 10sec I would say)
+ no noise
+ vaapi support works well with 1080p material (for my eyes it's smooth! no frame drops)

- more expensive than others
- on hd-live-tv I have frame drops with VAAPI. I turn it off and everything is running smooth again (that's very anoying)

Motherboard:
+ internal CIR-Header + bootup with remote (very nice
- IR dongle is crap (does not work at a distance of 3m)
- at the moment it's only possible to update the bios from windows! (I couldn't beleive it. Check the download page )
- if you want to add a pcie card there are only a few coolers available that fit without blocking the slot
- reset button is not working correcly (turns pc off, don't know if bios update can fix this)


CPU
+ runs good
+ temperature is ok for passive cooling (on hd material 55°C)
- more expensive

[bluray]

1) Playback: ++++
Highest quality video and audio playback is a number one priority for me. Should handle 1080p, 3D, HD audio without any stutter or things.

3) Desktop: ++--
I am planning to use the HTPC as a workstation with an additional screen. It should be able to rund office software, Adobe Photoshop, BitTorrent, and web development tools.

4) Encoding: +++-
I will be ripping my BluRay- and DVD-collection as well as discs I buy. The HTPC should be able to handle encoding (and maybe post-processing). This doesn't necessarily have to happen while playing a 1080p movie at the same time.

5) Silent: ++++
This goes hand in hand with 1). I don't want any noise bothering me while enjoying a movie.

Just these 4 options, it's pointing to Intel.......when you are ready to play game, you can easily install a discrete GPU later.....

You should be able to do all the above with this "Intel Core i5 Processor i5-3450 3.1GHz 5.0GT/s 6MB" CPU with ease.....