[User 124881]

i3-3225 finally came out so I decided to upgrade from my atv2 to a full htpc. Ordered parts yesterday evening from newegg and tigerdirect and should get them in few days. Not sure where in that case I will stick that ir receiver, but figuring it out should be fun. Will run openelec. Decided to try stock fan first.

1 x ($89.99) ASRock B75M-ITX LGA 1155 Intel B75 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard
1 x ($84.99) Antec ISK 110 VESA Black ABS plastic / 0.8 mm SECC Mini-ITX Desktop Computer Case 90W External Adapter
1 x ($24.99) G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ

2 x ($12.99) Patriot PEF8GSBUSB Supersonic Boost XT USB Flash Drive - 8GB, USB 3.0 (P33-3033)
1 x ($144.99) Intel BX80637I33240 Core i3-3225 Processor - Dual Core, 3MB L3 Cache, 3.30GHz, Socket H2 (LGA1155), 55W, 650-1050 MHz, Fan (I69-3225)
1 x ($3.95) StarTech.com ATX12V 4 Pin P4 CPU Power Extension Cable - Power extension cable - 4 pin ATX12V (M) - 4 pin ATX12V (F) - 8 in (YYI1-V09718)

1 x ($31.95) Inteset 4 in 1 Backlit Remote with IR Receiver and Bracket for ASRock CIR Motherboards

[nimrod77]

Looks good!
Make sure you post pics when your done

[User 124881]

[assassin]

Looks great! Make sure to report back on your thoughts!

[User 124881]

Some images above. And... it is working
That's actually second time I'm using this case. First time it was with a A6-3500, a windows htpc for my father. Second time assembling was actually much faster. It took me only about an hour in total.
Installed beta 7 of openelec 2 with out a problem, and then couldn't set up the shares. Tried the nfs share described in the guide but failed... finally gave up and figured out how to manually enter network drive ip in xbmc, and it finally worked (using samba I guess). Next was sound... took also a while... got scared in the mean time because my main computer stopped working... I was so pissed... finally had a big duh moment... was using monitor to install oe on the htpc and when switched the cables back to the main computer I connected it to the motherboard dvi instead of graphic card... yeah... big duh... finally sh-ed to oe from the other computer and found the correct sound device for manual setup in oe AND finally all working!!!
Actually getting 24 fps output, but not sure how to find out what the exact frequency is... any idea? Didn't have time to watch anything longer then for few minutes, will do that tomorrow and judge the quality and if I can notice any skipping because of the famous 23.976 issue... Have been using atv with 720p / 60 fps output so far, so 1080p / 24 fps should be big quality jump.
Will see tomorrow!

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Oh1... didn't get the remote yet so had to use my usb keyboard Remote is being shipped by usps and no tracking... hopefully will get it tomorrow!
Oh2... didn't have to use the atx cpu power extension cable... bough it just in case because I had to use it on the A6 build... so have a spare...

[bluray]

1 x ($144.99) Intel BX80637I33240 Core i3-3225 Processor - Dual Core, 3MB L3 Cache, 3.30GHz, Socket H2 (LGA1155), 55W, 650-1050 MHz, Fan (I69-3225)

I thought that it is for multi-purpose Windows 7 HTPC. For OpenELEC 2.0 Beta 7, i3-3225 is overkill.....but it is your money....you'll enjoy it!

[User 124881]

Blu, wanted something that fits in the isk 110 and works perfect with openelec. Could have go with the A6 for a bit less, but ivy bridge has almost working hd bit streeming, that I might use in the future and also it shouldn't have a problem with 10 bit software decoding and hopefully h.265 when it comes out. It's a quiet, efficient, future proof htpc with latest tech. Going for lets say celeron + passive nvidia card in bigger case would probably cost close to what I paid, wouldn't get me any better quality, would generate more heat and need more power anyway...

[solamnic]

Im curious where you will install the inteset receiver...

So when you get it pls post a photo or two...

[User 124881]

Yeah I'm curious too I'm thinking about installing it in place of headphone/mic module behind the front plate. If it doesn't fit will try the usb module. If that doesn't fit either will need to either do some mods to the case or just mount it to side cover. Will see

[tutu]

Press o and it should display dropped frames refresh rate etc

[cyaconi]

Hi Voruxis, I'm planning to build almost the same HTPC as you. The only difference is the MB as I would like to buy the ASRock H77M-ITX LGA... Is there any special difference between each other?

How noisy the stock fan is? I'll use this baby in my bedroom and I'll probably keep it turned on by nights... and my wife won't be happy even with a quiet fan

Other thing I realized from yours is that you aren't using an SSD disk... Is that because it doesn't fit inside the case, or just because you don't need one? I would like to have one for mine... Do you think it will fit?

Thanks!

[Palmer]

Blu, wanted something that fits in the isk 110 and works perfect with openelec. Could have go with the A6 for a bit less, but ivy bridge has almost working hd bit streeming, that I might use in the future and also it shouldn't have a problem with 10 bit software decoding and hopefully h.265 when it comes out. It's a quiet, efficient, future proof htpc with latest tech. Going for lets say celeron + passive nvidia card in bigger case would probably cost close to what I paid, wouldn't get me any better quality, would generate more heat and need more power anyway...

Celeron g540 can stream hd content without extra video card. Not sure what you mean that ivy bridge has almost working hd bit streaming then? Going with celeron and a card would still cost around half as much as 3225 CPU. Nothing wrong with using 3225, just that info is incorrect about celeron.

[Arkitket]

The major differences between the B75 and the H77 is that the B75 does not support RAID or ISRT. The B series is marketed for business use, the H series is marketed towards HTPC use. There doesn't seem to be a large (if any) performance difference between the two, however if the H77 is close to the same price or cheaper then I would get it, RAID and/or ISRT may come in handy at somepoint.

[CpTHOOK]

WHOOOAAAHHH... bro, were just XBMC HTPC'n here, do you think the CPU you chose is needed? What else are you planning for this build? I see you built a similar build for your DAD with the A6-3500 so you should know how well it handles video. What software will you run in the next 2-3 years that the A6 wont be able to handle? Don't get me wrong, the IVY i3-3225 seem pretty powerful based on benchmark but why for XBMC?

Tell us something we may not know yet...

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[User 124881]

Hi Voruxis, I'm planning to build almost the same HTPC as you. The only difference is the MB as I would like to buy the ASRock H77M-ITX LGA... Is there any special difference between each other?

How noisy the stock fan is? I'll use this baby in my bedroom and I'll probably keep it turned on by nights... and my wife won't be happy even with a quiet fan

Other thing I realized from yours is that you aren't using an SSD disk... Is that because it doesn't fit inside the case, or just because you don't need one? I would like to have one for mine... Do you think it will fit?

Besides what was described earlier, the most noticeable difference between H77 and B75 is amount of SATA 3 connectors. B75 has only 1, H77 has 2.

The fan speed can be adjusted in the motherboard, and you should do it because otherwise it will run at full speed which is loud.
At low speed it is barely audible and you can't hear it from more than a meter away (with nothing else in the room making noise).
I would try the stock fan and upgrade only if you find it too loud for you.

You can put up to 2 2.5 drives in this case, they fit on the back side of the motherboard, check this out:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6192/antec...-it-gets/3
If you're using a back plate for the cpu fan, the bolts from it might be sticking out too much and prevent you from putting 2 drives in there.
I had that issue on the A6 build with the MeORB, but I was still able to put 1 drive in the middle.
I'm running openelec from a 8GB usb stick, didn't need anything bigger.