[satsod80]

Hi Guys,

I'm looking for some advice. I want to use XBMC to watch my movie collection which is saved on a NAS and watch/record UK satellite tv.

I going to build a system with the following hardware which hopefully should last me a few years

Novatech Vision Media Centre Case
3rd Generation Intel Core i3 3225 3.3GHz Socket LGA1155
ASRock B75M Motherboard (Socket 1155, Intel B75, DDR3, S-ATA 600, Micro ATX, Instant Boot, AsRock XFast LAN and XFast USB, AsRock APP Charger)
64GB Crutial SSD for operating system
Western Digital 2TB SATA 6Gbps Power Saving Internal Hard Drive OEM - Caviar Green
BD drive to added at a later date. Any recommendations?
TBS6981 PCI-E DVB S2 HD Dual Tuner Card

I need 4GB/8GB RAM, are there any recommendations?

Do I need to purchase a power supply and additional fans?

Also as this is my first HTPC build so are there any pointers you experts can give me especially related to CPU temperatures etc?.

Any help greatly appreciated.

[Nimo]

one of the most used ram is corsair xmp3, and for ivy bridge is 1600mhz ram useful. the size you must decide yourself.

[satsod80]

one of the most used ram is corsair xmp3, and for ivy bridge is 1600mhz ram useful. the size you must decide yourself.

Thanks for the quick reply. Is its xms3 like this you'd recommend? I'm confused by all the different types of RAM... I'm not 100% sure what is compatible.

[Takkiedroid]

Hi, am building a similar HTPC with a techsolo case wich is basically the same, I chose to use a pico psu and the AMD a-3500 way. Am waiting for some cables before I can continue. I have no experience with the new generation I3 CPU's. TDP should be low. Stock cooler is possible. Scythe big shuriken rev 2 too. Do not know if that is nessecary bur it is a lot more quiet. Do not know how much power you need for the tuners.

Hope this helps.

[Nimo]

one of the most used ram is corsair xmp3, and for ivy bridge is 1600mhz ram useful. the size you must decide yourself.

Thanks for the quick reply. Is its xms3 like this you'd recommend? I'm confused by all the different types of RAM... I'm not 100% sure what is compatible.

i mean this or 4x2gb
because 1.5v and low profile

---

Hi, am building a similar HTPC with a techsolo case wich is basically the same, I chose to use a pico psu and the AMD a-3500 way. Am waiting for some cables before I can continue. I have no experience with the new generation I3 CPU's. TDP should be low. Stock cooler is possible. Scythe big shuriken rev 2 too. Do not know if that is nessecary bur it is a lot more quiet. Do not know how much power you need for the tuners.

Hope this helps.

the amd a6-3500 have a better igpu but less cpu power. and tdp is only important if you drive permanently at 100% corepower.

[satsod80]

Hi, am building a similar HTPC with a techsolo case wich is basically the same, I chose to use a pico psu and the AMD a-3500 way. Am waiting for some cables before I can continue. I have no experience with the new generation I3 CPU's. TDP should be low. Stock cooler is possible. Scythe big shuriken rev 2 too. Do not know if that is nessecary bur it is a lot more quiet. Do not know how much power you need for the tuners.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Takkiedroid, All help is appreciated. Yeah I think both cases are the same I just seen it cheaper on the Novatech last night. I notice the case has a remote and the sat tuner card has a remote.

I wonder is possible to configure a harmony remote to control both?

[DavidT99]

For memory I recommend this..........

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001I...02_s00_i00

Good value and on the ASrock supported memory list.

I have read that the stock psu in the Novatech case is noisy and needs replacing but it doesn't use a standard ATX psu so your choices are limited. A much better case is the Silverstone ML03 and either a Silverstone Strider 400watt psu or a Be Quiet L7 Pure Power 300watt psu. I have used both in my ML03.

I also recommend you get the ASRock H77M motherboard as it has 2 SATA3 ports rather than only 1 that the B75 has.

David

[Nimo]

a harmony can all control maybe u need a greater harmony for more devices.

---

i like the be quiet f1 350.

[satsod80]

Thanks for the link Nimo. I assume smaller is better for these HTPC builds!

[DavidT99]

the amd a6-3500 have a better igpu but less cpu power. and tdp is only important if you drive permanently at 100% corepower.

Actually the i3-3225 CPU is a huge improvement over the A6-3500 and the Intel igpu is the new HD4000 which I have heard is on a par with the AMD HD6570, the trade off is that the Intel CPU is twice the price of the AMD.

David

---

Bear in mind that the psu linked by Nimo will not fit in the Novatech case.

David

[Nimo]

oh really? thats nice to hear. i mean the power not the price.

---

Bear in mind that the psu linked by Nimo will not fit in the Novatech case.

David

will only sfx psu´s fit? thats hard because only 80mm fan.

[satsod80]

For memory I recommend this..........

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001I...02_s00_i00

Good value and on the ASrock supported memory list.

I have read that the stock psu in the Novatech case is noisy and needs replacing but it doesn't use a standard ATX psu so your choices are limited. A much better case is the Silverstone ML03 and either a Silverstone Strider 400watt psu or a Be Quiet L7 Pure Power 300watt psu. I have used both in my ML03.

I also recommend you get the ASRock H77M motherboard as it has 2 SATA3 ports rather than only 1 that the B75 has.

David

Thanks for the link. Looks like I may have to change cases... so much for trying to save a few pound

[satsod80]

Thanks for all the help

My original guess work:
Novatech Vision Media Centre Case
3rd Generation Intel Core i3 3225 3.3GHz Socket LGA1155
ASRock B75M Motherboard (Socket 1155, Intel B75, DDR3, S-ATA 600, Micro ATX, Instant Boot, AsRock XFast LAN and XFast USB, AsRock APP Charger)
64GB Crutial SSD for operating system
Western Digital 2TB SATA 6Gbps Power Saving Internal Hard Drive OEM - Caviar Green
BD drive to added at a later date. Any recomendations
TBS6981 PCI-E DVB S2 HD Dual Tuner Card
I need 4GB/8GB RAM is there any recomendations?

XBMC forum recommendations
Silverstone ML03 Case (changed)
be quiet f1 350 PSU (additional)
Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev.B Low Profile CPU Cooler (optional?)
3rd Generation Intel Core i3 3225 3.3GHz Socket LGA1155 (ok)
ASRock H77M Motherboard (changed)
64GB Crutial SSD for operating system (ok)
Western Digital 2TB SATA 6Gbps Power Saving Internal Hard Drive OEM - Caviar Green (ok)
BD drive to added at a later date. Any recomendations?
TBS6981 PCI-E DVB S2 HD Dual Tuner Card (ok)
8GB RAM gskills or corsair xms3

Anything else could or should look out for?

[Nimo]

looks like a really nice htpc project.

[DavidT99]

Looks like a good setup............the mobo is an H77M not B77M and I find the stock Intel cooler that you get with the older Sandybridge cpus to be very quiet so I am guessing that the new Ivy bridge CPU coolers will be equally as good.

David