[denz13]

Hi,
I currently have a full-size ATX PC sat next to my TV/Home Cinema, it looks out of place at the moment and I'm hoping to downsize to an ITX form in order to fit it into my TV Unit. I'd also like it to be on all of the time at low power (if possible?) and run silently.

The hardware specs I currently have are:

CASE: ATX
MOTHERBOARD: ASUS ATX (sorry can't remember model!)
CPU: AMD Phenom x4 9550 (AM2+)
RAM: 8GB DDR2 (2 x 4GB)
GPU: Nvidia 210 1GB (PCI-E)
HDD: 1 x 3.5" 1TB, 2 x 3.5" 500GB & 1 x 2.5" 250GB

Any suggestions on what can I re-use from this current setup?

[IsleOfMan]

If you really want to reuse as much of what you have as possible, I'd go Micro-ATX and not Mini-ITX. There are plenty of great looking Micro-ATX desktop and HTPC-specific cases (the latter being a fair bit more expensive). There are even a handful of full-ATX HTPC cases out there as well.

Is your motherboard a full ATX or Micro-ATX board? If it's a Micro-ATX, you could likely transplant everything into a nice Micro-ATX desktop or HTPC case that would look much more at home. If the board is indeed full ATX, that's all you'd really need to replace and everything else could carry over into a Micro-ATX build.

Your CPU is 95w and your GPU is low-power, so you won't need a super-beefy PSU to handle them, just keep an eye on the reviews of of the cases and see if the included PSU is a common complaint. You'll also need to find a low-profile bracket for your GPU if it wasn't included or has been misplaced... these are $5 - $10 and easy to find.

[denz13]

Unfortunately it's a full atx mobo, the other problem seems to be that the height of the space I need it to fit into is only 85mm (for comparison - I've got an Xbox 360 in one side). So this limits me almost exclusively to an ITX case, then comes another problem, I can't seem to find a itx mobo which can take an AM2+ CPU

Are matx cube cases any good,? they probably wouldn't look too bad ontop of the tv unit...

[IsleOfMan]

Are there any alternative placements available? I'd exhaust all other options before abandoning perfectly good hardware and heading down the mini-itx route.

[Stefanaleks]

I've never seen an ITX chassis that will fit 4 hard drives.

And it's a shame to throw away 2250GB of disk space.

I have a pretty decent HTPC myself, and it's actually the third I've built for myself.
So I have been given this a lot of thought, how I could do things better and what I would do if I had more space in my apartment.

Do you have some other place where you could put your current computer?
If you do, then you could place this computer there and let it run on your LAN.

Then you could take out the 250GB HDD, and build a small ITX computer to put under your TV.
Your old computer can have it's HDD shared on your LAN and you can add them to your library of your XBMC on your new HTPC.

If this is an alternative for you, then I would recommend you to look into this:
HTPC case combined with this PSU

I would look for a motherboard where you don't need a seperate graphics card. I've used AMD most of my time, and I'm not really sure why, I think it was because I've always considered them to almost equal to Intel but for a lower price.

One of these two would do a great job, then you just need to find a motherboard that you like and some new RAM and you are good to go.
Intel Processor
AMD processor

[IsleOfMan]

Sorry, I was assuming only one (or none) of the drives would transfer over to the ITX case and the rest would go somewhere else to become network accessible storage. My thinking has become so skewed towards centralized network storage and distributed clients that I often forget to consider individual clients housing their own storage.

[denz13]

I must admit I have considered your suggestions, I've got the capability of putting my current setup in the attic and running a network cable through the cavity back to my router downstairs. Only thing I'm worried about is the amount of power my current htpc would consume being left on 24/7. Its currently got a 500w LOUD PSU, are there any low power/quieter alternatives that would still allow the htpc to run at its maximum performance? I've even got an iPad 3 running xbmc (not done much with it though) and a HDMI out cable for it, not sure if its possible to output 1080p correctly though? If it can I suppose that'd be a viable option?
Thanks for the feedback so far guys, very helpful.

[Stefanaleks]

Haha, well. you don't really have to worry about the amount of power it will use.
You see, the PSU is 500W, but that is its maximal potential. Usually it will use very little, I leave my computer on 24/7. And the electricity bills are more or less unaffected by this. Windows or linux, depending on what you use, have power saving options as well. where they will spin down the HDD when they are not in use. they will turn of the monitor. So this will have very little effect on the power consumed. But yes, ofc you could buy a new PSU. but that's not really necessary.

I heard an urban legend saying a PS3 uses more electricity than a refrigerator in a year in standby modus.

For your iPad question you need to direct it here http://forum.xbmc.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=137 in XBMC's iOS support forum.