[MartinDevillers]

Hey all,

The time has come for me to replace my existing mediaplayer with a full-blown custom HTPC. I've spend the last couple of weeks reading up on various sources. This forum has already helped me lot so the build below will contain little surprises.

Why Windows?
Although I have Linux experience and spend some time setting up a dual-boot Linux-based XBMC on another machine sometime ago, I have decided to go with a Windows based build. Now that XBMC for Windows is up to par with the Linux version, the only reason for me to go Linux would be if I had under-powered hardware or wanted to go with a more set-top box feel. The second reason is that going with Windows will give me a lot of flexibility in terms of other HTPC uses such as gaming.

The Build
[CPU] Intel Core i3 3225 Boxed (€ 119,95)
[MOBO] Asrock B75 Pro3-M (€ 57,90)
[RAM] 2 x 2 GB Corsair XMS Core I7 , PC3-12800, 1600 MHz, 9, Non-ECC (already have)
[SSD] OCZ Vertex 2 120 GB (already have)
[PSU] be quiet! Pure Power L7 300W (€ 37,45)
[CASE] Silverstone Milo ML03B (€ 65,50)

This build is powerful and flexible, allowing me to add a discrete GPU later on. E.g. a low profile HD 7750

Uncertainties
Of this build, I am most uncertain about the CPU. The enthusiast in me really wants to stick an i3 in there, but over here the 3225 goes for about €120 here while the G860 is €60. This is a significant difference, while the specs of the CPU's don't seem to differ all that much. Moreover, most HTPC tasks I can think of are not constrained by CPU-power. It would be more sensible to safe on the CPU and invest in a suitable low-profile GPU. But by leaving the GPU out of the equation I can always decide to add one later on. And who knows what amazing low-profile cards there may be in a year :-)

I see people with similar builds replace the stock CPU cooler with a Scythe Shuriken. From my understanding, Intel's stock coolers are actually quite capable these days. What is the incentive to invest another 30 euro's in a non-stock cooler?

Other ideas? Critics? Comments?

[Malosar]

If you're not planning on 3D Bluray out of the box then you will be fine with a G860, or even lower CPU for full 1080p. A lot of people simply get G530 or G630s which are perfectly fine decoding by CPU. As you said, you can put in a discrete later if you want, a cheap AMD 6450 or 7750 is all you would need, and since you're on windows there's no issues with linux and AMD.

As far a cooling, the stock cooler is perfectly fine as I doubt you would be overclocking. It's really not going to stress the processor that much to make it max out the fan RPM and make noise. Again you can always change the cooler later if you find it causing problems with noise. It's certainly not going to have any problems keeping the CPU cool.

[MartinDevillers]

Thank you for your reply.

Ok, so, I will swap the i3 3225 for a G860.

I will order the box in the next 8 hours. Any last minute input appreciated :-)

[Malosar]

The Pure Power L7 300W looks to be a full size ATX, which means you'll have trouble putting a BD-ROM in that case with it. Since you haven't mentioned it yet, you may not be adding one so you will be fine.

[MartinDevillers]

That's odd I would suspect this combination to work judging from the builds from other threads. The combination ML03b with the L7 300w has been used several times.

E.g: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=141898&page=2 at the bottom

I would like to keep the option for a bd-rom available. Are you sure this will give me trouble?

Edit: seems you are right. It can work but is a tight fit:

http://www.missingremote.com/review/silv...-htpc-case

[MartinDevillers]

I would like to report that I have completed my build. For the record, the L7 300w fits the ML03b while leaving enough room for a BD-ROM.

I had one minor issue while doing the hardware bit: The plastic bracket that holds the hard-drive also interferes with the front-panel USB-connector. This connector is pretty big and takes up considerable height. I find this an odd design choice as both the connector and the plastic bracket are part of the ML03b kit. In the end I did manage to get it to fit but the USB-connector is under considerable strain of the bracket. Ah well.

The setup of the software didn't take much time and I must say that XBMC has been improved considerably since the last time I've used it. The sheer amount of features combined with the "tweakability" of the application are impressive. I can easily fill several evenings by just playing around with the settings, and this is exactly what I've been doing the last 2 days :-)