2011-01-22, 08:44
A week back, I got the missing components for my first dedicated HTPC build.
The following components were installed:
AMD Athlon II X3 440 Processor
Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H Mainboard
2x2GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 RAM C9 @ 1600MHz
Corsair VX450 Power Supply
320GB Western Digital Blue SATA Hard Drive
Cooler Master CM590 Chassis
Of the above components, I already had everything other than the Processor and Mainboard. Went with the AMD components due to the advice of a few friends. I read here and elsewhere that the onboard HD4250 GPU should be able to handle 1080p encoded high bitrate mkv files which consists of about 80% of my total media. However, there were issues with the build as it could not handle my media files and I have documented the details here.
I have had my share of experience with AMD. I went with AMD despite there being no support for AMD in the part of the country I live in (NE-India). The retailers refuse to sell AMD and I learnt it the difficult way.
Anyways, I have decided to sell of the AMD/Gigabyte combo and get myself a new i3 based setup. The following is what I have decided to get.
Intel i3 530 Processor or the i3 540 (depending on availability and pricing)
Gigabyte GA-H55M-D2H Mainboard
I am also getting a dedicated GT430 GPU. The cheapest I can find. However, I don't mind spending a bit more if I can find a passive cooled one. Any suggestions of this?
The other components stay the same.
All my media is stored on a NAS and I plan to keep it that way.
Please suggest if I need to make any change as I need to order the components at the earliest.
Thanks for looking
The following components were installed:
AMD Athlon II X3 440 Processor
Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H Mainboard
2x2GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 RAM C9 @ 1600MHz
Corsair VX450 Power Supply
320GB Western Digital Blue SATA Hard Drive
Cooler Master CM590 Chassis
Of the above components, I already had everything other than the Processor and Mainboard. Went with the AMD components due to the advice of a few friends. I read here and elsewhere that the onboard HD4250 GPU should be able to handle 1080p encoded high bitrate mkv files which consists of about 80% of my total media. However, there were issues with the build as it could not handle my media files and I have documented the details here.
I have had my share of experience with AMD. I went with AMD despite there being no support for AMD in the part of the country I live in (NE-India). The retailers refuse to sell AMD and I learnt it the difficult way.
Anyways, I have decided to sell of the AMD/Gigabyte combo and get myself a new i3 based setup. The following is what I have decided to get.
Intel i3 530 Processor or the i3 540 (depending on availability and pricing)
Gigabyte GA-H55M-D2H Mainboard
I am also getting a dedicated GT430 GPU. The cheapest I can find. However, I don't mind spending a bit more if I can find a passive cooled one. Any suggestions of this?
The other components stay the same.
All my media is stored on a NAS and I plan to keep it that way.
Please suggest if I need to make any change as I need to order the components at the earliest.
Thanks for looking
