Ordered Parts For First HTPC

but I didnt buy the extra fan for that case I would have bought for any case that didn't have a fan in it just to make things a little more cooler.

Just STOP

spencer785 I suggest you take eskro's suggestions with a grain of salt, and wait for some alternative suggestions/ideas.

There is no point spending any more money, if you've already ordered the parts I suggest you wait for them to arrive, assemble the box and run some tests. Its completely possible that your combination of CPU and case will be fine. For a desktop CPU the i3's run reasonably cool.

IF it turns out the CPU is running a little too hot for your liking then you can start to consider you options. In particular with the box assembled you will know exactly how much clearance you have and an educated suggestion can be provided. At the moment eskro is just ranting and is worth ignoring.

eskro Wrote:well remember spencer...

if you dont have enough space to fit your mobo under the PSU,

u might have to buy a low profile cpu cooler so it'll fit,,,

Goshhh,,, dont you know how to read PANICnz??

eskro Wrote:Goshhh,,, dont you know how to read PANICnz??

Your posts nearly impossible to read, and your advice is poor, I tend to skim over them to retain my sanity.

PANiCnz Wrote:Your posts nearly impossible to read, and your advice is poor, I tend to skim over them to retain my sanity.

thanks for this great post u made...
perfect for reporting your immaturity to the ADMINS,,,

thanks

There is no need to put down other members of the community, who are simply trying to help someone. If you do not like their advice, then kindly recommend alternative options and back up your choices with logical reasoning (rather than insults)

Eskro has helped many people with their custom HTPC builds. Sometimes I do not agree with his hardware choices either, but I will kindly suggest alternatives. To each his own, everyone has an opinion and idea of what is the best hardware. In many cases it simply boils down to personal choice and budget.

Now, back to your build in question. Since you already ordered your parts I will be nice No point in trashing your build and recommending alternatives when you already have chosen your parts and they are on their way.

The Core i3 will be a fine choice in your HTPC. Many people go for the 530 but the 540 is a solid choice. The Core i3 series has a great TDP and will run cool in your system. That is always good for a HTPC. Yeah, the Core i3 may not be necessary to run your HTPC but a dual-core CPU will help if you choose to play Flash Video or do some light gaming.

The rest of your HTPC build all boils down to personal choice and it may have helped to read the forums or ask for advice before ordering your parts! You do not have a dedicated GPU and using an internal WD Black drive will generate a decent amount of heat and noise. Since you blatantly stated you are streaming media from a FreeNAS, then why throw a massive $80 1TB drive into your HTPC?! You could have opted for a SSD for literally the same cost.

I am also not a fan of most cases that come with a PSU. The exception to this rule (for me) is Antec. My reasoning is that Antec makes great PSUs and great cases, so putting them together is also great. The Apex PSUs are not rated very highly and a bad PSU can ruin your equipment and also cause other issues along the way.

Sorry if this is discouraging, you may receive your hardware and find that you love it. I just am confused why you would order the parts and then ask for advice and input after the fact.

(side note... I based all of this off of the build listed in your first post. I am not sure if you have kept it up-to-date but I did not want to read back through the entire thread to find if you changed any of your hardware choices).

bmcclure937 Wrote:Eskro has helped many people with their custom HTPC builds.

I joined this forum to get sound advice on XMBC related issues and Eskro was king enough to help me build my first HTPC. As bmcclure937 suggested if you don't agree with a member state your opinions but don't attack or insult the person.

The "it is overkill" debate is interesting. I have been playing with some of the various XBMC skins recently and Aeon in particular seems to be a bit of a resource hugger. I have stopped using it as I find it to slow on my i3 540 (with SSD) setup. Dread to think what it's performance is like on an Atom.

true about aeon skin.... it is a resource hugger

but on your i3 Rig it shouldn't be slow though...