[dukedevil0]

Anyone have any feedback on this config? Should 1080p work well?
-no SSD for now
-will be using Win7
-have a PS3 for Blurays

Athlon X2 II 250 3.0Ghz Dual Core
Biostar A780L3G 760G mATX (free w/ CPU)
CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2GB x 2) DDR3 1600
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200rpm HDD
ASUS GeForce 210 512 MB Silent/Fanless
Thermaltake TR2 430W PSU
Antec Two Hundred S Case
Sony DVD Burner

Total $221 after rebates, etc

[wicky]

Should work great! If you wanted to shave some cost you could jump down to 2gb instead of 4th and not impact performance. You don't need a big SSD since windows and xbmc take up maybe 10th combined, if even. There are some great 30gb value drives online for about $50 with rebates. This Kingston is actually in my server, and boot times are great. These days even the cheap ones support trim, offer great reliability, and still blow even the best mechanical drives out of the water.

[dukedevil0]

Hey wicky, thanks for the reply. Some of the components I got were to help future proof this thing in case I want to go nuts later and upgrade (4gb ram vs 2gb, 1600 vs 1333, overkill 430w psu, mid tower instead of htpc case, etc). Plus I got good deals on these!

If I feel I cant live with the performance of having the OS on the platter drive, then I'll definitely add the SSD. I just wanted to see how things operate without it first. I'll also be leaving the machine on most of the time so boot time isn't that much of a priority for me.

[eskro]

well SSD is not only about BOOT times...
it also improves your PC's overall responsiveness!
PLaying in windows never felt so snappy!!

[dukedevil0]

well SSD is not only about BOOT times...
it also improves your PC's overall responsiveness!
PLaying in windows never felt so snappy!!

If I've never had one I won't know what I'm missing! But seriously I can always add one later!

[bmcclure937]

Looks great. Your current build will play back 1080p fine.

[dukedevil0]

thanks for the responses guys...

all the parts came a few days ago, put everything together and only after a couple head-scratching moments...it all works like a charm!

got my remote setup and working well that i've had sitting around unused for years (streamzap remote). sabnzbd+ is set up almost perfectly to rename + move files to the HTPC directory structure.

-need to clean up the cable routing
-figure out how i'm going to get the HDMI from this HTPC to the next room where my TV is
-fine tune the scrapers (not sure how to save the fan art, etc in the individual video folders)
-get sickbeard and couchpotato

big thanks to eskro and poofyhairguy for the guides and build info posts throughout the forum!