[outatouch0]

Since it's a full sized case it means I can go for the XFX card I linked, and mount an 80mm fan directly on to it. You can get very quiet fans these days (they just spin slow) and I'll put 7v into the fan. That'd end up being a triple width card, so all I need to ensure is that the case would take that... I think it would... and that I pick a motherboard that would take it while still leaving some slots open..

Well, it might all fit in there. I can’t be sure. Plus, your case may be a bit different than mine IDK.
I have no experience in modding fans to heat sinks so I don’t know how you are going to accomplish what you intend. More to the point, I seriously do not see the need to go through all that (the effort and the space). Meaning I do not see what you stand to gain over a stock heat sink and fan. IFAIK, the 6570 is not going to break a sweat with 1080p so the stock fan should not be spinning up to high speed. Are you planning heavy gaming?

From what you've said I could go for an ATX not just a micro ATX board, right?

I don’t know about that, mine is a micro-ATX case. Better check the specs for the case you intend to use.

I'm going to take your advice and get a lower processor than I had intended... I always tend to err on the overkill, but I'll do down that route. I've seen very little reviews of the G620 but it doesn't really matter, it'll idle at the same or better than the i3-2100. I'll see how much money is in the kitty when it comes to it, and if there's a surplus I'll go for the 2100t (which is an extravagence I know), otherwise it'll be the little Pentium that could.

The “T” versions: we debated this in another thread not too long ago. The only difference seems to be the 35W cap. Otherwise they both throttle back power when idle or low demand processing the same way. 65W & 35W is max power under heavy demand load rather than a constant power draw. We concluded: “Why pay more for a limited processor?” To each their own though.

[Quartermass]

Well, it might all fit in there. I can’t be sure. Plus, your case may be a bit different than mine IDK.
I have no experience in modding fans to heat sinks so I don’t know how you are going to accomplish what you intend. More to the point, I seriously do not see the need to go through all that (the effort and the space). Meaning I do not see what you stand to gain over a stock heat sink and fan. IFAIK, the 6570 is not going to break a sweat with 1080p so the stock fan should not be spinning up to high speed. Are you planning heavy gaming?

There's little or no modification required. A bit of superglue or a cable tie is usually enough to attach a fan, I have a box full of fans I can use so it's cost free and no extra effort. It's relatively easy to get a fan running silent, all you need to do is take a fan that's relatively quiet (it really doesn't need to be very quiet) and fiddle the molex to supply 5v on the 12v wire. Fan noise is usually gone after that. I've got some 12cm and 8cm fans in the loft that would do the job I'm sure.

I don’t know about that, mine is a micro-ATX case. Better check the specs for the case you intend to use.

Indeed I should - I misread what you said as it being full size.

The “T” versions: we debated this in another thread not too long ago. The only difference seems to be the 35W cap. Otherwise they both throttle back power when idle or low demand processing the same way. 65W & 35W is max power under heavy demand load rather than a constant power draw. We concluded: “Why pay more for a limited processor?” To each their own though.

The T version is -slightly- better than the normal 2100 for HTPCs, the reason being that Intel have basically taken a 2100, undervolted it, downclocked it and cut away at the graphics core. It will always be slightly better than the 2100, but it's really not worth the money. Sometimes however I take a bit of pleasure out of owning the best thing for the job, and if there's money left in the pot when it comes to this, I'll grab the 2100t, otherwise I think the pentium is the right one.

Thanks for the replies!

[bluray]

here is the complete info on your pentium- intel pentium

[Quartermass]

Yeah, it's just so marginal... I managed to convince myself to go for the cheaper one.

Here's my order.

Motherboard GA-H61M-USB3-B3 59.49 Play
It's a Gigabyte as recommended. I've kind of gone off Asus over the years, and I wanted USB3 and at least one PCI and one PCIe slot. It was this or an £8 cheaper Biostar... so the Gigabyte wins.

Memory Kingston 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz i5 Memory Kit CL9 1.5V eBuyer 24.53
I'm risking bad memory by buying this cheap, but I'll just run memtest once I've got it built to make sure.

CPU G620 53.05 eBuyer
Finally settled on the cheap pentium. I ran a little calculation on saving energy and it isn't worth the t edition.

SSD OCZ Onyx 45 eBuyer
This particular one is on a safe firmware, and it's cheap

Cooling Scythe big shuriken 30.23 Scan
The cooler seems very expensive, but I don't see any alternatives

Case Silverstone Grandia GD06 78 Scan
Perfect case for me

PSU Huntkey Jumper 300W 50 eBuyer
Best HTPC PSU around, by miles

Graphics HIS HD 6570 Silence Edition 1G 55 eBuyer
This'll do.

390.61

Not cheap... but I don't see anywhere to cut corners other than the graphics card and I'm happy to stick with the one I've chosen.

[bluray]

Graphics HIS HD 6570 Silence Edition 1G 55 eBuyer
This'll do.

390.61

Not cheap... but I don't see anywhere to cut corners other than the graphics card and I'm happy to stick with the one I've chosen.

i don't think that you cut corner on the hd 6570. it has slightly more fire power than the most popular gt430- GeForce GT 430 vs Radeon HD 6570 (OEM) 1GB.

you'll enjoy your new htpc!

[Quartermass]

I've been reading another thread here about the integrated graphics in Sandy Bridge CPUs. It seems that a big deal fix has gone in, and because of that discrete graphics cards may not be needed.

I think that changes things a bit. It might mean, for example, that I could stick a beter processor in - the 2100 rather than the 620, spend less overall, and be a bit more future proof.

I feel it's more future proof because I don't think there will be a more energy efficient platform from Intel for a while, and I don't think Bulldozer will be significantly better. There will be movement on graphics cards though with both nVidia and AMD releasing shrinks, which means perhaps entry level graphics cards with less energy needs and more performance.

That would mean that I could have a beefy machine now, and then when (if)I wanted more I could add in a graphics card later... at that point the processor and graphics card together would be powerful.

If I instead go for the card and 620 just now, then later I don't have a waste free upgrade because I'd have to replace something.

I'm moving house next week so I won't be ordering for a couple of weeks, hopefully by then Intel will have dropped prices a little. Bulldozer is not going to be a contender for me since the bottom end Bulldozer is overkill, but it might drop prices a little.

[PatrickVogeli]

I don't know if it has been said already but.. why don't you get a passive cooled card and then hack a fan on top of it? If you have the necessary space, that would be the best option, since you can choose among an extensive range of fans or different sizes that are around..

EDIT: typos

[Quartermass]

Yep, that's my intent Patrick. After considering all available cards I felt it'd be best to whack an 80mm fan on the card and 5v or 7v it to the point where it's inaudible and forget about it.

[numb7rs]

So, what I suggested in the first reply? :p

[Quartermass]

So, what I suggested in the first reply? :p

Well, yes. However I did want to explore if there were any with fans that ticked all my boxes - seems not.

And I'm now considering going no graphics card and using a beefier processor rather than the G620 (the i3-2100) since the nightly build of XBMC seems to work just great on the processor... meaning I can add a graphics card when needed, which could be a long time or never.