[eskro]

Here's your best shot in my opinion,,,,
** missing hard Drive (till you decide which OS you'll run)**


[CPU] Intel Pentium G620 Dual-Core 2.6GHz LGA-1155 65W ($71 + $0)
[MOBO] GIGABYTE GA-H67N-USB3-B3 LGA-1155 SATA-III mITX ($90 + $0)
[GPU] ZOTAC GT210 512MB DDR3 64-bit Fanless Low Profile ($36 + $2)
[CASE+PSU] Apex MI-100 Black mITX 250W ($53 + $0)
[RAM] Kingston HyperX 2GB (2x1GB) DDR3 1333 CL9 ($20 + $4)
[FAN] SilenX IXP-74-09 120mm 800RPM 38CFM 9dBA ($13 + $0)
TOTAL: $289

but what would help us is to know in which HTPC group do you fit in?
To this find this out, click --> Here

So?

[darrenscerri]

First of all, thank you all for your replies!

@wsume99 - Will the SB GPU be powerful enough even when using a heavy skins such as MQ2 (or now MQ3), or will the GT520 be a better candidate? If so, with the price difference I get with removing the GT520, I can opt to the i3 2100.

@bluray and @eskro - I am group 3, but I am willing to pay a little more to get more performance to make sure that no UI lag exists, no sluggishness etc.

So, if the i3 GPU is adequate, I might remove the GT520 and buy the i3 2100 LGA1155 instead...

Thanks again

-----EDIT-----

I researched about the Intel Graphics 2000, and there seems to be an issue with 23.976fps content... I am a rather picky person and would definitely not tolerate stuttering every 40"! So I guess, I'll try sourcing out the G620 along with the GT520!

Thanks!

[bluray]

if you want to pay a little more for beefier htpc, here is your choice:

1. APEX MI-008
2. Intel BOXDH67CFB3 LGA 1155
3. Silenx IXP7409 iXtrema Pro Fan
4. LG Black 12X BD-ROM
5. HP OEM Windows 7 Vista XP Media Center MCE PC Remote Control
6. SAPPHIRE 100324L Radeon HD 6570 2GB
7. Intel Core i3-2100T Sandy Bridge
8. Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500)
9. Corsair Force CSSD-F40GB2-A 2.5" 40GB

[eskro]

darrenscerri,
Since your dont plan to play 3D
nor Bitstream HD-Audio to a compatbile HD-Audio/Video Receiver,
you dont 'need' the GT520...
your perfectly fine with a GT210 like i have....
you'll see virtually no performance difference between the 2 card...
MQ2 wont be faster on a GT520 card...
UI will be same speed as on a GT210...
SO my build Here, is perfect for you as is,,,,

Now like i said, i need to know which OS you'll use,,,
Windows? OpenELEC?
becuz then, you can decided to go SSD Route or USB Flash Drive route,,,,

[darrenscerri]

I think I'll go for the openELEC OS, as at this time, I don't have any more plans than XBMC for my HTPC, as I already have a separate machine where I can encode movies, etc.

So I guess I will go with the USB flash drive route but still have not yet came across a concrete answer whether the loading of fanart and movie metadata is slower than that of SSD, or if using my NAS to store the fanart and meta-data using GigE is a faster (and obviously cheaper than buying an SSD) alternative.