[guest123]

Hello all...after quite a bit of lurking, I think I'm ready to plunk down some cash and build my first HTPC.

CPU: Intel i3-2125
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GT 430
Mobo: ASRock H67M-ITX
SSD: Corsair Nova Series 2 60GB 2.5"
HD: 750 GB Drive
RAM: 4GB (2 x 2GB) G.Skill Ripjaws 1333 DDR3
ODD: Sony BC-5600S Blu-ray drive
Case: Wesena ITX7
PSU: picoPSU-XT-150 (150W PSU with 120W AC/DC converter)


A couple questions for the group:

1) Will this be enough power for my HTPC? I am not planning to purchase the GT 430 at first, but I want to make sure I have enough power if I decide to integrate a graphics card into my HTPC

2) The biggest concern I have is with performance. I will be playing Blu Ray, 3D, live TV (using HD HomeRun Prime), and streaming movie files over my network, and I want to have a system that not only handles anything I throw at it but has the quickest boot-up time. Any suggestions to help improve based on my current set-up are more than welcome!

Thanks guys.

[eskro]

I guess you'll be using win7?

but anyways, quick boot times the SSD will take care of.

INTEL graphics have 24p problems.

solved by adding a descrete GPU.

120W is good to go.

u might want to check out an AMD FM1 build instead.

have a look in my HTPC guide

[guest123]

AMD vs Intel is the biggest thing I have struggled with when trying to put the pieces of my HTPC build together...the determining factor for me was that AMD Llano CPUs required too much power. The AMD 3800 is almost a full GHZ slower than the Intel i3-2125 and they both run at 65 W. Given that I want to run Pico PSU and have the fastest HTPC with the lowest power footprint, I figure Intel is the way to go.

[eskro]

a full GHZ slower? u cant judge your CPU performance only based on that!!
Intel Core i3-2125 @ 3.30GHz PASSMARK --> 4173
AMD A6-3600 @ 2.4GHz PASSMARK --> 4283

see? almost on-par performance!
AMD A6-3600 been better and its a QUAD-CORE.
and, the AMD LIano will play anything including 3D 1080P and HD-Audio passthrough!
no need for seperate GPU here! not at all!

[guest123]

I see...so how does the A8-3800, with a faster GPU clock, 300 MHz faster processer, etc

Get a Passmark score of 3272?

[guest123]

I also see reviews like this one that vouch for intel's integrated graphics processing power in their i3 and i5 chips.

Any light you could shed on this subject would be much appreciated, as I am trying to learn about HTPC but sometimes get overwhelmed with all the info that is out there...

[thethirdnut]

Keep in mind that you're going to want as silent a setup as possible too.

Nothing more frustrating than a noisy PC in your home theatre.

Passive GPU best start.

[eskro]

i feel that INTEL's APU graphics have been talked enough....
as i said, they have 24p problems... just google it.
INTEL said it should be fixed in their next bridge version called Ivy Bridge...
so till these aren't on the market,
i wouldnt go with intel graphix...
unless u plan on adding a discrete GPU to your build.

and again, u cant judge a CPU only by its "MHz"