[jaydee77ca]

Hi,

I have been reading quite a lot on the forums and have learned a lot about HTPC. I want to build a small HTPC for home to replace our Western Digital TV Live media player. Here's the usage and requirements breakdown:

Must:

1. Connect to 50" 1080p plasma via HDMI (Later to a 1080p digital projector)
   
2. Play 1080p content from my desktop or NAS in my office
   
3. Play 720p as well as SD
   
4. Play a h264, mkv, DTS, AC-3, and potentially DTS-HD, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD MA
   
5. Run Windows 7
   
6. Gigabit ethernet
   
7. Connect to YouTube and potentially NetFlix
   
8. Be controlled by my Logitech Harmony remote
   
9. Not be too loud
   

Nice:

1. Be slim and stylish as it will be visible and I don't have much space
   
2. Have a usb port on the front (for a thumbdrive, etc.)
   
3. Have a memory card reader (SDHC)
   
4. Be somewhat portable for taking up to the cabin
   
5. Be able to connect to an SD TV via composite RCA video and stereo RCA for audio (at the cabin )
   
6. Wireless or able to add wireless later
   

I have been looking at eskro's information and believe the following build would be most appropriate?

[Mini-ITX] A6-3500 (3x2.1Ghz/2.4Ghz) + HD6530D

For memory, I want to use some existing memory I have (Corsair 1600 MHz DDR3 2GB x 2).

The only concern I have is the case as it is a bit on the larger side.

I was looking at the Mini-Box M350 but I wanted to use an existing 3.5" hard drive and the M350 only fits a 2.5" drive which adds to the cost.

I'm wondering if there are some other ITX cases that are somewhere between these two cases and would be slim and stylish but still allow the use of a 3.5" drive?

Of course, I am trying to keep this build as low cost as possible since I'm replacing a unit that cost about $100

Am I on the right track here?

Thanks much! Great forum!

[jaydee77ca]

So I think I might settle on this build:

Case - Mini-Box M350 Mini-ITX ($59.99 NCIX)
CPU+GPU - AMD A6-3500 ($97.66 NCIX)
Motherboard - ASRock A75M-ITX FM1 Mini-ITX ($94.99 Newegg)
Memory - Crucible CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 2 x 2 GB 1600 MHz ($0.00 N/A I already own it)
Hard Drive - OCZ Vertex Plus SSD 120 GB ($99.99 NCIX)
PSU - Pico PSU PICOPSU-150-XT with 102WPOWER Kit 150W DC-DC PSU & AC-DC Power Brick ($79.93 NCIX)

Total: $433

Any comments?

[eskro]

$140 for PSU + CASE...

you can get a ANTEC ISK-100 for less then that
and it includes a 90W PSU.

[jaydee77ca]

$140 for PSU + CASE...

you can get a ANTEC ISK-100 for less then that
and it includes a 90W PSU.

Thanks eskro! But is 90W enough? I used the power supply calculator and it said minimum 90W but recommended 140W. Since I'll likely be connecting some peripherals like maybe a wireless adapter or IR remote adapter would 90W be enough?

[Mallet21]

That calculator assumes 90% load.....change the setting at the end to 60%. I don't think your system load would ever go above 60%-70%.

Maybe someone with that CPU can confirm wattages during video playback.

[eskro]

65W TDP CPU's are handled just fine by 90W PSU's.
if not, i wouldnt recommend it.

[DavidT99]

How about the AcerRevo RL70 for $330 on Amazon meets all your requirements.

David

[jaydee77ca]

65W TDP CPU's are handled just fine by 90W PSU's.
if not, i wouldnt recommend it.

Good point Thanks eskro!

How about the AcerRevo RL70 for $330 on Amazon meets all your requirements.

Doesn't look like I can buy the Acer Revo RL70 anywhere in Canada. I can get the Acer Revo 100, but it costs close to what my build costs ($440 at NCIX) and doesn't look as powerful?

[jaydee77ca]

So now I have:

Case+PSU - Antec ISK-100 Mini-ITX ($80.09 NCIX)
CPU+GPU - AMD A6-3500 ($97.66 NCIX)
Motherboard - ASRock A75M-ITX FM1 Mini-ITX ($94.99 Newegg)
Memory - Crucible CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 2 x 2 GB 1600 MHz ($0.00 N/A I already own it)
Hard Drive - OCZ Vertex Plus SSD 120 GB ($99.99 NCIX)

For a total of $372.73.

Any other things I could do to make it slightly cheaper? Would going to a A4-3400 dual core processor be ok? That would save about $18 LOL! Going to a 60 GB SSD also saves another $18, but I figured $18 was worth it to grab double the storage And I'm kind of thinking the processing gains of the A6-3500 will be worth the $18 there too.

[eskro]

no no.. for $18, just keep the triple-core A6-3500!!

you may try to find a cheaper SSD. $100 is pricey.

windows only needs 32GB anyways.
http://www.vuugo.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pc...+%28SSD%29

[DavidT99]

Good point Thanks eskro!



Doesn't look like I can buy the Acer Revo RL70 anywhere in Canada. I can get the Acer Revo 100, but it costs close to what my build costs ($440 at NCIX) and doesn't look as powerful?

You don't need a powerful PC to run XBMC in an HTPC, an AMD E350 or E450 is powerful enough. An E350 mobo with integrated CPU/GPU is around $US100. You also don't need an SSD, a 2.5" HDD is more than good enough.

So there's a couple of savings for you.

David

[XMBC_FREAK]

AND I have proved it windows 7 full install less than 10gb more like 5gb....so you dont need a massive drive either.

[Khabel]

Did you end up building this?

Its pretty much exactly what I'm after except I wont use a HDD as I'll be running Openelec off a USB