[jgiddens]

Hey all,

I have learned a lot reading the forums and I think I am ready to pull the trigger. I am still pretty noob-ish on a lot of it, so please review:

APU: AMD A8-3850 BOX $108 Shipped
RAM: Kingston HyperX 4gb Kit (2x2gb) PC3 12800 DDR3 $32 Shipped
CASE: Silverstone Aluminum/Steel MicroATX MediaCenter HTPC Case $60 Shipped
I will add 1 or 2 80mm case fans I have around my office.
MOBO: ASRock Socket FM1/AMD A75 FCH/SATA3&USB3/ MINI ITX A75m-ITX $90 shipped
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit System Builder Pack $97 shipped
IR Reciever: ASRock Universal Smart Remote Control $40 shipped
I will be using my Logitech Harmony One as the real remote, but with the ASRock for WAKE on IR functions. I will leave the box on but sleeping and want to wake from the remote.
HD will be an existing 64gb Intel SSD I have around and storage will be on a networked NAS with 3tb/RAID array. Connectivity will be GIGe via Cat 6e cabling in the walls.

Still working out the PSU and CPU Cooler. I really want a Pico PSU like this one: picoPSU-150-XT DC-DC 150w PSU ~$80.

I plan to use this for:
- Watching 1080p MKV, AVI, mts, etc files (not 3d) over the network
- Watching Hulu, Netflix, Amazon PrimeHD content
- Listening to music
- Looking at pictures
- Maybe someday running an arcade emulator
- Maybe someday running a Sickbeard/sabnzb/Couchpotato all in one content acquisition setup
- Etc

I am going to use the CIR header and ASRock remote to connect my Harmony to the system.

So, the questions:

- PSU - Will a 150w PicoPSU do the trick? I would really like a silent solution but I the power calcs on ASUS, etc all suggest 220w or more. If Pico wont work, can someone suggest an inexpensive, efficient small PSU?
- If i get the picoPSU will I need a mounting shield for the power cord?
- CPU fan - In a case this size, with a couple of good case fans will I need anything more than the stock cooler?
- Windows - It really chaps my hide to buy yet another Windows license. I would like to run this with Ubuntu or OpenElec but that keeps Netflix off the table, right?
- The Harmony to ASrock setup. Anyone here using that?

Thanks for the help!

Jason

[bluray]

For the same price, why not getting this "picoPSU-160-XT"......it'll give you more wattages to add other components......

You can use this "Scythe SCBSK-2100" CPU cooler and this "SilenX EFX-08-12 80mm" case fan to keep the noise level low....

[Mick1152]

I have pretty much the same system, case and everything. I have 1 SSD and 2 HDDs in mine. My PSU is a 320W ATX power supply which is dead silent, I have never heard it. The only thing that makes any noise in my system is the Scythe SCBSK-2100 BIG Shuriken 2 CPU cooler. But that is only even slightly noticeable when I really stress the system, mute the sound on my TV, and get within about 5 feet of my system.

As far as the PicoPSU, I just did some testing of my system last night in Prime95 and used 143W of power. Beer, bluray, and eskro are having a nice, polite, civil discussion about the PSU requirements in that thread here: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=132196. Since that was pretty much the max stress of the system, I'm guessing you should be okay with a 150W PSU, but, for the same price, it would seem silly not to have the extra room of the 160W PSU bluray linked to add components in the future.

[Mick1152]

Oh one thing I'd add... the ASRock Smart Remote is crap. Range on it absolutely blows. I can power the system on from across the room, but for any actual other functions I have to be within 6 feet of the system or it is unreliable at best.

I have bought the Inteset internal CIR referenced in a few posts on the forums. It needs to be re-pinned to work with the ASRock motherboard but everybody that has posted about it said it works great. I'll update when I get mine and have it installed.

[jgiddens]

Mick, I will take a look at that PSU. How much louder would it be with the stock CPU cooler?

[Mick1152]

I can't compare the stock CPU cooler directly to the BIG Shuriken 2, however, on my A6-3500 system I used the stock CPU cooler. It is louder but, I couldn't even notice it once I had my TV going. My A6-3500 system just recently got a case so it was running for a couple weeks with just the motherboard in the open on my shelf in my bedroom and it wasn't noticeable with the TV going.

If I was doing it over again and my budget was tight, I wouldn't lose any sleep if I had to sacrifice the BIG Shuriken 2 for the stock CPU cooler. However, I do feel the BIG Shuriken 2 keeps the CPU cooler at a lower noise level so, if you can get it, go for it!

[Beer40oz]

I can't compare the stock CPU cooler directly to the BIG Shuriken 2, however, on my A6-3500 system I used the stock CPU cooler. It is louder but, I couldn't even notice it once I had my TV going. My A6-3500 system just recently got a case so it was running for a couple weeks with just the motherboard in the open on my shelf in my bedroom and it wasn't noticeable with the TV going.

If I was doing it over again and my budget was tight, I wouldn't lose any sleep if I had to sacrifice the BIG Shuriken 2 for the stock CPU cooler. However, I do feel the BIG Shuriken 2 keeps the CPU cooler at a lower noise level so, if you can get it, go for it!

Thank you for confirming this! We all have different tolerances...

[Mick1152]

I can't compare the stock CPU cooler directly to the BIG Shuriken 2, however, on my A6-3500 system I used the stock CPU cooler. It is louder but, I couldn't even notice it once I had my TV going. My A6-3500 system just recently got a case so it was running for a couple weeks with just the motherboard in the open on my shelf in my bedroom and it wasn't noticeable with the TV going.

If I was doing it over again and my budget was tight, I wouldn't lose any sleep if I had to sacrifice the BIG Shuriken 2 for the stock CPU cooler. However, I do feel the BIG Shuriken 2 keeps the CPU cooler at a lower noise level so, if you can get it, go for it!

Thank you for confirming this! We all have different tolerances...

I've been married for 15 years... I could probably tolerate a cooling system driven by a small gas powered engine to be honest

[bluray]

I've been married for 15 years... I could probably tolerate a cooling system driven by a small gas powered engine to be honest

+1......after 5 kids later, I can tolerate just about anything........

[Dougie Fresh]

My favorite PSU for the ML03 case is this one: http://www.amazon.com/FSP-Certified-300-...0-60GHS-R/

Also, why get a mini-ITX motherboard and not micro-ATX?

[jgiddens]

Dougie,

I am following one of Eskro's builds. What is the advantage of Micro vs Mini xTX?

[Mick1152]

micro-atx is bigger than mini itx so it will have a bit more room to work with and will have a few more expansion card slots. If you're getting the ML03 case, it has 4 expansion card slots on it. The mini ITX board only has one slot so you are missing out on the potential to have 2 additional expansion card slots. This board ASRock Micro ATX board has 3 expansion card slots, and, is cheaper than the mini-ITX board.

[jgiddens]

I don't think I will be using any expansion slots, but the size point is a good one. Silly me, I thought a MICRO would be smaller than a MINI.

[Mick1152]

You and I both! I had to do a bit of reading about that. It's because the ITX form is smaller than the ATX form... so apparently a mini small is smaller than a micro big! There, clear as mud!