Good mini itx and cpu combo recommendation
#1
Well after running my atv2 for a few years I have decided to go the "build my own route". I considered buying a zotac ad04 , lenovo q190 and other pre-builts but decided to do my own.
I have purchased the Apex MI-008 case and a Noctura 120mm fan. I am a little undecided which mini-itx mobo to get and cpu/apu....any recommendations?
Saw one review choose :: APU: AMD A4-3400 ($45) and Motherboard: ASRock A75M-ITX ($90) , I like the price but the review was about 6 months ago.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
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#2
What do you want to do with your HTPC?
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#3
just xbmc, but the ability to run any skin smooth as butter.
No gaming
I will likely install Win 7. I have an older receiver, does dts and dd , has optical in, no hdmi so the mobo needs optical out.
All my movies are mkv currently 720 because of atv2, but I want to start using 1080 mkvs.
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#4
A long time favorite around here was the A6-3500 and A75M-ITX. The A6-3500 used to be not that much more than the A4-3400 but you get the near top-of-the-line Llano GPU with it. Search here for "A6-PACK".
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#5
Excellent, thanks for your help, I am going to go with your recommendation, greatly appreciated
I have decided to go with
ASRock A75M-ITX FM1 AMD A75 (Hudson D3) HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX AMD Motherboard
AMD A6-3500 Llano 2.1GHz

thanks again
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#6
Had a followup question. I would rather install OpenELEC. Which Intel CPU/Board would be ideal? No gaming. Only videos, 1080p mkvs. Was planning on buying the HT80
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#7
Ideal would be Core i3-3225/Intel DH77DF for the HT-80. That's thest least expensive Intel CPU featuring their best integrated GPU and that motherboad has everything you'd ever need for HTPC. You'd also want a 28mm (1U) CPU cooler and ideally an mSATA SSD.

That said, there are cheaper alternatives. A Intel Pentium G630T with a Gigabyte GA-H61N-USB3 would be much cheaper but would still handle 1080p MKVs and have HD audio support in OpenELEC. It comes with a 1U cooler and you can just get any 2.5" SSD or even just run OpenELEC off a USB flash drive of SDHC card with an adapter.
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#8
Was thinking about i3-3225 cause of the HD 4000. The Intel MO looks good. Thanks, I guess I'll be going the Intel path.
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#9
I went the same path as you, starting with AMD and ended up with Intel. This is what i have in mind now. Ofc. running OpenELEC

You already have a case, so you can leave the top two out.

Case
Streacom FC8 Evo Black

Powersupply
Streacom PicoPsu 150W + 150W Adapter Power Kit

Processor
Intel Core i3 3225 Boxed

Motherboard
ASRock Intel H77 H77M-ITX

Memory
Corsair Vengeance LP CML4GX3M2A1600C9

SSD (Optional, will add later first ill try running OpenELEC from USB)
Crucial m4 CT064M4SSD2 64GB

Also check this topic for more why Intel over AMD with OpenELEC
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=164705
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#10
I did look at the Streacom FC8 case. Really good looking but I couldn't justify the extra $100 (after adding the IR Receiver and Shipping) compared to HT80. The ASRock H77M-ITX seems to have some issues reported, faulty RAM slot.
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#11
(2013-05-18, 17:55)crabbyTech Wrote: I did look at the Streacom FC8 case. Really good looking but I couldn't justify the extra $100 (after adding the IR Receiver and Shipping) compared to HT80. The ASRock H77M-ITX seems to have some issues reported, faulty RAM slot.

Yeah its quite some money for a case. Really where did you found that?
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#12
(2013-05-18, 18:13)hdtracer Wrote: Yeah its quite some money for a case. Really where did you found that?

Newegg

Also, I saw you were looking for a remote. I am thinking of replacing the one on the HT80 with a Harmony One remote.
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#13
I have decided on the following so far,

Intel Core i3-3225 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor
Intel DH77DF Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard
Iwill HT80 mini-ITX
Dynatron T459 CPU Cooler
Plextor mSATA 64GB Mushkin Atlas Series 120GB mSATA

For the RAM, I see Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB (2 x 2GB) recommended but would the i-3225 be compatible with the 1.65V RAM?
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#14
Good thing you didnt go for the ASRock H77M-IT, there is a problem that you cant connect the front USB:
http://cdn.overclock.net/4/45/900x900px-...F3279.jpeg

I switched it for the Asus P8H77-I wich has been proven to work flawless multiple times
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#15
The Intel DH77DF is nice that is has two USB headers and mSATA. It also has the Intel CIR header if you want to replace the IR receiver with a Inteset Intel CIR receiver.
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Good mini itx and cpu combo recommendation0