[fenguin]

Due to the prevalence of HD content, my venerable Xbox is rapidly nearing the end of its lifespan. So I'm looking to build a compact HTPC which will be pretty much dedicated to running XBMC. I'm looking to build one of the mini-ITX systems based on the build recommendations on the AVS Forums:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthrea...st14239742

Intel/Intel

System

* CPU: Pentium Dual-Core E5200 2.50GHz LGA775, $64.
* CPU Cooler: SilverStone NT07-775, $23.
* Motherboard: Intel DG45FC (BOXDG45FC) LGA775 Intel G45 chipset Mini-ITX, $120.
* Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1A16K DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $27.
* Graphics Card: Intel GMA X4500HD (integrated in the chipset), $0.
* HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $70.
* PSU: ATX12V 250W SFX PSU (included in the case): $0.
* Case: Apex MI-008 Mini-ITX, $50. An alternative is Apex MI-100 Mini-ITX, $56 and Apex MI-100BK Mini-ITX, $56.
* Total Cost: $354

Intel/NVIDIA

System

* CPU: Pentium Dual-Core E5200 2.50GHz LGA775, $64.
* CPU Cooler: SilverStone NT07-775, $23.
* Motherboard: ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi GF9300-D-E LGA775 GeForce 9300 mGPU Mini-ITX, $145.
* Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1A16K DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $27.
* Graphics Card: GeForce 9300 (integrated in the chipset), $0.
* HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $70.
* PSU: ATX12V 250W SFX PSU (included in the case): $0.
* Case: Apex MI-008 Mini-ITX, $50. An alternative is Apex MI-100 Mini-ITX, $56 and Apex MI-100BK Mini-ITX, $56.
* Total Cost: $379

AMD/AMD

System

* CPU: Athlon X2 5050e ADH5050DOBOX 2.6GHz AM2, $60. An alternative is Phenom X3 8450e HD8450ODGHBOX 2.1GHz AM2+, $122.
* CPU Cooler: SilverStone NT07-AM2, $26.
* Motherboard: J&W MINIX 780G-SP128MB AM2+ AMD 780G chipset Mini-ITX, $155.
* Memory: Crucial CT2KIT12864AC800 DDR2-800 SO-DIMM 2 x 1GB Kit, $24.
* Graphics Card: Radeon HD 3200 (integrated in the chipset), $0. A better alternative is SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4550 DDR3 512MB, $60.
* HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $70.
* PSU: ATX12V 250W SFX PSU (included in the case): $0.
* Case: Apex MI-008 Mini-ITX, $50. An alternative is Apex MI-100 Mini-ITX, $56 and Apex MI-100BK Mini-ITX, $56.
* Total Cost: $397

AMD/NVIDIA

System

* CPU: Athlon X2 5050e ADH5050DOBOX 2.6GHz AM2, $60. An alternative is Phenom X3 8450e HD8450ODGHBOX 2.1GHz 6M2+, $122.
* CPU Cooler: SilverStone NT07-AM2, $26.
* Motherboard: ZOTAC GeForce 8200-ITX WiFi GF8200-C-E AM2+ GeForce 8200 mGPU Mini-ITX, $110.
* Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1A16K DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $27.
* Graphics Card: GeForce 8200 (integrated in the chipset), $0.
* HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $70.
* PSU: ATX12V 250W SFX PSU (included in the case): $0.
* Case: Apex MI-008 Mini-ITX, $50. An alternative is Apex MI-100 Mini-ITX, $56 and Apex MI-100BK Mini-ITX, $56.
* Total Cost: $343

They all appear to meet the minimum requirements for XBMC for Windows based on the FAQ. However:

• Which one will be best for XBMC? I'm leaning towards Intel/NVidia based on the FAQ.
  
• Will they experience any issues with 1080p? What about h264-encoded content?
  
• Since I stream most of my media content from a separate PC, will replacing the HDD with an SSD (like this one) yield significantly better boot time/performance for XBMC?
  

Thanks devs for your amazing work.

[Dougie Fresh]

Here's what I would build if I could build it:

nMEDIAPC Black Aluminum panel & Steel HTPC 1000B Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case
Model #:HTPC 1000B
$99.99

GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 9400 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Model #:GA-E7AUM-DS2H
$119.99

Rosewill RG430-2 430W Power Supply
Model #:RG430-2
$49.99

Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
Model #:BX80571E5200
$72.99

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Model #:TWIN2X4096-6400C5
$19.99 (after $25 rebate)

Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Model #:WD10EADS
$104.99

LG Black Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA
Model #:GGC-H20L
$119.99

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 32-bit for System Builders - OEM
Model #:66I-02059
$99.99

Total: ~$700.00 w/o shipping

[EGOvoruhk]

I have the Zotac, and it's a great little board. Be careful with your case picks though, fan clearance and airflow is going to a problem. I know with the MI-100 and a low profile fan, it will rest right underneath the PSU, which casues heat issues

[phiqtion]

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=44464

[Steve_McQueen]

I'm waiting for Nvidia Ion later this year. Probably making my own casemod if someone doesn't make good pre-built Ion HTPC.

[Dougie Fresh]

I'm waiting for Nvidia Ion later this year. Probably making my own casemod if someone doesn't make good pre-built Ion HTPC.

I am wondering how well it will run XBMC with Intel Atom since it's the CPU doing the work. It would be great if it did though. I'd like something that size in my HT cabinet and not the full receiver size things I've been looking at.

[Steve_McQueen]

GPU and VDPAU support is well on it's way.

[smcnally75]

GPU and VDPAU support is well on it's way.

Isn't VDPAU support already in place? I haven't heard seen any promising posts about implementing GPU support for Windows though. There's been talk about it, but I don't think it is well on it's way yet.

[Dougie Fresh]

Lots o' GPU talk here: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=46739

[Steve_McQueen]

Isn't VDPAU support already in place? I haven't heard seen any promising posts about implementing GPU support for Windows though. There's been talk about it, but I don't think it is well on it's way yet.

Yes I think it's supported, but I don't know if it's an "official" part of it yet. Im going to run linux, hopefully a distro I can get down to a 5 sec boot.

[smcnally75]

Yes I think it's supported, but I don't know if it's an "official" part of it yet. Im going to run linux, hopefully a distro I can get down to a 5 sec boot.

I don't see that happening unless liveXBMC loads that fast. Ubuntu alone takes longer than 5 seconds to boot.

[Steve_McQueen]

I don't see that happening unless liveXBMC loads that fast. Ubuntu alone takes longer than 5 seconds to boot.

It might not be realistic, But Im still hopefull.
There's a lot of junk in boot that can, and should be, removed and optimized. Maybe I'll try Tiny Core or maybe what these guys did (http://lwn.net/Articles/299483/), can be utillized. I think the LiveXBMC guys are looking into implementing some of it. Jaunty is suppose to have improved startup, but I don't know how much difference that's going to make.

Honestly I'm just crossing my fingers at this point.

[Dougie Fresh]

This looks like it'd be a nice little mini-ITX board for building a HTPC:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813153124

This would be a nice case for it too:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6811154091

Maybe with this CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6819103255

And a couple of these (though it's hard to tell if it really takes 1 or 2):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6820208407

Maybe a Blu-Ray drive and a WD Green Power drive too. Not sure if the mobo comes with a CPU cooler. Sounds like from searching it might be hard to come by one that fits and that is quiet.

[Dougie Fresh]

Here's another m-ITX mobo possibility. It looks about the same price as the one I posted above but with better features.

http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=522

I hope the market for this kind of hardware is just heating up.

[smcnally75]

THIS just got delivered to my place today. I'll let you know how it does once I get it built.