[waxer]

Greetings all pros & gurus!

Going to build my first box in years for mainly xbmc use. It will also be used somewhat as a NAS for a couple of external USB drives I got(where also the media is located).

I've read a lot here lately, and must place a special thanks to poofyhairyguys recommendations and tips on building for Linux/XBMC.

What I've come up with is (sorry about norwegian links):
DIMM DDR3 2GB 1333MHZ CL9 (2X1GB)
INTEL X25-V 2.5" 40GB SSD SATA/300 MLC 34NM RETAIL+
SILVERSTONE GD05B M-ATX BLACK
ASUS GEFORCE GT 430 1GB PCI-E VGA/DVI/HDMI LP (Will it fit?)
INTEL CORE I3 2100 3.10GHZ 3MB S-1155
ASUS P8H67-M LE B3 H67 S-1155 M-ATX (Yup, sandybridge!)

As you can see it is a pretty solid build when it comes to power. Why? Because it wont cost me that much more to have this performance compared to a zotac barebone. The difference is only about 150USD and I get lots of more power + being able to insert a bluray device later if I want to... I also want everything to work lightning fast and to be future proof, as I've gotten tired of useless devices like the WDTV and the XBOX360s mediaplayer, and the NSLU2 for NAS. This is it, this time I go all in!

This is in Norway, so the total price ends at about 3700NOK which is about 650USD...

Some questions:
Will this fit?
Will it be noisy?
What distro should I run this on? (Currently a Debian user...)
Any other pros/cons/tips?

+ How is ASUS motherboards nowadays? I saw poofyhairyguy recommended gigabyte...?

Thanks a lot for all comments

[poofyhairguy]

Two things:

1. What PSU?
2. The fan on that GPU will be a little noisy. Try to find something with a bigger fan. It doesn't have to be low-profile (better if its not)

Otherwise looks good.

+ How is ASUS motherboards nowadays?

I think they are overrated pieces of junk that are riding a formally good reputation and boxes plastered with useless features to prey upon those who don't know better. That is just my opinion though.

[waxer]

Two things:

1. What PSU?
2. The fan on that GPU will be a little noisy. Try to find something with a bigger fan. It doesn't have to be low-profile (better if its not)

Otherwise looks good.



I think they are overrated pieces of junk that are riding a formally good reputation and boxes plastered with useless features to prey upon those who don't know better. That is just my opinion though.

1.) Not quite sure yet. How powerfull PSU do I need?
2.) Ok ZOTAC GEFORCE GT 430 1GB PCI-E DVI/HDMI/DP SILENT - Do you think it will fit?

ASUS: How come overrated? Overpriced? Unstable? Problem is the price tag will be higher if I pick a gigabyte sandybridge mobo with USB 3.

[poofyhairguy]

1.) Not quite sure yet. How powerfull PSU do I need?

Around 350w+. This will do:

http://www.dustinhome.no/pd_5010485649.aspx

2.) Ok ZOTAC GEFORCE GT 430 1GB PCI-E DVI/HDMI/DP SILENT - Do you think it will fit?

No, unfortunately that one won't fit. This one will though:

http://www.dustinhome.no/pd_5010485750.aspx

ASUS: How come overrated? Overpriced? Unstable? Problem is the price tag will be higher if I pick a gigabyte sandybridge mobo with USB 3.

Last two I have had had all sorts of bios problems and quality control issues that the Asus of old would have never had. That is why I swear by Gigabyte.

With that said, Asus is still better than some random Foxconn or ECS board so don't listen to me and save some money.

[waxer]

Around 350w+. This will do:

http://www.dustinhome.no/pd_5010485649.aspx

Great! Picked!

No, unfortunately that one won't fit. This one will though:

http://www.dustinhome.no/pd_5010485750.aspx

Thanks again! Picked as well

Last two I have had had all sorts of bios problems and quality control issues that the Asus of old would have never had. That is why I swear by Gigabyte.

With that said, Asus is still better than some random Foxconn or ECS board so don't listen to me and save some money.

Get the point. But I think I'll cross my fingers and go for the ASUS, if I get problems I'll use my 5 year warranty..

Thanks a lot! Appreciate it!

Any tips on distros/system to run it on?

[poofyhairguy]

Any tips on distros/system to run it on?

http://www.openelec.tv/

[waxer]

Changed my mind a bit when I noticed the size of the GD05B, so I had to crunch the prices on the other parts a bit..

Does this seem ok?

Chieftec A-135 APS-400S 400W (It's 80plus certified with 120mm fan)
Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H (Gigabyte had a good price for an AM3 mb)
AMD Athlon II X3 450 3,2GHz Socket AM3 Box (Enough power for all I want I guess?)
Asus Geforce ENGT430/DI/1GD3 (LP) 1GB (The best low profile card to fit my case?)
Kingston SSDNow S100 SS100S2 8GB (Don't think I need any bigger? I'm only gonna run a basic system with a package system like apt with xbmc, samba, apache2, mysql, sabnzbd, torrent, and I don't need any GUIs except what is needed to run xbmc)
Lian Li PC-C37 (Black)
Seagate Barracuda Green ST2000DL003 64MB 2TB (Cheap.. This one is for all the media)
+ some cheap 2x1GB DDR3 1333mhz

Edit: Changed my mind again about the chassis. Need a remote as well :\

[poofyhairguy]

Good build, expect that case comes with a decent power supply. Everything else looks fine.

[waxer]

Thanks
It comes without a PSU here in Norway, so I guess the 80plus certified chieftech is a good pick.. Just ordered the case, and ordering the rest now

Gonna put up a build thread when done

[waxer]

Everything ordered now.. Should arrive early next week

Got a 16GB Kingston SSD in stead of the 8GB.. Better speed, and double the size should make it more comfy

And I ordered a MS 3000 RF Keyboard as a remote for my wife until I find a remote I like. Using my iphone until I decide upon which to order...

Can't wait!

Thanks a lot for the help poofyhairyguy!

[poofyhairguy]

You are welcome!

[hexor2k]

Hi waxer,

nice HTPC build. I am thinking about to do a similar one. Can you please answer me some questions to your build:

1. Did you have any temperature problems with the passive cooled graphics card. I intend to add a PCIe TV card to my build which would reduce air flow at the graphics cards passive cooler.

2. Is your graphics card really low profile? It looks quite large on manufacturer pictures.

3. How quiet is your system? Are the stock case fans quiet enough for a nearly silent HTPC system?

Regards,

hexor2k