Hi all,
Ok, so now im building my 2nd HTPC with the knowledge from my first and all the advise from Bluray, Dougie, Eskro and so on, i have come up with the following build.
Please feel free to critique and recommend.
Case -
Inwin BP655 Mini ITX Case with 200W PSU
Motherboard -
Gigabyte Z77N-WIFI
CPU -
Intel Pentium G2020 Dual Core CPU
RAM - Crucial 4GB DDR 3 (Already bought)
Graphics Card -
Nvidia GT520 (Already got for HD, Bluray playback and Bitstreaming)
Bluray drive -
Liteon 4x Internal Bluray Drive Player
Storage - I am kinda stuck because I want an SSD but not sure how i would connect it. I only need a small one for the OS as will content on NAS and a second HDD for content that needs to be on HTPC.
I would love to hear feedback and also know if the more experienced builders think that this will handle all 1080P, FULL BLURAY ISO, FULL 3D content.
Thanks in advance,
TD
Not too sure about what you mean in Storage.. but a 128 GB SSD is definately a good idea. Why? Quick start up time, zero vibration/noise.
I say 128 over 64, because with SSD typically the higher the capacity the faster the speed.
Ideally keep your nas/storage in another room so you don't hear the hum/fan noise.
I do a bit of gaming on mine, but all the ROMs are on the other networked PC.. just the emulator programs on the htpc.
I'd be a bit worried about that power supply. I have a fanless full size in mine, but the mini itx doesn't give you much room.
You could consider a Pico PSU - check what you're power requirement would be.
Example:
http://www.mini-box.com/s.nl/it.A/id.417/.f
BUt you'd also need a laptop power brick to power the device.
Only really necessary if you want silence. If you watch action movies, save your money, the explosions will drown out any potential noise
Excellent! Thanks DigitalVortex, I was about to press buy on a 64GB SSD but you stopped me just in time.
In terms of the build, would you make any changes there or should that be powerful enough for any movie watching and handle all 1080P, FULL BLURAY ISO, FULL 3D content?
Thanks,
TD
(2013-05-22, 06:29)Digital Vortex Wrote: [ -> ]I say 128 over 64, because with SSD typically the higher the capacity the faster the speed.
That is correct, but typically the slowness is only for write speeds, read speed is normally very fast on most SSD's. So generally it doesn't really matter for a media center, unless you want to write big files to the disk all the time.
(2013-05-22, 14:19)martindk Wrote: [ -> ] (2013-05-22, 06:29)Digital Vortex Wrote: [ -> ]I say 128 over 64, because with SSD typically the higher the capacity the faster the speed.
That is correct, but typically the slowness is only for write speeds, read speed is normally very fast on most SSD's. So generally it doesn't really matter for a media center, unless you want to write big files to the disk all the time.
TBH i just need it to boot the OS and some programs....Most of my stuff will be on my NAS which is pretty good as its a gigabit connection. Thanks for the advise.
64GB is enough for a Windows install. It will format to 58-59GB and after install you will have around 30GB left.
Hey Dougie, Thats great. Glad you are here, any advised on the build above? Does it look ok to you?
Yes, it looks good. My only concern would be heat/ventilation. You may have to experiment a bit, like if the temps are too high and the cooler is noisy, getting a new one or a fan, or replacing the power supply with a picoPSU, etc. I would try with what you have and then work from there.
Ok cool, thanks alot for the tips. Lets hope it works well!
Update us with photos of your build!
Will do mate!! Just waiting to get everything together and will post full pics and details! Thanks all for the input!!