[Tossik]

Hey guys, I'm planning on building a htpc, I want it basic but I want it to play 1080p flawlessly. This is why I have so far. Let me know if this is good setup or bad, what changes would you make? Should I look for a dedicated nvidia card? Or the one in the cpu good enough?

Any help would be great.*

nMEDIAPC Black HTPC 6000B ATX Media Center / HTPC Case
-*$69.99

Intel Core i3-530 2.93GHz LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor
-$113.99

ASUS P7H55-M PRO Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
-$94.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
-$79.99

CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
-$69.99

Corsair Nova CSSD-V32GB2-BRKT 2.5" Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
-$78.99

Grand Total: $507.94

[ion_man]

Any ION mini-PC with 2GB RAM can play 1080p flawlessly, your system is a total overkill if you only use it for playing 1080p videos.

[Tossik]

Well I'm afraid that menues might lag in xbmc, I want it all very smooth... Maybe I'm just overthinking it..

[ion_man]

Trust me you are overthinking it, if you are afraid of menu lag, buy a SSD for the ION.

I have a Asus A3IONT-I mobo with 2x1GB 1066Mhz DDR3 RAM and a 4GB CF card as boot disk and there is no lag at all anywhere (and CF cards are still slower than SSDs), in fact XBMC feels faster than on my main PC which has a core2duo Intel cpu but uses a normal hard disk.

[poofyhairguy]

Seconded on the SSD. That is the trick to stop menu lag.

[maxinc]

I've got basically the same config (well different case and different brands of PSU and SSD). I don't think you'll notice and differences with 4GB ram over 2GB.

Overall, overkill or not, not a single issue with this combo.

[Tossik]

Ill probably go and try this setup out, Ill let you all know how it goes.

Thanks mates!

[poofyhairguy]

Pics please!!!

[modernninja]

Any ION mini-PC with 2GB RAM can play 1080p flawlessly, your system is a total overkill if you only use it for playing 1080p videos.

So I basically overkilled it, eh? To be honest though, it's really sweet to be able to play graphics intensive pc games on my 42" plasma...although, I only get to do that when the girlfriend is not around.