[_sel_]

Hi All,

New here, so please be gentle

Just built my first HTPC and just thought I should share the experience:

Case: SilverStone SST-LC17B (Black)
MB: Gigabyte GA-H55M-USB3
CPU: Intel Core i3 540
Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2
PSU: 650W Antec TruePower (was on special offer!)
SSD: 60GB Corsair Force F60
RAM: 4GB (2x2GB) Corsair XMS3 DDR3
HDD: 2x 2TB Samsung HD204UI/Z4
OS: Windows 7 (Only because I know it and am hopeless with Linux)
Remote: PS3 Remote (Already had it and an old bluetooth usb dongle)

Spent quite a while debating about going down the miniITX/Atom route, but in the end decided to future proof myself a bit and I wanted something to plan and build.

Overall, really pleased and no regrets with any of the components. The whole thing is virtually silent. You hear the slightest spin up from the HDD's when you first turn it on, but during operation you can't hear anything.

The case isn't the smallest, but it fits perfectly in my TV stand and does not look out of place.

Only have one slight issue with XBMC itself, I get corruptions on a few movies with DXVA2 enabled. With it off it works perfectly, so left it like that for now. CPU is still pretty low with it off. I could always put in a dedicate GPU I guess, but see the need right now.


Have lurked on here for a while and picked up some great tips, so many thanks to all the community.

XBMC is awesome!

[poofyhairguy]

Corruption is due to the terrorism that is Intel GPUs. Put a GT430 in that thing and it's futureproof.

Thanks for sharing.

[bmcclure937]

Doh! as poofy said, you forgot a decent GPU. Everything else looks solid. I personally do not have local storage for my HTPC because I use it strictly for streaming from my server!

[_sel_]

Thanks guys, from the research I read they said the Intel stuff was fine for video (ha! ha!). As I say, it all works fine - it is more that I feel like I am missing out somehow. Any particular GT430 you would recommend? My preference would be something as quiet as possible.

I was streaming originally, but my NAS was full and a major upgrade to that is a future project.

[eskro]

Galaxy GeForce GT430 1GB 128-bit DDR3 ($59.99 after mail-in rebate card )
.
.

[bmcclure937]

I personally liked the ASUS GT430 last week for $53 AR FS Newegg

[eskro]

I personally liked the ASUS GT430 last week for $53 AR FS Newegg

yeah that was a sweet deal!
this week that ASUS is $64.99 with Rebate + Free Shipping

[maxinc]

I have the same CPU and I see that the i3 GPU is a bit of a pain now that I have something to compare it to. I've ordered a fanless Zotac GT210 from amazon for about £35 to run some tests. As I'm not ready to switch to 3D yet, I could't justify the 430 which I would expect to get cheaper in the next 6-12 moths.

[eskro]

yeah well, depends on what you need...

GT210 cant bitstream DOLBY TRUE-HD and DTS-HD MASTER (on windows at least)...

For Linux there is some GT2xx support in the works... but its no there yet....