Hi, I've decided to take the plunge with my second build, but am not so confident and would appreciate some help choosing components Budget: around £400 Parts required: everything Storage requirements: only for the OS - all media will be streamed over the LAN. No disc drive - although I might add a blu-ray drive later. I'm not planning on storing anything permanently on the computer, so quietness is the priority here. Any motherboard requirements: HDMI Do you have any special requirements? I would obviously like it to run as quietly as possible.. not so bothered about power consumption. So far I've only come up with a rough case and (very rough) choice of CPU. The main reason for me posting is to get some advice on the CPU and motherboard - I'm not sure what I need concerning the former, and neither hugely familiar with sandy bridge nor the various mobo chipsets. Can anyone recommend a combination based around: CPU - must be able to output full HD (possibly 3D in the future) video and surround sound to HDTV, ideally on its own without any expansion cards. Some guides (eg. http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/quick-reference-guide-to-intel-processor-graphics/) suggest an i3 will be fine, but I'll move up to an i5 if necessary. Motherboard - hdmi port - that's it. Would also be nice if the CPU fitted... Thanks for any suggestions
Have a look at amds new llanlo CPUs and mobos and I couldn't open your case link but I would say for quietness a fractal design mini. A 64gb crucial m4 would be a good os drive. Edit: forgot to say that the igp in the llanlo CPUs are better than theyre SB counterparts.
Thanks for the suggestions - I'll have a look at the cpu. Ideally I want a 'flatter' HTPC case to fit under the tv.. but can't help noticing the normal tower ones are far cheaper :/
Do you need a monitor/tv in that budget peripherals like speakers, mouse/KB? I presume not as it makes the budgeting easier. CPU: That i3 2100 is a great HTPC CPU. You can get cheaper ones that work just as well, such as the Pentium G620. Dont let the name fool you, its a sandybridge but scaled back speeds than the i3. Will still handle HTPC use without breaking a sweat. Both have very low idle power and can be cooled with almost no effort quietly. Theres a few model that go up in price to about £70, but really you dont need any extra speed. £53 Board: Cheapest compatible board is the H61 boards. Again they lack features of their bigger brothers but they are features you wont ever need in a HTPC and would just be wasting money on. MSI do one with HDMI, gigabit LAN and even some USB 3.0 ports in case they are ever needed for just £55. RAM: I see no reason not to get 4GB right now, RAM is cheap at twice the price right now. I always like Corsair, and a single 4GB DIMM is just £27 right now. PSU: The corsair 430CX is a very able (or any in the CX series), reliable and recommended power supply. Dont worry about the wattage. Get a good brand (corsair, enermax, Antec all good choices) and she'll keep you ticking over. Your system will likely never use more than 100w anyway so the lower your rated wattage the marginally more efficient it will be. You could gt adventurous and run it off a 120w PicoPSU but they require a power brick and although are deadly efficient (i use one in my fileserver) arent for everybody's needs. The corsair sets you back £32 HDD: Since you only need a drive to house OS and media programs i would suggest a 2.5" HDD. SSD's are pricey even in the very small capacities needed, and dont save any meaningful power over 2.5" HDD's. A WD 120GB 5400rpm sets you back £24. You dont need more capacity, or speed, and this is the cheapest 2.5" drive i can find. If you go with that case (seems nice enough, its mostly a matter of opinion once you find the right size case you need then you'll want some 80mm fans. It seems that case has a row of up to 4x 80mm fans along the right hand side. It will cool fine with just 1 or 2 (your board has 3 fan headers so 1 for CPU 2 for case). These Antec ones which are included in most Antec cases are pretty good, they have a switch to set speed to high medium or low. Set them all to low and forget them (leave a few inches on that side of the case though to stop turbulance and provide breathing room). £9 for 2. Make sure you have a SATA cable lying around for the HDD and an ethernet cable, shouldnt need anything else. Total (with case, minus OS) is just £229 plus delivery. Add windows to that if you need to. You can spend more, but if you are using it as purely an HTPC you dont need to. It will do its job easily and quietly.
Wow... just wow. That's exactly the kind of post I was hoping for.. good assumption about the TV and happily Ubuntu is free £170 under budget and it's all from Scan... definitely have yourself some rep
