I'm going to build an xbmc htpc for my sister and load it up with loads of content and get the Iplayer add on etc. The most tasking thing will be 1080p mkv files and would like a good skin like Aeon. It all needs to be under £400. Build I have so far is:
Celeron G540
MSI H61I-E35 (H61)
4gb DDR 1600
Silverstone Milo ML03
SapphireHD 6540
WD caviar green 2tb
This comes to 300 quid and then I will probably get a 90w Pico psu.
The questions I have are:
1) Do I really need the gfx card?
2) is there any situation (gfx card/no gfx card) that I wouldn't get sound over HDMI on this mobo?
3)is there a way to setup xbmc so all the artwork/thumbs etc get saved on a seperate ssd, as I would like to have a small ssd with Win7 on and all the artwork and have JUST my video content on the big hard drive. I'm under the impression this would speed up browsing through the library with covers etc a lot faster?
4) how small can u strip a Win7 install down to?
Thanks for any advice and let me know if I've overlooked anything. Cheers.
Celeron G540
MSI H61I-E35 (H61)
4gb DDR 1600
Silverstone Milo ML03
SapphireHD 6540
WD caviar green 2tb
This comes to 300 quid and then I will probably get a 90w Pico psu.
The questions I have are:
1) Do I really need the gfx card?
2) is there any situation (gfx card/no gfx card) that I wouldn't get sound over HDMI on this mobo?
3)is there a way to setup xbmc so all the artwork/thumbs etc get saved on a seperate ssd, as I would like to have a small ssd with Win7 on and all the artwork and have JUST my video content on the big hard drive. I'm under the impression this would speed up browsing through the library with covers etc a lot faster?
4) how small can u strip a Win7 install down to?
Thanks for any advice and let me know if I've overlooked anything. Cheers.
