first attempt at HTPC

[zooankski]

I have just started getting bits together to build my first HTPC which i intend to sit in the living room under the TV.
Main uses will be for music,films and viewing our photos although i may want to play the odd game once in a while but will most likely use onboard graphics to start with.
I have purchased the following so far-

Antec Fusion case
OCZ Agility 3 60GB 2.5" SATA-3 Solid State Hard Drive
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit

The next step is where i am struggling!. Initially i wanted to use a Foxconn Cinema II deluxe board but i have had no success in finding one. All i can find is a premium board without the sideport memory (for what that might be worth)
The reason fo choosing this board was good reviews and i fancied a change from Intel (using i7 in my main PC).
Based on my requirements does anyone have a suitable AM3 alternative in mind?
Failing that i guess i could go i3 and would have no idea at all of a board that would be a good recommendation and that others are using to good effect.
Any suggestions would be most appreciated!

 

[zooankski]

i have had a change of plan!, obviously i already have the componants mentioned above but have decided to go m itx or as small/quiet as possible! as i just do not have the room and don't need a gaming machine in the living room. I am concerned i might not get good blue ray/HD playback using one of the zacate boards. Does anyone have any experience of using one to play blue ray disks, stream media from another pc, display photos etc????, Also i think i am now stuck with some DDR3 i can't use unless of course i aim to underclock it but not sure that is possible?
Another option would be to find an 1156/1155 m itx board and an i3 i guess?

 

[Legion]

Intels HD2000 and 3000 gfx solutions still have issues with 24p content,i.e. it doesn't support the true 23.976 fps playback.
It displays 24 fps which results in frame dropping every now and again which is pretty dire.
This won't be fixed until Intels next architecture change.

Amd's Llano is due soon if you can wait another month or so.
This is perfectly suited to Htpc and casual gaming use all on the on-chip gfx with no downside.

 

[TheBiznes]

i have had a change of plan!, obviously i already have the componants mentioned above but have decided to go m itx or as small/quiet as possible! as i just do not have the room and don't need a gaming machine in the living room. I am concerned i might not get good blue ray/HD playback using one of the zacate boards. Does anyone have any experience of using one to play blue ray disks, stream media from another pc, display photos etc????, Also i think i am now stuck with some DDR3 i can't use unless of course i aim to underclock it but not sure that is possible?
Another option would be to find an 1156/1155 m itx board and an i3 i guess?

The Zacate boards are very good for your intended purpose. Although I haven't played blueray content i.e from a Blueray Disc. The Zacate is perfect for streaming though I have used one recently myself and it was perfect very smooth and I was very impressed. So much so that I was thinking of getting rid of the system I already have which is a normal sized PC.

The economical power usage also attracts. The only thing I would say in the one I tested it was a Gigabyte board and the fan on the cpu does make some noise this was in a Acase. I think if I do keep the unit i would remove this and mount a 120mm fan to cool the chip and case. Although it doesn't get very hot anyway.

The memory will be fine and in the BIOS you can actually raise the default to 1333 if you overclock a little which I did. Your memory shouldn't be a concern at all. The Zacate doesn't suffer for the 24p content as it doesn't have the same fault as the Intel chips do. I didn't test any 24P content though. it will run XMBC fine and do usual bowsing roles. It plays UTUBE and Iplayer smoothly too.

It's a great cheap PC better than an Acer Revo 3610 I tried which struggled to play HD conrtent like Avatar smoothly.

Honestly I was very impressed by the Zacate and would recommend it to anyone wanting a cheap HTPC system.

 

[Davedree]

The e350 can run blu-ray discs with no problems,

The only problems i've experienced has been trying to stream hd content on bbc iplayer it just overloads the cores at 90-100% and delivers unwatachable framerates but good quality audio.

Youtube 1080p works flawlessly though.