First time HTPC builder.

wodgah · 9 Apr 2012 at 20:02

First time building a HTPC wanting to use it for XBMC.

Looked around and thought this might suit my needs.

It will be running thru an Onkyo SR606 and i want 1080p video with full DTS-HD sound.

I am looking at this so far.

AMD Llano A6 A3500 2.1GHz Socket FM1 3MB L2 Cache Retail Boxed Processor £55

Asrock A75M-HVS AMD A75 Socket FM1 5.1 Channel HD Audio mATX Motherboard £50

I need to find a small case with psu and i have some ram i can use in it.

What does anyone in the know think.

Thanks

wodgah · 10 Apr 2012 at 21:33

I will be totally honest i was looking at the antec 300 isk cases with the psu with them, i currently have a media streamer i have a spare ssd to use as a boot drive and with space to spare on it.

I would want to put 1 or 2 2tb drives in it if possible.

wodgah · 11 Apr 2012 at 00:03

I was planning on using XBMC on it, but havent looked a huge amount into it yet.

wodgah · 11 Apr 2012 at 11:12

I have a spare ssd i was going to use to run it off, but wanted to put at least 1 2tb drive in it, preferably 2.

Case i am undecided on but would prefer one that can fit comfortably on my tv stand where i am my av receiver/sky hd box/ blu ray player etc.

wodgah · 11 Apr 2012 at 20:57

Had a look at those cases and they are all well out of my budget, will have to rethink i guess

wodgah · 12 Apr 2012 at 23:15

My overall budget for the system sits at around £175 I believe.

I do have a SSD to run os etc on and i have 8gb of gskill sniper ram sitting about i realise this is massive overkill but selling it would mean about £30 id receive and by the time ive bought new ram etc it just seems like id be as well just using this.

I had pencilled in the llano 3500 and then ASROCK board so that leaves around the £70 mark for the case and PSU which I realise isnt a lot.

Are the antec cases bad ? as the 310 isk with the 150w PSU in seem to be around my price range and roughly the size I want.

wodgah · 13 Apr 2012 at 08:54

The board I am looking at is Mini-ITX as far as im aware, and as far as thew 3.5" drive thats my stumbling block I think. I have a 2tb drive ready to go in the build and i think thatd be fine for now just need to be able to fit one in!

Any reccomendations other than the antec ?

wodgah · 13 Apr 2012 at 11:00

Well again I am a novice with this but with the 3500 llano and as i wasnt going to use an optical drive with the antec case I thought I could buy a 5.25 to 3.5 drive bay adapter , they are about 6 pounds from maplin. Then i could mount the SSD for the OS and use windows on that and then the 2tb in the drive bay.

wodgah · 13 Apr 2012 at 20:40

Hmmm that does change things a bit then , seems i need to keep looking for a case then.

wodgah · 14 Apr 2012 at 12:09

Found a case i think may suit my needs its the Compucase 8K Mini ITX, OCUK do not sell this case sadly but i think it might be what im after and in my price range. It has 1 3.5" drive bay and i can easily use some velcro to fasten the ssd inside the case too. It comes with a 120w psu which im sure is enough for the 3500 llano but would love some feedback on what experienced HTPC builders think.

wodgah · 14 Apr 2012 at 19:01

Hmmm the inwin case is a good alternative, i hadnt seen that one so thanks for that.

I may make changes in the future and as and when finances allow but the inwin looks to be in my budget and comes with a psu i can use for now and then change in the future if i dont like the noise.

Thanks