HTPC Build spec

pieplough

pieplough

pieplough

Soldato
Joined
15 Jul 2008
Posts
3,636
Location
Glasgow
Hi,

Did a few searches but couldnt really find all the info I was after so dont shout if this is the millionth thread on the subject! :p

Im speccing a HTPC for one of my close friends, so I want it to be a sweet wee machine.

His outline is "Small, quiet, fast, able to play blu-rays and HD content and cost less than £400". Gaming isnt really a requirement.

After some reading my spec is:

Silverstone SG05B Mini ITX case with 300w psu

An old E6320 from my last pc (unsure how much/if to charge for this?)

Zotac GF9300-I-E mobo

Either 4 or 2 gig ram.

And a Samsung spinpoint F3 1TB drive

So the questions i have are:

1. Are there any slim Blu Ray drives, ive seen a laptop one but it was £140.

2. Cpu cooler, the E6320 is a fantastic clocker so a modest 3ghz shouldnt be a problem?

3.4 or 2 gig ram?

4. Are the on-board graphics up to the job of playing HD content etc?

Appreciate any advice.

:)
 
jellybeard999 said:
Leave the cpu at stock (if anything lower the voltage), 2g of ram will be fine and get an ATi 5450.
Click to expand...

So its going to be toasty? :p

Hikari Kisugi said:
The GFX on a 9300 will happily decode any HTPC work. Won't play many games.
Click to expand...

Cool, glad to hear that as I do want to keep the price down as much as possible.

Also anyone know what HSF's will fit in the case?
 
pieplough said:
Also anyone know what HSF's will fit in the case?
Click to expand...

scythe big shuriken is your best bet, the tall gpu heatsink on the 9300 itx means hardly any decent coolers fit on it :(

the onboard gfx on the 9300 itx is fine for basic htpc duties as long as your not adding post processing effects and can handle bluray playback decently, can get hot though with minimal airflow, mine hit 90c in a lian li pc-q07b and now lives in a sugo sgo3
 
Last edited:
I'm running a 9300 in my HTPC, observations being:

- NB runs incredibly hot, so much so I had to bolt mod it to get the temps down. Even with that it idles at 60 degrees in an SG05 with the onboard GPU disabled.

- Getting into the BIOS is hit and miss, sometimes I have to unplug the KB and plug back into another USB port then power cycle.

- Board layout isn't so great either in the SG05, the PSU cables drop down from the top restricting the airflow through the case.

Personally given the choice again I'd plump for something else, that said I'd probably go i5 knowing what I know now and use the Gigabyte H55N.
 
Cheers, after some googling that is what I have settled on.

The only thing thats annoying me is the SG05 uses slim drives, my mate is demanding a Blu Ray drive so its the most expensive component on this build! Its £470 currently but he says hes ok with that, so will be ordering this week and probably building next weekend.

randal24 said:
I'm running a 9300 in my HTPC, observations being:

- NB runs incredibly hot, so much so I had to bolt mod it to get the temps down. Even with that it idles at 60 degrees in an SG05 with the onboard GPU disabled.

- Getting into the BIOS is hit and miss, sometimes I have to unplug the KB and plug back into another USB port then power cycle.

- Board layout isn't so great either in the SG05, the PSU cables drop down from the top restricting the airflow through the case.

Personally given the choice again I'd plump for something else, that said I'd probably go i5 knowing what I know now and use the Gigabyte H55N.
Click to expand...

Hmm, thats not so good to hear. Any other cases you would recomend?
 
sg03 if you can find one :) do you really need an itx case ? the sg03 is around a foot tall, has 2 x 120mm fans in the front to push air through the case and takes a regular dvd drive.

never had any problems getting into the bios on mine but it is nice to know that i'm not the only one that it runs hot with.
 
Last edited:
He dosent want a tower, if it was up to him it would be a standard HTPC style case but I want the case to have room for a GPU should he want/need to upgrade.

Are the high temps due to the SG05's airflow or is it just the mobo?
 
even in the sugo mine hits the mid 80's :(
i also have the g41 itx and that runs much cooler but i'm having trouble getting it to play blurays properly but i think that is an intel driver issue.

the sugo sg03 isn't exactly a tower, have you seen one in the flesh ?
i can take a pic of it next to the fractal r2 i have my main rig in atm to give you an idea of the size if you like can also pic it next to an htpc case for you
 
Last edited:
pieplough said:
Hmm, thats not so good to hear. Any other cases you would recomend?
Click to expand...

The SG05 is still a great case, sorry I should have clarified that. It's not the best design but given I've managed to get a 4ghz CPU, Corsair H50, 5770 and a 450w PSU into mine it's certainly no slouch. Admittedly I've had to remove a stack load of the internal metal work (i.e all of it).

chipps101 said:
never had any problems getting into the bios on mine but it is nice to know that i'm not the only one that it runs hot with.
Click to expand...

I'm starting to think that it's the DiNovo Edge that's causing me hassles but I haven't got a cabled USB keyboard to test, something on the list for a rainy day... It definitely runs far too hot, it's a woefully underspec'd cooler for what it's cooling. Also when you consider it's an ITX board that's destined to live in a small and pokey case it's not a great move on Zotac's part. I am tempted to W/C it though... :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom