HTPC buying advice

marcus2704 · 17 May 2008 at 17:52

Ive pretty much decided that Ill be getting this silverstone case -

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-047-SV&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=1114

Reason being, I have (currently) 3 x 1TB drives with media stored on it, not including the OS, the case offers support for up to 6 x internal drives which should see me straight for a short while at least.

With that in mind, I need a mobo that not only fits the case but also can support (up to) 6 drives and my Core 2 Duo CPU.

Id also need to connect via VGA for now, but would also need HDMI connection too. Any recommendations that fit the bill?

jak731 · 17 May 2008 at 18:06

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Product Name Qty Price Line Total
OcUK Value IP35-S Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £44.99
(£52.86) £44.99
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Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 3450 Silence 512MB DDR2 TV-Out/DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail £29.99
(£35.24) £29.99
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as the MB and GPU

you will also need a DVI to VGA and a DVI to HDMI converter that may or may not be included with the graphics card

you also need the rest of the system

marcus2704 · 29 May 2008 at 16:29

Hi, many thanks for the advice.

Ive been looking since, and have decided to go with the Silverstone LC17 case.

Im also looking at this motherboard - Asus P5E-VM HDMI Intel G35 Micro-ATX (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard - as it offers onboard VGA, is HDCP compliant and also has 6 x SATA connections. It is more than the one you suggest though.

And this CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 2.53GHz (1066FSB) - Retail

I need advice on which PSU to buy though, ideally low noise and energy efficient but reasonably priced also. Any suggestions, and general comments about my existing choices?

james.miller · 29 May 2008 at 16:31

520w corsair HC. great psu's with a 5 year warranty, and it'll be quieter than the hard drives you put in the case.

marcus2704 · 29 May 2008 at 16:47

Any way I could get round spending £70+ on one, I was hoping for something around the £30 mark..? Sorry, I should have said that in the start.

james.miller · 29 May 2008 at 16:59

nope. dont skimp on the power supply, its the most important part of the system. if you're looking to put six TB drives in it, surely you can afford a decent psu.

fobose · 29 May 2008 at 17:15

I was looking at the 430w Seasonic S12II PSU for a HTPC I was specing. Its meant to be very quiet, not to mention the fact that the Corsair HX520 is meant to be a rebadge Seasonic PSU anyway?

Not bad for £45 although its not modular so bare that in mind.

james.miller · 29 May 2008 at 17:35

believe me in the lc17 you'll want a modular psu. there isnt a lot of space to work with between the psu and the first hard drive rack.

mine

corsairs are built by seasonic to better specifications

you dont have to get a 520w corsair, though it is one of the best. however you DONT want to get a cheap £30 psu regardless. just abotu anything from the seasonic range would be ok as long as it has a strong 12v rail.