HTPC spec check please

Kaelsin

Kaelsin

Kaelsin

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Joined
7 Aug 2009
Posts
333
Evening all,

I'm after some advice regarding a spec for a HTPC and hoping you can help.

I'm looking to build a HTPC which will be used for XBMC, streaming and watching HD (blu ray, mkv and 3D) movies.

The HTPC will be running windows 7 as I have a spare copy and i have a spare 1TB HDD.

I would ideally like to spend no more than £350.

Below is what i have in mind so far:

1cLXiAF.jpg



Regards,

Kaelsin
 
Kaelsin said:
Evening all,

I'm after some advice regarding a spec for a HTPC and hoping you can help.

I'm looking to build a HTPC which will be used for XBMC, streaming and watching HD (blu ray, mkv and 3D) movies.

The HTPC will be running windows 7 as I have a spare copy and i have a spare 1TB HDD.

I would ideally like to spend no more than £350.

Below is what i have in mind so far:


Regards,

Kaelsin
Click to expand...

Hi Kaelsin,

That micro-ATX motherboard will not fit in the Phenom mini-ITX chassis. So you will need to decide which size format to go with, first.

I've built a couple of Phenoms (mini ITX) recently, and you will need some way of powering the two case fans as they don't come with PSU molex connectors. They come with female connectors for 3-pin male connectors. To rely on the motherboard powering them (check how many fan connectors the mobo you choose will have) isn't always a good idea. The nice thing is that the 120mm fans it brings are very quiet on full 12v (and push a reasonable amount of air).
 
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Danny75 said:
Mini-ITX build:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-4130 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £83.99
1 x BitFenix Phenom Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black £69.95
1 x Asus H81I-Plus Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £68.99
1 x SanDisk Pulse 64GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - (SDSSDP-064G-G25) £44.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED34GM1600HC11DC01) £32.99
1 x SuperFlower Amazon 300W "80 Plus Bronze" Power Supply £29.99
1 x Akasa AK-CB001 Single PSU 4-pin Molex to 4 Fans (AK-CB001) £2.99
Total : £347.38 (includes shipping : £11.25).



Motherboard only brings two SATA cables, so if you'll be using a DVD or BluRay player, make sure to get a third cable.
Click to expand...


Thank you Danny75.

I should have realised the motherboard and case would not fit each other, that is what I get for changing cases at the last moment and not reading properely.
 
Kaelsin said:
Thank you Danny75.

I should have realised the motherboard and case would not fit each other, that is what I get for changing cases at the last moment and not reading properely.
Click to expand...

You're welcome. It can happen all too easily when messing about with baskets. :)
 
This could be the sort of spec where a APU is a better choice especially for playback.


YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD A8-6600K 3.90GHz (Socket FM2) APU Richland Quad Core Processor (AD660KWOHLBOX) £79.99
1 x BitFenix Phenom Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black £69.95
1 x TeamGroup Xtreem LV "Frost Edition" 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C10 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit £59.99
1 x Gigabyte F2A88XM-DS2 AMD A88X (Socket FM2+) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £46.99
1 x SanDisk Pulse 64GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - (SDSSDP-064G-G25) £44.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020058-UK) £37.99
1 x Akasa AK-CB001 Single PSU 4-pin Molex to 4 Fans (AK-CB001) £2.99
Total : £356.39 (includes shipping : £11.25).




Fast RAM as thats one thing APU's love.

The A8-7600 (Kaveri APU) hasn't been released on the site yet, its price point shouldnt be too far of the one in the spec above.
 
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