Mini-ITX HTPC

chippy08 · 29 Oct 2009 at 01:41

Hi guys what you think to this build Will the 120watt psu be enough to run it ok

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 LGA775 'Yorkfield' 2.33GHz 4MB-cache (1333FSB) Processor - Retail & FREE In Win BP655 Mini ITX Case

Zotac GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi Mini-ITX (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard [GF9300-D-E]

Kingston HyperX 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 8500C5 1066MHz Dual Channel (KHX8500D2K2/4G) [KHX8500D2K2/4G] Which i already have and also i have 500gig sata drive and DVD drive.

or should i get the Asrock Nvidia ION 330 1.60GHz Dual Core DDR2 System ?

chippy08 · 29 Oct 2009 at 14:06

Thanks guys i do want to try to keep electric cost down as my electric bill keeps going up but i think thats due to my recent upgrade to an 17 920 system. but i still want performance.
Im using the WDTV at the moment and im fed up of having to convert sound and inages to .iso so i want the beauty of being able to play anythink without the hassle.

chippy08 · 29 Oct 2009 at 18:41

Will the on board graphics be ok for hd playback or do i need to get a low profile graphics card ?

chippy08 · 29 Oct 2009 at 19:19

bigsharn said:
I'd try onboard ones out first, If you need a graphics card you can always buy one later (whereas if you buy it and don't need it you're out of ~£50)

Very true.

chippy08 · 29 Oct 2009 at 22:35

can someone confirm this board Zotac GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi Mini-ITX (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard [GF9300-D-E]
will take a qaud core processer as i read it the info below

Although the board is small you can install any Socket 775 processor, right up to a Core 2 Extreme.

chippy08 · 2 Nov 2009 at 02:38

cmndr_andi said:
I would definitely go for the zotac 9300/ e7200 option.

ION is low power and plays blu-rays and all - but if it runs into anything vaugly Hi-Def and non-GPU accelerated - it fails. This includes some video formats and all online videos (Iplayer/youtube/itv player etc.). HD online video specifically (like Iplayer HD) need a good amount of CPU grunt to get working - an ion can't cut it, a Core 2 Duo can.

Also, an ION board costs considerably more than the Zotac 9300 m-ITX s775 board.

I have gone for the qaud core offer with the free case but i might wait for the new Zotac GF9300 G-E before finishing the build.

chippy08 · 2 Nov 2009 at 11:37

Bonjour said:
Nice. Thanks for the info. I'll probably go with the e7200, possibly underclocked with an aftermarket hs to make it as quiet as possible. I'll probably replace the 8cm fan that's currently in the In Win case.

Any idea when the GF9300 G-E will likely be available?

Its already selling in america so i cant see it being long and as normal americans pay a lot less than us we always get ripped.