Spec Check

Greboth

Greboth

Greboth

Soldato
Joined
6 Aug 2010
Posts
5,796
Location
Birmingham
Afternoon all,

I know how these threads are loved so thought I would post one :D I am looking at building a low powered HTPC, will be used for streaming (iplayer, 4OD), DVD rips and Bluray rips (I use handbrake to reduce to 5Gb per film) and normal videos through XBMC.

I don't need, optical drive, keyboard/mouse, windows and budget is around £300, is this spec ok?

Case: Bitfenix Prodigy Mini ITX Cube Case
Mobo: ASRock H61M-ITX
CPU: i3 (sandybridge) 3.3 Ghz.
RAM: Kingston Blu 4Gb (2x2Gb) 1600MHz
PSU: Corsair Builder Series CX 430W
Fan: Bitfenix Spectre 230mm fan (to replace front 120mm)

Total: £283.92.

HDD: 1Tb 7200rpm Samsung (already own this)

I realise PSU is way overkill for the build but I have a lot of trust in corsair PSU's and the cheaper ones are only a few pounds so worth it I think.

Few questions though

I assume the i3 onboard graphics will be enough for video playback?
Is the standard i3 cooler quiet or is it worth getting a different cooler???

Finally, anything worth changing for a better / cheaper build?
 
Spec looks good.

Although for an extra £10 I would look at this PSU, it is much better quality than the corsair.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-020-SS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=2383

The on board i3 graphics are fine for 1080P play back, however there is an issue know as the 24P bug. You may want to look into getting a cheep 5450 or similar as these don't suffer from the problem.

Cooler wise you will be limited on size by the case. It may be worth trying the stock cooler and seeing what the noise is like and then deciding if you want to buy an aftermarket heatsink.
 
Thanks for that, I did not realise of the 24p problem, I shall add a 5450 to the shopping list. I did look at those PSUs but as there isn't any in stock I looked for another one, though come order time I will change if they are in stock.
 
Bit of a bump on this one as I have been thinking about it some more. If to avoid the 24p problem of sandbridge cpu's I will be running a gpu is it worth the extra for the i3 over something like the G620. I assume that both being sandybridge they are both going to power effecient?

Also GPU I was looking at is the MSI 5450 1Gb from reading reviews it seems this is good enough for htpc duties but double checking.
 
The original thinking was to run onboard graphics, leaving pci free for my capture card (though I don't know whether could be used for capture due to compression being on the fly) or a sound card. However the 24p problem that firefly linked to put me off doing that, though I don't have first hand of how noticeable it is. I suppose I could build it with i3 and if it is bad enough then £30 on a little gpu isn't too bad.

Edit: Just noticed you linked to ivybridge i3 not sandybridge. Haven't kept up with the cpu changes so correct me if I am wrong but ivybridge is a dieshrink of sandybridge? in which case the 24p problem would still exist.
 
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