Thinking of replacing my wd live with htpc

Matt_Hirst

Matt_Hirst

Matt_Hirst

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Been thinking of replacing my wd live with htpc for a while but finally getting round to doing it.

A few questions I have though:

Case wise I am thinking of the Antec ISK300-150 looks small and compact enough so as not to upset other half. What are peoples thoughts on this?

Motherhboard, Zotac H55, currently have an Intel mitx board, intel d945gclf2, but it doesn't have HDMI out onboard.

Cpu possibly an I3 or I5 - which would you guys reccomend?

Will the psu in the Antec case support a I3 or I5 or am I aiming too high?

Think thats enough for now.

regards,

Matt
 
Last edited:
Hi,

I couldn't comment on the case mate, but as for the cpu - I'd have thought an i3 is more than capable of playing back anything that you might want a htpc to be able to. There is certainly some overclocking headroom available should you find anytime in the future that its not fast enough.

With regards to the psu again, sorry I can't help you there but I'm a firm believer that you want a good 'heart' as such to power your system.

Hope this may be of some help!
 
Thanx for the reply.

Agree with what you have said just not sure there are many options with regard psu for the Antec case.

regards,

Matt
 
You'll be fine with an i3 (i5 is far too much grunt for a htpc with this amount of wattage available) in this build using the inbuilt gpu to output via HDMI.
It is afterall a htpc,it's a playback/media device.

You won't be able to upgrade that psu any further,cases this tiny are designed to work with low powered parts for playback/media duties and therefore work perectly in the ~150w envelope they were designed for.

If you are looking to game on it also you are going to have to look at moving up into Silverstone and and Lian-li's M-itx offerings.
 
Hi,

Perhaps as the guy above states, look at a different case that you can fit a well known psu in? If you're going to be trusting this thing to tick away, perhaps record tv and do other things while you're not at home its worthwhile having something that more than likely won't go 'hiper' on you!
 
Thanks for the replies.

Ideally I would like as small a case as possible, so what options are there - smaller the better.

regards,

Matt
 
I'd suggest not going i3 personally. By all accounts the driver and image quality is inferior to the nvidia or Ati alternatives.

If you went for an Athlon 'e' class (45W TDP) & a mobo with an integrated HD4200 or 9300 you would get equal or superior performance, equal or lower power usage and a lower price. Unless you have some special requirements you don't need all that CPU power anyway.

And if you plan on running XBMC Linux you must get an nvidia GPU (like the 9300).
 
iv recently done this (coming from a wdtv live) however i still havent set up the htpc yet!
it takes a lot more effort then you think. ok first my specs:

core2duo e4300
2gb c4 ram
8800gt 256mb
silverstone sg06 case
zotec mini atx mobo
320gb hdd
Scythe Shuriken CPU Cooler
win 7 with xbmc

i dont really see the point in going i3, you could get a 775 setup for cheaper if you look in the right places.
also be prepared for some right arsing about to set it all up properly....im still trying to get my head around xbmc and how to set it up properly!
 
To try to highlight my thinking or what I am doing:

Current Main Pc
Q9650
Tower case
8GB Ram
3TB storage

Fileserver
intel d945gclf2
Tower Case
1GB RAM
3TB storage

WdLive connected to TV

I was thinking of replacing the WDlive with a HTPC, just so I get a bit more functionality compared with the WDLive.

Idea was to replace the WDlive with a MITX solution, although I initially bought a 1156 MATX board for this job but then decidied I don't want such a big case to be stuck under the TV hence deciding on a MITX.

So new idea is to replace the intel d945gclf2 with the MATx board and an 1156 processor, initially going for an I3 processor, then in a month or two / when funds allow get the MITX board a I5 or I7 processor and put cpu into my Fileserver - possibly convert this to my main rig - and install MITX downstairs replacing the WD. Flog the Q9650 and replace with lowend dual core to act as a file server. Using the 1156 CPUs if anything fails I can swap things out for testing.

Regarding the AMD rig can someone give me a breakdown for a MB, CPU cost as against going Intel I3 for the MITX solution - I don't know anything about AMD.

One final question if I went the AMD route could I use 4GB of the DDR2 out of my main rig?

regards,

Matt
 
Hi

The am2+ boards are ddr2 afaik, and that was the appeal of an AM2 or 775 htpc for me, I've got 8 gigs of ddr2 that I could use in it to save some money. The quad core amd should be more than suitable for your needs and they have if required - usually much better onboard graphics!
 
tommytinkle said:
Hi,

Impressive spec for such a small psu! Does it generate much heat at all?
Click to expand...

Heres idle temps. It hits 65c load with LinX I think with a Noctua NH-C12P. Thats the only fan in the system.


idletemps.jpg
 
Hi,

Have you decided which direction you're going in yet? I'd have thought the i3 to be more than enough for your needs, but again as I previously said - you can get quad core amd for that kind of money!
 
I am just looking at the &&5 route, I already have 4GB RAM so this will save money short term.

Is the board to get the Zotac 9300-i-e?

Just need to work out which Socket 775 cou to use?

regards,

Matt
 
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