Which Of These 2 HTPC/Media Centre Builds?

lettuce · 5 Dec 2009 at 14:17

Am going to build a media centre PC to go under my LCD TV, for the main purpose of HD video playback and possibly some flash games and emulation. I am undecided as which route to go down, all in 1 mini atx mobo or small form factor setup, these are 2 builds im mulling over...

OR

Now i know the 2nd build is a fair bit more than the first, but what sort of performace could i expect from the 1st build, would it be sluggish in Windows 7 and search through my video library. Ive also seen on other sites mini atx mobos that have wireless built in aswell, so im think for opting for 1 of them as i can then transfer my files easley.

Am i right in thinking that all these mini atx mobos all have the same intergrated gfx? I know some of them state different audio 5.1 to 7.1 etc, but if i have them connected via just a HDMI cable to my A/V amp, will i get DD 5.1 from them or just PLII??

bigsharn · 5 Dec 2009 at 15:18

Zotac Geforce 9300 mITX Wifi
E5300/E7400
Samsung F3 1Tb (if you can find one)
Whatever case
4670/9600GT
Any Antec/Corsair/Be Quiet PSU above say 350w

Should sort you out

Not all mITX boards have the same integrated graphics, you get the ION motherboards and the intel 945 chipset ones (Just look for ION in the name, that usually gives it away). There's also the 9300 Wifi, that I mentioned, which uses Geforce's 9300 integrated graphics

Deleted member 77746 · 5 Dec 2009 at 15:23

Save yourself £200. The first build will do exactly what you want with no issues what so ever.

wakayoda · 5 Dec 2009 at 15:26

should be fine might stutter with a sound card, get the slot loading blu ray its cheaper and looks better

icysniper · 5 Dec 2009 at 16:21

why not just get a ps3???? as it plays blu-rays and virtually every file format

lettuce · 6 Dec 2009 at 12:27

bigsharn said:
Zotac Geforce 9300 mITX Wifi
E5300/E7400
Samsung F3 1Tb (if you can find one)
Whatever case
4670/9600GT
Any Antec/Corsair/Be Quiet PSU above say 350w

Should sort you out

Not all mITX boards have the same integrated graphics, you get the ION motherboards and the intel 945 chipset ones (Just look for ION in the name, that usually gives it away). There's also the 9300 Wifi, that I mentioned, which uses Geforce's 9300 integrated graphics

Do you think the onboard 9300 would be man enough for 1080p play back etc? Also how does the Geforce 9300 mITX Wifi handle audio, does it has DD Live of sorts, can i get DD 5.1 etc over the HDMI on this mobo?

bigsharn · 6 Dec 2009 at 14:24

the 9300 should play 1080p with no problems, as for audio I have no idea, I still use Realtek because that's how much I care

I'm guessing you'll be able to get HDMI audio but I'd check