- Mar 4, 2013
- 190
- 0
- 10,760
Hello all. We just cut the cord (canceled cable) and I need a HTPC for the living room TV.
Goals for the build:
- SFF to take up little room
- Fast boot time so I can power it off daily
- Blu-ray and hopefully Blu-ray 3d support
- Will stream from my tower or internet services (does not need local storage).
This is will be built from the ground up with all new parts. Since I am buying a motherboard I included a copy of Windows 8 (more on that in concerns). Here's my build thusfar:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks CPU: Intel Core i3-3225 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($132.90 @ Amazon) Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H77N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard ($104.55 @ SuperBiiz) Memory: G.Skill 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($30.99 @ Newegg) Storage: OCZ Agility 3 60GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($64.99 @ Newegg) Case: Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg) Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 400W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg) Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($56.23 @ Amazon) Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC) Total: $569.62 (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.) (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-06 18:26 EST-0500)
My concerns:
- Heat / noise
The Anandtech review indicates subpar cooling performance. I went with a modular PSU in order to reduce clutter. I need help picking out a better cooler since space is a premium in the small case. Also I was wondering if anyone knew of a way to get cross ventilation going since I will not be using a discreet GPU. I don't mind adding fans if I can get the noise down; however there is no mounting options on the other side of the case.
- 3d and Blu-Ray
Will the i3's 4000 graphics be enough to handle 3d blu-ray? Since heat is my main concern I wanted to stay away from the similar AMD A10. If Blu ray is not an option I will look into scaling down to a celeron in the $60 range and getting this Case:
Apex MI-008 Mini ITX Tower Case w/250W Power Supply ($49.20 @ Amazon)
I really like the MB in my build with the built in Dual Band N wireless and Bluetooth so I would keep that and the SSD but get cheaper RAM. Would the i3 build work in the APEX as well or would the cooling be worse?
Goals for the build:
- SFF to take up little room
- Fast boot time so I can power it off daily
- Blu-ray and hopefully Blu-ray 3d support
- Will stream from my tower or internet services (does not need local storage).
This is will be built from the ground up with all new parts. Since I am buying a motherboard I included a copy of Windows 8 (more on that in concerns). Here's my build thusfar:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks CPU: Intel Core i3-3225 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($132.90 @ Amazon) Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H77N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard ($104.55 @ SuperBiiz) Memory: G.Skill 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($30.99 @ Newegg) Storage: OCZ Agility 3 60GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($64.99 @ Newegg) Case: Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg) Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 400W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg) Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($56.23 @ Amazon) Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC) Total: $569.62 (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.) (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-06 18:26 EST-0500)
My concerns:
- Heat / noise
The Anandtech review indicates subpar cooling performance. I went with a modular PSU in order to reduce clutter. I need help picking out a better cooler since space is a premium in the small case. Also I was wondering if anyone knew of a way to get cross ventilation going since I will not be using a discreet GPU. I don't mind adding fans if I can get the noise down; however there is no mounting options on the other side of the case.
- 3d and Blu-Ray
Will the i3's 4000 graphics be enough to handle 3d blu-ray? Since heat is my main concern I wanted to stay away from the similar AMD A10. If Blu ray is not an option I will look into scaling down to a celeron in the $60 range and getting this Case:
Apex MI-008 Mini ITX Tower Case w/250W Power Supply ($49.20 @ Amazon)
I really like the MB in my build with the built in Dual Band N wireless and Bluetooth so I would keep that and the SSD but get cheaper RAM. Would the i3 build work in the APEX as well or would the cooling be worse?
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