Choosing the right CPU & Motherboard (HTPC)

[Rsaeire]

I have a new HTPC build in the works, based around a Silverstone Grandia GD06B, that I want to be as quiet as possible; I only plan on having a CPU fan and up to three 120 mm case fans. I plan on buying a new passive GPU and increase the storage size, but I'm having serious trouble deciding on which platform to go for. I have a S775 Intel G31 microATX motherboard, Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2L, in my current HTPC, built around a Dell Vostro 200MT, and was thinking of simply reusing some of the existing components to make my new HTPC, however, it's not as easy as it seems; see below for my current and planned HTPC's components:

Current HTPC

• Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2L (motherboard)
• Intel Pentium E5300
• 2 GB of RAM (2 x 1 GB)
• ATI 3650
• Creative Audigy 2 ZS (PCI)
• Samsung Spinpoint HD103UI (1 TB)
• Samsung Spinpoint HD203WI (2 TB)
• LG CH08LS10 Blu-ray drive
• PSU (came with the Dell)

Planned HTPC

• Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2L (motherboard)
• Intel Pentium E5300
• 2 GB of RAM (2 x 1 GB)
• AMD 6450
• Asus Xonar DX (PCIe)
• SATA controller card (PCI)
• Samsung SpinPoint HD204UI (2 TB) (x4)
• LG CH08LS10 Blu-ray drive
• Silverstone FP33B (fan controller)
• Seasonic X-460FL (fanless PSU)

My planned usage of my HTPC will be watching 720p and 1080p content from four 2 TB HDDs and a Blu-ray drive. As such, I have a range of choices to make based on my requirements and the available ports on my current motherboard. I'll have six SATA devices in total; the four aforementioned HDDs and Blu-ray drive in addition to an SSD holding the OS. My current motherboard has four SATA ports, two PCIe slots, x1 and x16, and two PCI slots. In addition, I plan on buying a new sound card as I'm currently using a Creative PCI sound card from 2004 with virtually no configuration software available, so my 7.1 setup's speaker levels are all out whack. My options, as I see it, are as follows:

1. Stick with my G31 microATX motherboard and old PCI sound card and go with a PCIe SATA add-in card
2. Buy a S775 microATX motherboard that has 6 SATA ports
3. Buy a H67 or P67 SandyBridge microATX motherboard, Intel i3-2100T and 2/4 GB of DDR3 RAM
4. Wait for AMD to release their Llano based microATX motherboards and APUs

What I'd appreciate is for some of your opinions as I'm unsure of what the best approach would be.

[kuzzia]

No saying on your four alternatives..
But why have you chosen not to go with the WD Greens?? I doubt the Samsungs are more quiet than those from WD.

[Rsaeire]

From what I've read they have very similar acoustic performance so either would suffice. I tend to go for Samsung HDDs as I've had good experience with them over the years.

[Rsaeire]

I contacted Silverstone today, as I had some concern over the size of the PSU, Seasonic X-460, I wanted to use in my GD06B case and it turns out it's 10 mm too long. Now, that's not that long so I might have to do a bit of further research to see how close the PSU connectors will be to the 3.5" HDD bay; which is what restricts the size of allowable PSU to 150 mm in length.

[ces]

I contacted Silverstone today, as I had some concern over the size of the PSU, Seasonic X-460, I wanted to use in my GD06B case and it turns out it's 10 mm too long. Now, that's not that long so I might have to do a bit of further research to see how close the PSU connectors will be to the 3.5" HDD bay; which is what restricts the size of allowable PSU to 150 mm in length.

Take a look at the 300 watt FSP300-60GHS-R. It is an SFX that can mount as an ATX power supply. Check out the actual dimensions, b I would guess you will pick up 50mm or more in just that one dimension. You will also pick up about 20mm of additional headroom for your CPU heatsink.

Hey wait a minute... forget about length, isn't the Seasonic is way to fat to fit into a Sugo ITX case?

[Rsaeire]

Take a look at the 300 watt FSP300-60GHS-R. It is an SFX that can mount as an ATX power supply. Check out the actual dimensions, b I would guess you will pick up 50mm or more in just that one dimension. You will also pick up about 20mm of additional headroom for your CPU heatsink.

Hey wait a minute... forget about length, isn't the Seasonic is way to fat to fit into a Sugo ITX case?

I had a look at the FSP300-60GHS-R, but it's not modular which is something I'm really looking for in a PSU. I appreciate the suggestion all the same.

The GD06 is a Grandia case so it supports both mini-ATX and microATX. I already have the case so it's just a matter of finding the right PSU; which I thought I had. The Seasonic seems perfect as it's silent, given its lack of fan, and modular, which means cable management will be easier as a result. Given the GD06 has three 120 mm case fans, there should be enough airflow in the case too to allow a fanless PSU, so it's just the dimensions, or dimension given it's only the length that's the issue, that I now have to figure out.