Hi, I am building my first HTPC and after much reasearch I have come up with the following build. I want to use the system to watch streaming sports, Bluray and downloaded HD movies. I will not be using it to watch TV. Any comments or suggestions welcome.

Case » SilverStone Grandia GD04B
Power Supply» be quiet! Pure Power 430W ATX 2.3
Motherboard » Intel DH67BL, H67
CPU » Intel Socket 1155 Intel Core i5-2310, 4x 2.90GHz, tray (CM8062301043718)
Memory » Crucial DIMM kit 8GB PC3-10667R
Heatsink » Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev. B
Optical Drives » LiteOn iHOS104 4x BD-ROM

Any reason for the quad? For what you plan to use the machine for, you could use the much less expensive sandybridge celeron G530. Put the ~$130 savings toward a SSD .

Looks very similar to the the shopping list I've made for my htpc when I get the money. I second the Celeron or Pentium suggestion. You don't need that cpu for what your are suggesting. I only say Pentium to give yourself a little breathing room for inevitable mission-creep.

I also looked at the Grandia, but I actually prefer the Antec NSK2480 It seems much easier to build in.

+1 for going dual core and getting an SSD. You can go with 4GB of RAM, too - unless there is some memory intensive App. The rest look fine.

I have a NSK2400 (predecessor of the 2480), and although it is easy to build in, it is a rather deep case (16.3" / 414mm). The Grandia GD04 is much shallower (12.72" / 323mm). My NSK2400 hangs slightly off the back of my rack, the rear feet just barely on the shelf.

I would use the GD04 if building today, if I needed MATX and full-height PCI/e card compatibility. I think that with the eventual maturation of intel quicksync decoding, the era of the dedicated GPU is over. My next HTPC will be *much* smaller without the need for a dedicated GPU.

Thanks all for the replies. I am glad I posted here. I wouldn’t have any need for the Quad as won’t be multitasking much. I have only ever built gaming rigs in the past so I suppose I am a bit overzealous re the Processor and memory. I may also have another look at the case too as I am not going to put an additional graphics card and am not going to reuse my old ATX power supply as it is a bit much at 1000W!

I am thinking of reuse my WD VelociRaptor 3000HLFS from my now decommissioned gaming rig. Not as fast as a SSD but will do for now.


Revised Spec below.

Case » SilverStone Grandia GD04B
Power Supply» be quiet! Pure Power 430W ATX 2.3
Motherboard » Intel DH67BL, H67
CPU » Intel Celeron Dual-Core G530, 2x 2.40GHz, boxed (BX80623G530)
Memory » Crucial DIMM kit 8GB PC3-10667R
Heatsink » Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev.
HDD» WD VelociRaptor 3000HLFS

Guy's, I have been going around in circles regarding a low-profile chassis? I havent seen anything that would suit in the 'Case Basics & Recommendations' section on this site.

Anybody got any recommendations on a low-profile chassis?

Have a look at the Scythe Kozuti. It has been reviewed here at SPCR and it's extremely low, perfectly suited for your needs. If there's enough space, then perhaps consider a Arctic Cooling Alpine. It's very cheap (~10 USD) and your CPU shouldn't dissipate much heat which means that the AC Alpine can cope with the CPU quietly. The fan is very quiet btw!

Thanks Kuzzia. but I am actually finding it hard to pick the case. I have sort of shortlisted it down to one now.

Does anybody have the Lian Li PC-C39B? I like the fact that it comes with a remote control. Has anybody had experiences of this remote?

Not sure how quiet and/or capable that chassis would be at dissipating heat when relying on two 70mm fans.

Antec has several HTPC cases which include an IR sensor and remote.
http://www.antec.com/product.php?Per=5

I feel your pain! I don't know what it is, but very few HTPC cases appeal to me.

Have a look at Wesena's E6: http://www.wesena.co.uk/product.php/8/3/e6

My ideal case is the HD-Plex H5 ODD, except with the internal components flipped left/right. Given the HD-Plex cooling system, and the fact that most Intel LGA1155 ITX boards have the CPU socket next to the PCI slot, it makes sense to get that side of the motherboard as close to the case heatsink as possible. So, move the optical drive to the right side and mount the motherboard on the left. Offering this chassis in both orientations would make a LOT more motherboards compatible with their heat-pipe cooling system. Then again, who knows if/when this case will ever hit retail!