I know many of you enjoy build posts, so I've put together a quick post regarding my latest build, a replacement for my old HTPC. This build will be mostly used for playing media from my NAS as well as streaming. I've left a little bit of a window open for some future light gaming if need be, but that's not much of a concern. Now for some details.
Parts
CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($129.50 @ Vuugo)
CPU Cooler: *Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Memory Express)
Motherboard: *Asus H87I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($112.00 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.65 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: OCZ ARC 100 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($35.00)
Case: Silverstone ML06B HTPC Case ($69.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: Silverstone 450W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply ($66.49 @ DirectCanada)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-R8 PWM 31.4 CFM 80mm Fan ($16.99 @ Memory Express)
Case Fan: *Noctua NF-S12A PWM 120mm Fan ($19.99 @ Memory Express)
Total: $544.60
As you can likely see, the above prices are in $CAD. The SSD price looks weird as it was one of those deals where a substantial rebate was being applied, which PC Partpicker wasn't considering, so I've updated it to provide a post-rebate price. At the time of ordering, I think the parts were actually a few dollars cheaper than $540.
Now for some build photos.
Parts 1: As you can see, I was a big Noctua fan for this build.
Parts 2: Case and SFX power supply
Noctua Fan: I can't get over the fantastic build quality of Noctua products and their packaging. Figured anyone who hasn't used them might find this interesting.
Silverstone ML06B HTPC Case internals: I was quite happy with the build quality and design of the ML06B. I chose this model as opposed to the baseline ML06 (reviewed on this site) to get the more attractive aluminum faceplate.
Motherboard with installed CPU and Noctua NH-L9i HSF:
Everything installed, cables organized: As you can see, lots of room for a basic HTPC build with plenty of room for airflow. If you look carefully you'll notice that I didn't even bother using the 120mm fan I had purchased. It would have been mounted directly over the CPU and frankly, would have been overkill. I'll just reuse it in another build.
All finished:
Findings
I've been using this machine for a couple of weeks now and I've got to say, I'm extremely happy. I'm able to control all the fans with Asus Fan Xpert 2 and have set up sensible profiles. While playing media, CPU utilization stays quite low, as such, temperatures stay low, and fans stay quiet. Even when the HTPC isn't playing any media, it's silent. I could have probably saved a little bit more money on the motherboard and CPU (ie, used a Pentium G3258) but in the end, I wanted more reliable parts and wished the machine to be more future proof (my last HTPC I used for over 6 years).
