Silent HTPC components - What do you think?

Deezer · Post by **Deezer** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 3:04 pm

Hi All,

I'm about to build an HTPC and would appreciate any feedback before I go spending my hard earned money.
It will be used for watching/recording TV with a DVB-S card, Internet streamed tv/movies, blu-ray dvds, music and photos.
I don't play games on PC so this is an entertainment hub really. There will be 2 laptops to share the content of the drives.
After some research I have decided on the following:

Case: Zalman HD503
http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.a ... id=gsearch

M/B: Asus M4A78T-E
http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.a ... id=gsearch

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 905e
http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.a ... id=gsearch

HDD: 1TB Samsung SpinPoint F3 HD103SJ (Qty 2)
http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.a ... id=gsearch

RAM: 4GB Kingston Hyper-X 1333MHz DDR3 (2 x 2GB)
http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.a ... id=gsearch

PSU: 500W CoolerMaster Silent Pro
http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.a ... id=gsearch

Please give any comments good or bad.

Thanks,
Darren

swivelguy2 · Post by **swivelguy2** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 6:05 pm

I think that's more CPU than you really need. You could go with the lowest of the Athlon II X2s and be able to do all of your HTPC tasks with less heat and more money in your pocket.

hybrid2d4x4 · Post by **hybrid2d4x4** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 1:19 pm

To go a bit further then the above post, why a full ATX mobo? I take it you won't be using crossfire, and there are mATX boards with at least as many features at lower price/power consumption levels. One aside on AMD chipsets relating to HTPC use- they still do not support 8ch LPCM or HD Audio codec bitstreaming even in the most recent rehash (the 890GX). This limitation may not affect you, but just the same I hope you are aware of it....
Also, unless Zalman turned their ship around, don't expect the fans they use to be all that quiet, so be prepared to replace them.

I'm not familiar with the PSU you chose, but if they are available to you, I'd pick something from the SPCR's recommended list.

If you go ahead with the build around the Zalman case, can you provide feedback on the LCD display? Zalman's marketing ("ie: "latest DFSTN LCD") makes me think that they're using something different than the horrendous iMon LCD displays that the Antec Fusion cases use(d?).

Deezer · Post by **Deezer** » Sun Mar 07, 2010 7:47 am

Thanks guys. I really like the look of the case so I will stick with it. I'll do some more thinking about the rest. I just want something that will last for years without the need to upgrade.

Deezer · Post by **Deezer** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 4:10 am

I going round and round in circles now..... so dizzy!

How about these parts as a base to build from?
CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 405e
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H

Thanks,
Darren

andymcca · Post by **andymcca** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 2:02 pm

My 2 cents:
I agree with the above posts about using a 785G chipset uATX board and a Athlon II X2 chip or even a Sempron 140 (Regor with one core locked). I use the Sempron 140 and have had no problems, and it is super cheap. Not sure where to find these, though, since that site you linked seems somewhat limited in selection. I would give you Newegg links, but they don't ship to England, right?

Deezer wrote:CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 405e
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H

The 405e seems like an okay processor if you are really trying to limit your power consumption, but (at least in the USA) it seems overpriced for a step back in performance. The less expensive AM3 Athlon II X2 chips should do the job just fine. Most of your video will get decoded by the chipset, so the CPU will only be used fully if you are scanning for commercials or transcoding video. The motherboard is a good choice.