Thoughts on this HTPC Setup?

[blindbug]

I have been researching for a while to get the best bang for my buck on a new HTPC setup. I would be using it in the living room for browsing, as a media backup to my (2) desktops and (2) laptops, for Netflix/Hulu/etc. and eventually as a DVR. Since this will be sitting under the TV, I hope that it can be quiet (hence, stock HDMI on the mobo instead of video card). The components I've picked out include:

CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 3.1Ghz Newegg Combo Price ($25 Discount):
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 w/ HDMI & Gigabit LAN $225 + $7 Shipping

RAM: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1333 (9-9-9-24) $49
HD: Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB SATA 3.0Gb $80
CASE: Silverstone GD04B Micro-ATX $80 + $5 Tax
DVD: LITE-ON iHAS124-04 DVD Burner $18 + $2 Shipping
PSU: Recycled Seasonic S12 500W $0
OS: Extra Key - Windows Home Premium $0
COOL: Stock CPU Cooler $0

Total: $466

Additional items I am interested in, but may hold out as future upgrade:
• TV Tuner Card (Any suggestions?)
• Keyboard/Mouse Remote (Any suggestions?)
• SSD as OS Drive (when I can snag a deal around $60-80)

I may buy parts of this now, and then pick up other stuff a little later (the 2TB hard drive, for instance is regularly on sale for $20 less than listed).

Thoughts?

 

[valve1138]

A tuner card depends on your provider.

 

[Joe S]

If you're concerned about noise I'd recommend a couple of things. An SSD and a decent CPU cooler. In my personal experience, my stock cooler definitely bothered me and was very noisy. Once I put in a decent cooler the whole system was a lot quieter. Other than these suggestions your build list looks pretty good to me.

 

[notarat]

I have been researching for a while to get the best bang for my buck on a new HTPC setup. I would be using it in the living room for browsing, as a media backup to my (2) desktops and (2) laptops, for Netflix/Hulu/etc. and eventually as a DVR. Since this will be sitting under the TV, I hope that it can be quiet (hence, stock HDMI on the mobo instead of video card). The components I've picked out include:

CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 3.1Ghz Newegg Combo Price ($25 Discount):
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 w/ HDMI & Gigabit LAN $225 + $7 Shipping

RAM: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1333 (9-9-9-24) $49
HD: Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB SATA 3.0Gb $80
CASE: Silverstone GD04B Micro-ATX $80 + $5 Tax
DVD: LITE-ON iHAS124-04 DVD Burner $18 + $2 Shipping
PSU: Recycled Seasonic S12 500W $0
OS: Extra Key - Windows Home Premium $0
COOL: Stock CPU Cooler $0

Total: $466

Additional items I am interested in, but may hold out as future upgrade:
• TV Tuner Card (Any suggestions?)
• Keyboard/Mouse Remote (Any suggestions?)
• SSD as OS Drive (when I can snag a deal around $60-80)

I may buy parts of this now, and then pick up other stuff a little later (the 2TB hard drive, for instance is regularly on sale for $20 less than listed).

Thoughts?

That's pretty much what I'm using. Differences are:

MSI motherboard
Regular GSKILL RAM
ABS Black Pearl Case
I don't trust the internal Intel Video so I have a passively cooled 6770.

HVR-1800 is a good internal TV Tuner/FM Tuner Card (I have one of these and a HVR-1600 in my other HTPC system)

USB-Based HVR-950 is a nice external one that I have used before.

I am using a Seasonic 520

Does a great job with no complaints

 

[blindbug]

Oh yeah, I would also use this to rip/encode DVDs to the drive. As far as backup from other devices are concerned, I am using Windows Live Sync to sync directly between all PCs in the LAN.

Also, would this setup do 1080p without issue?

A tuner card depends on your provider.

I am actually using an OTA antenna right now. Hence the emphasis is on Netflix/Hulu.

If you're concerned about noise I'd recommend a couple of things. An SSD and a decent CPU cooler.

I had a cooler on my list, and then decided to take it back off. I figure it's one of those things I could add if I decide it's too noisy. I opted for the larger case with the 120mm fans so that hopefully it will stay cool and not whine. What's the chance that this Cooler Master Hyper Cooler fitting in the Silverstone case? The case is tall, just not sure if it would.

That's pretty much what I'm using.
HVR-1800 is a good internal TV Tuner/FM Tuner Card

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll take a look at it.

 

[MrSmegzabush]

Of the 4 HTPC keyboards I own, the IOGear GKM561R is by car the best one I have used.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823176018

 

[tikiman2012]

If you can find a Ninja Mini Rev. B cooler, they are still pretty awesome.

 

[valve1138]

I'd recommend an HDHomerun for a tuner then.

 

[rivet62]

I had a cooler on my list, and then decided to take it back off. I figure it's one of those things I could add if I decide it's too noisy. I opted for the larger case with the 120mm fans so that hopefully it will stay cool and not whine. What's the chance that this Cooler Master Hyper Cooler fitting in the Silverstone case? The case is tall, just not sure if it would.

That cooler will definitely not fit if you include an optical drive in your build. In the GD04/GD05, the optical drive overhangs the CPU socket, so a low profile HSF is required. In mine, the stock Intel i3 heatsink fits, but anything much taller would not.

 

[Xonim]

CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 3.1Ghz Newegg Combo Price ($25 Discount)
Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 w/ HDMI & Gigabit LAN $225 + $7 Shipping

I'll get to this part later...

RAM: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1333 (9-9-9-24) $49

8 GB is way overkill for what uses you've stated. Save $23 and grab GSKILL's 4GB dual channel kit for $25.99. If you insist on 8GB, save $8 and grab the same kit in 8GB for $40.99.

HD: Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB SATA 3.0Gb $80

Go with the Samsung 2TB drive instead. They're faster, and go on sale frequently. Also, I HIGHLY recommend getting a SSD if you are going to use any sort of front-end in WMC like Media Browser or XBMC. It will make everything load so much faster, it's totally worth it. A 64 GB Crucial M4 is a great place to start. Avoid any OCZ drives and any Sandforce-based drives.

CASE: Silverstone GD04B Micro-ATX $80 + $5 Tax
DVD: LITE-ON iHAS124-04 DVD Burner $18 + $2 Shipping
PSU: Recycled Seasonic S12 500W $0
OS: Extra Key - Windows Home Premium $0
COOL: Stock CPU Cooler $0

Looks fine, though I'm not so sure on that case. It doesn't look like it has a lot of room for extra hard drives, which, based on what you say it will be used for, could limit how much you are able to store in this box.

Oh yeah, I would also use this to rip/encode DVDs to the drive. As far as backup from other devices are concerned, I am using Windows Live Sync to sync directly between all PCs in the LAN.

Also, would this setup do 1080p without issue?

1080p would not be an issue - the i3 2100 is more than capable of 1080p. That being said, I'm not sure what the point is of using a Z68 board with an i3 processor. The appeal of Z68 is basically a combination of the P67 and H67 chipsets - you get the onboard video with the overclocking and other "enthusiast" features of the P67 chipset. The i3 cannot be overclocked. You could save a bit by just going with a H67 board. Anyway, for better encoding performance, I would go with one of these two processors:

i5 2320 ($180 after promo code)
i5 2400 $190)

or, if for some reason you want to overclock this box, this one:

i5 2500K ($220)

For a motherboard, I would recommend any of these:

Biostar TH67B ($74.99 + FS)
MSI H67MA-E35 ($79.99 AR + $7.56 shipping)
Asus P8H67-M LE ($104.99 + $7.56 shipping)

or, again if you want to overclock with the Z68 platform, this one:

Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 ($114.99 + $7.56 shipping)
MSI Z68MA-ED55 ($129.99 AR + $7.56 shipping)

Personally, I would just go with the i5-2400 and one of the H67 boards if you are going to be doing a large amount of encoding. If it's just a couple encodes here or there and you don't care how long it takes, just pair the i3 2100 with any of the H67 boards, as Z68 is unnecessary. You save a few bucks and could use that toward a SSD.

Try the stock cooler first - I don't have any complaints about how loud mine is. If it's too loud, then explore other options.

 

[blindbug]

Lots of great advice, thanks man. I wish it would have came a bit sooner though, as I just purchased last night!

I ended up with:

CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 3.1Ghz
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 w/ HDMI & Gigabit LAN
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1333 (9-9-9-24)
HD: Hitachi CoolSpin 2TB SATA 3.0Gb
CASE: Silverstone GD04B Micro-ATX
DVD: LG GH22NS70 DVD Burner
PSU: Recycled Seasonic S12 500W
OS: Extra Key - Windows Home Premium
COOL: Stock CPU Cooler
KB: IOGEAR GKM561R Wireless Keyboard/Trackball

Total was $498, which leaves me a little bit left for sliding in a SSD and/or possibly a Tuner card. While I do say I am backing up to this system, the 2TB is more than enough for now (right now I am in at around 300-400 gigs of media to backup). I am going to try out the stock fan and if that doesn't work, there is a 90mm fan that I was eyeing that should fit the bill (and more importantly, the case).