nekon

Our current ATX HTPC is powered by an Athlon 64 X2 OC'd to 2.7GHz and a Radeon HD 4550 512MB w/HDMI out. It's a little noisy and too large but even it has trouble with HULU desktop in full screen. I'd prefer an AMD powered HTPC to utilize Hybrid Crossfire with my current 4550 but I cannot find a suitable mITX board. Besides that we've got Intel price drops coming up in January.. Plus there is a new ZOTAC GF9300 coming, the I-E.. We plan on running XBMC, MCE 7, Boxee, Hulu Desktop, DirecTV2PC, using our HDHRUN as a tuner, and utilizing our WHS as a media server.




$ 53.55 | CPU: Intel E5300 Dual-Core 2MB Cache AT80571PG0642ML (*10% off @ SuperBiiz)
$ 114.99 | MOBO: ZOTAC GF9300-G-E LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 9300 m-ITX (*After MIR @ NE)
$ 80.00 | RAM: OCZ Platinum 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 1150 (PC2-9200) OCZ2P1150LV4GK (*Used, thanks OCN!)
$ 00.00 | GPU: GIGABYTE GV-R455D3-512I Radeon HD 4550 512MB (Own)
$ 49.99 | DVD: LITE-ON Black 2MB Cache SATA Slot Load Slim CD/DVD Burner
$ 00.00 | SSD: OCZ Vertex Series 30GB 2.5" SATA II MLC OCZSSD2-1VTX30G (Own)
$ 00.00 | HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB (Own)
$ 94.99 | CASE: SILVERSTONE SG06-B Black Aluminum/SECC Mini-ITX (*After MIR @ Amazon)
$ 00.00 | PSU: SFX 300W with 80 PLUS certification Power Supply (Incuded w/Case)
$ 13.59 | H2O: CORSAIR CWCH50-1 HYDRO SERIES H50 Intel/AMD CPU Cooler (*After GC @ BB)
$ 00.00 | INPUT: Logitech diNovo Edge 2 Bluetooth Wireless Mini Keyboard (Own)
$ 00.00 | DSPLY: Samsung HL-S5087W 50" 1080P DLP (Own)

Estimated Build Total: $ 407.11


I've been using an old PC as an HTPC in our living room for some time now. We have it hooked up to a Samsung HL-S5087W 1080P DLP. I recently did a round of driver updates that have stopped me from being able to use a single display. Long story short I've been reading good things about the Dual-Core Atm 330s and I think it's time to make a dedicated box. This will not be the central media center as our bedroom sports a 7.1 surround system, Pioneer Elite 110, and PS3 among other things. The living room is simply where we entertain and relax with guests.


11/26/09 - Initial Post: Happy Turkey Day! TIA for any and all input.
12/26/09 - CASE: SilverStone SG06-B on the way, it was $94.99 after MIR from Amazon.
12/26/09 - H2O: I got a $50 BB gift card from Santa. Luckily BB dropped the price on the CWCH50-1 to $59.99 so I was OTD for $13.59
12/26/09 - CPU: I got a E5300 (AT80571PG0642ML with VT-x) @ SuperBiiz with a 10% off coupon.
12/27/09 - RAM: I got a great set of 2x2GB low latency 1.8V used from Bleached. Thanks OCN!
12/29/09 - Minor Update: Waiting on parts sucks.. First component photos posted.
12/30/09 - CASE: Case came in, I tore it down, and began testing fit & finish.

EvilGenius007

If you live near a Fry's you might be able to get the SSD for $60+tax after MIR. Have you found any source which indicates which controller it will be using?

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nekon

Sadly there isn't a Fry's in my whole state.. A deeper google search has uncovered the answers.. jitter results pending.



From what I read Phison makes entry level controllers found in ASUS eeepc and some intel classmate hardware. Phison advertises this series up to 240/200 R/W and says it has provisions for firmware updates.. Sounds promising but I'll wate for jitter results before I make a decision. At any rate it should be a good choice for an ION HTPC.

Source(s): http://www.servethehome.com/?p=206 | http://www.phison.com/English/Produc...D=125&SortID=3

nekon

I just updated the OP. I love Black Friday, I just picked up a 30GB Vertex for $99 after MIR!

http://www.overclock.net/online-deal...ml#post7756485

BlackHoleSun

Can't wait to see it all put together. The ION is a little underpowered thanks to the atom, but the GPU works incredibly well and is perfect for watching movies.

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#3160 LC9Z

nekon

OP updated with an optional build. My budget is set now that the holidays have passed. I'm ready to complete this build but I just cannot decide on a direction. I really like the idea of Mini-ITX + Atom but I just keep reading all the issues others are having with players and codecs. While improvements are being made I'm not looking to re-invent the wheel for this HTPC. I've seen nice results with the SG06-B and a Corsair H50.. Tell me what you guys think.. SG6ITX or 330ITX?

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BlackHoleSun

Well the Atom 330 will still not do full screen Hulu cleanly. I still have my atom board, and still don't really know what to do with it, but if I had a HDD I could probably use it as a low powered internet and music box for my workshop.

My HTPC, in my sig, uses the GF9300 G-E and it is great. GPU does get crazy hot though, and I have run into issues with my big shuriken not leaving me enough space to put a 40mm fan on the GPU sink, but overall it works very well.

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#3160 LC9Z

jlchavis0844

You'll need flash player 10.1 to do Hulu at full screen. It's not a PC power issue, it's just a crap version of flash that hulu uses (abc, NBC, CBS, Fox.coms have a different flash player that doesn't stutter with flash 10 at full screen). 10.1 makes fullscreen so much better.

nekon

Tomorrow the case should be here and the real work will begin. I've already got the H50 so I'll begin on the paint. The holidays are going to stretch this build out but I'll do my best to update the thread. The memory and sleeving supplies won't be here until early next week. The CPU is on the way but I still haven't purchased a motherboard yet. I can't decide if it's time to pull the trigger on a G-E or continue waiting for the new I-E revision. Anyhow here's what I have so far:





I appreciate that, I've got 10.1 beta 1 running on our current AMD powered HTPC but it still hogs resources. It's not a big deal now anyhow as we've decided to go 775.. Now I just can't wait to get started on this ITX Build.

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nekon

I was excited all day.. I thought more things would arrive but now I've got something to look forward to tomorrow.



Then I stripped it down



I'm not real happy with the finish from SilverStone.. kinda surprised the reviews didn't say anything about how poor it is. I'll live as this is an HTPC build, but I thought others should know.



I'm looking forward to paiting and sleeving this little beast



I wrapped up my night testing how I want to apply the Plastidip.. Normally I don't scuff the surface but I may do it this time. I also started test fitting the H50.



more to come in the following days

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