feedback requested for my htpc parts list

[TheShanMan]

I think I am about ready to order parts and build my htpc. I will be using it primarily as a dvr for OTA (we just ditched directv), for watching archived video, and for watching streaming internet content. I may occasionally also stream video [i]from[/i] the htpc to 1 or 2 other tv’s in the house. I plan to use Windows 7 MC, although I’m also curious about Media Portal. I figure I can try that after I’ve used W7MC for a while. I’m not planning to use it for gaming and any other uses would strictly be secondary, so my goal is for it to be quiet and relatively low power, and as low cost as possible.

Case: Antec MicroFusion Remote 350 (wish I had a bit more room but depth is a limiting factor and it looks like I can set an SSD drive for the OS “unmounted” right above the HDD).

Drives: 64GB SSD, 1TB 7200 HDD (I don’t have anything specifically selected, I don’t imagine there are any critical things to consider here beyond the specs I just listed).

Motherboard: Intel DH67BL (seems to be an optimal Intel choice for htpc and I can get a significant discount on Intel stuff through a friend so unless there is a really compelling reason not to choose Intel, I will).

Processor: Intel G620 (same reason).

Memory: 2 2GB ddr3 1333.

Tuner: Hauppauge HVR-2250.

I will also pick up a wireless keyboard and mouse.

As this is my first htpc build, I am open to constructive feedback. Of all the items listed I did the most research on alternatives to the case I chose so while I’m open to other suggestions in case I missed one that’s perfect, I’m more interested in feedback on the rest.

[Aaron Ledger]

That should be a system capable of what you are planning. Considering the recent price of memory, you might want to go for 2x4GB of RAM. We’re seeing prices for 8GB kits at $40 or less w/o rebates now. If you go check our hot deals forum, you will see what some of the deals have been for past few weeks.

You may also want to consider a larger size storage drive considering you will not have much room to add new storage internally. Of course, your use case will be the deciding factor here. If you don’t archive much, it won’t be required.

[TheShanMan]

Yes, I actually was originally thinking 8gb and 1.5tb but when I started adding up all the costs I wanted to cut back somewhere. It didn’t cut [i]that[/i] much off the total but at the same time I don’t want to pay for performance that won’t really benefit me. I haven’t checked out the hot deals forum yet so I will do that! As for the hard drive space, it’s hard for me to predict because we are in such a paradigm shift going from directv (with dvr) and only playing movies via optical drive and streaming, with a very small amount of playing local content. Time will tell how much our usage will change. I’m sure it will quite a bit. But I figure I can always add a bigger hard drive later and donate the 1tb to another system in the house (1 server, 4 workstations), or archive some stuff on the server as we do now. I also forgot to mention that for the moment, I’m not going to add an optical drive because we’ve got a dedicated bluray player that we’re happy with and that’ll help keep the cost down. Ultimately I’m sure we will though, and the dedicated player will be donated to another room.

So are you agreeing only that this system will perform well or also that it will be relatively low power and therefore require minimal cooling (I actually wonder if running both of the fans in the mobo compartment will be necessary)? I’m probably not as much of a stickler for dead silence as some people here, but certainly the quieter the better!

I appreciate the feedback. Thank you!

[Aaron Ledger]

Yes, I think you will have a fine system for what you want to do. It will be low power and cool. I’ve got 4 systems running off DH67BL boards and I am extremely satisfied with their stability, quality and power usage.

[TheShanMan]

Awesome. Thanks for the validation!

[TheShanMan]

Turns out my friend can’t get a discount on [i]all[/i] the intel stuff, so he suggested an i5-2500 in place of the g620 which through him won’t be much more expensive than a g620 from newegg. How would the i5-2500 compare to the g620 in terms of power usage/cooling requirements? For the sake of comparison I should probably assume that I’d underclock the i5 for similar performance. The nice thing would be the ability to ramp up the clock if I find it necessary down the line. But I also don’t want to pay a bit more if I won’t see any benefit in everyday htpc use if it also will consume significantly more power and require more (noisier) cooling.

Also, he can only get a 20gb ssd or a 120gb, and the discounts aren’t that great. I’m thinking I’ll feel confined by the 20gb as an OS drive (win7) even though I’m not planning to load it up with a ton of apps or anything. Agree or disagree?

Once again, the feedback is greatly appreciated!

[mikinho]

[quote=TheShanMan]

Also, he can only get a 20gb ssd or a 120gb, and the discounts aren’t that great. I’m thinking I’ll feel confined by the 20gb as an OS drive (win7) even though I’m not planning to load it up with a ton of apps or anything. Agree or disagree?

Once again, the feedback is greatly appreciated!

[/quote]

The 20GB is definitely not enough.  I don’t even like using below 64GB though 40GB is manageable if you clean up the SSD frequently.  The 20GB is meant to be used w/ the Z68 as a caching drive.

[Aaron Ledger]

Like Michael said, 20GB is way too small. 60GB should be your minimum size especially considering that they often are going on sale now for $1 per GB or less.

As far as power, I recently measured the DH67BL w/ Core i5-2500k, NVIDIA GTX 560 Ti, 1 SSD, 1 7200RPM drive using a 750W PSU at 59W idle. You should be able to trounce that with a more appropriately sized PSU and just using the integrated Core i5 IPG.

[TheShanMan]

Thanks a bunch guys. Guess it doesn’t make much sense to go with the g620 then. And it looks like my hunch was correct so I’ll definitely go with a bigger ssd. Can’t wait to get this system built since we’ve been sans directv for 1.5 weeks and no dvr is killing us. 😉

[Aaron Ledger]

I’m not sure what the DirecTV DVR draws power-wise, but it is probably similar or even more than the Cable STB I had recently that was a receiver only. It drew about 20W all the time, even in standby. The DirecTV receiver will stay locked to the carriers even in standby so it is probably consuming something similar or more.

With your HTPC, you can let it sleep where it will only consume a couple watts so you may even be better off than you were with DTV in terms of power consumption.

[Author]

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