Aaron Ledger

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Definitely a good price.

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I am well aware of the “death star.” Every HDD manufacturer has had their share of lemons.

I’ve got a 2TB Hitachi Coolspin with no issues. I would not hesitate to try the 3TB either if I needed the storage.

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There are only 3 reviews listed for the product. That certainly isn’t enough to be statistically significant.

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The cost of using a higher wattage PSU than needed is power usage and a bit of extra heat though PSU cooling can remove this easily. 80Plus only guarantees that efficiency down to 20% load. Typically, efficiency takes a nose dive lower than 20%.

The OCZ I linked is fully capable of handling some good mid-range discrete GPUs like a GTX560 Ti.

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Personally, I wouldn’t pay for it in this case, but it will free up space more than a modular.

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That will be a very capable build. If you really want modular, you can also grab the OCZ ModXStream off of Newegg for $35 after rebate with code EMCKCJE26 right now. I have been using one for a year now and recommend it when it is at this price point. It is quiet. 500W for the PSU is of course total overkill for a system like this unless you plan to add a discrete GPU down the road.

EDIT: You could also use a PicoPSU. That would free up tons of room inside the case and take away any heat from the PSU.

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You’re looking at a TDP of 65W on the i3-2100 and 35W for the T-variant. TDP is theoretically how much heat may need to be eliminated when the part is under heavy load.

Since you’re considering a bit of a non-standard heat dissipation, you’ll definitely want to consider the T-variant. There is 35W G620T as well you may want to look at.

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The few extra GHz are not that important. The main things you lose with Pentium vs. i3 are Quick Sync and Hyper Threading. G620 or i3-2100 will both be very good citizens with respect to power even if they are not T-variants. If money isn’t an issue, spring for the i3, otherwise, you can get by with the Pentium. If you are doing commercial skip analysis, at least get i3, if not i5.

Places to skimp will be in memory and SATA3 if budget is an issue. You’ll benefit from an i3 more than an extra 4GB or SATA3 SSD.

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At this point, I would recommend against an Athlon system. A better choice would be to go with a SB Pentium G620 and Intel Media Series board like DH67BL or DH67GD. Pricing is about the same, maybe slightly higher on the Intel side. You’ll get a better experience though. The Intel NIC, BIOS, utilities and overall better board are worth the negligible additional cost.

Also, get at least a 60GB SSD.

What type of games do you care about playing? Do you suspect you’ll want to use a discrete GPU for gaming?

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I definitely recommend against trying to record to a network share. Do what phoneguyingph does with his WHS setup and let the program record to an internal HDD and then transfer the file to WHS.

Yes, you can first install the InfiniTV and driver, then you can insert the CableCARD at a later point in time.

If you’re interested, I have an Intel Gigabit CT PCIe card that I’m not using. I’ll sell it to you for a good price (cheaper than ebay) 🙂 Just PM me when and if you’re ready for it.

 

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Are you using the default Ceton configuration or are you also networking the InfiniTV?

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I’d like to learn a little more about the details of how this operates. I was not aware that there is a layer of air that essentially insulates the heatsink.

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I’ve seen a lot of comments on the harmony products.

Do all the harmony remotes all have MCE commands built in?

Yes. It’s a universal so it can control any device.

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I really like the IOGEAR GKM561R over the DiNovo Mini. It’s much less expensive and more functional. It is bigger, of course, but a great size for what it gives.

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Good choice, you’ll save yourself the most pain by going wired. Make sure to get CAT6 connectors and jacks if wiring it yourself.

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