So the current production box passed it's 5th birthday last fall, and despite a few minor updates and replacements over the years (RAM, HD, capture devices, fans, ...) it's starting to get a bit long in the tooth.

The old FX5200 card and AGP bus don't give me any VDPAU options, can be fussy about driver versions, and sometimes are a bit strained to play full screen max res video. The CPU is also just a touch underpowered, and when playing 1080i video or full screen flash content without acceleration it can be right on the ragged edge, especially if something else (like commercial flagging) is happening at the same time. While they can generally be made to work, constantly fiddling with software versions and settings to keep things running smoothly is getting old.

As a result I'm looking at a major hardware refresh to bring in a faster CPU, a modern PCIe video card, and a HTPC case so it can sit inside the TV stand rather than next to it. Goals of the build are, enhanced capabilities, run cool and quiet, keep the costs down, keep the parts as standard as possible so replacements are simple.

So far the parts list looks like this...

Basics:
I'm pretty settled on these. After looking at Intel MoBos and CPUs the costs and power dissipation were both too high. You can get cheap Intel CPUs with enough horse power and 45W Intel CPUs that are plenty fast, but it seems to be an either/or situation. Atom doesn't have enough juice to decode and playback at full 1920x1080 all by itself, and I'd really like to have that option.

$ 42.99 powersupply SeaSonic SS-350ET Bronze 350W ATX12V V2.31
$ 64.99 motherboard GIGABYTE GA-MA78LMT-S2 AM3 AMD 760G Micro ATX
$ 25.99 memory Kingston HyperX 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 - KHX1600C9AD3/2G
$ 18.99 dvd burner ASUS Black 24X

Case options:
I like the Silverstone case on a number of counts, but it seriosly limits your CPU cooler options if you want to install a DVD drive inside.

$117.99 case Antec NSK2480
$ 99.99 case Silverstone GD05B

Processor options:
I suspect the cheapest processor here is fast enough to do the job, but more headroom is always nice.

$ 62.99 processor Athlon II X2 255 Regor 3.1GHz 65W - ADX255OCGMBOX
$ 69.99 processor Athlon II X2 260 Regor 3.2GHz 65W - ADX260OCGMBOX
$ 74.99 processor Athlon II X2 265 Regor 3.3GHz 65W - ADX265OCGMBOX

Heatsink options:
Main minus with the Big Shuriken is installation difficulties. It has a serious overhang with very little finger room underneath. The Cobra looks a bit less fiddly, but won't fit with an optical drive in the GD05.

$ 34.99 heatsink Scythe Big Shuriken SCBSK-1000
$ 37.99 heatsink XIGMATEK Cobra D984 (NSK2480 only)

Videocard options:
I'm really like a GT220 or better, but also don't want a fan if at all possible. I could re-purpose the current GT430 Silent in my home workstation but strongly suspect the the heat sink is just too tall.

$ 38.99 video card ASUS EN210 SILENT/DI/512MD2(LP)
$ 44.99 video card ASUS EN210 SILENT/DI/1GD3/V2(LP)
$ 64.99 video card Galaxy 43GGS8HX3SPZ GT 430 1GB 128-bit DDR3
$ 69.99 video card ASUS ENGT430/DI/1GD3(LP)

Has anybody tried any of these and found they came up short?

Are you wed to AMD processors/chipsets?

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Retired KM user (R4 - R6.04); friend to LH users.

I have the Antec NSK2480 case and have been very happy with it. I would recommend you hold off on purchasing the Seasonic power supply if you go this route as the Antec supplied power supply is very quite. You could always swap it out later for the Seasonic if it bothers you.

I painted the front plastic flat black to match my receiver and it looks great in the entertainment center. It's a well designed case with LOTS of room. Being able to mount an optical drive, two hard drives, full height cards, and a mini ATX motherboard is really nice and allows for a great deal of flexibility. Obviously the trade off is size and this would be quite large (by today's standards) for a FE only machine but for the main FE/BE machine it's been perfect for me.

Martian

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ABIT NF-M2 nView | Athlon 64 X2 3800+ | 2GB DDR2 800 | HDHomerun | GeForce 6150 (onboard) | WD 640 GB SATA HD | DVD-RW (sata) | StreamZap IR receiver with Logitech Harmony remote

Vizio 37" LCD HDTV (1080p)

No, my last two builds were both AMD, but that was just the way the math looked. I really want to keep a lid on the power usage and heat (thus the 65W parts), but to get the same performance and efficiency on the Intel side it was nearly double the price for the CPU + MoBo. I'd be delighted to see a good alternative.

SPCR had a recent article that had me looking very hard at the i3-2100, but the price and lack of socket 1155 MoBo options killed that idea. http://www.silentpcreview.com/i3-2100-x2-565

Stepping back to socket 1156:

$119.99 - Intel Core i3-540 Clarkdale 3.06GHz 4MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 73W

and $80-100 for an equivalent MoBo.which is a big price bump. Maybe I'm just not looking far enough down the Intel price list....

How many pci slots do you need for tuners?

None- if you use HDHRs ......

I think you've done a good job of narrowing these down. I agree with Martian in regards to PSU. I have the Antec Fusion Black (black panel version of what I think you've selected) and it is extremely quiet and very well compartmentalized for heat management.

I personally went down the Intel route and use an integrated board that has the onboard NVidia 9300. My CPU is a Core2 Duo. General overkill but my rationale was like yours in that I wanted flexibility. However I don't think I have used that flexibility in the last two years!

Power consumption was less of an issue for me as my front ends are always powered off when not in use. With the Duo in it, the system boots quite quickly. And with the built in iMon receiver in the Antec case, it powers on and off with my remote.

My backend runs virtualized on a server that I have powered 24/7 and which does all 24/7 based activity. Eg. file share, web server, email, Zoneminder, etc...

At least one, but two would be better. Especially since the graphics cards tend to intrude on the adjacent slot.


Yeah, the current production box is an Antec tower with an Antec PS. It's never bothered me much, but it's definitely a shade louder than Seasonic in my WS.


What socket/generation? The Wolfdale LGA 775 parts are roughly in the ball park on price, power and performance, but they're still a bit more $ for the low end socket which is a bit behind the AMD Regor on heat and throughput. I'd be more interested in something LGA 1156 but the i3 Clarkdale starts around $120.

I'll have to do the pricing exercise on the i3-540 and i3-550 all the way out see how big a difference it ends as on the bottom line. Intel was actually the first choice when I started looking at this project, but there seemed to be such a hefty premium attached that it scared me off.

I have five antec cases with stock power supplies. Three Sonata IIIs, a high end tower (for the server) and the Fusion Black. The Fusion Black is very quiet compared to the others and that is saying something with Antec. The case itself has two slow turning fans side by side to keep things cool. But hey, you can always sub in the Seasonic of you need it and redeploy the Antec PSU. Chances are you will need it sometime in the future for another system or you can sell it.


LGA 775 and the board I use on this and another front end is the ASUS P5N7A-VM. A nice bonus is the board integrates the audio onto the HDMI directly so you only end up with one cable to the TV and no external bridging.

I run it with 2GB of memory where the 9300 uses 512MB of it.

OK, going Intel the only real changes end up with the CPU + MoBo

$ 79.99 GIGABYTE GA-H55M-S2V LGA 1156
$119.99 i3-540 Clarkdale 3.06GHz LGA 1156 73W BX80616I3540

The MoBo takes the same DDR3 spec as the GA-MA78LMT-S2 so those are the only changes, for an increase of $72 over the original roughly $400. That *does* gain a more powerful and efficient CPU, 2 SATA ports, 1 PS2 port, and loses the legacy PATA and FDD ports.

Anybody have experience + or - with the Asus GT210 Silent video cards?

The NSK2480 is ~$130 at MicroCenter, Newegg would be the same once shipping is figured in, the Silverstone seems to be mail order only at the moment.

Like the i3, the NSK was my first choice, but the PS was only OK, and it was out of stock at NewEgg.

So here is what I ended up ordering:

Even with S&H and sales tax added in it's still under $500. I looked really hard at the Intel options but just couldn't justify the extra $ for an equivalent Intel CPU and motherboard. On the other hand the HD got added to the original parts list so that I didn't have to disable the current production box to get this assembled and tested, and because spares are good.

I've already got the NSK2480 in hand, and it's a very slick case with all sorts of nice little touches for building a quiet machine with tidy wiring and good airflow. Everything about it seems very thought out and designed to make working on it easier.

For reference my frontends that are based on the ASUS P5N7A-VM with Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM, small hard drive and Fusion Black came in under $500. But I only use the stock fan which was already very quiet for me.

I think the key difference is the savings of the integrated Nvidia 9300 offsets the Intel premium.

Box is mostly assembled (still waiting for the hard disk) and being bench tested with the install CD. So far so good. I can already tell that I'll have to tame some of the fans The PS fan is making an annoying ball bearing sound, the rest seem smooth but with a bit too much "whoosh".

The "damn I hope that's going to work out" moment was provided by the heatsink on the video card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121422) which not only takes up two slots as expected, but comes nerve rackingly close to the third. I'll be annoyed and either returning it or doing some modifications with a grinder if it interferes with the HD5500.

tjc, be very careful with that card... I have one and it was so close to the third slot that, when I was plugging a video cable into it, I must have moved it enough to short out the card in the third slot. I ended up putting a piece of non-conducting plastic on the back of the replacement card.

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Backend server - 4.0 TB 3.0ghz dual core 6 gig RAM, nVidia 9400, Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 MB, 2 HD-5500, 2 HD Homerun dual tuners, 3 frontend machines - LinHES 8.6.1