[n8dogggg]

I'm in the market to build a Mini-ITX HTPC and have only recently started doing research on it. Only problem is, NewEgg is having a pretty substantial sale starting tomorrow that I'd like to take advantage of and I just don't have a lot of time to do much more research. So I'm using a lifeline and "Soliciting the help of the Gurus". In your honest opinion, how would you piece together a fairly decent Mini-ITX machine...Oh one catch...because I'm using my company to buy this through, it all has to come from one vendor. So far, I haven't seen many that have the selection and prices that newegg has (correct me if I'm wrong).


My list of wants:

Small Footprint (black)

Burn and Play BluRay (preferably 5.25")

Wireless N

2-4TB (3.5") fast enough to not have to worry about movie playback

HDMI out

7.1 sound

onboard graphics card


I'm not terribly worried about sound because this will not be too close to me while my movies are playing...but quiet doesn't hurt. I haven't built my custom AV Rack yet but obviously the less heat displacement the better. Finally, I'm looking at a budget of around $800 tops, but preferably closer to the $600 range.


Thanks for any help I can get...I hope to put the order in tomorrow if I get enough responses by the afternoon, otherwise it'll be a Thanksgiving purchase.

 

[assassin]

I buy all of my gear at Newegg. The best on the net, imo.


I would buy the following...


Case of your choice but try to get a "regular" sized ATX PSU. I am partial to the Corsair series for around $50. You don't need more than 200 watts or so so anything above that is a bonus.


For the motherboard I would get the ITX Gigabyte. To me there really is no other option at this time - its the best, imo.


Buy an Intel i3 CPU. Use the onboard integrated video for HD. It is excellent for HD content (not so good for gaming).


Buy 2GBx2 (4 GB total) of RAM. I am partial to G.Skill.


Buy a 2TB Green 3.5" hard drive for storage. Buy a 30-40GB SSD for the OS. IF you can't budget for the SSD buy a smaller 160GB WD Blue drive, or equivalent.


Buy a wireless card and use the slot on the ITX board. Of course this will limit add-ons such as a tuner card in the future.


Don't forget to go with Win7 64 bit (not 32) since you are using 4GB RAM.


Hope that helps as a starting point. Should easily come in under your $800 budget.


Edit: Newegg is selling the Samsung 2TB Green drive for $80 right now.

 

[n8dogggg]

Awesome, thanks for your help...I'll start piecing this together in my newegg shopping cart...Anyone else want to chime in and give your opinion if you would splurge a little more here or there?


Also, I'm a bit concerned about the HardDrive...Is there a certain speed/type that I should look at that would be best for playing movies?

 

[andrew c]

Any harddrive on the market should be able to play at least 8 HD movies simultaneously. There isn't going to be any drive better for movie playback than another. Harddrives are not the bottleneck here. If you want faster startup, shutdown, and program load times, then get a SSD. Is low energy, low heat, and low noise important to you, and you don't want to spend the $$$ on a SSD? Get a green 5,400 drive with a large platter size.