Mini ITX HTPC Help

whatawaster

Hi all,

I'm putting together a box for under the living room tv. Looking to order from Amazon (I know it's a little more expensive than HWVS, but if I order by Monday I'll have it for Christmas).

I'll be using it for mainly streaming from internet (4od, iplayer, rte, youtube, sports streaming) and also streaming from main pc (1080p video). Possibly some emulators as well, but nothing beyond PSX level.

Here's what I'm thinking so far:

CPU: Celeron G550

Motherboard: Gigabyte SKT-1155 H61N-USB3 Mini ITX

Case: Coolermaster Elite 120

PSU: Be Quiet Pure Power L7 300W PSU

SSD: Samsung 64gb SSD SATA 6GBPS

RAM: Kingston 4gb 1333MHZ DDR3

Comes to GBP£252.

Questions:

1) PSU - this PSU will take an additional 2 days to deliver. Can anyone recommend another compatible PSU sold by Amazon that would work. Obviously the quieter and cooler the better.

2) The Motherboard - any problems with it? I know H61 is inferior to some of the other chipsets. Am I right in saying it might affect the performance of the SSD? Should I be looking elsewhere?

3) The CPU - should do everything I ask of it, right?

4) Any alternative suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks in advance.

U_Fig

Very similar to my HTPC.. But I have the Thermaltake element q and an Asrock b75 board..

That's a good case tho..

Don't get a h61 chipset board.. Get a b75 or h77 at least with a SATA 600 port the SSD will Be wasted on the h61's SATA 300 port..

Also the stock intel fan is quite loud you may want to replace it.. But I'd wait and try it first I have the fans on my heatsink to come on at 55 degree which it very rarely reaches..Even under blu ray quality video playback

The be quiet PSU Is great I have the sfx version and it's near silent only a slight hum any background noise and you can't hear it at all.. For the sake of 2 days I'd prob wait..

Have to tried Irish sites like dabs elara and so on they might have some in stock

The CPU handles HTPC stuff no bother

massy086

well i would get rid of the case mobo and psu and buy these
CASE:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Compucase-Mini-Front-Panel-Audio/dp/B001UHO7DS/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1355622052&sr=8-7

MOBO: http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASRock-B75M-ITX-Motherboard-Instant-Charger/dp/B007RQ0HKS/ref=sr_1_21?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1355622172&sr=1-21

REMOTE:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Windows-Control-Infrared-Receiver-Ultimate/dp/B003ZV3J72/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355622285i just ordered that very htpc my from germany 271euro deliverd

IrishMetalhead

massy086 wrote: »

well i would get rid of the case mobo and psu and buy these
CASE:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Compucase-Mini-Front-Panel-Audio/dp/B001UHO7DS/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1355622052&sr=8-7

MOBO: http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASRock-B75M-ITX-Motherboard-Instant-Charger/dp/B007RQ0HKS/ref=sr_1_21?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1355622172&sr=1-21

REMOTE:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Windows-Control-Infrared-Receiver-Ultimate/dp/B003ZV3J72/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355622285i just ordered that very htpc my from germany 271euro deliverd

I wouldn't get that case to be honest, cheap power supplys that come with the case is a big no no for me, everything else there looks bang on

PogMoThoin

IrishMetalhead wrote: »

I wouldn't get that case to be honest, cheap power supplys that come with the case is a big no no for me, everything else there looks bang on

You do not need high power a PSU for a HTPC, mine has a 60W external powerpack running an Intel board and SSD (and it's barely drawing 20W on playing 1080p)

IrishMetalhead

it's not the wattage im concern about more so the quality, been building comps for awhile and just had bad experience with cheap psu's that's pretty much why i only recommend psu's which are 80plus certified with active pfc

massy086

nah not worry,d about the psu as the power drain is very small and i have read plenty of review,s on the case and no-one has a bad word to say about the psu

PogMoThoin

IrishMetalhead wrote: »

it's not the wattage im concern about more so the quality, been building comps for awhile and just had bad experience with cheap psu's that's pretty much why i only recommend psu's which are 80plus certified with active pfc

Well then recommend one. You're like the cat, "I wouldn't do that"......

massy086

now if hws woulld get back to me about paying with paypal i would be happy :mad: hope i have it for crimbo

U_Fig

They'll charge you extra for using PayPal I think.. You could also look into a pico psu...65w-100w any would do they are passive completely silent and seem to get good reiews

The stock psu that came with the Thermaltake element q was like a helicopter.. If you get a cheap psu it'll more than likely be louder than a good quality one..

whatawaster

So I'm going to buy it this evening, I think.

Couple of final changes:

Case - Coolermaster Elite 120
PSU - Coolermaster 500W Elite
Mobo - AsRock B75 ITX
CPU - Celeron G550
SSD - Crucial M4 64gb
RAM - Kingston 4gb 1333mhz DDR3

plus some ethernet cable and thermal paste. Is there anything else I need. Anyone recommend a cheap remote compatible with XBMC? Also, maybe a wireless keyboard with trackpad perhaps.

Thanks

IrishMetalhead

any reason you changed the psu? either way both of the ones you chose are grand

whatawaster

IrishMetalhead wrote: »

any reason you changed the psu? either way both of the ones you chose are grand

Just because the other one will not be delivered before Christmas, and I'm a greedy child who wants all of this cool stuff now!

Monotype

Coolermaster Elite PSUs are a load of crap.

whatawaster

Monotype wrote: »

Coolermaster Elite PSUs are a load of crap.

In real terms, how will it affect my setup? Too loud? Too hot?

massy086

i would of thought too loud where are you ordering from???

whatawaster

massy086 wrote: »

i would of thought too loud where are you ordering from???

Amazon.co.uk

Monotype

They've released a lot of PSUs under that name. Some were very unstable so it could be bad for the life and safety of your components.

The XFX 450W is £39.95 but out of stock. Amazon.co.uk on the RHS.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/XFX-P1-450S-XXB9-PRO450W-Edition-Supply/dp/B004RJ8EIA/

Amazon's selection of PSUs is quite poor. This Antec would be okay too:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Antec-VP450P-450W-Power-Supply/dp/B004BLMFSE/

massy086

Monotype wrote: »

They've released a lot of PSUs under that name. Some were very unstable so it could be bad for the life and safety of your components.

The XFX 450W is £39.95 but out of stock. Amazon.co.uk on the RHS.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/XFX-P1-450S-XXB9-PRO450W-Edition-Supply/dp/B004RJ8EIA/

Amazon's selection of PSUs is quite poor. This Antec would be okay too:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Antec-VP450P-450W-Power-Supply/dp/B004BLMFSE/

if your going to spend that much why not buy a picopsu silent and well trusted???

Monotype

Yeah, it would make more sense for a build like that. I was just trying to find what reasonable ATX PSUs are there.