Jason Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Was curious whether anyone has recently built a cool, quiet and energy efficient Windows HTPC on mini ITX platform? I currently have a Win 7MC box with an AMD-3850 quad core APU, 8 GBPS RAM, SSD OS drive and a 2 TB WD Black recording drive with a Ceton Ethernet 6 HD tuner (external). Though I find myself mostly running Plex Home Theater on the HTPC a streaming HD videos across wired gigabit LAN from WSE12R2 server. Would like to shrink down my Windows HTPC into smaller form factor. No need for an internal BD ROM. Preferably Intel-based CPU (AMD still a bit warm). Would be interested in hearing from others who have done this or are looking to do the same. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yodafett Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 If mainly using plex look at rasplex. Silent and can be built for $60 or going to a NUC. Even the i3 or Celeron version is more than powerful enough while having the ability to be mounted to the TV or hidden in the entertainment system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al_Borges Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 This past spring I built a new htpc , based on a AMD 5350 kabini CPU with a AM1 mb from Asus. Very pleased. About 25 watts max power draw I use a pico power supply. Dead quiet only 1 fan. Built in GPU is a AMD 8400 type. Handles all the media transcoding I need inexespensive also. New egg has CPU/mb deals for around 100 bucks Sent from my IdeaTab S6000-F using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 Thanks Al. I may go that route then. My AMD build has been trusty just too large and generates a bit of heat. Does your new HTPC a run fairly cool? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 On 2nd thought would you mind sharing your exact specs on your build? Would like try and match as closely as possible and knock out this build this week. CPU, RAM, MB and even case. Already have SSD and HDDS. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schoondoggy Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 I have been looking at this board as a low cost mini-ITX build. It is $35.99, it is socket 1155: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135341 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al_Borges Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 The exact build was: AMD Athlon 5350 Kabini Quad-Core 2.05GHz Socket AM1 25W Desktop Processor AMD Radeon HD 8400 AD5350JAHMBOX 1 x MSI AM1I AM1 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI Mini ITX AMD motherboard 1 x G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D Current price for all three at new egg is about 156 bucks My Power supply is a " Mini-Box pico PSU-80" 80 watt Output 12 volt Input DC-DC Power Supply purchased from Amazon. The case is a silverstone ML03B HTPC case I reused both the case and PS from my earlier htpc box Again with only the CPU fan present - the system is virtually noiseless under all conditions. When I first set it up , I ran a 3d game and played back a High def movie I recall that the maximum CPU temp was around 45C while doing this heat has not been an issue the HTPC case is inside a home theatre stand Media playback is great - no hiccups My gaming consists mostly of emulated Atari games and my Realflight RC flying simulator - I cant vouch for something like battlefield 4 or other high end games. one last thing - if you use the Pico Powersupply, you will need a molex to 4 pin 12V ATX motherboard connector adapter for the motherboard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 Thanks for the detail. I am contemplating using all the same parts except building with this case. I use the same one for my Sophos UTM firewall and its tiny. Especially without the need for an internal BDM ROM drive. http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=11-163-208 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikon Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 It's a little old now but, FWIW, here's a link to my HTPC build: http://homeservershow.com/forums/index.php?/topic/2452-htpc-build-photos/?hl=htpc. BTW, I just ordered a SilverStone GD05B chassis to replace the one shown in the link. The main reason is to support full-height add-in cards, particularly a new nVidia GTX 750 GPU (so I can play the new Dreamfall Chapters game). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted October 25, 2014 Author Share Posted October 25, 2014 That's exactly the same case I have now. Only now I'm trying to drastically reduce the overall form factor and space needed in a cabinet. At this point anything that's comparable to the size of an AVR or even Bluray player seems like it's bigger than it should be with capable mini ITX boards. At least I hope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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