Looking for advice on slim case for HTPC (and opinions on build!)

johnnyleitrim

I want to build a "reasonable" HTPC for about €350 (for Netflix and HD Movies from the HDD mainly), and am looking for a nice case to put it in. Something about the size of a mac mini if possible. I've looked at a few cases, but there seems to be complaints on most of them about noisy PSUs or the like, so I'm hoping the wise people here would be able to recommend a good case

Here are the parts I was thinking of getting so far.

Item|Price
AMD A4-4000 APU mit AMD Radeon HD 7480D, Box, FM2|€35.18
Special item: ASRock FM2A75M-ITX, FM2, ITX|€67.85
4GB-Kit Corsair Twin3X4096-1333C9DHX DDR3, CL9|€42.02
WD Caviar Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s|€80.84
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€244.88

1. What is your budget? [€350]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [HTPC]

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [No]

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [No]

5. Do you need a monitor? [No - HDMI to TV]

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [No]

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Yes/No]

8. How can you pay? [Bank Transfer/Credit Card/Laser]

9. When are you purchasing? [In 7 days]

BloodBath

You could do something like this. Not cheap but it is silent. You could save about €12 on that ram by going for some cheap stuff. It won't make a difference.

You could probably save money by going for an intel cheap and mitx board as well. They seem to be cheaper.

I don't know the details on these builds but would this combo not do?

http://www.hardwareversand.de/DDR3/67916/ASRock+E35LM1%2C+integrierte+AMD+E-240%2C+Mini-ITX.article

-edit- Actually that has no hdmi out.

How about something like this?

http://www.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?adp=0&aid=45458&agid=1660&apop=3

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mini-Box-picoPSU-160-XT-Power-Mini-ITX-Supply/dp/B005TWE6B8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376054709&sr=8-1&keywords=pico+psu#productDetails

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-002-SR&groupid=2362&catid=2279

U_Fig

This is basically the same as my HTPC it plays everything perfectly movies netflix ect...

Item|Price
WD Caviar Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s|€80.84
Intel Celeron Dual-Core G1610 Box , LGA1155|€36.15
ASRock B75M-ITX, Sockel 1155, ITX|€66.27
4GB-Kit G-Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€31.48
Thermaltake Element Q, mini-ITX, 220W-Netzteil|€54.95
be quiet! SFX Power BQT SFX 300W|€43.36
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€332.04

the case comes with a PSU but it's loud so replace it with the silent be quiet one

also i have the Intel Celeron g550 which is basically the same as the one above but older and cost more ATM..

case isn't big and there is a bit of clutter from cables but in any small case you'll see this..

i also had a spare 2.5" HDD so opted for a 64GB boot SSD and that in a caddy where the 3.5" bay and it boots in about 15 seconds

Also the stock Intel fan can be loud but set it in the Bios to come on at 55 degree and it never really comes on... very rarely goes above 45 degree...

overall it's very quiet...especially when a tv is on

also you could save on the motherboard and go for the H61 chipset but the B75 gives the option of adding an SSD in the future with SATA 600 ports


there's noting wrong with the AMD route above i'm just saying what i have but i'd be careful special items on HWVS are refurbished watch out better off buying new ones

marco_polo

Pricey enough but perhaps something like the Antec ISK 110 is what you are looking for?

johnnyleitrim

U_Fig wrote: »

there's noting wrong with the AMD route above i'm just saying what i have but i'd be careful special items on HWVS are refurbished watch out better off buying new ones

How can I tell what's a special item? The ones with poor availability?

EDIT: Never mind - I see it says "Special Item:" before the description

johnnyleitrim

So here's the build I'm deciding to go for in the end:

Item|Price
AMD A4-5300 3.4GHz FM2 1MB 65W Black Edition|€43.46
MSI AMD FM2 A75 2*DDR3 GBE LAN 2*USB3 VGA HDMI mini-ITX MOTHERBO|€76.00
Kingston ValueRAM 4GB (2x2GB) 1333MHz DDR3 Non-ECC CL9 DIMM 240-Pin|€29.77
Antec ISK 300-150 Mini-ITX Desktop Case|€80.44
Kingston 180GB SSDNow KC300 SATA 6GB/s 2.5" 7mm Solid State Drive Kit|€149.26
Shipping|Free!
Total|€378.93

The case gets a reasonable write up on this site (useful in-depth review of 12 different mITX cases):

http://uk.hardware.info/reviews/3850/12-mini-itx-chassis-review-compact-quality

I though going for a 2.5" SSD would be a little cooler, and leave more space in the case for cables/airflow.

BloodBath

If you want storage you should probably grab a hdd. You could get a 60gb ssd and a 2tb hdd for that price.

You get the speed and boot times of the ssd for windows and your programs and the storage space of the hdd for movies and whatever else.

Get something like a caviar green as it will be quieter.

U_Fig

You could get a 2.5" SSD and HDD and get a 3.5" to 2x 2.5" caddy if space is an issue