HTPC Build - Feedback?

John A

John A

New Member
Below is the build for a HTPC that I thought i'd make. I've never actually been involved with anything like MATX or these tiny, but stylish, cases. i just thought i'd try to make a low power, low noise, fairly cheap computer for basic use. By basic use I refer to firefox, VLC for blu-ray movies, and maybe open office. I'd be running this on ubuntu* just for the fact it's free.

*If you can reccomend any other open-source OS' like ubuntu or linux, i'd be happy. Just know that the OS' needs to be really easy to use.

X-Case 360 Black Home Media Case With 400 Watt Psu

Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EARS

XFX HD-567X-YNFC Radeon HD 5760

Kingston HyperX LoVo 4GB

Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2

Intel i3-540

LG Black Blu-Ray

I know there is more to get, but that's where I want your help. I dont want to pay much more, but I dont want low-quality products. Please remember the "eco-friendly" thing. Thanks for all the help.
 
I don't think you're going to find anything better then ubuntu for your needs. It starts fast, has good hardware support, and is easy to use. It also has good proprietary support - easy to get flash and mp3 working. If you live in the USA, Japan, or other countries with stricter patent rules, then you'll need to purchase legal codecs and DVD playback support. (Fluendo provides legal codecs and playback for most popular Linux distros, but is a tad expensive.)

As far as hardware is concerned, I'd personally get the Intel i3-530 over the Intel i3-540. Here is a comparison of the two.

Newegg currently has them priced as follows (free shipping for both):
Intel i3-530 - $114.99 (on sale)
Intel i3-540 - $144.99


They aren't all that much different. (It's not something you could notice.) One hundred Mhz for 2 cores is not worth $30 IMO. Also, you might be able to find some good combo deals on Newegg which could lower the price even further.



[edit]

Just noticed you have the Radeon HD 5670 (I think it's 5670, not 5760). That appears to be a really nice card (I've had my eye on it for awhile). However, BE SURE to check whether or not it is supported in Linux. I've run some Google searches and have found many people having trouble getting Linux drivers for newer Radeon cards. Make sure that the drivers are available before buying any graphics card (whether ATI or Nvidia).
 
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That is a low profile case, and as such requires low profile expansion cards. The video card you have selected is full height, and I do not believe it will fit in that case. The description references as "Optional PCI or AGP Riser Card", but I was not able to determine what this meant from their site.

Andrew
 
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