config ideas for MythBE/NAS + Myth/XBMC/Boxee FE

Here is the rough outline I have in mind...
Underlined = I've decided on the part, bold = I own it.

1x Intel Core i3-530
1x mATX H57 or Q57 mobo?
2x 2GB DDR3?
1x Asus Xonar Essence ST (PCI)
1x Asus H6 (Essence daughterboard)
1x Hauppauge HVR-2200
1x Antec True Power 3.0 650W
Storage Sub-sys:
1x 1TB WD Black ..............................[capture disk, can it handle 4 simultaneous HD streams?]
3x 1/1.5TB 7.2k HDD? .........................[For content storage & BU, may not bother w/RAID]
_________
Low priority (won't buy this time round, but suggestions welcome)
*********
1x 30GB OCZ Vertex SSD? ................... [approx $219]
1x nV GT220? .................................... [only if IGP+CPU proves to be not enough]
1x HTPC Case? ................................... [Have crappy old Lian-Li (PC-60?) mid-tower]

Make/model recommendations greatly appreciated!
 
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What about the parts whose makes/models I haven't decided on? (above)
Any thoughts, preferences, or experiences? Thanks!
 
I don't know the i3 at all, but I do know any decent quad core can handle four streams.
Same with the motherboard.

I would do 4 GB of RAM just because there's no good reason to do less. The SSD is a nice touch since you can do a minimal sys install on it and have enough for your VM partition which will offset any issues streaming 4 to the WD black, which is already a nice, fast drive. If you're looking for cheap, not very fast drives the Hitachi 1.5 TBs are dirt cheap right now.

As for cases, I went will a pretty big (classifies as a desktop) Antec becuase I wanted to go passively cooled on my 5050e x2. I put a Mugen II on it and it's nice and silent.

And I would hold off on the 220 until you know you need it. You've already got one of the highest spec'd media pcs on the planet there :)

Just to refresh, I did fine with 2x HD with:

Athlon x2 5050e
4GB DDR2
nv 9400
Seagate 7200.10 series drive (? 500 GB?)
HDHomerun LAN based dual HD tuner box
 
Thanks the SSD is actually turning out to be very tricky to work out.
The whole market is hyper competitive in the coming yr, not to mention a whole host of other issues.
I think I'll make it my last purchase.....

Thanks for suggestion on case/cooler....
I may not even bother with a new case but I will be getting a decent HS/F.

When everything is determined I will post final specs...
Could be a while, I'm very pedantic/anal!
 
I highly recommend that Mugen II (Scythe) HSF. with good case ventilation it can be run passive in a pretty small case.
 
Alas there's no Q5x/H5x mATX mobo's with SATA6G & USB3.
So it comes down to these three:

GA-H57M-USB3 $174.0 [may be able to get for this price]
P7H55D-M EVO $179.3 [definitely can get for this price]
P7H57D-V EVO $292.6 [definitely can get for this price]

The last is ATX....
It does have SATA6G & USB3 but is substantially more than the other two.

I've realised that SATAII's "real world" limit is about 300MB/s anyway.
I'm not aware of any 30-40GB SSD's that could reach that limit, even at sustained read speeds.
So it's no big loss, when S6G does filter-down to H5x mATX boards, I can always sell & upgrade.

I'm leaving SSD's for now, there's so much happening in the next 6mth, there'll be far better options later.
And there's the fact that I don't hugely benefit from SSD for the intended application.

So these are my finalist parts:
************************
approx $154 1x Intel Core i3-530
approx $179 1x GA-H57M-USB3 or P7H55D-M EVO
approx $145 2x 2GB G.Skill DDR3 1600Mhz (PC-12800)
Storage Sub-sys:
approx $312 3x 1TB Samsung F3? ........................... [content storage & BU, may not bother w/RAID]
___________
Total = $790
---------------

Would you slot something different in? Can I get some thoughts please!
N.B. updated my earlier post that outlines all my parts.
 
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Mize/Anyone can I get some thoughts on this please?
I will look at that heatsink you suggested, thank-you!
 
jalyst said:
Mize/Anyone can I get some thoughts on this please?
I will look at that heatsink you suggested, thank-you!
Click to expand...

Unless you are totally stuck on Intel, iirc AMD 890 chipsets are on the horizon. I thought I read about them including SATA 6.0 (http://www.elitebastards.com/index....ticle&id=1147&catid=17&Itemid=31&limitstart=1), they are usually a bit cheaper and with the sickeningly price of their quad CPUs (great OCing potential if wanted/needed) and also usually a plethora of mATX boards.
 
They are still the best option for budget minded buyers.
Alas I need an IGP that's supported in Linux...
AMD support is quite a bit further behind nV and Intel.
 
jalyst said:
They are still the best option for budget minded buyers.
Alas I need an IGP that's supported in Linux...
AMD support is quite a bit further behind nV and Intel.
Click to expand...

Do you really need igp? NV 9400s are dirt cheap and come in passive varieties...
 
As for the intel motherboards, I'll vote for Gigabyte. I'm on a good run with Gigabyte right now - I've loved the last three mainboards I bought from them...never had three in a row from anyone else that held up so well.

Also, back to the IGP...my old frontend was ATI 3200 IGP but I just slapped a cheap MSI NV 9400 in it for linux.
 
Nah the idea is try to utilise IGP for as long as possible...
Plus Intel (although arguably not as good value in some segments) is the superior platform going forward.

Yeah I've had good experiences with GB boards most recently, haven't tried an Asus one in 4yrs.

What about the RAM, Storage drives, and the "low priority parts" (back in #22), any thoughts there?
Thanks, Night.
 
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Anyone? Thanks.
Will start a build log soon, probably not on this forum but will link to it from here.
 
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