CPU/Mobo HTPC Upgrade suggestions

C

Chaos

Skilled
So currently I have the following in my HTPC:

MSI E350-IA45 board+cpu (amd brazos)

4GB corsair xms ddr3

500GB seagate 7200rpm drive

Antec ISK 310 case with 150W antec flex atx psu

Samsung slim dvd burner

Win 7 Pro

This does the job really well for watching HD movies on my TV. Hardly consumes any power and is very very stable - have never encountered even one crash till date.

However the upgrade itch is acting up and am thinking of getting a mini itx h67 + core i3 2100(or 2100T if available?), another 4GB and a low profile NVIDIA GT440 and a slim bluray drive.

I'm wondering if it is really worth it.

Primarily, I'd want to watch movies - 3d compatibility would be great - I might get a proper 3D DLP projector sometime this year. I'd also want to use madVR + lav cuvid to get the best possible image quality.

Another use would be to back up my blurays onto my media server using a bluray drive. I have a PS3 but if I can play bluray backups using the PC, I'd rather do that.

Now here are the basic restrictions

Motherboard *has* to be mini itx since the case is mini itx. As a result thermals are super important - so automatically rules out all AMD options.

Also everything has to be accommodated within a 150W power envelope, ideally within 100W since the power supply is only capable of that.

Also the graphics card has to be low profile, since the case only supports low profile cards.

Suggestions welcome.
 
^^Its a 100W CPU - not going to work in an HTPC scenario. Plus it has a graphics chip I don't need. I'd rather have discrete nvidia graphics simply because it is better for video playback.
 
CPU-Intel i3 2100-6.2k

Mobo-Intel DH67BL-B3-5.6

Ram-Corsair 4gb Value ram-1.2k

GPU-Nvidia GT 440-5.2k

Blu-ray-Asus Slim Blu-ray Drive-10.5k
 
Its not mini-ITX.

You can look at the G620 instead, quite a few power consumption benchmarks show its nearly as good as the 'T' 35W TDP CPUs.

Chaos said:
However the itch is acting up and am thinking of getting a mini itx h67 blah blah blah and buying a Toyota Prius
Click to expand...

Itch guard : Rs. 35

http://www.drugneed.com/paras-pharmaceuticals-itch-guard-cream15-paras-p-515.html

Cheapest solution
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Should be available. I picked up 2 G620 procs a few months back with no trouble.

Mail Delta in Chennai and ask them if they've still got it, if its not available in your village
<
 
Yes,Intel G620 would be a great option but mobo availability would be an issue-

CPU-Intel G620-3.5k

Mobo-Intel DH61CF-B3-5k[mini itx board]

Ram-Corsair 4gb Value ram-1.2k

GPU-Nvidia GT 440-5.2k

Blu-ray-Asus Slim Blu-ray Drive-10.5k

Here's the list of mini-itx mobos which are compatible-

GA-H67N-USB3

DH67CF

H67-ITX-C-E

DQ67EP

Z68-ITX-A

Z68-ITX-B
 
Get a graphics card with with hdmi 1.4 . Enough for 3D.

This system that you have can anyways play full hd movies or blu ray without a fuss - max 25-35 % CPU load. I also have the same apu but the gigabyte mobo .
 
Yup Zotac makes some awesome boards. Only question is availability. I don't mind getting a zotac if its available locally at a sane price.

@harry_houdini: Keeping this cpu won't help - it is just way to slow for encoding/bluray ripping. Also it struggles with madVR since madVR demands a bit of CPU grunt.
 
Chaos said:
@harry_houdini: Keeping this cpu won't help - it is just way to slow for encoding/bluray ripping. Also it struggles with madVR since madVR demands a bit of CPU grunt.
Click to expand...

Yes for the purpose its too slow , for playback its fine .

I heard it also struggles sometimes with XBMC but I am fine with using MPC .

You use any remote ? .
 
harry_houdini said:
Yes for the purpose its too slow , for playback its fine .

I heard it also struggles sometimes with XBMC but I am fine with using MPC .

You use any remote ? .
Click to expand...

It works fine with xbmc 11 beta 2(eden)

I have an original MS MCE remote but honestly its not of much use - i prefer using a wireless mouse.

Everything is good as long as you use EVR which allows DXVA2 acceleration. Without DXVA2, everything slows to a crawl.
 
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