ITX HTPC Build
 

My current home theatre is getting a little dated and it needs a full rebuild. A new sound system and an HTPC is going to replace the existing stuff.

A little background: My old home theatre contains an 18 year old Kenwood system (UD-90, this thing's a dinosaur :D). Having chucked out the dual tape deck and single cd player a couple years back, it chugged along nicely till now. The equalizer VFD has died and the volume from the receiver is slowly fading, so to get any decent sound, the volume knob would need to be maxed out. It has no digital inputs and it doesn't do switching so my TV does all the switching between PC, DVD and TV.

HTPC wise, it's an Athlon X2 4400+ on a 780G platform housed in an Antec Lanboy. It's one of the most used PCs in the house since it's so convenient to have a PC easily accessible. The PC itself doesn't have any problems, it's just that the H55N-USB3 is so damn sexy and I had to get it (oops, spoiled it) and hence, the new build.


I couldn't be arsed to put together a speaker + receiver setup so I went with an Onkyo S3300 5.1 system. While it's only 5.1 and not a super powerful unit, my family room is only 10X15, so it should be ample for the room.

The box it came in was huge and had several scars from shipping, but everything was packed nicely and nothing seemed to be damaged....
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/8025/58744949.jpg

Everything unpacked.
http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/2028/99718806.jpg


The HTPC I'm planning to build:

Intel i3 530
Gigabyte H55N-USB3
G.Skill 4GB 1600 DDR3
WD Green 500GB
Corsair 400CX
Lian Li Q07

http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/3997/35809120.jpg

As you can see, there's no motherboard in that picture. Nope, it's not that I forgot to order it, but it's because NCIX didn't have stock in their warehouse and had to be transferred from their supplier/store/whatever. Le sigh. It shipped yesterday via ground so it should be here next week.

I guess there won't be a build for another week, but I can still go ahead with the sound system upgrade later today.


But now, here's some case pr0n.

What could be in that blue bag?
http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/8056/89977039.jpg

Oh it's the Q07
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/9718/56577476.jpg
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/4733/10795333.jpg
http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/1324/93333236.jpg
http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/1756/41226351.jpg

Interior
http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/8971/88010228.jpg

QC from Jul 22 09, it's almost a year since.
http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/2351/88604879.jpg

Reset/Power Switch etc.
http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/862/15186859.jpg

Front USB, not all that exciting :D
http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/5049/96568695.jpg

The 6 small screws that hold the side panel in place. Not a huge problem since I won't be taking it apart that often.
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/7272/53311237.jpg

Room for an SSD/2.5 drive too.
http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/8008/54014730.jpg

That's it, for now....

my god!

that case thingie looks,well,will look part of the sound system! very nice

what will comp do compared to my $200 Shaw PVR?

Not be forced to record what's being broadcast at specific times, playing emulator games (NES, SNES, etc.), browse the web, chat, F@H, and the list goes on for pretty much anything you can do with a computer as compared to a STB.

Is that receiver HDMI passthrough or does it actually accept HDMI as sound input? HDMI 1.4 and 3D ready, that thing must be a brand spankin new model.

Yep, since this is not only a media machine, but a normal home computer for my family room. HTPC is just much nicer than a STB or even Popcorn hour and the like...

It accepts HDMI as sound input, from what I read on the internets anyway. Makes this HTIB quite nice for the price.

I've finally received my motherboard....

But the box came like this:
http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/3639/img1756oq.jpg

I was afraid that the board would be damaged but after removing all the paper packed with it, the board is fine. Plenty of space to spare :D
http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/7294/img1758.jpg

Unboxed the board. This thing is tiny! It's just as big as the I/O shield.
http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/5857/img1761n.jpg

The board is installed in the case. It'll be staying with the stock hsf, unless it becomes unbearable.
http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/6181/img1765g.jpg

PSU installed. Corsair PSUs comes with really long cables so it's a small problem in this little case :D
http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/7929/img1770ug.jpg

Everything put together.

http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/4175/img1787mj.jpg

man thats nice. like i said, case looks like part of the sound system. bravo!

holy shi-
that is one of the sexiest HTPC's ive ever seen.
And that motherboard is... tiny.