Feedback on my HTPC build

[Bipedal Humanoid]

Just wanted some feedback on a list I put together for a HTPC build for a friend. It's based on the Llano APU. Goal was to stay in the $400 price range. He will use this as his Media Center, ie movies, music, streaming, surfing, email etc. There will be no overclocking. Perhaps some moderate gaming.

A6 3500 Triple Core I could go with a unlocked Quad for just $10 more, but I felt more comfortable with the 65W rating of the triple core than the 100W for the quad in terms of heat inside a HTPC case.

ASRock A75M FM1 Micro ATX OR ASRock A75M-ITX FM1 I can't see any difference between the two boards, other than one is ITX and the other is MicroATX and a marginal price difference. Can you see any other differences or why I would go for one rather than the other?

G.SKILL Sniper Low Voltage 2 x 4GB

hec Black Micro ATX HTPC Case w/ 300W Power Supply

LG Black SATA Internal Blu-ray Drive UH12LS29 I realize this is "only" 1st gen SATA, but it should still work ok in this setup?

WD Caviar Blue 500GB WD5000AAKX (possible variation: 60GB SSD as boot drive and use his existing external 1TB hdd for storage)

ZALMAN CNPS8900 Extreme really not sure about this one as it seems to be a tight fit with the RAM. Thoughts? Alternatives? Also, I'd probably stick with stock heat-sink for the triple core, so aftermarket cooler would only be a consideration if I was to go with the quad core, if needed even then.

Thoughts?

 

[DSF]

A $50 heatsink in a $400 build seems excessive. Are you particularly worried about noise?

AMD and Intel design their stock heatsinks to adequately cool the chips, quad core or not. I don't really get why people think the stock heatsink is insufficient for normal use. If you're sensitive to noise or are planning to overclock, that's a different story.

 

[Bipedal Humanoid]

A $50 heatsink in a $400 build seems excessive. Are you particularly worried about noise?

AMD and Intel design their stock heatsinks to adequately cool the chips, quad core or not. I don't really get why people think the stock heatsink is insufficient for normal use. If you're sensitive to noise or are planning to overclock, that's a different story.

Good point. I am not so much worried about noise as I am about heat build-up inside a HTPC case which sits inside a cabinet.

 

[birthdaymonkey]

The new Scythe Big Shuriken revision seems to be a popular cooling choice these days for low-profile applications. Or just stick with the stock cooler. I don't think that Zalman is worth the money.

If you're worried about heat buildup, you may want to consider a better case. That hec has only an 80mm fan to keep air moving.

I have a Silverstone GD05, which comes with three 120mm fans. It keeps my CPU around 40 degrees with a fanless heatsink and the fans undervolted to 7v. Can't recommend it highly enough!

 

[mfenn]

I agree with the "get a better case" crowd. Do you need that sort of low profile look? If not, check out the Silverstone SG05B. It costs about $50 more, but it has a nice wind tunnel design with a 120mm fan at the front. You should be able to drop the Zalman cooler altogether and come out with a wash on pricing.

As for the rest:
- CPU/mobo: For a normal HTPC build, I would honestly go Intel. The G620 is $64 and a Biostar TH61 ITX is $80. You'll use less power overall, which means less heat and less noise. The only reason to go AMD is if you think your friend will want to play more intensive 3D games.
- RAM: Too expensive. If you go Intel, a $40 DDR3 1333 8GB kit will be fine.
- Case: See above
- Optical: Optical drives are SATA 1.5Gb/s because the physical media can't even get close to those speeds.
- HDD : Too expensive for a 500GB drive. $10 more gets you 1TB.
- HSF: Use the stock one if heat is the only reason you were thinking of an aftermarket cooler.