[jedH]

which 3 disks would you guys recommend for the storage disks in this config?
http://forums.overcl...t=844202&page=2

I was thinking 3 1TB F3's, not a big fan of the Greens.

[Brian]

I'm confused. Are you Jalyst on the other forum or just trying to help this person? It might be helpful to post the relevant data here so we don't ahve to bounce to another site to read that entire thread.

[jedH]

....

This post has been edited by jedH: 28 January 2010 - 11:12 PM

[jedH]

I think I'm going with an AIO, but with the FE I outlined as the platform base.

So that means I'll sell most of the parts outlined for my proposed back-end.
This will give me a little cash towards the new build, whilst allowing me to move to the newer/sexier Intel platform

It'd be cheaper to go with the BE as the base for an AIO (& it'd be plenty of horsepower), but I prefer this approach.
I'll outline the new machine I have in mind soon....

As figrin mentioned Core i3-xxx VA-API support for acceleration is getting there, but still pretty rough.
If I find it + sw acceleration is not quite enough after a few months, then I can always chuck in a GT220 to be used w/VDPAU.

I do have plans later this year to build a Core i7-based native VMM (baremetal hypervisor).
So this could become the BE & "jack of all" server, and the AIO could revert to a FE/occasional gaming machine.

In the meantime I'll have my XBOX360 & soon a PS3 which can be used as FE's of sorts.
PS3 in particular, now that it's "apparently" been fully hacked...

Thanks for your thoughts thus far, any further ideas greatly appreciated!

[jedH]

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, should 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? ................... [best performer @30-40GB, don't need bigger for system drive]
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!

This post has been edited by jedH: 29 January 2010 - 01:16 AM

[jedH]

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. I updated my earlier post which outlines all my parts.

This post has been edited by jedH: 29 January 2010 - 01:17 AM

[continuum]

What the heck are you building exactly? An HTPC? Or...?

[jedH]

it's a jack-of-all for the time being

[jedH]

continuum/anyone? Thanks.

I will post my progress in more detail soon.
In a more appropriate forum/thread though.

[Brian]

If you want 1TB performance drives, the new WD Caviar Black I posted about today might be a good candidate. It's pretty snappy.