Riding an htpc itx [step by step tutorial]

This small article is not going to be about a review in itself of the great configuration, but about making a small multimedia equipment or commonly called Htpc ITX, which is also useful for simple applications, office automation, web games, and is compatible with Windows and Linux, or basically the one you like the most. So by popular request, we gut our Htpc and show you how it looks in one of the most versatile boxes of today, the MS-Tech CI70 / 120w.

MSI-Tech Ci70 the ideal box for an HTPC ITX

It has been a little difficult for me to do this, basically because it is going to be a retro-review-guide-assembly. Obviously, it is a new team, therefore, you can make yourself a la carte with your favorite brand of hardware, software, etc… This type of system is much more fun to assemble, versatile, and the range of pieces that we can choose it is infinitely larger than a pre-assembled kit like the ones seen a few weeks ago where the Nucs are not fully upgradeable.

The most complex part of this system was the choice of the box, it is basically 80% of the anguish I have suffered (and you will suffer), … Why? Basically because we are looking for the smallest size, the greatest possible compatibility with mini ITX equipment, with or without an integrated source… anyway. The final choice was this MS-Tech Ci 70 / 120w, which as its tagline indicates, has an external source similar to that of a laptop, whose maximum power is 120W, in addition to having its part integrated in the box also included.

There are other box models that I dared to try but when it comes to taking an external source (many do not have them, be careful with the nomenclatures) such as the Chieftec IX 03, where the power was more limited, the final space much more compact and all more compressed, problems when putting the SSD and the biggest heatsink… And this led me to this Ms Tech.

The box, in addition to having the aforementioned source, is made entirely of aluminum, it has 2 front USB 3.0 and two audio jacks (microphone and stereo audio). The internal source is on one side, properly separated from the "hottest" part if we follow the logic of the mini-ITX boards. It can house side fans and has two upper air intakes, in case our choice is that of an active team instead of a passive one. The recommended price of this box is € 75 (the one that houses the fountain).

Motherboard

Going into the matter, I have based myself on an AM1 team, consisting of a Msi AM1i itx board (€ 27.95), it is a simple itx board, compatible with all AM1 socket processors. It has two rear USB 3.0, HDMI port, Network, DVI and integrated audio. In addition to other ports such as two internal Satas, a Pcie and two DDR3 memory slots. It is a very low cost motherboard but with all the basic needs, except Wifi, although it has a mini Pcie port to integrate a Wifi.

Processor

The CPU, there is not much to choose from, so I opted for a Sempron 3850, with 4 cores at 1.3Ghz and an integrated graphics of 128 Shaders at 450Mhz (€ 32). This processor has the advantage of having a ridiculous consumption and temperatures, being very little below the well-known Athlon 5150, which is the same processor with a little more frequency, leaving the 5350 as a top of the range with a speed of 2.05Ghz. I chose the Sempron by price, because it is the same number of cores and shaders, and integrates the same video decoder. These processors include heatsink, and it is fully adjustable to leave it at an imperceptible noise level.

In terms of sound, which I do not forget, the equipment via HDMI is capable of transmitting LPCM, DTS Master Audio, Dolby True HD with up to 7.1 channels and all lossless audio formats, in addition to all compatible ones, leaving all management to the decoder that we have.

Memories

Finally, the memory and the hard disk were made up of 1 4Gb DDR3 Kingston Hyper X module at 1600Mhz (€ 23) and a Crucial 128Gb SSD, equivalent to the MX-100 that we can find for approximately € 70. This equipment neither needs nor takes advantage of dual channel since Am1 processors only have a single channel memory controller.

We have prepared a table with the final specifications and the sum of all of them to know the final budget. Of course, we do not include a mouse or keyboard, since it is a more personal choice, although we can find keyboards with a pad such as those that integrate a laptop at really competent prices.

• The heatsink that I have mounted, is apart, the cost is about € 10, since the original to leave it passive, is too small for my taste.

HTPC team
Box and fountain	Ms-Tech Ci70 / 120w
Motherboard	Msi AM1i Itx
Processor	Sempron 3850 @ 1.3Ghz Quad Core
RAM	1x4Gb DDR3 1600Mhz
HDD	Crucial MX-100 128Gb SSD
Price	€ 227 Approximately

As we can see, for less than € 230 we have a team capable of many things, which we are now going to put into practice. In the software section, I opted for a Windows 10 Pro 64bit, since this team supports it, although I spent a few days with an Ubuntu 15.04 with excellent results, as fast as Windows and 100% compatible.

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We have carried out two tests with two films. One of them is this, using the free MPC-HC player (with 64Bit support) that has hardware decoding and also uses all the cores of the system.

We will use a "Remux" with a high bitrate at 1080P.

As we can see, the main use derives from the integrated graphics, leaving the use of the cpu very light, having a maximum temperature of 30ºc with the fan at 20% of its revolutions.

In the second test, we have used a Bluray from Starwars, and despite being more intensive, the experience is completely fluid, without cuts or flickers, and with excellent video quality.

The experience with YouTube and its videos up to 1080P, have had the same effect in quality and fluidity, as if it were an Mkv. Also, we are looking forward to seeing the new AMD Crinsom drivers to see the new video presets and their compatibility.

Well, we have seen how we have left the equipment, the choice of hardware and a generous number of photos of its finish. I know that many of you will think of Celeron equipment, but the cost is much higher, the memory in most cases is a portable SO-Dimm, in addition to which you cannot change or replace the cpu if there is a need. Not to mention that they also mostly lack a PCIe port, except for the highest-end ones such as the Intel N3150 where we are going to have to put almost double the money.

One of the things that I will emphasize is the SSD, since it drastically improves the fluidity of the system, although the amount is small nowadays, 128Gbs are more than enough for an Htpc since the programs that we will use are of little weight, therefore it is more advisable to have external storage, although you can also choose SSHD disks (hybrid disks), which although they are not as fast as pure SSDs, you will have much more capacity for basically the same price (up to 1Tb).

We hope you liked the team, you are welcome to participate in the comments and we will gladly resolve any questions you may have. Until the next montage!