Built mine this past weekend, works great (with the exception of the AverMedia Duet)! Graphics and Audio over HDMI to TV (don't have surround sound so I can't test bitstreaming).

Gigabyte GA-H55M-S2H
4gig DDR3
40gig Intel SSD
1tb Caviar Green
LITEON Bluray (haven't tested Bluray as I haven't bought any yet)

OTA HD tv looks pristine and there's plenty of power for a basic HTPC setup (not doing any gaming so I can't report on that).

shoverbj:

Built mine this past weekend, works great (with the exception of the AverMedia Duet)! Graphics and Audio over HDMI to TV (don't have surround sound so I can't test bitstreaming).

Gigabyte GA-H55M-S2H
4gig DDR3
40gig Intel SSD
1tb Caviar Green
LITEON Bluray (haven't tested Bluray as I haven't bought any yet)

OTA HD tv looks pristine and there's plenty of power for a basic HTPC setup (not doing any gaming so I can't report on that).

Nice set up.  I'm considering a similar setup.  Did you opt for a Clarkdale CPU, utilising the onboard GPU?  If so, how does the W7 MCE interface render on your 42" (presumably 1080p) plasma?  Are the transitions nice and smooth?

dduk:

Nice set up.  I'm considering a similar setup.  Did you opt for a Clarkdale CPU, utilising the onboard GPU?  If so, how does the W7 MCE interface render on your 42" (presumably 1080p) plasma?  Are the transitions nice and smooth?

I just built a couple of Mediacenters(Windows 7 home premium 32bit) using SSD drives and the new I series chips(I5 and a I3)

First one:
I5 650
Intel DH55HC
4 gb
Intel 40gb SSD
1.5 tb

Second one:
I3 530
Biostar TH55B HD
4 gb RAM
OCZ 30gb SSD
1.5tb

Both setups are using the onboard video and play back everything smooth as glass when set to 1080p including transitions while playing HD content.

dduk

Playback is very smooth on everything using the iGPU, except sometimes TV but I'm pretty sure that is a tuner issue not a GPU issue.

I would highly suggest the i3 with h55 system for an inexpensive "holy grail" setup.

I just built a core i3 htpc system as well but have a sata2 drive. Does the SSD drive make much of a difference in performance?

Thanks for the response, all.  Now I really really REALLY want one...

The SSD is a really nice idea; fast boot time, no heat and no noise!

hbcondo:

I just built a core i3 htpc system as well but have a sata2 drive. Does the SSD drive make much of a difference in performance?

I have no real numbers to quote however I can tell you that from the time I select restart that I'm using Windows Mediacenter again in 30 seconds or less.  The reality of a MCE solution is they will have to be rebooted at the most inconvenient time possible.  This is the sole reason I will always use SSD drives for boot drives on any machine that records TV. 

Honestly, it was a bit of a "splurge" when I bought it (the SSD) but I absolutely love that thing. My computer will shutdown (if there are no updates) in 5 seconds or less and go from power button press to live tv in less than 25 seconds. Got to think that has more to do with the SSD than anything else in my setup, although I haven't tested it with a traditional drive.

I've just set up a new core i3 and DH55HC and am finding it pretty good, however i've one or two blu-ray rips with DTS and can't get any audio? codecs or hdmi problem??

any ideas?

ta

lee

Can't say for sure because I don't have the capabilities (audio receiver) to play back HD audio, but I believe that since it is such a new platform all of the bluray playing software is still "catching up" to intel's chip and none of them have yet to have stable DTS-HD or TrueHD playback capabilities.

I figured that by the time I do get a receiver they will have all the codecs and whetever else all figured out, but for now it seems that they are still trying to get it to work.

Take a look at babgvant's review of the i5: Missing Remote Review: Intel's DH55TC and Core i5-661 - Clarkdale. Most of what mentioned is relevant for the i3 as well. He is also publishing an i3 review sometime next week.

I finally got on this bandwagon and have had a few issues.  Has anyone else seen this?

First, system specs:

Core i3 540 (stock speeds)

4GB DDR3

W7 x64

Asus P7H55M Pro, VGA to TV and SPDIF to reciever

PowerDVD 9 Ultra

Intel X-25V boot drive, WD 1.5TB Green TV drive

When I try to play blu-ray movies the video does not work at all - screen is kind of grey and overlayed with another screen.  This is only when it is H.264 or VC-1 parts of the blu-ray, MPEG-2 previews work fine.  I made sure I have the latest version of PowerDVD 9, as well as Intel drivers.  H.264 works perfectly though when watching recorded TV from my HDPVR.  Not sure what the deal is here.  I tried the PowerDVD 10 trial as well but I am pretty sure they just yanked the code from PDVD9 since the problem is exactly the same.  I reinstalled PDVD9 with no patches, and got some video to work but had a million other problems so I assume this is a Cyberlink issue, but wondering if anyone else has seen it.

Also I had absolutely zero luck with the HDMI.  I could not even test bitstreaming HD audio because of the above problem, and I was getting horrible handshake problems when turning the TV on.  I switched back to VGA since it seems to play nicely with my Samsung TV.

Sounds like an AP/HDCP handshake issue. What Intel drivers do you have installed? For instance, bitstreaming HD audio doesn't work without the Intel Management Engine (thanks babgvant for pointing that out, I didn't see it documented anywhere).

I do NOT have the Intel Management engine installed - good catch.  I had no idea that would affect it!  I'll give it another go.

 I have my i3-530 with 4GB on an Asus P7H55D-M EVO mb set up on the test bench. Using W7-64 and TMT3 I can play BD discs perfectly using only the onboard GPU! Check out a couple of pics at my Flicker page...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25046782@N07/4446379855/

It is the Holy Grail.