Jonsbo V12 HTPC Build

[Snakecharmed]

 

Call it a hedge against rising PC component costs that will extend into 2027 or 2028. Call it overkill. Call it a build for the sake of building something. Whatever it is, it’s my new HTPC.

 

I’ve had a 2011 Lenovo ThinkPad W520 laptop on a docking station serving as my family room HTPC for years. However, that laptop is long in the tooth and won’t be able to handle the next evolution of my family room home theater. The GPU is so old that it doesn’t support 4K60 output.

 

Because of that, I had been casually considering a new rig or upgrading my Eluktronics laptop to a newer model with a mobile RTX 3080 with 16GB, which is basically equivalent to a hypothetical 16GB desktop RTX 3060 Ti. However, it seems that nobody is selling their 15" mobile 3080 laptops anymore for a reasonable price (if at all), so I went for a new build instead.

 

Here’s what I put together based around a Micro Center combo while trying to save some money because prices are stupid now. The memory and SSD is lightly used instead of being brand new. Most importantly for the budget goals, I found a way to reuse my old Corsair PSU that I still kept after building my current main rig in 2023.

 

• AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D
• MSI B850M-VC Pro WiFi AM5 mATX Motherboard
• Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 Mini Black Heatsink
• 32GB (2x16GB) G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB DDR5-6000 36-36-36-96
• 1TB Kioxia XG8 Series KXG8AZNV1T02 NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD
• Jonsbo V12 Black microATX Case
• Corsair Professional Series Gold AX850 PSU
• MechLands CIDOO QK75 75% Layout Wireless Mechanical Keyboard
• Logitech Performance MX Wireless Mouse

 

I opted not to get a discrete GPU for now because when I do get around to playing games on this, I’ll most likely stream Steam from my desktop PC. Hypothetically, if I had to get a GPU for anything else and needed it by the end of the week, it would be an RTX 3070.

 

Even with a used 3070 for $200, my total build price would be around $950, which is pretty good these days with only the RAM being hideously priced compared to 2023. The Micro Center combo for the 7500X3D and MSI B850M-VC Pro was better than buying used.

 

My original inspiration for this build was a prebuilt I saw on eBay a couple months ago using an ASRock DeskMeet X600 chassis. At least a couple of people were trying to build their version of a Steam Machine using a Ryzen 5 7500F/7600 CPU, a single stick of 16GB DDR5, and a Radeon RX 6600/7600/9060 XT GPU, but none of them were priced that well. I realized I could build something better for cheaper and use premium components in some parts of the build where they couldn’t.

 

Case

 

In trying to find something that fit the bottom shelf of my A/V stand that was compatible with an ATX power supply, I narrowed down my options to the Fractal Node 304 for $110 and the Jonsbo V12 for $130. If I went for an ITX motherboard, it was going to be the Node, but the Micro Center combo drove every other decision because the CPU and motherboard portion was cheaper than a 7500F and a used ITX AM5 motherboard. That meant going with microATX and the Jonsbo V12.

 

This case is nice. The walnut wood accent on the front and the wraparound smoked glass looks great. The whole thing has a mid-century modern aesthetic and it’s a sophisticated-looking showpiece for a family room. It supports GPUs up to 260mm in length, which allows for enough options available in the GPU mid-tier whenever I finally decide I need one for games installed on the local SSD.

 

 

 

I don’t have a lot of experience with modern cases, but this one was straightforward. Thumbscrews on the back would have been ideal, but I can buy a pack of those on my own. The cable management seemed fine with cleaner routing than my spare Montech X1 ATX tower case.

 

OS

I can’t tell when I’ll fully swear off Windows, but until that happens, it’s 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 for my third build in a row since 2023. Meanwhile, since I don’t really have to sell my ThinkPad, I could have that become my first Linux sandbox. If I’m being honest with myself though, I probably still won’t use it much just like the last six years. Tinkering with testbed operating systems just isn’t an interest of mine.

 

However, customizing a Windows 10 install to make it suck less both in terms of more attractive aesthetics and making it function more like 7 is a tedious, time-consuming process. In addition to all the manual tweaking to Settings, Control Panel, group policy settings, the registry, the following apps and utilities have become part of my customization toolkit:

 

• ContextMenuManager
• DWMBlurGlass
• ExplorerBlurMica
• HWiNFO
• Microsoft PowerToys 0.86.0
• Microsoft Visual Studio Code
• O&O ShutUp 10++
• Open-Shell
• Rainmeter
• RocketDock
• Sizer 4.0
• TranslucentFlyouts
• Windows Update Blocker

 

I had it easy with ignoring most of the customization for the NVR, but I even went back and installed some of these utilities on my main desktop after I was done with the HTPC. Anyway, I can’t imagine how much worse it is these days with reigning in 11.

 

A/V

 

My current receiver and TV are an Onkyo TX-SR706 and a Samsung LN52A540 52" LCD from 2008-09. They're both getting upgraded soon as well.

 

The speakers are also about the same age, but they're solid and I have no desire to change them. They're the Mordaunt-Short Alumni 8, 5, and 2 to comprise five channels, and a Rythmik Audio D15SE sealed downfiring 15" subwoofer. I made a really good call on them years ago because I’m still very happy with the total package between the sound quality and aesthetics. While I could try for a Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 setup with in-ceiling speakers, I just don't feel like going through the trouble. With the way I have the room set up around a TV in the corner, there aren't any great wall or ceiling mount locations for height speakers that make any sense. Also, I consume music way more than movies anyway.

 

 

The new AVR arrived today: an Onkyo TX-NR6100. I hope to set it up over the next week along with a Sofabaton X1S universal remote that I bought in late 2024 and still haven’t opened. The TX-NR6100 is mostly to modernize the connectivity options I have available. HDMI 2.1 support means it will go well with a new TV. Speaking of connectivity, I also need to get an HDMI adapter for that Wii on the bottom shelf, which I've neglected for over a decade now. Realistically though, the 7500X3D running Dolphin emulator upscaled to 4K is a better Wii than the real deal anyway.

 

I doubt the TX-NR6100 will sound significantly different than the TX-SR706 for music at least. That's another thing to note with this build: I'm using HDMI audio now instead of either onboard motherboard sound (which I'd never use anyway) or my M2Tech hiFace Two USB DAC like I did with the ThinkPad. I'm trusting the DAC in the receiver to be more than capable of handling the load. I just couldn't before because the ThinkPad didn't support HDMI out.