Your Very First HTPC? But Where do You Start?

Your Very First HTPC? But Where do You Start? - Printable Version

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- eskro - 2011-07-21 22:29

yepp! bluray has a real nice HTPC!!

Link him to your pics bluray!!

oh and, make new ones Tongue

What do you think about this htpc? - joeranjensen - 2011-07-21 22:44

Hi

Now I have an Asrock ion 300ht, but I want a new htpc who is as silent as possible + I want it to handle all the heavy skins 100% smooth.

For now I dont have a 3dTV, but Im considering building a htpc that handles 3d playback (in case I get myself a 3dtv).

After reading your guide, I came up with this build, based on your [Mini-ITX] i3-2100 (2x3.1Ghz) + GT210-Build: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?p=842075#post842075

I did not find exactly the hardware you suggested, but I tried to find the next best match Smile

Anyway, here is my shopping list: http://nettsystem.no/k/shoplist.aspx?mode=receive&si=952749&su=F4208EFB-5BF4-47F2-9B36-2F010E1FC96C

Thoughts are very appreciated..

Edit: I havent yet decided if im going to run xbmc live or win7-xbmc. Most likely its gonna be win7.

- bluray - 2011-07-21 23:00

I wasn't a fan of mini-htpc till I found "eSkro's HTPC Guide", and I'm encourage you to check it out too. I used everything in his suggestion, but I upgraded several things in it.

I'm always thought that bigger is better, and all my previous HTPC's are built with standard cases. It’s easier to find upgrade components for it. Since it is bigger, it tends to be noisier and it was always very tough for me to fit it in the rack. With all the new smaller technologies these days, smaller isn't necessary lack of power!

[Image: 243g8rt.jpg]

- eskro - 2011-07-22 00:14

joeranjensen Wrote:Anyway, here is my shopping list: http://nettsystem.no/k/shoplist.aspx?mode=receive&si=952749&su=F4208EFB-5BF4-47F2-9B36-2F010E1FC96C

That GT430 wont fit in that case!!
HeatSink is wayyy to big!!
I'd go with this one instead ---> http://ow.ly/1uQELA
Or even those GT520 cards will eat 3D 1080P --> http://ow.ly/1uQFA9 or http://ow.ly/1uQFDO
check if it they all come with low profile brackets!!

other then that,
2GB (2x1GB) of RAM is enough for Win7 --> http://ow.ly/1uQVD3
dont forget that the GT430 or GT520 already have onboard memory too....
So it adds up!
no real needs for 4GB (2x2GB) of ram,,,,

OH yeah, i would decrease the CPU too...
Altho its a fantastic processor, hence why its in my builds,
i would get a PENTIUM G620 --> http://ow.ly/1uQUGr !!
It'll eat anything thrown at it
including the famous heavy AEON MQ2 skin in FULL MODE!!!!!!!!

Oh yeah and,
another popular miniITX case is the Ace Polly --> http://ow.ly/1uQVX9
About same shape as the APEX MI-008
and will accept regular 5.25" Bluray Optical Drive!
while the ANTEC will only accept slim Bluray Optical Drives...
and if u never shop'ed around for a slim one,
you'll see how much pricey they are :/

Finally, no need for additional fans..

Happy shopping & Save your money Tongue

- scphantm - 2011-07-22 02:26

bluray Wrote:Since you're willing to pay a little more, I would go with this setup:

1. MSI 880GM-E41 AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
2. AMD Phenom II X4 840 3.2GHz
3. SilverStone Aluminum/Steel Micro ATX Media Center/HTPC Case ML03B (Black)
4. Antec EA-380D Power Supply
5. Axle3D GeForce GT 520 2GB DDR3 PCI Express
6. Corsair Force CSSD-F40GB2-A
7. Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066

You'll be a happy camper!

well, i started with this, changed a few components (different case, PS, and an xfx version of the video card), we will see how it goes

1 x ($29.99) MEM 2Gx2|KST KVR1066D3N7K2/4G R $29.99
1 x ($64.99) HTPC CASE XION| XON-810PCB-RD R $64.99
1 x ($69.99) VGA XFX|GT-520M-CNF2 520GT 2G R $69.99
1 x ($74.99) MB MSI| 880GM-E41 880G R $74.99
1 x ($99.99) SSD 40G|CORSAIR CSSD-F40GB2-A R $99.99
1 x ($104.99) CPU AMD|PH II X4 840 3.2G AM3 RT $104.99
with shipping - $470

all from newegg.com

im a unix guy so im planning on running this configuration with XBMC-Live. we will see how things go next week.

i was hoping for a bad ass machine that i only have to buy once for several years, this looked like the best combination ive seen recommended. can't wait to try loading up mame and play a serious game of asteroids on my TV

as always with linux the biggest challenge is going to be the video card. looks like drivers won't be a problem but we will see. ill post progress and notes when the hardware shows up.

LOL, once this is running time to move on to my 100tb storage server =-)

- eskro - 2011-07-22 02:54

Powerfull build scphantm!

Keep us up to date Tongue

- bluray - 2011-07-22 04:00

scphantm Wrote:well, i started with this, changed a few components (different case, PS, and an xfx version of the video card), we will see how it goes

1 x ($64.99) HTPC CASE XION| XON-810PCB-RD R $64.99

1 x ($74.99) MB MSI| 880GM-E41 880G R $74.99

The red Xion is sexy...if you add $20 more, you can get this- ASUS M4A88TD-M/USB3 AM3 AMD 880G HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard with usb 3.0. It is so much faster than usb 2.0. It'll be very powerful htpc!

- joeranjensen - 2011-07-22 11:05

Thanks for the reply

Quote:That GT430 wont fit in that case!!
HeatSink is wayyy to big!!
I'd go with this one instead ---> http://ow.ly/1uQELA
Or even those GT520 cards will eat 3D 1080P --> http://ow.ly/1uQFA9 or http://ow.ly/1uQFDO
check if it they all come with low profile brackets!!

which of those three cards you suggest will be the most qietest one, and what is the advantages with the most expensive vs the cheapest card? And all those three cards will fit in the case in my shoppinglist? What about the APEX MI-008, what cards will/wont fit in that case?

NOOBquestion: How do I se if they come with low profile brackets?

Quote:other then that,
2GB (2x1GB) of RAM is enough for Win7 --> http://ow.ly/1uQVD3
dont forget that the GT430 or GT520 already have onboard memory too....
So it adds up!
no real needs for 4GB (2x2GB) of ram,,,,

OH yeah, i would decrease the CPU too...
Altho its a fantastic processor, hence why its in my builds,
i would get a PENTIUM G620 --> http://ow.ly/1uQUGr !!
It'll eat anything thrown at it
including the famous heavy AEON MQ2 skin in FULL MODE!!!!!!!!

RAM and CPU decreased Smile

Quote:Oh yeah and,
another popular miniITX case is the Ace Polly --> http://ow.ly/1uQVX9
About same shape as the APEX MI-008
and will accept regular 5.25" Bluray Optical Drive!
while the ANTEC will only accept slim Bluray Optical Drives...
and if u never shop'ed around for a slim one,
you'll see how much pricey they are :/

Ive red that the Ace Polly case is a bit noisy so Im skeptical to that one, but I realy like the APEX MI-008. I dont think I will need a bluerayplayer in the htpc as Sickbeard and Couchpotato downloads everything I need to my NAS, but thanks for the tip!

Quote:Finally, no need for additional fans..

So you dont think that I can decrease the noise level if I replace original fans with "silent fans"?

- scphantm - 2011-07-22 14:32

eskro Wrote:Powerfull build scphantm!

Keep us up to date

yea, thats what i wanted. one thing i learned a long time ago with MAME, there is no such thing as too much hardware.

- scphantm - 2011-07-22 14:35

joeranjensen Wrote:NOOBquestion: How do I se if they come with low profile brackets?

i just always cut them myself. if the card clears and the connector clears, i just get a pair of tin snips, cut it off and bend a new tab down with a pair of pliers. do it all the time with network cards.