Your Very First HTPC? But Where do You Start?

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

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Thoughts Please - SamHill - 2012-03-15 04:41

.
Eskro, looking at buying the following setup. It is based off your #7 setup and would be used for 3d Blu-Rays, 1080P streaming of Netflix and Hulu.

[CPU+iGPU] AMD A8-3850 4x2.9GHz HD6550D FM1 100W ($129.99)
[MOBO] ASRock A75M FM1 CIR USB3.0 SATAIII UEFI μATX ($74.99)
[CASE] SILVERSTONE ML03B μATX (59.99)
[PSU] Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W ATX12V ($44.99)
[RAM] Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ($28.99)
[SSD] Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III ($94.99)
TOTAL: ($434)

Your thoughts are appreciated.

RE: My Very First HTPC, But Where do I Start? - eskro - 2012-03-15 06:54

Flawless to me!

you could drop to a A6-3500 APU for $90

and get a silent cooler with saved dollars...

and as PSU, well, i dont go crazy with the EA-380 since it has an 80mm fan...

i know its a good one with good reviews tho,

but i prefer getting the one listed in my HTPC guide,

and if its not available, i'd get the Silverstone Strider 400W

RE: My Very First HTPC, But Where do I Start? - Geran - 2012-03-16 16:40

Do I have to have a GPU in order to get Bitstream DOLBY TRUE-HD & DTS-HD MASTER audio or is there any MicroATX motherboards that support it?

RE: My Very First HTPC, But Where do I Start? - bluray - 2012-03-16 16:58

(2012-03-16 16:40)Geran Wrote: Do I have to have a GPU in order to get Bitstream DOLBY TRUE-HD & DTS-HD MASTER audio or is there any MicroATX motherboards that support it?

If you use AMD APU (it'll work with most motherbords), you don't need a discrete GPU for bitstreaming....

RE: My Very First HTPC, But Where do I Start? - latx - 2012-03-19 22:26

Hi!

I just bought these components:

ASUS F1A75-M PRO DDR3 S-FM1 M-ATX
AMD A-SERIES X3 A6-3500 2.1GHZ SOCKET FM1 BOX
OCZ VERTEX PLUS 2.5" 60GB SSD SATA/300 MLC
ANTEC MINUET 350 PIANO SVART SLIMLINE 350W

Got it set up with Win7 and running smooth, but I can not seem to get dts or any other sound other then Stereo through the HDMI? What am I doing wrong ^^

I've tried XBMC(put the receiver supports dts etc on), tried Mediaportal(ack!), vlc and windows mediaplayer classic.. Every one seem to just be giving me stereo :/

RE: My Very First HTPC, But Where do I Start? - bluray - 2012-03-19 22:39

(2012-03-19 22:26)latx Wrote: Hi!

I just bought these components:

ASUS F1A75-M PRO DDR3 S-FM1 M-ATX
AMD A-SERIES X3 A6-3500 2.1GHZ SOCKET FM1 BOX
OCZ VERTEX PLUS 2.5" 60GB SSD SATA/300 MLC
ANTEC MINUET 350 PIANO SVART SLIMLINE 350W

Got it set up with Win7 and running smooth, but I can not seem to get dts or any other sound other then Stereo through the HDMI? What am I doing wrong ^^

I've tried XBMC(put the receiver supports dts etc on), tried Mediaportal(ack!), vlc and windows mediaplayer classic.. Every one seem to just be giving me stereo :/

1. Update the latest GPU driver from here- AMD Catalyst™ Display Driver
2. If you have AVR, make sure that you connect your system this way- HTPC-->AVR-->HDTV via HDMI cables
3. Select AMD HDMI audio output in Windows 7 control panel and XBMC

RE: My Very First HTPC, But Where do I Start? - latx - 2012-03-19 22:48

My setup now is this;

HTPC -> Receiver(Onkyo TX807NR) -> 1080p lcd screen

I'm gonna download latest drivers and check the Win7 control panel tomorrow!

Thanks for the fast reply Tongue

RE: My Very First HTPC, But Where do I Start? - wildzx - 2012-03-24 04:19

Ok, I never thought i would but i need help building a HTPC, as i was advise by some, from AVSFORUM, so here i am a new member (coming from Plex):
(i have worked with apple tv 1, 2 and 3, roku, popcorn systems, etc. but none offer the DTS support for 7.1 or 9.1 audio; nor offer good 3D file streaming from server). My requirement is to take full advantage of all the most of the Audio/Video formats, currently support by blu-ray players.

here is my quick setup:
1. Synology NAS server DS412+ or DS712+ (with XBMC server and 4tB hard disk space ) - this server will be media player and will have mkv files, 3D movies, HD audio, movies with 7.1/9.1 audio (DTS), blu ray back up copies etc..
2. Main Room (theater room) will have 7.1 surround sound system with Denon Receiver and 2012 65" Panasonic plasma and this is where i plan is use the HTPC (XBMC client connected to NAS server) -- htpc connected to the devon receiver and from devon receiver to tv.
3. Other rooms will be not have 7.1 surround system but will use xbmc or something similar to stream, including 1080p content ( most likely i'll use apple tv 3 iif it will ever get jailbroken, roku 2 not bad but no you tube and interface sucks, but might use roku 2 for these rooms for now)

What i am looking for:
- Able to stream flawless from blu-ray back up copies, 3D movies, mkv files, 7.1 audio etc.
- Around 400 range less than 500.
- Runs cool, low cosumption and quiet
- Not too big
- supports at least 7.1 or 9.1 Audio to my surround system
- HD Audio
-plays good blu-ray disc movies
-simple

thanks Mac

RE: My Very First HTPC, But Where do I Start? - bluray - 2012-03-24 06:26

Welcome to the forum Mac! This build should work.....

1. SILVERSTONE Sugo Series SG06-B Black Aluminum
2. ASRock Socket FM1/AMD A75M-ITX USB 3.0
3. AMD Fusion A6-3600 APU Quad-Core Socket FM1 2.1GHz HD6530D 65W Retail
4. G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3
5. Patriot Torqx 2 PT232GS25SSDR 2.5" 32GB SSD
6. Panasonic UJ240 6x Blu-ray Burner BD-RE

RE: My Very First HTPC, But Where do I Start? - magpieswarble - 2012-03-24 08:26

Hey guys -- new to the Forums here and I've been collecting as much information as I can before finally breaking down and posting. I feel like my head's going to explode from all the options for my first HTPC. One minute I've decided on getting a pre-built and the next I'm considering building my own.

Ideally, I'd like to find a pre-built HTPC that is pretty much good to go (willing, of course to buy RAM/Hard Drive separately if it's barebones.) However, if building my own HTPC is easy (I've built a few custom desktop computers several years ago) and a great way to save money, I'd consider that too.

Let me paint you a picture of what I want from my ideal media center and you guys could perhaps let me know what would work best for me or if I'm not even making sense. By the way, I've checked the 'What group am I?' thread and I'm Group 5, I would say. Also trying to keep the budget around the $300 range if possible. Here are things I'd like to do with my HTPC setup:

Connect to my TV via HDMI (duh)
Load XBMC on it (Live? or Windows 7? I'm undecided.)
Hook up my 1 TB External Hard Drive via eSATA (since I already own it.) This would store my downloaded TV shows and Movies
Stream Netflix HD with no stuttering at all
Stream Hulu (highest quality) with no stuttering
Install sabnzbd, Sickbeard, and Couchpotato on it so I can manage all my usenet downloading/sorting right off the HTPC
Be able to put NES/SNES/n64 emulators on there and play with perfect performance
Blu-ray drive just for watching blu-ray movies occasionally? Low priority but would be a nice bonus.

Let me put this out there too: I'm not a pack rat when it comes to downloading and storing TV shows and Movies. Typically, I'll download a recent TV show episode/season, watch it, and then delete it. Also, I'll download a movie I want to watch and then delete it when I'm done. That's not to say I don't want a good chunk of storage just in case. But, I'm not wanting to build a NAS with like 4 Terabyte drives in it. Trying to keep things on a smaller budget here.

Also not worried about doing Wi-Fi. Definitely going to hook the device up directly to my router via ethernet.

So, is it realistic to find an HTPC that does all of that for a reasonable price? I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts and feedback. Go easy on me, I'm new to this whole thing!