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**Dougie Fresh** · 2014-07-30, 17:43

It seems these days DIY threads are few and far between. It's all about the NUC, Chromebox, Fire TV and various android boxes.

So, are the day of building your own HTPC gone do you think?

**black_eagle** · 2014-07-30, 18:08

Not in this house !!!!

I take your point though. Thing is, it's so much easier for someone to buy an 'off the shelf' solution these days, than to start involving themselves with what memory goes in this motherboard and which processor fits in socket whatever .

I built my first computer by soldering parts together (it was a kit form ZX80) and I have built my own ever since. Admittedly it's got easier over the years - no soldering any more lol - but average joe just wants to buy a little box that he can hide away, and that will connect to a NAS or the internet and put content on his screen with as little effort as possible.

There will always be people that DIY their own systems because either they want to or they have a specific need or just because they can. But they do seem to be getting less, perhaps because of all the NUC's, FireTV's etc. There is less need to put together a decent PC because it's all SOC.

Ahhh well.

jammyb · 2014-07-30, 18:43

It's definitely becoming more hobbyist building your own. I still build 'em. But definitely see the merits in NUCs, fireTV et al.

Not a dying art or the beginning of the end though. Just the usual cost:convenience ratio. Cheap and easy versus a bit more and building it yourself.

But building it means more options! And prettier products IME.

whitebelly · 2014-07-30, 19:07

Building them is simple these days, not a lot of issues to resolve. GPUs handle most everything & software choices are well established. There is no "new thing" to explore. The brave new world chapter of HTPC history is coming to an end.

noggin · 2014-07-30, 19:30

I think the NUC has been a bit of a game changer. Previously you could self-build something as good as you could buy. Now that Mini-ITX is the smallest DIY option, going for a smaller NUC or Chromebox is quite compelling.

I still DIY all my main PCs (i7 2600K which mainly runs as a Hackintosh but also boots into Windows and Ubuntu is my current processing rig) - but my main HTPC is now an i5 NUC, replacing a uATX E7400 Dual Core + nVidia 9400 integrated graphics build.

two515ty · 2014-07-30, 20:09

Personally, I wouldn't build a custom HTPC since the NUC is quite capable and affordable. The main reason I wanted the NUC as a media player is the size and clean look. In my opinion, most mini-ITX cases don't have a small footprint and clean aesthetic like the NUC does. The built in IR that can power the system on and off is also a huge selling point for me too. Normally, I'm not a fan of barebones or prebuilt computers, but I think devices like the NUC make more sense for my HTPC usage scenarios.

When it comes to general usage, gaming computers, and servers though, I usually will always build from scratch. HTPC's have gotten to the point where almost every device is fully capable of most things, and you don't need as much customization as you might with your main PC or server.

MediaPi · 2014-07-30, 20:26

Funny the question coming from you Dougie lol. You should know more than anyone. One if the main fault is the word DIY. It brings up connotation of having to actually build something when all you do is literally stick in connectors. We have gotten lazy and we just consume. It still take a bit of effort to gain the required knowledge to know what parts to get and where from. Even though there's amazing folks like you that give valuable honest and expert advice, people don't believe you get that for free. So they go for the only thing they can get. The safe option.

You could argue that even though the nuc cost more buck for the same bang from a DIY build you are basically paying it for security. It'll work no needing work BIOS. No waiting on anyone to offer advice.

That's basically the bottom line we are use to things instantly. No patience. I've tried posting thread to list all parts that would basically get you a nuc but more bang and less buck. But you get newcomers coming up and asking again nuc vs fire TV .... Those thread flood the forum and no one checks after the first page.

1 idea could be to have a separate section on DIY build

**voip-ninja** · 2014-07-30, 21:22

It used to be that unless you built it yourself you couldn't get a good feature set that was oriented towards home theater. All of the pre-built options had numerous weaknesses... no IR, crappy video card, noisy fans, ugly case, etc.

NUC changed all of that. You pay a small premium over DIY to get a box that is tiny, integrated IR, very good video quality and nearly silent. Hard to argue with progress.

z31fanatic · 2014-07-30, 23:22

Unless you are into PC gaming, then it doesn't really make sense building it yourself now that we have so many options like the NUC, Brix, Chromebox, and others. They are affordable, consume very little power, and can do everything you need for HTPC use.

KidKiwi · 2014-07-30, 23:37

Very interesting thread. I've been out of the hardware side for a while. I'd heard of the term NUC, but hadn't looked up what it was. Looks like a very interesting device.

My question. I know lots of HW can handle 1080p video etc today, but from my perspective I'm more interested in the ability of the HW to deal with a Large library (dB). I have such a library and one thing I notice, the more I add to it the slower it is to load. ARe these NUC's capable of dealing with such an issue??

**.:B:.** · 2014-07-30, 23:38

I think you're looking at it the wrong way. I built my home server myself. Built my desktop myself. My next server and desktop will probably be custom builds as well, for the foreseeable future.

For a HTPC, however, a lot of people want compact, silent systems. There are few setups that can offer that apart from the compact systems that are all over the place nowadays, some of them x86 boxes, others ARM (Raspberry Pi, Pivos, ...). Sure, you can build custom compact systems if you want, but you also need to spend time on it. There's tonnes of off-the-shelf hardware that can be used as a media center (and is marketed as such) out of the box. That's what changed.

Also, the target audience has shifted - I believe XBMC's userbase (like many entertainment software's) has broadened, which almost always implies there are more 'laymen' discovering the software. A lot of people, you've noticed no doubt, is mostly interested in being up and running as quickly as possible, with a minimum of time spent (or lost, as they more likely see it).

I got an AD10 myself, a few years back, as an HTPC. Haven't regretted it. If anything, it even keeps me from upgrading (which I do intermittently with my custom-built boxes...). I'm already looking at its replacement, although the AD10 still does just fine.

noggin · 2014-07-30, 23:42

Yes. I built my last two servers. I have a secondary HP Microserver (which mainly handles TV recordings) but my unRAID server (and its replacement) were home builds. It is next-to-impossible to buy a decent server off the shelf.

**katsup** · 2014-07-31, 00:43

Technically, couldn't the Raspberry Pi be considered DIY? You buy the board, case, wifi card, etc... then put it all together.

I stopped building my HTPC when I couldn't get the small footprint that I get with the prebuilt ones. Plus it is a lot easier to troubleshoot something like a NUC as many other users have the same hardware.

iLLNESS · 2014-07-31, 00:53

i'd say DIY xbmc is mostly dead. there isn't really a good reason to build one at all anymore.

with dedicated devices like the firetv/raspi/etc that aren't very big, you can build yourself a server to stick in the basement or closet if you need the storage otherwise just outright not use one.

there really isnt any advantage to having an htpc for most people anymore.

MrCrispy · (This post was last modified: 2014-07-31, 02:07 by MrCrispy.)

The issue is that its becoming increasingly hard for a DIY build to match the power consumption and profile of a custom solution, and you don't really gain any performance either. OEMs like Intel don't sell the parts used in something like Chromebox in retail channels, so you can't actually DIY it.

So a DIY is not going to be cheaper, it'll consume more power, will be bigger, will take more time, have no support. What do you potentially gain? - it has more expansion support, can run more things, and you have the luxury (and pain) of researching, choosing and building it. Every single one of these is arguably not a benefit for most people.

XBMC should be an appliance, easy to use, not intimidating, and off the shelf, so everyone can use it. Now its pretty much there thanks to the new generation of devices.