My First HTPC

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toolpunk Offline
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2011-01-20 23:38 Post: #1
Hey everybody, I'm about to build my first HTPC Laugh and would like to get some feedback on the components I've chosen.

The PC's gonna run XBMC Live and will mainly be used to watch my archived movies (DVD and BR rips) and TV shows.
But I also want it to be able to run some game console emulators.
Total: 1205$

I am aware of the fact there's currently no native Blu-ray support in XBMC Live, but I think there's a plugin for that, so I should be ok.
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bmcclure937 Offline
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Location: Ohio
2011-01-21 00:18 Post: #2
Holy f@#$ Shocked

Do you think your budget is high enough?! Wow... that PSU and case alone is probably about the price I paid for my whole build.

Honestly, a Corei5 is way over the top and not needed. Stick with the i3 530 or go with AMD. You can get an AMD X4 Quad for $99 and it will do everything you need the HTPC to do.

You could also save about $60 (or more) on the motherboard.


If you do not mind dropping 4x as much as you could get away with on your HTPC, then be my guest. Rofl
OpenELEC: AMD Athlon X4 | NVidia GT430 | 2x2Gb RAM | Gigabyte MoBo | Antec Case & PSU
FreeNAS: 4x1TB RAIDZ (additional 4x2TB soon)
Supporting Services: SABnzbd+, Couch Potato, Sick Beard on FreeNAS
Home Theater: Panasonic VT25 | Yamaha RX667 | Panasonic 3D BluRay | Harmon Kardon 5.1 | Harmony One (my config guide)

[Image: 56ivB]
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mr.sparkle Online
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2011-01-21 00:27 Post: #3
Well, if you didn't say you want to run game console emulators, I'd agree on the overkill. I have no idea what that requires. But as far as media playback, you're spending nearly a thousand too much. Also, if you're gonna spend a grand, you should opt for a client/server approach.
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maxinc Offline
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2011-01-21 00:30 Post: #4
toolpunk Wrote:Total: 1205$

Hope they give you free delivery Rofl

Apart from being an overkill for running the stuff you mentioned, my concern would be with the fanles PSU and the relatively small case. By the looks of it, with such component the case will get very hot inside.
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eskro Offline
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2011-01-21 00:45 Post: #5
oh my,,, wait till Poofy reads this thread,,,
honestly, wayyyy to much $$$ for nothing,,,,

at a price tag of $1205,
that equals = my HTPC + my 6TB unRAID PRO NAS Server!!!

and also, you say you wanna use XBMC Live and play Emulators...
looks like a WIndows7 job.... anyways,
you could start by having a look at these...

[CPU] AMD Athlon II X4 3.0GHz AM3 95W ($100 + $5) http://fwd4.me/uC5
[BD-ROM] LITE-ON 8X Combo SATA ($64 + $4) http://fwd4.me/uC7
[GFX] MSI GeForce GT430 1GB DDR3 128-bit Low Profile ($84 + $7 - $10 MIR) http://fwd4.me/uC4
[MOBO] ASRock AM3 USB3 eSata MicroATX ($85 + $3) http://fwd4.me/u3R
[RAM] G.SKILL Ripjaws 2 x 2GB DDR3 1333Mhz CL7 240-Pin ($55 + $0) http://ow.ly/1rYuzC
[CASE] Antec VSK-2000 ($45 + $6) http://fwd4.me/uCA
[PSU] CORSAIR CX430 430W ATX12V ($45 + $0 - $20 MIR) http://fwd4.me/uC8
[SSD] Mushkin Callisto 40GB 2.5" 40GB SATAII ($100 + $0 - $10 MIR) http://fwd4.me/uCY
[HDD] Seagate Barracuda LP 2TB 5900RPM SATA 32MB 3.5" ($80 + $0) http://fwd4.me/uCZ
My G7 HTPC // eSkRo's HTPC Guide // Poofy's HTPC Guide // unRAID Guide // SSD Optimization
[Image: chGFh.png] thx :)
(This post was last modified: 2011-01-21 03:58 by eskro.)
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grantd Offline
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Location: St. Paul, MN
2011-01-21 01:43 Post: #6
Lets be nice here folks, He's new and we don't necessarily know the whole story yet.

1. Is this the only computer you intend to store media on or could the storage be put into another computer on the network which is always on anyway?
2. What are your future plans for this box, DVR recording? Heavy Gaming?
3. Do you intend to be running a lot of other services on this box? Torrents? sabnzbd? sickberd? couch potato? video ripping and compression?
4. What type of media are you generally playing? SD .avi's, HD .Mkv's, blu ray disks?
5. How tech savvy are the people in the house that are going to be using it.

I agree with the others, it's way overkill for what you've described.
Xbmc Live and emulators can be done with very minimal system resources, a lot of folks on the forum have opted for net top devices in the 250 range all in, a full 1000 under your build price.

If you think you might be looking at using for more than just an xbmc front end and playing early 90's nes games then maybe look for more than just an intel atom/nvidia ion net top. We can help you pick out hardware that you should be more than happy with.

I did a little test to check system requirements of emulators. I installed an nes emulator on my ubuntu system. This computer is a real POS. It's an atom with integrated intel graphics. This guy struggles on nice sd rips. I was able to play Mario 3 without any lag. I don't know if you're looking to emulate more sophisticated systems but usually this is the type of thing people are looking for.

if there is something else you wanted tested shout it out I'm sure someones willing to see how it stacks up.
(This post was last modified: 2011-01-21 02:17 by grantd.)
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poofyhairguy Offline
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2011-01-21 01:48 Post: #7
I like the parts overall, but honestly for that much power and that price braket just buy this instead:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...-_-Product

And you will have a better HTPC overall (get the same SSD and some nice RAM too).
Mini/Micro ITX Frontend (with SSD) + Mediaserver/NAS + Logitech Harmony + LCD/LED/Plasma TV + Nice AV Receiver + XBMC + USENET + sabnzbd + sickbeard +couchpotato

My Setup--HTPC Building Guide- Start Here--Advice on Hard Drives and SSDs--Mediaserver Guide--Harmony Guide
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grantd Offline
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Location: St. Paul, MN
2011-01-21 02:05 Post: #8
Here is a build i just about pulled my wallet out for and would give you lots and lots of room to grow.

CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz ~$60
MOBO: ASUS M4A78LT-M LE ~$55 after rebate
Graphics: EVGA 512-P3-1212-LR GeForce 210 512MB ~ $20 after rebate
RAM: WINTEC AMPX 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit ~ $43
SSD: OCZ Vertex Series OCZSSD2-1VTX30GXXX 2.5" 30GB ~ $90
Case: (it was too subjective in preference for me to pick one out for you.)
Remote ~ $30

This setup puts you under the $300 mark. You didn't list storing media or playing blu ray on your list of things that you wanted it to do so I left them out. But added the remote. You could save about $40 if you went for an 8gb ssd which should be enough for xbmc live + emulators.

TV: Samsung LN46C600 600 Series 46" Class LCD HDTV ~$800

= $100 left in beer money
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eskro Offline
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2011-01-21 03:48 Post: #9
i wouldn't go with a GeForce 210 GPU card....
go for the GeForce GT430, you wont regret!
Hence my build:

[CPU] AMD Athlon II X4 3.0GHz AM3 95W ($100 + $5) http://fwd4.me/uC5
[BD-ROM] LITE-ON 8X Combo SATA ($64 + $4) http://fwd4.me/uC7
[GFX] MSI GeForce GT430 1GB DDR3 128-bit Low Profile ($84 + $7 - $10 MIR) http://fwd4.me/uC4
[MOBO] ASRock AM3 USB3 eSata MicroATX ($85 + $3) http://fwd4.me/u3R
[RAM] G.SKILL Ripjaws 2 x 2GB DDR3 1333Mhz CL7 240-Pin ($55 + $0) http://ow.ly/1rYuzC
[CASE] Antec VSK-2000 ($45 + $6) http://fwd4.me/uCA
[PSU] CORSAIR CX430 430W ATX12V ($45 + $0 - $20 MIR) http://fwd4.me/uC8
[SSD] Mushkin Callisto 40GB 2.5" 40GB SATAII ($100 + $0 - $10 MIR) http://fwd4.me/uCY
[HDD] Seagate Barracuda LP 2TB 5900RPM SATA 32MB 3.5" ($80 + $0) http://fwd4.me/uCZ
My G7 HTPC // eSkRo's HTPC Guide // Poofy's HTPC Guide // unRAID Guide // SSD Optimization
[Image: chGFh.png] thx :)
(This post was last modified: 2011-01-21 03:59 by eskro.)
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toolpunk Offline
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Joined: May 2010
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2011-01-21 10:30 Post: #10
First of all thanks for the great amount of feedback.
You guys are awesome! Smile

bmcclure937 Wrote:... that PSU and case alone is probably about the price I paid for my whole build.
I already have the case and absolutely love it. So that's not gonna change. Tongue
The materials, quality and overall look are amazing.
I know it's very expensive, but in my opinion it's worth it.

maxinc Wrote:[...]my concern would be with the fanles PSU and the relatively small case. By the looks of it, with such component the case will get very hot inside.
Yah, I do have my concerns about that too.
But then again, the CPU and the GPU together have a TDP of 95W + 49W = 144W, and the average CPU power should be well below that, so that the whole system doesn't need more power and cooling than say, a PS3.
Of course I might be wrong, but I guess there's no other way than trying it out. In the worst case I'll send the PSU back and get a semi-passive one instead.
After all I want to keep fan noise down to a minimum.

eskro Wrote:and also, you say you wanna use XBMC Live and play Emulators...
looks like a WIndows7 job.... anyways,
you could start by having a look at these...

[Components removed to save space]
bmcclure937 Wrote:You could also save about $60 (or more) on the motherboard.
I actually might end up using Windows after all, but I want to try XBMC Live first because of the appliance feel.
If things don't work out the way I intended I'll most likely switch to Windows.

About your build: While the current AMD processor's offer great value they're lacking feature-wise.
I definitely want a UEFI motherboard for the way faster boot times and better features, which effectively forces me to go Intel.

I would love to save some money on the motherboard, but there is no cheaper µATX board with UEFI and FireWire support.

grantd Wrote:1. Is this the only computer you intend to store media on or could the storage be put into another computer on the network which is always on anyway?
2. What are your future plans for this box, DVR recording? Heavy Gaming?
3. Do you intend to be running a lot of other services on this box? Torrents? sabnzbd? sickberd? couch potato? video ripping and compression?
4. What type of media are you generally playing? SD .avi's, HD .Mkv's, blu ray disks?
5. How tech savvy are the people in the house that are going to be using it.
1. Yes, this is the only computer I intend to store media on. At least for now.
It needs a HDD as I want to be able to take it with me when I visit friends or family.
2. DVR recording maybe, gaming no.
3. No, no services. I might do my video ripping on this PC though once I have it.
4. Mainly HD .mkv's, Blu-Rays and some DVDs.
5. The people that are going to use it are quite tech savvy, I'd say.

Let me clarify the whole emulator thing.
When I said I wanted to emulate older games I had the Playstation 2, Gamecube and Dreamcast in mind.
And unfortunately these emulators do require quite beefy hardware.
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