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Your Very First HTPC? But Where do You Start?
(2013-11-27, 23:39)btbamcostello Wrote: Quick question.

I want to be able to use Sickbeard with Torrents - I already have a BTGuard subscription (Torrent VPN that uses uTorrent). Can I do that with any of the XBMC OS's, or will I have to install the full Ubuntu? If so, will that massively impact the specs of my HTPC? In which case would it be worth paying for Usenet and getting the XBMC OS integration?

As a quick second question: how good are the XBMC OS's at dealing with the media storage aspect of running a media server (assuming I build a HTPC with a connected 2TB external USB hard drive)? Can I easily sync/move media to my Android phone or am I going to be missing key functionality?

There are no "XBMC OS's", but XBMCbuntu and OpenELEC, two distros that are basically like "XBMC OS"s, are able to do both torrents and usenet without much hassle. No full install of ubuntu needed, but you can easily build up to a full install, piece by piece, as needed. They can also act as file servers for your Android phone.
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(2013-11-28, 08:28)Ned Scott Wrote:
(2013-11-27, 23:39)btbamcostello Wrote: Quick question.

I want to be able to use Sickbeard with Torrents - I already have a BTGuard subscription (Torrent VPN that uses uTorrent). Can I do that with any of the XBMC OS's, or will I have to install the full Ubuntu? If so, will that massively impact the specs of my HTPC? In which case would it be worth paying for Usenet and getting the XBMC OS integration?

As a quick second question: how good are the XBMC OS's at dealing with the media storage aspect of running a media server (assuming I build a HTPC with a connected 2TB external USB hard drive)? Can I easily sync/move media to my Android phone or am I going to be missing key functionality?

There are no "XBMC OS's", but XBMCbuntu and OpenELEC, two distros that are basically like "XBMC OS"s, are able to do both torrents and usenet without much hassle. No full install of ubuntu needed, but you can easily build up to a full install, piece by piece, as needed. They can also act as file servers for your Android phone.

Thanks that's exactly what I wanted to hear. It's good to know that I can build Ubuntu around the distros; my Linux knowledge is pretty shady at best!
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Hi All,

I am in Australia and unfortunately the majority of the hardware that has been recommend is either unavailable here or is much more expensive than the prices in other parts of the world.

Would you mind looking over the below hardware selections i have made and making any suggestions you may have?

E45M1-M-PRO - APU E450 - GPU - HD 6320 - Link

4 GB Ram (2x2GB)

2 TB WD Green HDD

Antec ISK300-150 w/in-built PSU 150 W

Ideally i would like to have this running XBMCbuntu w/ the following programs running - Sabnzbd, Sickbead & Couchpotato. I wont be using 3D but would like to be able to have smooth 1080P playback.

Do you think that this build will be able to handle it and if not could you please make some alternative suggestions?
My HTPC - | Ubuntu 12.04 | XBMC 12.0 Frodo | SilverStone LC20B | Asus F1A75-M PRO FM1 | AMD A8-3870 3.0GHZ | Nvidia Ge Force GT 430 | Corsair CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 4GB | Antec 520W ATX NEO 520C ECO PSU | 64GB Corsair SSD | 5 x 2TB Green HDD | HD Homerun | Hauppauge MCE Remote Control Kit USB | Astraweb Usenet | SABnzbd+ | CouchPotato | SickBeard
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I'm not so very satisfied with the raspberry as a mediaplayer. Even with a licence it handles high bitrated vc1 poorly.
So looking to a an alternative that runs xbmc and plays just about anything thrown at it just fine i've been reading around.

Reqs :
Low power consumption.
Plays anything also 1:1, hd audio.
Wallet friendly.
Future proof. With 4k at the doorstep it has to be considered.
Silent
small (no place video card)

Few comon options :

Raspberry pi
+ small and low power consumption as required.
- Perfect for the 10Gbish h264 mkv's. But the real deal (1:1 vc1 rips) are a pain, even licenced.
- Best audio to come out of it is dts. TrueHD depend but most of the time it just causes stuttering.
- Absolutely not future proof. (4k)
= People love it and i can see why. It's performance on hq stuff just isn't good enough.

underclocked g1610
+ extra punch if needed.
+ future proof.
- must have passive cooling so might get heating issues when using the extra horsepower.
- Is it realy that energy efficient?
= Valid plan B candidate.

celeron 847
+ I have this board in a nas, using this one for a htpc would give the nas an upgrade.
? Doubt if this one does the 1:1 hight bitrate vc1's well.
- Not future proof.
= I might just test it to see if it does well.

1037u
+ Seems best choise available. Might play everything well.
- Not so future proof. (framedrops)
= Plan A

Wait for the j1900
+ Perfect nas board.
? I'm not sure about the igpu.
= Valid plan B.

Big question is : shall I wait for the j1900 Or get a 1037u right away?
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Komerad, for most of those issues with framedrops or bad VC-1 playback, that shouldn't be an issue of "power". Those should be hardware decoded, so even a wimpy CPU on a Raspberry Pi shouldn't have any issue with it. So it's a matter of them being bugs, and if those bugs will be fixed in the near term.

I think there are some 4k GPU/VPUs out there that already handle 4k. Or get a really beefy CPU so that it can handle it via software, like a nice i5/i7.

That being said, it might be cheaper to buy an inexpensive HTPC now, and then buy another inexpensive HTPC when 4k becomes a big deal. Trying to future proof is often an fruitless task with HTPCs (or computers in general).

Of what you listed, I would go with the Celeron 1037u.
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I'm working on my first "real" HTPC rig. I also like to play some games so I need something that would be overkill for a HTPC. Some of my parts were salvaged from my sons gaming rig that we upgraded a short time back. Ok here I go...
Silverstone GD06B
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black
Scythe Big Shuriken 2 CPU Cooler
Gigabyte mATX Mainboard
Radeon HD 7850 2GB
8GB DDR3 1600 Ram
1TB HDD
DVD/RW
Image
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Can someone help me and grade a build I was thinking about doing? I haven't built in a few years so I'm a little out of the loop on the latest hardware so just wanted to hear your thoughts. DO NOT need any gaming, planning on running Win 7 for HTPC. All media stored on external hard drive hooked up to router so don't need much internal storage. Biggest area of need is as quiet as possible. My current HTPC is years old and at the time I packed too much into it so it's a good machine just overkill for what I wanted it to do which is just stream movies/tv shows from various sources which include HDD attached to network, netflix, and from browser. On somewhat of a budget but willing to spend more if will significantly upgrade machine.

CPU: Intel Core i3-4330 Haswell http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6819116945
MOBO: ASRock B85M http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813157390
Ram: Crucial 8GB DDR3 1333 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6820148465
Case: XION XON-720P mATX/ ITX Slim Desktop Case 300W PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6811208056 OR In-Win 200-Watt Mini-ITX Case http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005ITOAL8/ref=...4WQFXWYDN6
HDD: Adata 32 gb SSD http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009SKB5HA/ref=...UMGKR8X4G8

My biggest questions/concerns are what is the up/downside of going with a Haswell CPU vs. Ivy Bridge CPU? and is there any difference between those two cases?

Any thoughts/suggestions are appreciated. THANKS!
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Hi all,
I'm about to build my first xbmc htpc. I've read alot but I need some personalized advices.
I think that I must create a build around the case or the form factor.
Micro-atx or mini-itx? I know that the difference is only in the number of slot other than the size.
So the smaller the better but only if I find a nice looking case without heat problems.

So what case do you suggest me?
According tho this I'll choose the motherboard for the following components
I'm pretty sure about the setup it will go inside
CPU: amd A6-6400k
Ram: 2x2gb
SSD: 64 or 128gb
Blu-ray drive

I'll use win 7 and I badly need a remote to use xbmc so if u can suggest me this too...XD
Ty in advance|
Reply
Hi

Please can someone tell me, if i was looking to play 3D movies, will a haswell, or ivy bridge i3 work perfect, or would i still need to install a graphics card, and with one of those processors will Hd movies play perfectly smooth without purchasing an extra graphics card ?

Thanks
Reply
(2013-12-02, 18:12)stv1036 Wrote: Can someone help me and grade a build I was thinking about doing? I haven't built in a few years so I'm a little out of the loop on the latest hardware so just wanted to hear your thoughts. DO NOT need any gaming, planning on running Win 7 for HTPC. All media stored on external hard drive hooked up to router so don't need much internal storage. Biggest area of need is as quiet as possible. My current HTPC is years old and at the time I packed too much into it so it's a good machine just overkill for what I wanted it to do which is just stream movies/tv shows from various sources which include HDD attached to network, netflix, and from browser. On somewhat of a budget but willing to spend more if will significantly upgrade machine.

CPU: Intel Core i3-4330 Haswell http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6819116945
MOBO: ASRock B85M http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813157390
Ram: Crucial 8GB DDR3 1333 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6820148465
Case: XION XON-720P mATX/ ITX Slim Desktop Case 300W PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6811208056 OR In-Win 200-Watt Mini-ITX Case http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005ITOAL8/ref=...4WQFXWYDN6
HDD: Adata 32 gb SSD http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009SKB5HA/ref=...UMGKR8X4G8

My biggest questions/concerns are what is the up/downside of going with a Haswell CPU vs. Ivy Bridge CPU? and is there any difference between those two cases?

Any thoughts/suggestions are appreciated. THANKS!

I think you would go with the haswell, since its newer, and probably cooler and uses less power. Not sure why you would get an ivy bridge these days on purpose, other than to save money or because of a MB selection, etc?
Can't see why those components wouldn't work together, but i have no experience with any of them, but it looks like you chose well.
I think the cases are just cases, its probably just your preference at this point.

(2013-12-02, 23:42)Fed03 Wrote: Hi all,
I'm about to build my first xbmc htpc. I've read alot but I need some personalized advices.
I think that I must create a build around the case or the form factor.
Micro-atx or mini-itx? I know that the difference is only in the number of slot other than the size.
So the smaller the better but only if I find a nice looking case without heat problems.

So what case do you suggest me?
According tho this I'll choose the motherboard for the following components
I'm pretty sure about the setup it will go inside
CPU: amd A6-6400k
Ram: 2x2gb
SSD: 64 or 128gb
Blu-ray drive

I'll use win 7 and I badly need a remote to use xbmc so if u can suggest me this too...XD
Ty in advance|

I would go with mini-itx, it will still fit in an micro atx case if you don't find a mini itx one you like. MIGHT be a bit tricky to fit a bluray drive in a mitx case though, it would surely have to be the laptop style one (not a 5.25" one)
I'm sure there are cases that will keep your setup cool, but they might do that via a bunch of fans you don't want to hear whirring away.

Could also consider Win8/8.1, it seems to be working well assuming drivers with XBMC (nothing wrong with 7, just suggesting).

For a remote, just get any MCE remote/ir receiver, and you are good, or get a flirc and use any remote you want.

(2013-12-05, 00:09)lionking15 Wrote: Hi

Please can someone tell me, if i was looking to play 3D movies, will a haswell, or ivy bridge i3 work perfect, or would i still need to install a graphics card, and with one of those processors will Hd movies play perfectly smooth without purchasing an extra graphics card ?

Thanks

I think once you have at least an i3 or better, it and the integrated HD video should be enough for 3D movies. That is always the suggestion when people ask which intel NUC to get, the ivy Celeron was fine, unless you want 3D, then you should upgrade to the i3. Haswell has an even more up to date version of intel HD graphics, so it should do even better.
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Good afternoon. this is my first htpc. What assembly advise to view blu-ray content...

Intel
Intel Celeron G1610
ASROCK H61M-VG3
Asus GT610
CRUCIAL DDR3- 2gb

or

AMD
A6-5400K
CRUCIAL DDR3- 2gb
GIGABYTE GA-F2A55M-S1
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This is sort of like it's own little forum within a forum in here...
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Does any of these play dts-hd and true-hd sound flawlessly on Linux versions?
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Don't know about these, but I use a Celeron NUC with OpenELEC, with flawless hd audio.
[H]i-[d]eft [M]edia [K]een [V]ideosaurus
My Family Room Theater
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Is there any off the self box under $250?
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Your Very First HTPC? But Where do You Start?36