Is a big custom build necessary for an HTPC or will a little Nettop do?
#1
I am looking for an HTPC that I can watch movies/tv shows, play some emulators and hop on the internet to watch Hulu. Is a $400+ custom build necessary for these tasks or is there a smaller PC or nettop that I won't have to mess with and will just work with little tampering? What's the advantage of a big build?
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#2
builds dont have to be big Tongue
Advantages over building it yourself is the ability to choose the hardware!
You get more control over the final product per say Tongue

And also, since your doing the work,
you can end-up with a more powerful pc using the same money
spend on an already build Nettop...

Do i hate Nettops? No, of course not!
Their perfect for anyone who doesnt want to build there own systems...
I like the ZOTAC ND-22.... since it uses at least a CELERON CPU....

But i suggest you read my startup guide on custom builds as it explains
what u need hardware'wise to play everything flawlessly!

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=94199
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#3
Thanks so much for responding! I'm checking out your guide now. So do you think the ZOTAC ND-22 is perfectly fine for what I'm looking for? (movies, emulators, hulu?)
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#4
yes it is...

things it doesnt do is playing 3D movies or pass HD-Audio to a compatible Audio/Video receiver....

but other than that, you'll be fine...

if i were to buy a nettop it would definitely be a ZOTAC ND-22....

but again, if your capable of building your own system, go for it! we can help!
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#5
fiorgodx Wrote:I am looking for an HTPC that I can watch movies/tv shows, play some emulators and hop on the internet to watch Hulu. Is a $400+ custom build necessary for these tasks or is there a smaller PC or nettop that I won't have to mess with and will just work with little tampering? What's the advantage of a big build?

I believe a nettop like the Acer 3700 or Zotac Nd22 will be fine for what you want to do. The main issue I have is with some XBMC skins which can be sluggish with my two nettops. Streaming movies and music work fine though. So if you stay with a lighweight skin a nettop will be fine.
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#6
Now that I look at it, the cost of the Zotac is $269, while half of eskro's custom builds from his thread are that price or less. Is the difference in production out of the customs greater than the convenience of just plugging in a nettop? Btw I have no experience building PCs, I'm a Mac man...
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#7
its all a matter of Price/Performance ratio to me.....
Example, For less then $269, you could get this setup

Image
[mobo] MSI G41M-P25 LGA-775 Micro-ATX ($51 + $7)
[cpu] Intel Pentium E5700 3.0GHz Dual-Core LGA-775 65W ($66 + $0)
[gpu] ASUS GeForce GT210 512MB DDR2 64-bit Low Profile ($35 + $0 - $20MIR)]
[case] SILVERSTONE ML03B Micro-ATX ($60 + $0)
[psu] CORSAIR Builder Series 430W 80+ ATX12V ($40 + $0 - $20MIR)
TOTAL: ($219)

All is left to get is some RAM and an OS Drive...
Thats tremendous Power!!
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#8
It depends on what you want from the machine and what OS you want to use on it.

An ION/Atom build is the lowest machine, plays back 1080p but doesn`t do HD audio bitstreaming or 3D Blu Ray. Works fine (out of the box) on Windows + Linux.

An AMD Zacate E350 platform has a better/faster CPU, does HD audio bitstreaming, lower power consumption than Atom/ION, no 3D Blu Ray and works out of the box with Windows, Linux support still needs some tweaking (installing some libraries, compiling your own version of XBMC with VAAPI support etc).

Then comes the Intel Core i3 SandyBridge CPUs, Nvidia GT430 with do HD audio bistreaming, 3D Blu Ray support.

You can build any of these in a small miniITX form factor (mini-ITX = small as a nettop). Or buy a pre-built one from Zotac or AsRock if the price seems ok to you. Generally speaking, bulding yourself means lower costs than a pre-built one.
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Is a big custom build necessary for an HTPC or will a little Nettop do?0