Building 2nd HTPC

K

Kelvarr

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Jul 19, 2001
Messages
4,450
Ok, so I already have one HTPC running at home:
  • Athlon II X2 245
  • ASUS M3N78-VM AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
  • 4GB DDR2
  • Windows 7 Professional
  • Also has Hard Drive, Blu-Ray Drive...but those aren't really that important for this question.

I want to build a 2nd for the spare TV (Kids TV). I understand this may involve putting my current one as the spare HTPC, and the new one as the main - especially if the new one is significantly better performance.

I have it narrowed it down to the following, but not sure which is the best way to go. The only requirements are that it must have HDMI and prefer to be mATX. I will also be running XBMC, probably XBMCbuntu.

I would like the price to be $75-$125, which all of these fall into (if I buy from the forums), except for #5 - haven't found that one yet.


  • Combo 1
  • Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition
  • Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-US2H
  • Super Talent 2x2GB DDR2

  • Combo 2
  • MSI E350IS-E45 AMD E-350 APU (1.6GHz, Dual-Core) AMD Hudson M1 Mini ITX
  • 2x2GB Crucial DDR3

  • Combo 3
  • Foxconn SFF R20-A1 AMD E-350 APU (1.6GHz, Dual-Core) AMD A45 (Hudson D1) AMD Radeon HD6310 1 x HDMI Barebone
  • NOTE: Not sure about reliability of Foxconn vs MSI, and also, the difference between the two (Hudson M1 vs D1)

  • Combo 4
  • Intel Core i3 550
  • ASUS P7H55-M Pro
  • 2x2GB DDR3

  • Combo 5
  • Intel Core i3 2100 or Intel Core i3 3220
  • Z68 or Z77 motherboard
  • 2x2GB DDR3

  • Combo 6 - Your Suggestions
  • CPU:
  • Motherboard:
 
Last edited:
Duster said:
Why not get a xbox and use it as an extender?
Click to expand...

Because XBox (assuming you mean a 360) won't play my .ISO's of all of my media. Not that I know of, at least.

And also, because I don't want one to have to be on for the other to function. I want to be able to use them independently.
 
I'd go for Combo 4 if Combo 5 isn't available for that price.
 
Danny Bui said:
I'd go for Combo 4 if Combo 5 isn't available for that price.
Click to expand...

Other than the reason that it is the newest, and probably the most powerful, is there a particular reason to go with an i3 (either one) vs an E350?
 
Kelvarr said:
Other than the reason that it is the newest, and probably the most powerful, is there a particular reason to go with an i3 (either one) vs an E350?
Click to expand...
If you can actually get all of that for close to the same price as that E350, then I see no reason to get the slower E350.
 
I was reading a bit more, specifically this post that directed me to AVS Forum.

He is recommending at minimum an A6-3500. Between the i3 combo and an A6-3500 combo, which would be better? Please keep in mind I am researching this, but it doesn't hurt to ask someone who may already know as well.
 
i3 since it provides more performance should you want to expand the use of that HTPC to gaming.
 
Danny Bui said:
i3 since it provides more performance should you want to expand the use of that HTPC to gaming.
Click to expand...

If he was gaming he probably would want discreet graphics with either one, but the basics of the AVS Forum post is that the A6 would be better because it's graphics can at least support MadVR, if it's something he wants to use, The only Intel systems that can support that well with onboard graphics is Ivy Bridge currently.
 
No...no gaming. Ever. I have a separate PC (i7 2600k) for that. If that helps clear anything up.

I have no idea if I want MadVR (never heard of it). I do know that I want the the best hardware I can get for <$125, while maintaining low power consumption as it is on a lot.
 
MadVR is currently the one of the best video renders on the market and it is free so many people use in for HTPC performance. It takes advantage of GPU hardware via DXVA instruction. You also see other popular software such as XBMC now making use of GPU acceleration, so having graphics capable of handling these requests is desirable but not necessary for quality video playback.

Most people achieve this by using discrete video such as GTS440 or AMD5450 and better cards(both considered the minimum for 1080p playback and I don't believe this considers future proof 3D acceleration). Because, until AMD introduced Llano CPUs, none of the integrated video CPU solutions could handle it properly. HD2000 and 3000 both failed to properly handle hardware acceleration of 1080p as did low end Llano parts. The newer HD 4000 is reported to be sufficient as is any AMD IGP above 6350.


Do you need this ability from your HTPC? It really depends on how picky you are about quality. If for some reason you are unhappy with your video quality you can always add a cheap card later to take advantage of GPU acceleration.


The cheapest new systems I would recommend for GPU acceleration:

Intel: G530 ($50) + H61 mobo ($60) + AMD 6450 ($40) = $150 add $10+ for Sata6 and USB 3.0 . you can find the G620 for roughly the same pricing in Newegg bundles and until recently you could find i3 2100 bundles at Microcenter which would be better if they would ever bring them back.

AMD: A6-3500 ($80) + A55 momo ($60) = $140 since this CPU is popular in Newegg bundles. you can actually find it bundled with many motherboards like this A55 for $120 and A75 with USB3.0 and Sata6 for $140



edit: I also use GPU acceleration for SmoothVideo Project so I may be more partial than others about having adequate hardware.
 
Last edited:
Newegg currently has a ECS LGA 1155 Intel H61 for $24.99 after rebate. I think you can't go wrong with it for that price.
 
Why dont you use Raspberry PI with xbmc and stream the media? This PC costs $35 and runs 1080p just fine. Use some glue or something to stuck it behind the TV. Use a wireless card for wifi. It is as large as a credit card. Tiny. 256MB RAM, and 700MHz ARM.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7qoFfC6nvI

Of course, it is brand new and you have to wait to get it, but it works fine. XBMC will be automatically started so you never see Linux. Just use a XBMC iso.

Anybody is going to use this computer as a HTPC?
 
brutalizer said:
Why dont you use Raspberry PI with xbmc and stream the media? This PC costs $35 and runs 1080p just fine. Use some glue or something to stuck it behind the TV. Use a wireless card for wifi. It is as large as a credit card. Tiny. 256MB RAM, and 700MHz ARM.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7qoFfC6nvI

Of course, it is brand new and you have to wait to get it, but it works fine. XBMC will be automatically started so you never see Linux. Just use a XBMC iso.

Anybody is going to use this computer as a HTPC?
Click to expand...

I can't imagine anyone wanting to do that. Its a great piece of technology, sure, but it suffers playing 1080p footage. Maybe when they are past the alpha-phase I'd look into it just for the heck of it, but for a HTPC? No thanks.
 
I vote for 4 or 5. Can those cpus handle 1080P without a video card? If not, I would suggest a gt430 or greater as they have an hdmi out that will carry all your audio as well as 1.4,hd,br, 3d stuff and things.
 
I ended up going with the following (for a little more: $150)

Intel i3 2100
Asus P8H67-M LE
2x2GB DDR3
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top