htpc build help

E

ekuest

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Feb 23, 2009
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id like to do mini-itx if possible, or at least m-atx in an htpc. i need a good match for this. i dont know anything about mitx or matx at all, so i need some pointers. any suggestions? any setup is ok as long as it is decently small and will play HD video without a problem. links to fs/ft are preferred, as im looking to keep this stuff cheap as posible. :) also need a low-profile power supply of some sort to run everything.

ok not sure whatll help but heres the questions answered:
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
just all types of movies, transferred over gigabit, in 1024x768
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
whatever it costs, cheap as possible though. probably no more than $200
3) Where do you live?
seattle, would like to buy used off fs/ft though
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
psu, mobo, cpu, ram, pci riser card
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
just monitor and case and this backup card i have.
6) Will you be overclocking?
just as much as the psu, cpu, and board will let me
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
1024x768
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
over the next couple months. no rush.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
gigabit and sata. some usb ports i guess.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
yes. xp home 32 bit.
 
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If would help if you answered the sticky "ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST" so that we can help you better.
 
im not sure why you ask, but it will be in a mod. i am going to build a projector by putting a beat up old lcd into an overhead projector, and i want to build a computer in there as well. nothing fancy, just enough to play videos on it. its not a gaming or even web browsing computer. its more like one of those old tvs with a vcr built into it. for that reason it doesnt need to be anything fancy, just enough to play movies. if this works out and i like it, then i may build another one with a nice 1920x1080 lcd and some decent parts and a bluray drive etc, but for now its basically a proof-of-concept build.

i can fabricate everything i need in the machine shop here at my school. im not worried about cooling or anything. i may even water cool it with a 120mm rad and a gpu block if it gets too hot inside the case (which it probably will with a 300W+ bulb inside.) or i may compartmentalize the thing and try to keep it separate. idk. i just want to get some parts together so i can find a projector and start laying it out.
 
ekuest said:
im not sure why you ask, but it will be in a mod.
Click to expand...

Just wanted to know what parts I should recommend. But here we go:
IIRC, the 8400GS 128MB would be too weak to handle HD content.

Cheapest but best bang for the buck and quality
$93 - AMD Sempron 140 CPU + GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
$45 - A-DATA 2 x 1GB DDR2 800 RAM
$55 - Corsair 400CX 400W PSU
---
Total: $193 plus tax and shipping.

You would not need the 8400GS card at all for your usage scenario with the above mobo. The above mobo's onboard video is more than enough to decode HD content.
 
that boards build-in video is better than the card i linked? it seems to be a pretty good backup card according to this discussion. idk anything about onboard video though, so you very well may be right.
 
ekuest said:
that boards build-in video is better than the card i linked? it seems to be a pretty good backup card according to this discussion. idk anything about onboard video though, so you very well may be right.
Click to expand...

For HD content, yes the AMD 785G onboard video is better than the card you listed. For light gaming, they'll be about the same.
 
actually thats the same mobo as in the combo in this fs thread i was looking at earlier. would the better cpu give me any benefit in hd playback vs the single core you posted? when you figure tax and shipping from newegg his stuff would actually be a little less, for a better cpu. i dont know if it would help at all in this case or if it would just be more heat and power consumption.
 
ekuest said:
would the better cpu give me any benefit in hd playback vs the single core you posted? when you figure tax and shipping from newegg his stuff would actually be a little less, for a better cpu. i dont know if it would help at all in this case or if it would just be more heat and power consumption.
Click to expand...
Well the CPU in that FS/FT link would let you do more while watching HD content. But for solely HD content, not much difference if you set up playback correctly.
 
ok thanks. now heres another question: how much better is the 9300 board in this fs thread? i dont mind spending a little more, if it means i can use this same mobo in the future for a 1080p setup. would that cut it for 1080p blurays? i could pair it with a 2xxx cpu or something and 2gb ram and keep it around $170 total.
 
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That 9300 chipset mobo is better in terms of audio since the AMD 785G chipset only supports 5.1 audio via HDMI whereas the 9300 chipset can support 7.1 LPCM audio via HDMI. So for audio quality via HDMI, the 9300 better than the AMD 785G chipset. Both the 9300 chipset and AMD 785G chipset can payback 1080P content without any trouble as long as you set up HD playback correctly.

Does that $170 guesstimate include a good PSU as well? If so, not that bad of a deal then. If not, $170 is a bit too much for just the mobo, RAM, and CPU.
 
heh, that was a very guesstimate and the psu was not included. ive been looking at these EA380s. i have no idea how much a 2xxx cpu costs, or if thats even a good choice of cpu. i know ram should only be about $30 since ill be buying used and only need 2 or 3GB. mainly i was just asking about what would be a good price for that motherboard, used. it sells for $90+FS on the egg, so i would definitely lowball him at like $65 shipped, since hes asking for $87+shipping now.

also, i may have found a GA-G31MX-S2 for $35 shipped, which seems like a nice deal. would that onboard video do hd or would i need a video card?
 
ekuest said:
also, i may have found a GA-G31MX-S2 for $35 shipped, which seems like a nice deal. would that onboard video do hd or would i need a video card?
Click to expand...

You would need a video card to offload the decoding of HD content with that mobo.
 
ok thanks for your help so far danny. i know i sound a bit neurotic jumping around but i really dont know what i want to do yet so im just weighing my different options. ill post back in here if i have any more questions.
 
fs/ft choices are limited, so i decided to take a look at newegg open box. im interested in this, this and this. can you rank the integrated video for me? i cant find anywhere that ranks them. like the GeForce 9300/GMA 4500/GMA X5400HD/HD 4200/HD 3300/HD 3200. either a quick ranking or a link to a site that has them ranked would go a long way toward helping me figure out what i need.
 
All of these will offload the decoding/playback of HD content. Ranked as well:

Onboard:
Intel X4500HD: Only supports 2.1 audio via HDMI IIRC.
AMD 780G/785G/790GX Chipset: Only supports 5.1 audio via HDMI if using a Gigabyte built version. Other than that, only supports 2.1 audio via HDMI.
Nvidia 8200/8300/9300/9400 Chipset: Supports 7.1 audio via HDMI.
Intel Core i3 series: Supports bistreamed audio via HDMI when coupled with a H55 motherboard.

Video Cards:
AMD HD 4xxx series: Supports 7.1 LPCM audio via HDMI.
Nvidia GT 210/GT 220: Supports 7.1 LPCM audio via HDMI IIRC.
AMD HD 5xxx series: Supports bitstreamed audio via HDMI.
 
Danny Bui said:
All of these will offload the decoding/playback of HD content. Ranked as well:

Onboard:
Intel X4500HD: Only supports 2.1 audio via HDMI IIRC.
AMD 780G/785G/790GX Chipset: Only supports 5.1 audio via HDMI if using a Gigabyte built version. Other than that, only supports 2.1 audio via HDMI.
Nvidia 8200/8300/9300/9400 Chipset: Supports 7.1 audio via HDMI.
Intel Core i3 series: Supports bistreamed audio via HDMI when coupled with a H55 motherboard.

Video Cards:
AMD HD 4xxx series: Supports 7.1 LPCM audio via HDMI.
Nvidia GT 210/GT 220: Supports 7.1 LPCM audio via HDMI IIRC.
AMD HD 5xxx series: Supports bitstreamed audio via HDMI.
Click to expand...

wow, thanks so much for that! idk how you know all this stuff, but i really appreciate it. :)
 
you might wanna look at a Western Digital Live as a one stop solution instead, I bought one today and it's a solid piece of work.

It's up to you of course, but something worth looking into
 
ooh that is definitely an option. what drawbacks does that have that make it so cheap? aka what would i get by building a small htpc that i wouldnt get using that? it seems like a very cool device.
 
none really

it's small so it'll fit just about anywhere

you hook a USB drive up to it and it will automatically scan your USB drive for any movie files you might have on it, then it will appear in the menu and you just choose what you want to play.

it will play any type of movie file, including 1080p content. For more information, google some reviews, maximum pc and tweaktown did excellent reviews of it, I bought mine for $150+ tax at best buy

you can get it $30 cheaper at Newegg, i coulda done that but I didn't care about saving money I guess, it's a present for my parents. It works great so far, it also has HDMI port so you can connect it to your HDTV.

i see no real downside to it so far.

unless you wanna web browse on your TV? I guess that might be the only thing, it has limited web access, Flickr, Youtube, etc, but it does have great streaming music functionality from what the reviews say, but I'm not interested in that.
 
yeah internet and such isnt a big deal. i have my eeePC for that. sounds like a cool unit. thanks fail!
 
no problem, just took it over to my parents house and gave it to my dad as his bday present, he was pretty impressed by how simple it is to use.
 
ekuest said:
what drawbacks does that have that make it so cheap? aka what would i get by building a small htpc that i wouldnt get using that?.
Click to expand...
The only drawback so far is how the audio is outputted via HDMI. Can't find anywhere in the specs or reviews what kind of audio is outputted via HDMI. So far it's looking like it's only 2.0 audio at best.
 
hm. not a deal breaker, although 2.1 would have been nice. i guess if its just made for a tv then it only needs 2.0. :/
 
what does the TOSLINK port support? at least to start, i will only be using a vga monitor, so ill have an hdmi>vga adapter. ill run sound through TOSLINK or component for now, so only 2.0.
 
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