New HTPC'er - First build sanity check

M

mryerse

2[H]4U
Joined
Jan 29, 2005
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My popcorn hour A-110 has served me well, but it's time to add a blu ray player to the home. So I am selling my two A-110's (sold one for $200 already) and some other equipment to fund my first HTPC. If there was a good blu ray player that played the files off my file share, I'd go with it, but it seems they only support divx, not x.264, or there is some other limitation. Then there is the PS3, which, well I'm just not interested in it.

The goal here is to build an HTPC with the same functionality that I used on the popcorn hour (play MKV/x.264 1080p vids streamed from a file share), with the addition of being able to play blu ray discs, and future ability to be a DVR (I'm looking at the new ceton card and also the new HDHomeRun with cablecard support). I'm also interested in using the HTPC's to view home pictures/videos streamed from a file share.

Also interested in quiet, power efficient, cool, and something that looks nice on my entertainment stand. I'm not planning to play games on this HTPC. I have an xbox 360 for that, and a desktop computer.

What I have so far for my home theater:
Samsung LN46A650 LCD 120Hz HD television
Xbox 360
Desktop (see sig) on the gigE LAN with a file share of some 1080p MKV's.

Yeah I know not much. No sound system (using the TV's speakers) and no receiver.

Components I've picked out for an HTPC:
Case: Lian Li PC-C36B w/PS - $184 shipped from East Luna
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-H55M-S2H LGA - $96.56 shipped from NewEgg
CPU: Intel Core i3-530 - $105.98 shipped from MicroCenter
Memory: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 - $92.98 shipped from NewEgg
Hard Drive: WD WD6400AAKS - $69.99 shipped from NewEgg
BluRay Drive: LiteOn iHOS104-06 - $66 shipped from ZZF
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 - $89.99 shipped from NewEgg w/promo code EMCLMLS58

Total Cost: $705.50
Software:
I plan to use WMC and whatever software/codecs I need to make the above requirements work.

Things I'm not sure about:
Good Keyboard/Mouse for an HTPC
Good Remote (Logitech harmony???)

Timeline - next week or two.


Reasoning for the above components:

Case - Really I don't know much about cases, especially HTPC cases, except that I've had one really good one and one really bad one. The really good one was made by Lian Li. The really bad one made by Ultra. So I'm hesitant to sacrifice on this, although it is a large cost and I'd like to save a bit here. But I do feel it's worth the cost.

CPU/Mobo - With the i3 out it seems that you can get an inexpensive CPU/Mobo combo with GPU on die, giving you low power usage, and play 1080p with minimal CPU usage. The mobo has HDMI out.

Memory/HDD/BD - Not much thought went into this... just would like to have 4gb ram, a decent (Quiet!!) hard drive. It would be nice to have a BD that also plays HD-DVD but it seems those are not as easy to find anymore (I do have some HD-DVD's).

OS - Well, Windows 7 is out so why not. And WMC on Vista seemed really nice. I hear that the issues WMC had on Vista 64 are gone in WMC on Windows 7 64.

So, I'm open to comments/criticism.

Thanks!
 
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wow, looks a lot like the system I'm putting together

Case: Antec MicroFusion 350 (integrated PSU)
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-H55M-UD2H
CPU: Intel Core i3-530
Memory: undecided, looking for a deal (might go with some cheap 1GB sticks until prices go back down)
Hard Drive: Western Digital WD6400AAKS
Optical Drive: Old Pioneer DVD+/-RW
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate (not sure on 32-bit or 64-bit)

btw, microcenter has the i3 on sale right now for $99.99 plus shipping (add to cart to see price)
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0325943
 
Thanks, that's a great price on the CPU.

I'm a bit concerned that the new GPU on these clarkdales might not work with all software it needs to out of the gate. But the reviews I read said it works with ffdshow and some other (blu ray) software products.
 
I am confused why both of you want to go with 7 Ultimate. All it has that Pro doesn't are multi-language and encryption software.
 
EnderW said:
MSDN account
Click to expand...

Well, lucky you. :)

However, what about the OP? He seems to be buying it from ZZF and culd save some money by buying Pro or even Home if he doesn't need compatibility mode or domain support.
 
I have access to an MSDN account but am pretty sure that using those licenses for a home build would not be legitimate.

I'll consider pro. But hopefully some of my MS friends will hook me up for this. Been a long time since I've paid full retail for an OS. Have I ever? Hmm...
 
Okay, I don't really need bitlocker, and if it turns out I do there is always truecrypt and others.

Windows XP compatibility mode could be nice but I don't KNOW that I'll need it so what the hell.

MS should just sell one version of Windows for home users.
 
mryerse said:
I have access to an MSDN account but am pretty sure that using those licenses for a home build would not be legitimate.

I'll consider pro. But hopefully some of my MS friends will hook me up for this. Been a long time since I've paid full retail for an OS. Have I ever? Hmm...
Click to expand...
yeah after spending thousands on an MSDN Universal account the M$ police will know you are using it to match movies instead of test code... get real...
 
trust me, every time you turn on any pc you have, you are testing things. thats what msdn and technet are for;)

i have seen too much weird stuff about the i3 video, i would be weary of it for now. if nothing else, htpc's need to be perfectly reliable but its cool you guys are evaluating this stuff already. please keep us updated on how well things work.
 
mattjw916 said:
yeah after spending thousands on an MSDN Universal account the M$ police will know you are using it to match movies instead of test code... get real...
Click to expand...

I have "access" to one... it's not "mine", it belongs to the organization I work for. I'd be more concerned about my job than the MS police coming after me.
 
krupted said:
i have seen too much weird stuff about the i3 video, i would be weary of it for now. if nothing else, htpc's need to be perfectly reliable but its cool you guys are evaluating this stuff already. please keep us updated on how well things work.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm a bit concerned about that, but what I've read so far sounds promising enough for me to give it a shot. If I end up not liking it then I'll ebay it off and work with something else. Part of the goal here I didn't mention is this is just something fun for me to do so I'm okay if it's not perfect.
 
Just adding some things for you to think about:

-- Remote control receiver. Don't forget you'll need one of those. It might come with a case built in or with a remote you buy, or separately. It adds cost. Look at one of the newer Lian Li cases like you have there, which has a built in remote receiver, tho I saw some bad comments about it on newegg.

-- Bluray plackback. You will need to buy Arcsoft/PDVD/WinDVD. There's a bit of cost there. Have you thought about not buying a BluRay drive and just ripping stuff and playing it over your gige with a case having smaller form factor? I mention this b/c you said you wanted it to look nice. You can also bypass a bluray player for cost by ripping and playing natively in whatever container you want. Also you will need AnyDVD HD no matter what, which is additional cost.

-- I know Win7 is a different day, but stability is king for an HTPC and I still feel the sting of needing 32bit for codecs. No real gain on an HTPC for 64 bit enhancements, so its inviting risk for no reward. Just something to think about.

-- Kb/mouse, Lenovo just came out with a decent and affordable alternative to the logitech di novo which you might consider if you dont want a full size kb/mouse.

-- One more thing --- since you are not cannibalizing old parts, think about maybe a prebuilt like the Dell Zino or nettop for less price and pre-assembled hw. Some might want 100% control and I would, too, but they are starting to look really tempting. It will also be easier to ebay that and recoup costs later if you change the system.

mryerse said:
My popcorn hour A-110 has served me well, but it's time to add a blu ray player to the home. So I am selling my two A-110's (sold one for $200 already) and some other equipment to fund my first HTPC. If there was a good blu ray player that played the files off my file share, I'd go with it, but it seems they only support divx, not x.264, or there is some other limitation. Then there is the PS3, which, well I'm just not interested in it.

The goal here is to build an HTPC with the same functionality that I used on the popcorn hour (play MKV/x.264 1080p vids streamed from a file share), with the addition of being able to play blu ray discs, and future ability to be a DVR (I'm looking at the new ceton card and also the new HDHomeRun with cablecard support). I'm also interested in using the HTPC's to view home pictures/videos streamed from a file share.

Also interested in quiet, power efficient, cool, and something that looks nice on my entertainment stand. I'm not planning to play games on this HTPC. I have an xbox 360 for that, and a desktop computer.

What I have so far for my home theater:
Samsung LN46A650 LCD 120Hz HD television
Xbox 360
Desktop (see sig) on the gigE LAN with a file share of some 1080p MKV's.

Yeah I know not much. No sound system (using the TV's speakers) and no receiver.

Components I've picked out for an HTPC:
Case: Lian Li PC-C36B w/PS - $184 shipped from East Luna
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-H55M-S2H LGA - $96.56 shipped from NewEgg
CPU: Intel Core i3-530 - $105.98 shipped from MicroCenter
Memory: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 - $92.98 shipped from NewEgg
Hard Drive: WD WD6400AAKS - $69.99 shipped from NewEgg
BluRay Drive: LiteOn iHOS104-06 - $66 shipped from ZZF
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 - $89.99 shipped from NewEgg w/promo code EMCLMLS58

Total Cost: $705.50
Software:
I plan to use WMC and whatever software/codecs I need to make the above requirements work.

Things I'm not sure about:
Good Keyboard/Mouse for an HTPC
Good Remote (Logitech harmony???)

Timeline - next week or two.


Reasoning for the above components:

Case - Really I don't know much about cases, especially HTPC cases, except that I've had one really good one and one really bad one. The really good one was made by Lian Li. The really bad one made by Ultra. So I'm hesitant to sacrifice on this, although it is a large cost and I'd like to save a bit here. But I do feel it's worth the cost.

CPU/Mobo - With the i3 out it seems that you can get an inexpensive CPU/Mobo combo with GPU on die, giving you low power usage, and play 1080p with minimal CPU usage. The mobo has HDMI out.

Memory/HDD/BD - Not much thought went into this... just would like to have 4gb ram, a decent (Quiet!!) hard drive. It would be nice to have a BD that also plays HD-DVD but it seems those are not as easy to find anymore (I do have some HD-DVD's).

OS - Well, Windows 7 is out so why not. And WMC on Vista seemed really nice. I hear that the issues WMC had on Vista 64 are gone in WMC on Windows 7 64.

So, I'm open to comments/criticism.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the thoughts, I'll look into them more.

The talk about a technet subscription got me looking... there was a thread with a 25% off coupon code that was invalid... but I searched the net and retailmenot had a code for 28% off that still works. So that brings the subscription to $251. It is more than I intended to spend, but would allow my to upgrade my desktop to Win7, and Office 2010 when it releases. So I think it'd be worth it.

Regarding the prebuilts, I've looked at some and they were running atom which was a detractor to me. But the deal breaker was when I realized the cost was near what I could build on my own, yet it was a much slower system. But maybe some of the other vendors you mentioned have better deals.
 
adesso makes some kick-ass touchpads. i bet that keyboad would even work for gaming..
 
I think I'm going to hold off a bit for a LGA 1156 mini ITX board with an HDMI out. Smaller is better.
 
mryerse said:
I think I'm going to hold off a bit for a LGA 1156 mini ITX board with an HDMI out. Smaller is better.
Click to expand...
why? is your living area that cramped that a few inches are gonna make a difference?
 
Well... yes. I just moved from a 2300 sq ft house to a 1050 sq ft condo with a wife and a kid. Small is good. It looks like most of the ITX cases don't have 5.25" bays though, only slim drive support, so maybe I will go for a micro ATX case.
 
i built an mATX htpc because i was worried about cablecard support later on... problem is i have to ship this htpc halfway across the country and quite frankly, since silicon dust announced their external option i dont see a need for pci card space. i should have went itx... or at least a sff mATX. oh well, not worth to send half the parts back... itll just be highly upgradeable:p
 
I'm having a hard time finding an ITX MB which supports LGA1156 and has an HDMI out. ZOTAC announced their H55-ITX, but I cannot find a release date for it. It would be nice...
 
EnderW said:
wow, looks a lot like the system I'm putting together

Case: Antec MicroFusion 350 (integrated PSU)
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-H55M-UD2H
CPU: Intel Core i3-530
Memory: undecided, looking for a deal (might go with some cheap 1GB sticks until prices go back down)
Hard Drive: Western Digital WD6400AAKS
Optical Drive: Old Pioneer DVD+/-RW
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate (not sure on 32-bit or 64-bit)

btw, microcenter has the i3 on sale right now for $99.99 plus shipping (add to cart to see price)
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0325943
Click to expand...

So why the UD2H? From what I can tell, you're paying an extra $15 for one of the sata ports to have esata, and you also get two more USB 2.0 ports. The esata is useful.. just wondering if there's something else about the board that you need it for, which I should know about.
 
mryerse said:
So why the UD2H? From what I can tell, you're paying an extra $15 for one of the sata ports to have esata, and you also get two more USB 2.0 ports. The esata is useful.. just wondering if there's something else about the board that you need it for, which I should know about.
Click to expand...
I really like eSATA and I don't think your board has dual channel RAM
the UD2H also has a display port out which could come in handy somewhere down the line
if the GA-H55M-USB3 isn't too much more and is available within the next few days, I may even go for it
USB 3.0 would be nice to have as I hopefully won't be upgrading this system for a few years

here are some pics of all the gigabyte H5x boards
http://www.techpowerup.com/112331/G...s_with_USB_3.0_and_DisplayPort_Interface.html
 
 
Yes, usb3 is available on p55 boards, but h55/h57 boards are what we are interested in because they have an HDMI port to take advantage of on die GPU.
 
I'm thinking about going with the Intel SSDSA2MP040G2R5 for the hard drive. I'm wondering though if HTPC's operate well where most of the media they work with is off box. Of course I know they play off box media well, but if I ever get a tuner and want to record it, can I record to a shared drive okay, or does the software like to force you to record locally? 40GB is not much if I have to record locally, but plenty otherwise. Thanks.
 
I've been wanting to do an i3 build myself but can't justify the cost for an HTPC. mobo/CPu/RAM $300!?

BTW I have the LL C37B case and it kicks ass. The little fans suck (not in a good way) I would suggest either replacing them or getting rid of them altogether. I would recommend that over the C36B I bought it and sent it back for the C37 and just bought a PSU seperately. Also you're going to be hard pressed to find a HSF worth a shit that will fit save yourself some time and just buy a Scythe Big Shuriken.
 
mryerse said:
I'm thinking about going with the Intel SSDSA2MP040G2R5 for the hard drive. I'm wondering though if HTPC's operate well where most of the media they work with is off box. Of course I know they play off box media well, but if I ever get a tuner and want to record it, can I record to a shared drive okay, or does the software like to force you to record locally? 40GB is not much if I have to record locally, but plenty otherwise. Thanks.
Click to expand...
I don't think SSDs are worth the cost for HTPCs
main benefit you see is if when launching programs or multitasking, stuff that needs 4KB reads/writes or fast sequential read speeds (and write speeds depending on the SSD)
 
This is what I ended up going with:

Case: Lian Li C32B - This was the hardest decision to make. What did it is that the fuller ATX style affords more hard drive spaces which I plan to use for a raid 5 array. The Antec fusion Remote and Lian Li C33B were others I was interested in. Couldn't find a C33B, and the fusion remote seems very nice but I really like Lian Li construction a lot.
PSU: Enermax ECO80+ 400W EES400AWT - Just a PSU.
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-H57M-USB3 - Got this board because it has H57 (for raid), usb 3, and supports the GPU on my i3 530.
CPU: Intel i3 530 - For the on die GPU. If the 24p issues are really that bad then I might buy a 5570 when they are released for $70.
Hard Drive: Intel X25-V SSDSA2MP040G2R5 - Small fast for the OS+Apps. Will buy a raid array later on for media storage.
Memory: CORSAIR TW3X4G1333C9A - Just some inexpensive 1333Mhz, 2x2 for 4gb.
BluRay Drive: LG CH08LS10 - Just a BD
HDD Adapter: LIAN LI HD-520 (5.25 to 2.5) - lets me install the Intel SSD to the bottom 5.25 bay saving room for another drive in the raid array.
Remote+Sensor: AVS Gear GP-IR01BK - Just a remote+sensor
Keyboard/Mouse: ADESSO WKB-3200UB - Just a KB/Mouse
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium - Almost bought a technet subscription instead. Instead if I feel I'll need one then I'll sell this copy of Windows and get the subscription then.

Total cost was $946.95

Also got a new OmniMount VB50 TV stand, an Onkyo TX-SR507 for $300 shipped, some speakers for $317.90 shipped.

Bought an HDMI cable from Monoprice cause the MB doesn't come with one, and some speaker cable + banana plugs as well.
 
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Drop back to the less expensive H55 board. Build an HTPC now and then build a WHS box later when you need it, you do not want to make your HTPC into a server! It's a headache, I know. That's the setup I'm using right now until I can rebuild my WHS box (mobo died on me).

You can build an very good HTPC for a little less then $400, why are you spending close to $1000 then?

Drop the SSD, absolute zero reason to get one for an HTPC other then to waste money. Go back to your first build but make these changes:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129034
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134637
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16880101003

Not sure about the remote, haven't used it but it's decently priced and looks good. For day to day operation you don't need a keyboard. You shouldn't need a keyboard. I will suggest that you find one of the Dell remotes or a Gyration remote that supports mouse functionality. I have a Gyration and the mouse part has come in hand (keyboard on the other hand I've only needed three times, for troubleshooting issues).
 
The ram is only $20 less than what I paid for 4gb so it's just not worth the $20 to me. The ssd is more, yes, but it will afford me much faster boot times, something I envision doing a lot with an htpc.

The two places I could justify spending less is case and psu. I was going to go itx but the h55's are taking forever. That antec you linked wont match my setup as I'm going all black. And yes, I could spend a bit less on the MB and get a whs. But your talking about about $200 which would not even come close to the $600-800 needed to get a whs started. Yes I could buy speakers but I've already got $1100 planned to complete 5.1.

I'll think about the case and psu.
 
mryerse said:
The ram is only $20 less than what I paid for 4gb so it's just not worth the $20 to me. The ssd is more, yes, but it will afford me much faster boot times, something I envision doing a lot with an htpc.

The two places I could justify spending less is case and psu. I was going to go itx but the h55's are taking forever. That antec you linked wont match my setup as I'm going all black. And yes, I could spend a bit less on the MB and get a whs. But your talking about about $200 which would not even come close to the $600-800 needed to get a whs started. Yes I could buy speakers but I've already got $1100 planned to complete 5.1.

I'll think about the case and psu.
Click to expand...
why do you plan on rebooting the HTPC so much?
 
CrimandEvil said:
Drop back to the less expensive H55 board. Build an HTPC now and then build a WHS box later when you need it, you do not want to make your HTPC into a server! It's a headache, I know. That's the setup I'm using right now until I can rebuild my WHS box (mobo died on me).

You can build an very good HTPC for a little less then $400, why are you spending close to $1000 then?

Drop the SSD, absolute zero reason to get one for an HTPC other then to waste money. Go back to your first build but make these changes:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129034
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134637
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16880101003

Not sure about the remote, haven't used it but it's decently priced and looks good. For day to day operation you don't need a keyboard. You shouldn't need a keyboard. I will suggest that you find one of the Dell remotes or a Gyration remote that supports mouse functionality. I have a Gyration and the mouse part has come in hand (keyboard on the other hand I've only needed three times, for troubleshooting issues).
Click to expand...
agree that combing HTPC and fileserver isn't a good idea

and SSD is probably a waste, but I put a 30GB Vertex in mine - got it for $85 so only about $30 more expensive than a decent HDD and I'd rather have too much speed than a bunch of space I don't need
plus if I move to an ITX later, it will fit
 
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EnderW said:
agree that combing WHS and fileserver isn't a good idea
that RAM is DDR2 though and he needs DDR3
and SSD is probably a waste, but I put a 30GB Vertex in mine - got it for $85 so only about $30 more expensive than a decent HDD and I'd rather have too much speed than a bunch of space I don't need
plus if I move to an ITX later, it will fit
Click to expand...

240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit
Click to expand...
I don't see "DDR2" in there anywhere. He's going with an i3 which uses DDR3 memory.

What was that about a WHS and file server? That's what WHS is, you know.

He said he wants to do some PVRing later down the road. You can't do that with an SSD. Considering the very little to zero benefit he'll see by putting an SSD into his HTPC yet all the limitations that it will bring him I just don't see the point. He should get a terabyte drive and just be done with it.

And what's this no sense about him rebooting constantly?? Why the hell would you be doing that OP? :rolleyes:
 
CrimandEvil said:
I don't see "DDR2" in there anywhere. He's going with an i3 which uses DDR3 memory.

What was that about a WHS and file server? That's what WHS is, you know.

He said he wants to do some PVRing later down the road. You can't do that with an SSD. Considering the very little to zero benefit he'll see by putting an SSD into his HTPC yet all the limitations that it will bring him I just don't see the point. He should get a terabyte drive and just be done with it.

And what's this no sense about him rebooting constantly?? Why the hell would you be doing that OP? :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
sorry, don't know where I got DDR2 from
and I meant to say combining HTPC and fileserver
 
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