• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Ultimate HTPC Build Guide

CrimandEvil said:
Oh, have you seen the possible UI upgrade for Sage 7.0?? It looks amazing and finally up to date. :)
Click to expand...

I havent yet. with a better UI I would go back. sage was solid for years for me and I love the true client/server setup. I'll collect some of my thoughts on MP and PM it to you this week.
 
This is great...now I hope that people will refer to this so we don't have thread after thread of "I'm building an HTPC, what should I get?"
 
I just wanted to bring up a couple of points. I realize a lot of this guide is geared towards cheaper components, but those spending a little more money should consider a Season X650 or X750 PSU. These seem ideal for HTPC for two reasons. The fan doesn't kick in at typical idle or normal usage scenarios. This helps with the noise. The high efficiency will help save a couple of dallrs a month on the electric bill in an always-on scenario.

I also think for a serious gaming HTPC, a larger case and more powerful video card may be desired. A 5770 will probably not be ideal for 1080p as more cutting edge games start to appear.
 
@Jamerb Why do you feel that a 5770 is not ideal for 1080p? Are you referring to games or media playback? Just curious. Thanks in advance.
 
Crim this a most excellent guide. Thanks for all the hard work you put into this. Your guide is thought out nicely and very informative. Thanks once again.
 
onyxbfly said:
@Jamerb Why do you feel that a 5770 is not ideal for 1080p? Are you referring to games or media playback? Just curious. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

More than likely referring for 1080P gaming. It should be more than enough for media playback.
 
jamesrb said:
I just wanted to bring up a couple of points. I realize a lot of this guide is geared towards cheaper components, but those spending a little more money should consider a Season X650 or X750 PSU. These seem ideal for HTPC for two reasons. The fan doesn't kick in at typical idle or normal usage scenarios. This helps with the noise. The high efficiency will help save a couple of dallrs a month on the electric bill in an always-on scenario.

I also think for a serious gaming HTPC, a larger case and more powerful video card may be desired. A 5770 will probably not be ideal for 1080p as more cutting edge games start to appear.
Click to expand...

Yes but in defense of Criminal, he had a budget and had to stay within the budget, spending $75-$100 more on a PS and skimping on other components wouldn't make sense. Plus and HTPC main purpose is for viewing videos not playing games. You wouldn't need that much power anyways. A 350-400 would be sufficient. During movie playback you're probably just using up 100 watts anyways and at that util level you're not saving that much for a more efficient power supply and efficiency gets diminished at those low levels.

As for the 5770, the extra power and heat is unneeded for video viewing. If you're gaming on the other hand than it yes a 5770 would be great... but a 5570 can do vector adaptive deinterlacing, smooth motion, and dynamic contrast at 1080P, if you're building it strictly to for video purposes, a 5770 would be overkill and defeats the purpose of a low power lo noise device that can stream movies and do other things.

I do get your point though, if you wanted to build a gaming comp though, there are plenty of builds just for that... the only difference would the chassis which is subjective.

Most use leftover parts from upgrades to use as media players anyways and have a gaming rig. Personally, from experience I have no inclination of gaming on my HTPC. Wires suck, and wireless KB/mouse/and joysticks suck when you're used to the response time of wired input devices for dedicated gaming. So this guide is a nice way to bring in new people into the community who want to try out the HTPC experience balancing budget and performance.

Hell I'm about to build a watercooled HTPC internally mounted rad. I should ask CrimeandEvil for a guide for that ;)

Only issue with your gaming rig as that 5830 Crime.... I have serious issues with that card. The 5770 and 5850 are much better choices depending on budget. The 5830 is 62% more expensive than the 5770 at 10% performance boost on most games and the 5850 is 20% more expensive at a 20% boost in performance... oh and it uses more power and is longer in length than the 5850.
 
Last edited:
AARRRGGGGG!

The dell link for the ati cable card tuner is dead! It was working over the weekend, and now I decide to pull the trigger, and poof, its gone from the dell site :(
 
CrazyCuz2k said:
Only issue with your gaming rig as that 5830 Crime.... I have serious issues with that card. The 5770 and 5850 are much better choices depending on budget. The 5830 is 62% more expensive than the 5770 at 10% performance boost on most games and the 5850 is 20% more expensive at a 20% boost in performance... oh and it uses more power and is longer in length than the 5850.
Click to expand...

Yes well that's why I originally went with the 5770. It's fast enough for gaming at 1080p although not with all the settings maxed out in some games. For me, a 5770 isn't that bad for a gaming HTPC.

The problem right now with video card suggestions is that there really isn't a very good middle ground. Performance-wise the 5830 is perfect; it sits in between the 5770 and the 5850 and would enough horsepower for upcoming games. Price-wise it sucks, it's over priced by $30/40 and since it's a cutdown version of a 5850 and has a faster clock speed all means it uses more power then a regular 5850 and puts out more heat as well. Peformance is awesome but everything else isn't that great.

I had a hard time trying to find suitable parts, it did bug me a little that for a "gaming rig" the best I could think of was a 5770 but there really isn't anything else out there that's decent enough.
 
In referring to the question of why I didn't think a 5770 was adequate for 1080p, I was simply going by this review: http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/02/25/amds_ati_radeon_hd_5830_review/1

While you could get playable frame rates at 1080p, it would require turning down some settings.

I don't always think that an HTPC's main purpose is for video however. While HTPC can make a good video source, I view my HTPC as a game console. I would never play a PS3 game on a 22 inch monitor sitting at a desk, and I don't see a PC being much different. I realize wireless lag is different for many people, but it is not an issue for me. The Razer Mamba and Dinovo Edge are pretty lag free. If wireless weren't ready for games, all 3 console manufacturers wouldn't have switched.

Either way, I think the 5830 is a better choice for the intended resolution, since the first post has been updated since I first posted. I don't think the price ranges were there when I started this conversation either.

EDIT: Also for the gaming section since you switched to the Lian-Li (excellent case, btw) you should probably add a PSU to the list or mention that it will need one. All of the other sections include a PSU case combo.
 
Last edited:
jamesrb said:
Either way, I think the 5830 is a better choice for the intended resolution, since the first post has been updated since I first posted. I don't think the price ranges were there when I started this conversation either.
Click to expand...
No, the 5830 is a terrible choice and I addressed at in the comments above you.
EDIT: Also for the gaming section since you switched to the Lian-Li (excellent case, btw) you should probably add a PSU to the list or mention that it will need one. All of the other sections include a PSU case combo.
Click to expand...
Ah, thanks for pointing that out.
 
jamesrb said:
Either way, I think the 5830 is a better choice for the intended resolution, since the first post has been updated since I first posted. I don't think the price ranges were there when I started this conversation either.
Click to expand...

The HD 5830 is a good choice for that resolution but CriminalEvil has pretty much pointed out the main reasons why the HD 5830 is a bad buy in genera for a HTPC setupl:
- Higher power usage than the HD 5850
- Outputs more heat than a HD 5850
- Pretty bad pricing considering the above info. Since it sits exactly in the middle of the HD $310 5850 and $150 HD 5770, then at most it should have cost $230 at most IMO. The HD 5830 typically costs $260 on average.
 
should change title to "READ THIS BEFORE POSTING: Ultimate HTPC Guide"

Also, this is a wonderful guide. Get some how-to's and pictures up in the software section and no one will remember the name wiretap ;)
 
Crim, just noticed you didnt include the OEM MS remote in any of your configs. Personally I think this is a must have for a true HTPC. You can get much fancier, but the OEM remte adds basic function and most 3rd party apps support it without any custom programming. Since most programmable remotes **cough cough***Harmony***cough cough** have codes built in for the MC remote it is easy to upgrade too.
 
IDversusEGO said:
Crim, just noticed you didnt include the OEM MS remote in any of your configs. Personally I think this is a must have for a true HTPC. You can get much fancier, but the OEM remte adds basic function and most 3rd party apps support it without any custom programming. Since most programmable remotes **cough cough***Harmony***cough cough** have codes built in for the MC remote it is easy to upgrade too.
Click to expand...

I have the Gyration and its perfect
 
IDversusEGO said:
fFor some it might be. It doesnt control any other devices so it doesn't fit my bill.
Click to expand...

Umm, yes it does.

It controls my TV, Cable DVR, and DVD player too.

And its RF so no line of sight is needed for the reciever.
 
nitrobass24 said:
Umm, yes it does.

It controls my TV, Cable DVR, and DVD player too.

And its RF so no line of sight is needed for the reciever.
Click to expand...


oh yeah, forgot abouth te mediacenter versiont hey came out with a while back. is it backlit? that may be why I didnt pick it. Does it have the xbox codes? if so I may pic on up for the living room and move the logitech to the bedroom where lights off viewing is more frequent.
 
What's a good IR receiver to use a harmony remote with my HTPC? I've read reports that the Soundgraph imon is good for that purpose, but haven't read too much about other options.
 
IDversusEGO said:
oh yeah, forgot abouth te mediacenter versiont hey came out with a while back. is it backlit? that may be why I didnt pick it. Does it have the xbox codes? if so I may pic on up for the living room and move the logitech to the bedroom where lights off viewing is more frequent.
Click to expand...

Only the Device buttons are backlit. And I dont know about Xbox.
 
Doh. Has there been any solid news on when the ION 2 based nettops will be available? I want a very bare-bones machine that can play 1080p video with no fuss, and I've heard the current gen of nettops do not offer that. I'm really tired of swapping out my dvi output on my computer every time I watch a movie.
 
You need at least a mobo with Intel GMA X4500HD for HD playback. The mobo you chose only has Intel GMA X4500.

Just about any mobo based on the Nvidia 9300 chipset would let you play back HD content.
 
That's all I found as well, and basically every reviews on the cheaper Zotac was horrible :(
 
inolen said:
That's all I found as well, and basically every reviews on the cheaper Zotac was horrible :(
Click to expand...

what you mean horrible? Horrible at what?

Yea sure its prob not the best OC. But i have the $99 one on there, and i just have 2gb ram and win7 and it plays everything just fine.

Sure its prob not going to play many games well, but its an HTPC it was built to play music and movies and thats it. And it does those two things quite well.
 
nitrobass24 said:
what you mean horrible? Horrible at what?

Yea sure its prob not the best OC. But i have the $99 one on there, and i just have 2gb ram and win7 and it plays everything just fine.

Sure its prob not going to play many games well, but its an HTPC it was built to play music and movies and thats it. And it does those two things quite well.
Click to expand...

I mean horrible as in quality and service from the company. I really wanted something cheaper as well, as $100 is closing the price gap between this and a h55/i3 setup.
 
Good stuff Crim. This is a great resource for HTPC noobs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top