Upper Mid-Range Build

[Attean]

Just moved into a new place with an upstairs (oh nos!) and am looking to replace my old HDMI-from the desktop solution with something more robust. Is wireless streaming of compressed 1080p content via a dual band n router an option yet? Or is the attic my only option? I'll be purchasing the HTPC as the first step in a system including a router and file server. As far as money is concerned, I like quality and flexibility, but see no point in wasting money.

Requirements

1. Stream content from a new file server
2. Play compressed 1080p content
3. Surf the net downstairs (mentioned for input suggestions)
4. Play music from the kitchen (ditto)
5. Blue Ray playback
6. Possibly some light gaming with a ps2 remote/emulators

HTPC
Picking up the Seasonic x650 Danny suggested in another thread just because why the hell not, that's an amazing deal. I'll probably end up switching my desktop PSU out and using it in the HTPC.
$80.99 - Thermaltake Black SECC Japanese steel LANBOX Lite VF6000BNS Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case
$46.99 - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3
$86.99 - ASRock H67M-ITX LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard
$134.99 - Intel Core i3-2100T Sandy Bridge 2.5GHz 2 x 256KB L2 Cache 3MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 35W Dual-Core Desktop Processor
$109.99 - Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive
$99.99 - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
46.99 - LITE-ON Black 4X BD-ROM 8X DVD-ROM 32X CD-ROM SATA Internal 4X Blu-ray Disc Reader Model iHOS104-08
Input
I refuse to pay more than $150 for a remote and even that seems a little insane. I'd rather use Gmote but would like a better solution. iPADs seem like more efficient uses of money than a Harmony, but I'm not sure about the software? I will be getting a keyboard with a trackball of some kind for surfing. I'd also like some sort of universal remote that can turn my Samsung on and off, as well as my Soundbar.
$38.99 - IOGEAR GKM561R Black 2.4GHz Wireless HTPC Multimedia Keyboard with Laser Trackball and Scroll Wheel
$24.99 - Rosewill WMC Remote control/Rcvr RRC-127 for Win 7

Wireless Router
Really don't want to mess around here. I want something that will last me a while and save me from having to run ethernet cable downstairs (this is at least worth $60-$70 to me) and then buy a gigabit router anyway, but if wireless won't get the job done, I'd like to know sooner rather than later.
$135.99 - TRENDnet TEW-692GR 450 Mbps Concurrent Dual Band Wireless N Router

File Server
Windows Home Server. Quiet. Possibly AMD because they seem to have some fairly nice integrated solutions. That's about as far as I've gotten on this one.

 

[madrebel]

for the router, i love my trendnet tew-692GR. supports both 2.4 and 5ghz N concurrently @450mbps. haven't had a single issue with it thus far (3 months). doesn't support ddw-rt that i am aware of.

 

[Attean]

Nice router. Thanks. I was also considering this:

$129.99 - LIAN LI PC-V352B Black Aluminum MicroATX Desktop Case

Anyone know anything about wireless extensions? This seemed like the best one @450mbps on the egg:
$59.99 - TRENDnet TEW-684UB Dual Band Wireless N Adapter IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n USB 2.0 Up to 450Mbps Wireless Data Rates

 

[AQ_OC]

Whether you can stream compressed 1080p content over wireless depends on what kind of data rate you can get over YOUR wireless link and on the amount of compression you apply to your files.

If you really don't want to mess around, run the cable from the router to the HTPC and stream full-on ripped blu-rays from your server. Otherwise, the rest is just going to depend on your particulars and you will be messing around.

 

[Dangman]

Is wireless streaming of compressed 1080p content via a dual band n router an option yet?

TBH, dunno.

Picking up the Seasonic x650 Danny suggested in another thread just because why the hell not, that's an amazing deal. I'll probably end up switching my desktop PSU out and using it in the HTPC.

Did you buy that PSU at its $110 sales price? And what PSU do you have in your desktop?

$80.99 - Thermaltake Black SECC Japanese steel LANBOX Lite VF6000BNS Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case

Do you have any sort of size requirements or something? I could think of a few better HTPC cases:
$115 - Silverstone LC13B-E ATX Media Center/HTPC Case
$100 - Silverstone GD04B mATX HTPC Case
$95 - Silverstone GD05B mATX HTPC Case

$86.99 - ASRock H67M-ITX LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard

Why a mITX mobo if you're using mATX cases?

$135.99 - TRENDnet TEW-692GR 450 Mbps Concurrent Dual Band Wireless N Router

That router isn't too good judging from this review:
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...ncurrent-dual-band-wireless-n-router-reviewed

 

[Attean]

Did you buy that PSU at its $110 sales price? And what PSU do you have in your desktop?

Yes! Thanks for the heads up. It's a ZALMAN 9PA6000500 modular psu. I bought it second hand. It's about 3 years old.

Do you have any sort of size requirements or something? I could think of a few better HTPC cases:

Nah not really, I was thinking more along the lines of I didn't NEED more space since I'd just have 1 or 2 hard drives and a blu-ray. Easier builds are good though.

Why a mITX mobo if you're using mATX cases?

Good point.

That router isn't too good judging from this review:
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...ncurrent-dual-band-wireless-n-router-reviewed

The jury is still out then. CNET is giving the NETGEAR WNDR4500-100NAS N900 ($179.99) praise, even though the USB functionality might be wasted.

 

[Dangman]

Yes! Thanks for the heads up. It's a ZALMAN 9PA6000500 modular psu. I bought it second hand. It's about 3 years old.

NP. And that Zalman PSU should also be good to go for the HTPC as well.

The jury is still out then. CNET is giving the NETGEAR WNDR4500-100NAS N900 ($179.99) praise, even though the USB functionality might be wasted.

Hit up our Networking and Security subforum as well as Smallnetbuilder.com for more info on what routers and adapters to get.

I recommend this CPU + mobo combo deal:
$241 - Intel Core i3-2100T CPU + GIGABYTE GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 Intel Z68 mATX Motherboard

Granted you really don't need a Z68 mobo but when it costs almost as much as a quality H67 mobo and has the same quality, the words "Why not?" comes to mind.

 

[Attean]

Going to Fry's and Microcenter now (I live in Dallas) with a battle plan written up from this thread. If I see any of this there I'll pick it up and let you guys know. Going to get that $149 i5 combo deal for my main rig (sporadic bf3 play and mostly programming work so I really don't need an i7). Pretty kick ass deal, but I doubt I reuse my current motherboard for either my fileserver or my htpc simply because the 9450 sucks too much power. Wouldn't really be cost-effective long term. The girlfriend might be getting a new pc, however.

 

[madrebel]

Nice router. Thanks. I was also considering this:

$129.99 - LIAN LI PC-V352B Black Aluminum MicroATX Desktop Case

Anyone know anything about wireless extensions? This seemed like the best one @450mbps on the egg:
$59.99 - TRENDnet TEW-684UB Dual Band Wireless N Adapter IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n USB 2.0 Up to 450Mbps Wireless Data Rates

i have the 'gaming' version of that. i was a little bummed that i didn't read more carefully as the version i got is only 2.4ghz. it is fast though.

you may want to look at the intel centrino 633 dual band mini-pcie. its like 30 bucks on amazon. add another 15-20 for a mini>pcie adapter. supposedly it is blazing fast. i have one ordered, should be here by wednesday.

 

[Attean]

I'm stumped at the moment. I picked up a lot of equipment but for now, the relevant bits are two new i5s ($150/ea) and two ASUS P8Z68-V LX 1155 ATX ($80/ea) motherboards. I'll be using these in the "htpc" and my desktop. I got to microcenter and was thinking that the 2100T would only be about $20 more anyway given the deal I found, so may as well get the i5 solution. It'll eat more power, but also be more versatile.

Problem is, neither one of them will boot when hooked up to my old power supply. With just the cpu+motherboard+zalman psu hooked up, turning it on produces a slight pop-fizz eminating from the psu and then nothing. When I flip the switch OFF at the psu, the fans spin up momentarilly.

A few things to note.

• The power supply does work with my old setup: q9450
• I tried both new motherboards, just in case.
• I tried both new CPUs, just in case.
• Tried several different RAM configurations/modules.

I've torn it apart and put it back together a few times and am stumped. I don't think it's that it doesn't have enough juice. I'd be very surprised if the psu could handle my r6970 and q9450 but not an i5. It's hooked up in the exact same way. Confused. There's got to be something I'm missing.

 

[Dangman]

Could be a compatibility issue.

 

[Attean]

Yeah that's what I was thinking. I'm about to run to fry's now and pick up another psu and try that. Any suggestions? ~earthwatts 430+

 

[Dangman]

Wait, don't you have that Seasonic PSU coming in?

But if you just want a PSU purely for testing purposes, try to find the Corsair 430CX and use the onboard video of those motherboards.

 

[kac77]

Yeah that's what I was thinking. I'm about to run to fry's now and pick up another psu and try that. Any suggestions? ~earthwatts 430+

Use the Seasonic for the desktop and get either the Corsair or the Earthwatts PSU for the HTPC. The Seasonic in the HTPC will be largely a waste.

 

[Attean]

Right, but if theres a comparability problem, I'll need a second psu to power the second board anyway.

 

[kac77]

Right, but if theres a comparability problem, I'll need a second psu to power the second board anyway.

I thought you tried the existing PSU? Or are you saying there's an incompatibility with the Seasonic and the MB's?

 

[Attean]

Frys is best buy now. They just had the earthwatts 650. This is probably getting returned.

 

[kac77]

Frys is best buy now. They just had the earthwatts 650. This is probably getting returned.

Sounds like the problem was with the Seasonic... is that correct?

 

[Attean]

Not the sea sonic, no. It's not in yet. My old modular zalman was not compatible, apparently.

 

[Dangman]

Frys is best buy now. They just had the earthwatts 650. This is probably getting returned.

The Earthwatts EA650 isn't too bad as a PSU actually. Only problem with them is that they tend to be overpriced a bit.

 

[Attean]

How do you think the Earthwatts 650 will do on power? I ended up going with the Silverstone LC13B-E ATX Media Center/HTPC Case. Not a big fan of the excess wires but the secondary hard drive bay hides them pretty well. Will post build picks tomorrow if I don't need to rip out that PSU. About to move it down and test it on the TV.

Still need that file server! I picked up an antec 300 at microcenter the other day and will probably go with an amd build in an attempt to use that Zalman. Would prefer dual dvi outs, even if I have to pick up a little dinky video card. I'll be running it into my 4 port iogear kvm which is right there, along with my desktop and laptop bay.

 

[Dangman]

How do you think the Earthwatts 650 will do on power?

It's plenty of power for the HTPC.

Still need that file server! I picked up an antec 300 at microcenter the other day and will probably go with an amd build in an attempt to use that Zalman. Would prefer dual dvi outs, even if I have to pick up a little dinky video card. I'll be running it into my 4 port iogear kvm which is right there, along with my desktop and laptop bay.

Probably wouldn't have gone with that Antec 300 case. Just recommended this to someone earlier today:
However, if you don't plan on expanding past 12 hard drives, I recommend the following setup:
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite Black ATX Case
$24 - Cooler Master STB-3T4-E3-GP 4 in 3 Device Module w/ 120mm Fan
---
Total: $74 shipped.

The above case has better cable management than the Antec 300 IMO as well as a greater chance for lower noise due to the solid front.

Also are you 100% sure on WHS? Which version?

 

[kac77]

Not the sea sonic, no. It's not in yet. My old modular zalman was not compatible, apparently.

Ah then you are fine. The seasonic for the desktop build and the Earthwatts for the HTPC.

 

[Attean]

It's plenty of power for the HTPC.

Sorry Danny, I meant is it inefficient to have a larger supply than neccessary?

Also are you 100% sure on WHS? Which version?

Not 100%. Whatever version I want. Getting them through the microsoft store. Just seemed like the path of least resistance. I've used bash quite a bit (programmer) but meh. What did you have in mind?

 

[Dangman]

Sorry Danny, I meant is it inefficient to have a larger supply than neccessary?

Yes it is inefficient in a way but at least the Earthwatts are pretty efficient in general so that should mitigate the inefficiency with using a larger PSU. With that said, if you want really great efficiency, get the Earthwatts 430W or even 380W PSUs.

Not 100%. Whatever version I want. Getting them through the microsoft store. Just seemed like the path of least resistance. I've used bash quite a bit (programmer) but meh. What did you have in mind?

Well if you're more comfortable with Windows, then by all means use WHS. Just know that either version have their pros and cons. Though more than likely you'll probably end up going with WHS 2011.