Yet another HTPC build thread

I

ilikecake

Gawd
Joined
Feb 20, 2006
Messages
759
Well, I have officially given up on my dream of getting an ITX HTPC, they seem to be a bit too limiting. I am therefore looking to build an HTPC with a micro-ATX motherboard. The answers to the standard questions are below:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
  • Watching ripped DVDs and Blu-rays locally and over the network
  • Watching DVDs from disc
  • Watching streaming video off the internet
  • Some general web browsing
  • Possibly playing low powered games on my TV
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
  • <700$ total, but the cheaper the better. My main concern is to not spend a bunch extra on a more powerful computer than I need.
3) Which country do you live in?
  • Madison, WI, USA
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget?
  • CPU
  • Motherboard
  • GPU (if required)
  • PSU
  • Memory
  • Case
  • DVD/Blu-ray drive
  • SSD (if necessary)
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing?
  • 1-1.5TB Hard Drive (I think it is a WD green drive)
6) Will you be overclocking?
  • No
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
  • 46" 1920x1080
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
  • Soonish
9) What features do you need in a motherboard?
  • Onboard video would be nice if it is capable of playing HD blu-ray rips
  • SATA6 would be nice for potential SSD upgrades
  • HDMI
  • A way to get digital sound out that is not HDMI (optical, SPDIF)
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
  • Yes, Windows 7 64bit

I have identified some options for parts:
Intel Option:
AMD Option
Common Parts
Total AMD: $598.92
Total Intel: $668.92

Here are the specific questions I have:
  • With either of these setups can I get away without using a discrete video card? I don't plan on gaming on this computer initially, so it the IGPs can handle HD video, it should be fine. If I feel the need to play newer games on this in the future, I can put in a discrete GPU.
  • Does getting an SSD make sense for this setup?
  • Are there any good modular PSUs that will fit this case? Silverstone says the PSU must be less than 150mm (5.9") long. Most of the good PSUs are 6.3" long, especially the modular ones.
  • Will this BD-Rom drive fit? I can't find the information on the length of that particular model. I thought I read that the disc drive had to be short as well, but I can't seem to find that anywhere official.

Let me know if this list looks okay or if I am crazy. :p
 
Well, I've got a build worked up for you. Personally, I don't care for onboard video. In fact I wouldn't build an HTPC right now without a video card that can bitstream the HD codecs. There's just no reason to. The idea behind these parts are to be able to do everything an HTPC needs to do, but do it quietly. Nothing is more annoying to me in an HTPC than one that makes noise.

Which is why I would suggest ditching the magnetic drive and stream everything over the network. Also, no need to go 4GB on the memory unless you really want to. Anyhow, here's my list of suggested parts. The SSD might not be the best one to get. Hopefully someone that's been keeping track of them lately can shed more light on that.

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811204037

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157176

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103953

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211066

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151097

Video: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121448

SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233223

Optical: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135247

HSF: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233081

Case Fans:

80mm: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835426013

120mm: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835426018

Total Cost: $660
 
I built an itx htpc that does all you want and streams blu ray over the network. I3 with hd2000 graphics. Works great. My other one had an amd radeon 6580 (iirc) and a e6850 CPU on a micro atx mobo. Both have 4gb even though they would work fine with 2gb.

Seems like you're putting in features that will make little difference in an htpc. Why do you need ssd on sata 6?
 
PolygonGTC said:
Well, I've got a build worked up for you. Personally, I don't care for onboard video. In fact I wouldn't build an HTPC right now without a video card that can bitstream the HD codecs. There's just no reason to.
Click to expand...

The 2120 he posted will pass HD audio
 
PolygonGTC: Thanks for the alternate build. I am not sure I like that case, but I will keep those parts in mind. I had originally planned to store movies on my server, but I have this hard drive lying around, and I don't think it will add much noise to the system.

AQ_OC said:
I built an itx htpc that does all you want and streams blu ray over the network. I3 with hd2000 graphics. Works great. My other one had an amd radeon 6580 (iirc) and a e6850 CPU on a micro atx mobo. Both have 4gb even though they would work fine with 2gb.

Seems like you're putting in features that will make little difference in an htpc. Why do you need ssd on sata 6?
Click to expand...

What case did you use? It seems like all the cases for ITX either look like ass or are marginal in cooling/too loud. I sorta like the idea of putting in a video card down the line and playing games on my TV, but I dunno if that will ever happen. In regards to the SATA6, I probably don't need it, but it seems like it might help with future proofing a bit.

On an unrelated note: are there any cases with internal IR receivers (or something I could mod into an existing case)?. I really liked the look of this case, and it has an internal IR receiver. However, it sounds like it has a few problems, and 40mm fans are gonna be loud, so I decided against it.
 
On that itx system I used this case. I even added some 80mm Silverstone fans on one side and I cannot hear it in my room. However, on my other system I used this case.

If I were you, I'd buy the sata6 stuff for my desktop machine...keep that future proof...the htpc don't need that much tech unless you want to do some serious gaming on it...

I just bought a $25 WMC remote and I just get some velcro and stick the receiver to the side of the case....you can't see it when it is in the AV rack with all the other stuff.

There are 80mm fans that can be very quiet if you keep the rpm low.

BTW, you can put an itx mobo in that Silverstone I linked. That is, if you really want an itx system. It will just overlap one slot rather than all four, if memory serves.
 
Zangmonkey said:
The 2120 he posted will pass HD audio
Click to expand...

Ah, it would seem so. However, I just read something that would still make me shy away. Especially since a good video card just costs less anyhow.

http://www./forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/44338-amd-a8-3850-apu-review-llano-hits-desktop-9.html

ilikecake said:
PolygonGTC: Thanks for the alternate build. I am not sure I like that case, but I will keep those parts in mind. I had originally planned to store movies on my server, but I have this hard drive lying around, and I don't think it will add much noise to the system.
Click to expand...

I'm not a huge fan of it either. The Silverstone is better looking but it looks like a nightmare to work in and crappy airflow. As for the HDD, trust me, it does. Mine drove me nuts. You can't hear it of your HTPC is loud or load portions of music or video. However, during quite parts it's obnoxiously loud. I switched to an SSD but kept the magnetic drive in as a secondary. I recently removed it because of this.

Just something to keep in mind.


ilikecake said:
On an unrelated note: are there any cases with internal IR receivers (or something I could mod into an existing case)?. I really liked the look of this case, and it has an internal IR receiver. However, it sounds like it has a few problems, and 40mm fans are gonna be loud, so I decided against it.
Click to expand...

Yes, and they're normally crap. I would find a better remote that uses RF instead.
 
As far as cases go, the Silverstone GD05B also looks nice and it would save you about $40, last I saw it was $85 on amazon.
 
This Gateway SX2370-UR30P (PT.GCRP2.001) Desktop PC A6-Series APU A6-3600(2.1Hz) 4GB DDR3 1TB HDD Capacity AMD Radeon HD 6530D Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit would meet all your requirements for $399. No optical port tho.

To save even more money at $330, can go for Acer Aspire AX1470-UR31P Desktop PC - AMD A4-3400 2.7GHz, 4GB DDR3, 1TB HDD, AMD Radeon HD6410D Graphics, DVDRW, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Can buy an external usb BD drive if you need to watch BD disc, or just get a stand alone player to save money on playback software, and potential headache.
 
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