HTPC that can handle 1080p? - Page 2 - Overclock.net

Gunslash · 2 Weeks Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by tNok85

I remembered I had an E2140 laying around.

So this will make it easier.

Going with this as a startup build:

CPU: E2140 (1.6GHz 1MB L2 Cache 65w)
It's... free, since I have it. 1.6GHz should be more than enough. If it's not, I can always swap it with the E6750 I have in a machine that's mainly used for Internet and light gaming (Sims 3 and such). So I'm definitely set on the CPU.
FREE!

Mobo: ASRock G41M-S
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157165
$5/$10 more than similar Biostars, but this one has a PCI-E 1x slot as well, which will be very useful if I end up wanting to use a PCI-E 1x Tuner (like a 2250 or something).

GPU: ASUS 3450 256MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121259
Oops. Thought I had a 4350. Checked my records and it's a 3450. Will this really be any issue? It's fanless, which is nice.

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148433
Should be enough space for a while anyway... and fast enough.

RAM: 2x1GB DDR2 800MHz Corsair
Got this laying around.

Case/PSU: Generic case (temp) and a ~300w Antec PSU. Don't remember all the specs, it's older but works. I will replace this as soon as I find a case since if I get a very small form factor, don't want to have wasted money. :P

All in all this is costing me $140 to get started. Once we're sure we like it, we'll probably spend up to $100 on a small case/PSU, and then another $100 or so on a tuner.

Any thoughts?

That CPU should do well, if it's a bit short, you can always O/C it to about 2.0ghz on stock voltage. I had a E2160 and I got it to 3.2ghz...not that you want a hot HTPC case, but you can always get a bit more out of it if the 1.6ghz falls short.
The video card should be fine, if you need more juice , I saw a few random open box 4350s on the egg from $20-$35 recently.
My old HTPC used a HD2600XT and it worked flawlessly in all hd content..but that was with a Q6600 backing it.
What I did in regards to Hard Drives on my recent build was get 2 HDs. One a smaller, cheap drive for OS and apps. And a 1.5tb 5400rpm green drive (samsung in this case)for media storage and what not. Your set up will work just fine though, just saying what I did .

tNok85 · 2 Weeks Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gunslash

That CPU should do well, if it's a bit short, you can always O/C it to about 2.0ghz on stock voltage. I had a E2160 and I got it to 3.2ghz...not that you want a hot HTPC case, but you can always get a bit more out of it if the 1.6ghz falls short.
The video card should be fine, if you need more juice , I saw a few random open box 4350s on the egg from $20-$35 recently.
My old HTPC used a HD2600XT and it worked flawlessly in all hd content..but that was with a Q6600 backing it.
What I did in regards to Hard Drives on my recent build was get 2 HDs. One a smaller, cheap drive for OS and apps. And a 1.5tb 5400rpm green drive (samsung in this case)for media storage and what not. Your set up will work just fine though, just saying what I did .

You think it would be worth it to swap the E2140 and the E6750? The E2140 will still handle desktop progs.. internet browsing.. and Sims 3 just fine. And the E6750 is 65w, just like the E2140. Would it generate much more heat? (2.66GHz vs 1.6GHz... big difference)

Gunslash · 2 Weeks Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by tNok85

You think it would be worth it to swap the E2140 and the E6750? The E2140 will still handle desktop progs.. internet browsing.. and Sims 3 just fine. And the E6750 is 65w, just like the E2140. Would it generate much more heat? (2.66GHz vs 1.6GHz... big difference)

heat wise I honestly don't know but sounds like they both should be putting out the same amount of heat, for basic desktop progs and sims 3 the 2140 will do just fine and as I said earlier you can bump up the mhz a tad bit without increasing the heat. Heck I wouldn't be surprised if you can undervolt and O/C that CPU a tad bit for that matter.
With the E6750 you won't have to O/C it at all for sure, but you can also undervolt it a bit and still keep full power minus a few degrees.
I was asking a similar question recently and someone mentioned they ran a HTPC setup on a E2160 no problem...Also check the avsforum they have a much more active HTPC forum over there, you'd get better/more input there

I put an aftermarket cooler in my HTPC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185097
It's a low profile heatsink so it'll fit in any slim htpc case...but that's extra money, and the stock heatsink will work just fine anyway.

Coma · 2 Weeks Ago

A 2.0GHz C2D is fine for decoding intensive 1080p, but you'll need CoreAVC or ffmpeg-mt because the single threaded version chokes on high bitrate scenes. Use the E6750 if you can.

Since you're playing downloaded media as well, you can't rely on your GPU.

tNok85 · 2 Weeks Ago

I decided to just go for the E3200. 2.4GHz stock, also 65W, and 45nm.

All parts will be in tomorrow.

E3200 2.4GHz - Using stock cooler for now. Should be fine, but if it gets loud, I'll swap it out for something quieter. Should I use the E3200 or a E6750 in the HTPC?

4350 256MB - Kinda weak, but full built in HDMI (including sound) and hopefully the CPU will be fine making up for it. A 3450 is not a big upgrade but I'm not sure what else I can get that's lower power and fanless.

Seagate 7200.12 1TB 7200RPM - With room to expand...

ASRock G41M-S Micro - PCIe 16x (GPU), PCIe 1x (Tuner?), 2x PCI, MicroATX form factor, cheap.

2x1GB DDR2 800MHz Corsair - Good stuff. 2GB should really be fine, right?

HEC 6T Series 6T10BB MicroATX Mini Tower - Small, cheap, free shipping, and I've figured out I really don't care that much about what it looks like, it's not going to be very visible anyway.

Any thoughts?

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HTPC that can handle 1080p?

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