Overclock.net › Forums › Specialty Builds › HTPC › 1st HTPC build help/recommendation
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

1st HTPC build help/recommendation

post #1 of 11
8/26/12 at 8:25pm
Thread Starter 
Hi, I need advice for 1st HTPC build. For the HTPC, I won't be playing the latest games on it or overclocking the system. I want it mainly to watch HD movies, play flac music, access and stream from my other pc/laptop via wifi, and access internet.
Budget: As cheap as possible without sacrificing performance (smooth movie playback)

I would appreciate any help I can get with the following :
- case: full ATX, black, minimal patterns on the outside. Dimensions dont really matter coz I have adequate space for it next to the tv stand. maybe Cooler Master Silencio 550; Antec FUSION REMOTE MAX?
- motherboard: brand Asus or Gigabyte coz they are more readily available. size full ATX, usb 3.0, HDMI out, audio capable of 5.1 setup.
- processor: i read somewhere in this forum AMD A6-3500?
- graphics card - hopefully the onboard video. If it cant do the job, then please suggest the minimum card I need for smooth playback of video.
- ram: 4gb enough?
- power: I read somewhere in this forum Corsair Builder Series CX430 V2?

For the following, I'm thinking of just getting the cheapest major brand/model, but if anyone thinks an alternative is essential, please let me know
- dvdrw
- hdd: 500gb sata
- os: Win7Home
- keyboard: Logitech Wireless Touch Keyboard K400
- wifi: TP-Link TL-WN722N 150Mbps High Gain Wireless USB Adapter

Other bits
IR receiver - if case doesnt have one, i need to add this
PVR: some kind of pci card to allow me to record off the satellite box. havent done the research yet
card reader: if its not already on the case
Edited by pjguy - 8/26/12 at 10:20pm
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 11
8/27/12 at 2:03pm
  • Joined: Nov 2010
  • Location: Rochester, NY
  • Posts: 308
  • Rep: 36 (Unique: 36)
  • Folding Team Rank: 35
  •  
    Name Team Rank Points / May Work Units / May
    shelter_ocn 35 58,561,431 / 601,482 232 / 2
     
  • Select All Posts By This User
The A6-3500 is a good chip to go with, but for what you are going to be using it for a dual core like the A4-3400 would probably work fine and save you $20. Just another reminder, though, that the new Trinity based chips will be out this year (keeps getting delayed but fingers crossed) which unfortunately have a new socket type (FM2 instead of FM1) so you won't be able to upgrade. I recently went from a triple core to dual core and haven't noticed any difference even when ripping Blu Rays while watching movies or listening to music.

If you do go with an FM1 chip, definitely go with an A75 chipset motherboard over the A55. Also make sure that it has HDMI out (yeah some don't for some reason) and optical out for audio if you need it.

Onboard video with any of the Fusion chips will be fine for video playback.

4GB of memory will be plenty.

Antec EarthWatts power supplies like THIS are very popular for HTPC builds.

That keyboard is nice but kind of expensive. I use one of THESE from Iogear and it works great. Also, I mainly use a remote (Logitech Harmony) but a cheaper alternative like THIS from Rosewill gets the job done.

Good luck! thumb.gif
1p Gaming
(16 items)
 
4p Folding
(8 items)
  		 
CPUMotherboardGraphicsRAM
Intel i5-3570k Biostar TZ77XE3 2 x Sapphire 6950 2GB D3 Crossfire 8 GB G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3 1600 
Hard DriveCoolingCoolingCooling
Crucial M4 SSD/WD Caviar Black XSPC Rasa XSPC RX360 Swiftech MCP655 
MonitorPowerCase
3 x Acer S231HL Eyefinity Corsair AX850 ATCS 840 w/custom window, etc. 
View all
CPUMotherboardRAMHard Drive
4 x AMD Opteron 6128 Supermicro H8QGi+-F 32GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3 1600 Hitachi Deskstar 80GB 
CoolingOSPowerCase
4 x Noctua NH-U9DO Ubuntu 10.10 Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W Rich C. aka Spotswood SWTX Tech Tray 
View all
  hide details  
Reply
1p Gaming
(16 items)
 
4p Folding
(8 items)
  		 
CPUMotherboardGraphicsRAM
Intel i5-3570k Biostar TZ77XE3 2 x Sapphire 6950 2GB D3 Crossfire 8 GB G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3 1600 
Hard DriveCoolingCoolingCooling
Crucial M4 SSD/WD Caviar Black XSPC Rasa XSPC RX360 Swiftech MCP655 
MonitorPowerCase
3 x Acer S231HL Eyefinity Corsair AX850 ATCS 840 w/custom window, etc. 
View all
CPUMotherboardRAMHard Drive
4 x AMD Opteron 6128 Supermicro H8QGi+-F 32GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3 1600 Hitachi Deskstar 80GB 
CoolingOSPowerCase
4 x Noctua NH-U9DO Ubuntu 10.10 Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W Rich C. aka Spotswood SWTX Tech Tray 
View all
  hide details  
Reply
post #3 of 11
8/29/12 at 12:12am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the advice. Those points do help bring down the pricetag.
I had a look at the htpc cases that support full-atx boards and they are HUGE. I think I will settle for the regular CM Silencio 550. The front is very clean.
So far the most expensive item on my shopping list is the OS. i'm doing a bit of reading up on Ubuntu to see if that is feasible. If that doesnt work, then I'll get Win7
Re RAM... does it make any difference to buy 2x2gb vs 1x4gb?
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 11
8/29/12 at 7:01am
  • Joined: Nov 2010
  • Location: Rochester, NY
  • Posts: 308
  • Rep: 36 (Unique: 36)
  • Folding Team Rank: 35
  •  
    Name Team Rank Points / May Work Units / May
    shelter_ocn 35 58,561,431 / 601,482 232 / 2
     
  • Select All Posts By This User
Quote:
Originally Posted by pjguy View Post

Thanks for the advice. Those points do help bring down the pricetag.
I had a look at the htpc cases that support full-atx boards and they are HUGE. I think I will settle for the regular CM Silencio 550. The front is very clean.
So far the most expensive item on my shopping list is the OS. i'm doing a bit of reading up on Ubuntu to see if that is feasible. If that doesnt work, then I'll get Win7
Re RAM... does it make any difference to buy 2x2gb vs 1x4gb?

2x2gb is generally better for RAM.

If you are thinking about using Linux, check out Mythbuntu.
Also, lots of good info about HTPCs using Linux at AVSForum
1p Gaming
(16 items)
 
4p Folding
(8 items)
  		 
CPUMotherboardGraphicsRAM
Intel i5-3570k Biostar TZ77XE3 2 x Sapphire 6950 2GB D3 Crossfire 8 GB G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3 1600 
Hard DriveCoolingCoolingCooling
Crucial M4 SSD/WD Caviar Black XSPC Rasa XSPC RX360 Swiftech MCP655 
MonitorPowerCase
3 x Acer S231HL Eyefinity Corsair AX850 ATCS 840 w/custom window, etc. 
View all
CPUMotherboardRAMHard Drive
4 x AMD Opteron 6128 Supermicro H8QGi+-F 32GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3 1600 Hitachi Deskstar 80GB 
CoolingOSPowerCase
4 x Noctua NH-U9DO Ubuntu 10.10 Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W Rich C. aka Spotswood SWTX Tech Tray 
View all
  hide details  
Reply
1p Gaming
(16 items)
 
4p Folding
(8 items)
  		 
CPUMotherboardGraphicsRAM
Intel i5-3570k Biostar TZ77XE3 2 x Sapphire 6950 2GB D3 Crossfire 8 GB G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3 1600 
Hard DriveCoolingCoolingCooling
Crucial M4 SSD/WD Caviar Black XSPC Rasa XSPC RX360 Swiftech MCP655 
MonitorPowerCase
3 x Acer S231HL Eyefinity Corsair AX850 ATCS 840 w/custom window, etc. 
View all
CPUMotherboardRAMHard Drive
4 x AMD Opteron 6128 Supermicro H8QGi+-F 32GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3 1600 Hitachi Deskstar 80GB 
CoolingOSPowerCase
4 x Noctua NH-U9DO Ubuntu 10.10 Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W Rich C. aka Spotswood SWTX Tech Tray 
View all
  hide details  
Reply
post #5 of 11
8/29/12 at 12:44pm
Thread Starter 
tq
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 11
9/1/12 at 2:04am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by shelter View Post

Just another reminder, though, that the new Trinity based chips will be out this year (keeps getting delayed but fingers crossed) which unfortunately have a new socket type (FM2 instead of FM1) so you won't be able to upgrade. I recently went from a triple core to dual core and haven't noticed any difference even when ripping Blu Rays while watching movies or listening to music.
If you do go with an FM1 chip, definitely go with an A75 chipset motherboard over the A55. Also make sure that it has HDMI out (yeah some don't for some reason) and optical out for audio if you need it.
Onboard video with any of the Fusion chips will be fine for video playback.
i'm not a pc expert. i searched the best i could and came up with the following motherboards. they all are full atx, with hdmi and usb3.0. can someone let me know if they meet the criteria set by shelter (in quote above)?
- GA-A75-D3H
- GA-A75-UD4H
- GA-A75-DS3P
- Biostar TA75A+
- Asus F1A75-V PRO
- AsRock A75 Pro4
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 11
9/1/12 at 4:08pm
If you do plan to go linux just keep in mind that if you use Netflix, well you won't be able to use it. Don't wait for Trinity these Llano chips do a bang up job playing back 1080P video and whatever else you plan to do media wise. Maybe some light old school DX9 gaming, havn't tried it out yet on mine but i think you'd be good.
GameBox v3.2
(15 items)
 
MediaBox v1.0
(11 items)
  		 
CPUMotherboardGraphicsRAM
Core i5 2500k @ 4.5ghz 1.285v ASRock Z77 Extreme4 Sapphire Vapor-X 7950 3GB @ 1075/1475 GSkill SNIPER DDR3 1866 4x4GB 9-10-9-28 
Hard DriveHard DriveCoolingOS
WD Caviar Black 500GBx2 Raid0 OCZ Vertex 4 128GB SSD Cooler Master HyperN 520 Windows 7 64 bit 
MonitorPowerCaseMouse
LG 22" LED Corsair 750TX 750W CM 932 HAF Advanced Razer Deathadder 
View all
CPUMotherboardRAMHard Drive
AMD A6-3650 ASUS F1A75- M Pro GSkil DDR3 1600 Segate Barracuda Green 
Optical DriveCoolingOSMonitor
LG DVDROM Cooler Master GeminII M4 Low Profile Windows 7 Tosihba 46" 1080P HDTV 
KeyboardPowerCase
Logitech K400 Wireless Keyboard w/ Trackpad Antec Earthwatts Green 380W nMEDIAPC 5000B 
View all
  hide details  
Reply
GameBox v3.2
(15 items)
 
MediaBox v1.0
(11 items)
  		 
CPUMotherboardGraphicsRAM
Core i5 2500k @ 4.5ghz 1.285v ASRock Z77 Extreme4 Sapphire Vapor-X 7950 3GB @ 1075/1475 GSkill SNIPER DDR3 1866 4x4GB 9-10-9-28 
Hard DriveHard DriveCoolingOS
WD Caviar Black 500GBx2 Raid0 OCZ Vertex 4 128GB SSD Cooler Master HyperN 520 Windows 7 64 bit 
MonitorPowerCaseMouse
LG 22" LED Corsair 750TX 750W CM 932 HAF Advanced Razer Deathadder 
View all
CPUMotherboardRAMHard Drive
AMD A6-3650 ASUS F1A75- M Pro GSkil DDR3 1600 Segate Barracuda Green 
Optical DriveCoolingOSMonitor
LG DVDROM Cooler Master GeminII M4 Low Profile Windows 7 Tosihba 46" 1080P HDTV 
KeyboardPowerCase
Logitech K400 Wireless Keyboard w/ Trackpad Antec Earthwatts Green 380W nMEDIAPC 5000B 
View all
  hide details  
Reply
post #8 of 11
9/1/12 at 5:35pm
Thread Starter 
thanks. i'll probably opt for win7 since i'm slightly technically challenged. re the motherboard, do the ones i listed in post#6 all fit the criteria set by shelter in post#2?
Edited by pjguy - 9/2/12 at 12:26am
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 11
9/2/12 at 7:13am
  • Joined: Nov 2010
  • Location: Rochester, NY
  • Posts: 308
  • Rep: 36 (Unique: 36)
  • Folding Team Rank: 35
  •  
    Name Team Rank Points / May Work Units / May
    shelter_ocn 35 58,561,431 / 601,482 232 / 2
     
  • Select All Posts By This User
Quote:
Originally Posted by pjguy View Post

i'm not a pc expert. i searched the best i could and came up with the following motherboards. they all are full atx, with hdmi and usb3.0. can someone let me know if they meet the criteria set by shelter (in quote above)?
- GA-A75-D3H
- GA-A75-UD4H
- GA-A75-DS3P
- Biostar TA75A+
- Asus F1A75-V PRO
- AsRock A75 Pro4

Those all look pretty good except for the Biostar. It seems to be the only one that doesn't have an optical S/PDIF out connector so if you are not going to be always using HDMI for your sound you will want to avoid that one.

I noticed that Newegg is having some good Labor Day weekend sales. The Gigabyte GA-A75-UD4H that you linked above is actually on sale this weekend for $99.99. Seems like a good deal although some of the reviews are mixed.

Also, the A6-3650 is on sale for $74.99.
1p Gaming
(16 items)
 
4p Folding
(8 items)
  		 
CPUMotherboardGraphicsRAM
Intel i5-3570k Biostar TZ77XE3 2 x Sapphire 6950 2GB D3 Crossfire 8 GB G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3 1600 
Hard DriveCoolingCoolingCooling
Crucial M4 SSD/WD Caviar Black XSPC Rasa XSPC RX360 Swiftech MCP655 
MonitorPowerCase
3 x Acer S231HL Eyefinity Corsair AX850 ATCS 840 w/custom window, etc. 
View all
CPUMotherboardRAMHard Drive
4 x AMD Opteron 6128 Supermicro H8QGi+-F 32GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3 1600 Hitachi Deskstar 80GB 
CoolingOSPowerCase
4 x Noctua NH-U9DO Ubuntu 10.10 Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W Rich C. aka Spotswood SWTX Tech Tray 
View all
  hide details  
Reply
1p Gaming
(16 items)
 
4p Folding
(8 items)
  		 
CPUMotherboardGraphicsRAM
Intel i5-3570k Biostar TZ77XE3 2 x Sapphire 6950 2GB D3 Crossfire 8 GB G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3 1600 
Hard DriveCoolingCoolingCooling
Crucial M4 SSD/WD Caviar Black XSPC Rasa XSPC RX360 Swiftech MCP655 
MonitorPowerCase
3 x Acer S231HL Eyefinity Corsair AX850 ATCS 840 w/custom window, etc. 
View all
CPUMotherboardRAMHard Drive
4 x AMD Opteron 6128 Supermicro H8QGi+-F 32GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3 1600 Hitachi Deskstar 80GB 
CoolingOSPowerCase
4 x Noctua NH-U9DO Ubuntu 10.10 Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W Rich C. aka Spotswood SWTX Tech Tray 
View all
  hide details  
Reply
post #10 of 11
9/2/12 at 3:51pm
Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
Quote:
Originally Posted by pjguy View Post

Hi, I need advice for 1st HTPC build. For the HTPC, I won't be playing the latest games on it or overclocking the system. I want it mainly to watch HD movies, play flac music, access and stream from my other pc/laptop via wifi, and access internet.
Budget: As cheap as possible without sacrificing performance (smooth movie playback)
I would appreciate any help I can get with the following :
- case: full ATX, black, minimal patterns on the outside. Dimensions dont really matter coz I have adequate space for it next to the tv stand. maybe Cooler Master Silencio 550; Antec FUSION REMOTE MAX?
- motherboard: brand Asus or Gigabyte coz they are more readily available. size full ATX, usb 3.0, HDMI out, audio capable of 5.1 setup.
- processor: i read somewhere in this forum AMD A6-3500?
- graphics card - hopefully the onboard video. If it cant do the job, then please suggest the minimum card I need for smooth playback of video.
- ram: 4gb enough?
- power: I read somewhere in this forum Corsair Builder Series CX430 V2?
For the following, I'm thinking of just getting the cheapest major brand/model, but if anyone thinks an alternative is essential, please let me know
- dvdrw
- hdd: 500gb sata
- os: Win7Home
- keyboard: Logitech Wireless Touch Keyboard K400
- wifi: TP-Link TL-WN722N 150Mbps High Gain Wireless USB Adapter
Other bits
IR receiver - if case doesnt have one, i need to add this
PVR: some kind of pci card to allow me to record off the satellite box. havent done the research yet
card reader: if its not already on the case
Could you give us a budget to work with? It'd be a lot easier to give you parts, etc, if we knew what you're looking to spend. Also, why Full ATX? If you're going for minimal types of usage (sounds like strictly HTPC stuff, no gaming, etc) then why not a Mini-ITX or Micro-ATX board? You could get much smaller cases that look a lot better in your living room.

Some ideas for HTPC oriented cases might be

Wesena E5


nMediaPC 5000B


Mini-Box M300


That's just a few examples. I have the nMediaPC 6000B and although I like it, it's a pretty large case for an HTPC. I'm trying to go smaller now, more like the Wesena.

You linked to the Logitech page priced in Malaysian Ringgits. Do you live in Malaysia or pasted a wrong link? At any rate, here in the US the Logitech K400 costs roughly the same price as the Iogear one linked by Shelter, but looks a lot nicer.
Big Black Box
(8 items)
 
Graphite
(10 items)
  		 
CPUMotherboardGraphicsRAM
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4450e Lenovo ??? Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 Vapor X Hyundai Electronics  
RAMOSMonitorCase
Hyundai Electronics  Windows 7 Ultimate Viewsonic PJD6531w nMediapc HTPC 6000B 
View all
CPUMotherboardGraphicsRAM
Intel Core i5-3570k ASRock Z77E-ITX Sapphire Radeon 7750 G.skill sniper low voltage 8GB DDR3 
Hard DriveHard DriveOSMonitor
Ocz vertex 3 60GB Ocz solid 3 60GB Windows 8 Viewsonic PJD6531w 
PowerCase
160w Pico PSU + 196w Power Adapter Streacom FC8WS EVO 
View all
  hide details  
Reply
Big Black Box
(8 items)
 
Graphite
(10 items)
  		 
CPUMotherboardGraphicsRAM
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4450e Lenovo ??? Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 Vapor X Hyundai Electronics  
RAMOSMonitorCase
Hyundai Electronics  Windows 7 Ultimate Viewsonic PJD6531w nMediapc HTPC 6000B 
View all
CPUMotherboardGraphicsRAM
Intel Core i5-3570k ASRock Z77E-ITX Sapphire Radeon 7750 G.skill sniper low voltage 8GB DDR3 
Hard DriveHard DriveOSMonitor
Ocz vertex 3 60GB Ocz solid 3 60GB Windows 8 Viewsonic PJD6531w 
PowerCase
160w Pico PSU + 196w Power Adapter Streacom FC8WS EVO 
View all
  hide details  
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: HTPC
Overclock.net › Forums › Specialty Builds › HTPC › 1st HTPC build help/recommendation