Spec me a great HTPC

I just started reading up on XBMC.

Is it really that good and a must have for an HTPC (will be installed on windows 7 and used instead of windows media center correct?)

Cons/pros of XBMC?

Thanks
 
I still stand by the spec i posted up all you got to do is change the case to the antec one.

The first one you posted is clearly gamers build the second is more like htpc but still the price is very high and your paying over the odds for bits you don't need to be such high spec like the motherboard £50 board is fine no need to spend £80 same with ram there is 4gb ddr3 for £35
 
DLNA - your right, as far as it goes the tv acts as your digtal media player, therefore it would be classed as streaming. But as long as its wired up and the HTPC is up to scratch then I wouldn't expect any jittering.

XBMC -
pros would be in runs nicely on Linux which is free, therefore no need to shell out on a windows license. (although you can run it on windows)
If you want to get your geek on you can get a tablet and use it as a remote. (wifi permitting - my next project)
If you don't mind using something a little different its good.
 
Thanks again :)

A quick question. Since my movies will be stored on a NAS and it will be linked to my HTPC, how will I go about watching movies?

Do I have to just open up power dvd for example and choose the movie from the NAS? And if yes, isn't that considered streaming?

Thanks
 
Thats the advantage of XBMC, it will keep your films in a library of sorts.
How do you have your movies stored? are they in mp4 / h.264 format? or have you copied them from DVD and are in video_ts and audio_ts folders?

if they are already encoded then set your movies file extenstions to be defaultly opened by Power DVD.
Then movies will be a double click away.
 
Usually they are ISO or Video_ts and Audio_ts folders

What's the best to use to simplify playing a movie?

If you can tell me how I would play them from the NAS through XBMC on the HTPC, that would be great :)

Thanks
 
not an issue, XBMC can play both of those formats.

All you'll have to do is spend a little time adding your movies to the XBMC library, you can download movie artwork and details as well.
They have a huge wiki on it. So ill cheat if you don't mind. you can find most links to read through here
It will run you through the setup and first time usage of the system
 
R088ieS86 said:
not an issue, XBMC can play both of those formats.

All you'll have to do is spend a little time adding your movies to the XBMC library, you can download movie artwork and details as well.
They have a huge wiki on it. So ill cheat if you don't mind. you can find most links to read through here
It will run you through the setup and first time usage of the system
Click to expand...

Thanks :)

I did not understand this part however: "So ill cheat if you don't mind." :/

And regarding the HTPC... will the dual-core system be enough for say like 4 years usage?
 
Brian8bit said:
What NAS are you intending on getting?

I ask because you could forgo the NAS and use something like the Lian Li PC-Q08B which holds up to six drives and is mini-itx. Pair that with the new AMD mini-itx boards coming out at the minute and you've got a nice little self contained NAS/HTPC. And it beats having two boxes doing the job you can contain in one.
Click to expand...

That looks perfect for my server in the back room. Cheers :)
 
Nameless_87 said:
I did not understand this part however: "So ill cheat if you don't mind." :/
Click to expand...

I didn't fancy writing out a guide so I cheated and linked you to it :)

Edit: do you want to post up the build you think you are going to settle with, there have been a lot spec'd.
 
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R088ieS86 said:
I didn't fancy writing out a guide so I cheated and linked you to it :)

Edit: do you want to post up the build you think you are going to settle with, there have been a lot spec'd.
Click to expand...

Lol fair enough, thanks :)

As for the spec... I am still torn between a dual core and a quad core, cause I know for sure the quad core would last me those 4 years, not so sure about the dual core.

Also the gfx I'm thinking of getting is the 5450 since it is silent. Is this good enough.

I am also getting surround sound and an amp, but I do not know if I should include a sound card. If yes, which one.

Also decided to go with an ssd as well so that it will boot up fast.

So this spec:



Of course the processor is not included (quad core vs dual core) and sound card if necessary. For reference about sound card/no sound card - I think I am getting the Onkyo TX-SR608 amp and the Boston Acoustics XS 5.1 Surround.

Thanks
 
why would you change the PSU?

Also about the drive, so I do not need it to watch movies from the nas as we said earlier?

And on the SSD I would have my OS and necessary playback programs only? If yes, will 60GB suffice?

About the whole setup... will it be quiet and I hope it doesn't heat up?

Thanks
 
No need for quad core at all even if you say you want it to last 4 years.

If you was encoding movies then i would understand it but for watching dual core is more then enough and graphics plays a part in taking a load of anyway.

ssd is fine for os and all the software you will need 60gb is a fairly large size.

I think the suggestion to change psu was to do with price a lot of the bits appear expensive I know other sites are not allowed to be mentioned but they are far cheaper on curtain parts you should take a look I managed to build a system with quad core included witht eh rest of your build above minus the samsung hard drive for £470.
 
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Your GPU is passively cooled, SSD instead of a mechanical drive. Both of these will keep the noise down. the noisest part will be the stock fan on your CPU and your PSU.

Just done a little research for you and this PSU: Corsair Builder Series CX 430W Is a solid, quiet PSU. and only £38.

As far as CPU noise goes your case has a 147mm height so large CPU coolers are out.
If you wanted to reduce the noise even more then this would fit in and be quieter than the stock CPU fan: Scythe Shuriken Rev.B Quiet Low Profile CPU Cooler

As edgfactor said your CPU isn't going to really limit you over the next 4 yrs. Quad would make doubley certain but the dual core BE's are still perfect for the job.

SO:

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Antec Fusion Remote HTPC Case - Black £138.88
(£115.73) £138.88
(£115.73)
OCZ Vertex 2E 60GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive (OCZSSD2-2VTXE60G) £95.99
(£79.99) £95.99
(£79.99)
AMD Phenom II X2 Dual Core 555 3.20GHz Black Edition (Socket AM3) - Retail £71.99
(£59.99) £71.99
(£59.99)
Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H AMD 880G (Socket AM3) microATX DDR3 Motherboard £59.99
(£49.99) £59.99
(£49.99)
Samsung SH-B123L/BSBP 12x BluRay ROM DVDRW DL & RAM Lightscribe SATAII Optical Drive - Retail Black £47.99
(£39.99) £47.99
(£39.99)
Corsair Builder Series CX 430W ATX Power Supply (CMPSU-430CXUK) £38.99
(£32.49) £38.99
(£32.49)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £35.99
(£29.99) £35.99
(£29.99)
XFX ATI Radeon HD 5450 SILENT 512MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Low Profile Graphics Card £29.99
(£24.99) £29.99
(£24.99)
Scythe Shuriken Rev.B Quiet Low Profile CPU Cooler (Socket 939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £25.52
(£21.27) £25.52
(£21.27)
Sub Total : £454.43
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £93.39
Total : £560.32
 
The motherboard covers the sound through hdmi/optical and the standard coloured jacks also if you do go for graphics card you can carry audio through the hdmi on that.
 
Yup, if your TV is outputting the sound just use the HDMI from the graphics card.
If you have surround then either use the optical or standard outputs on the motherboard
 
R088ieS86 said:
Yup, if your TV is outputting the sound just use the HDMI from the graphics card.
If you have surround then either use the optical or standard outputs on the motherboard
Click to expand...

I will not be using the TV sound...

I'll be using an Onkyo TX-SR608 amp and the Boston Acoustics XS 5.1 Surround.

So no sound card needed then? The audio will cost me like £700. So with no sound card it would work fine? Or will I get better sound from a sound card as opposed to onboard?
 
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