Building a budget HTPC

buckeejit · 6 Jun 2012 at 09:17

R088ieS86 said:
mITX FM1 boards aren't cheap

If its wireless N then you can do it, but you may notice that occasionally your films will start to buffer if the signal drops.
I would go powerline before wireless.

That has an onboard HD 3200 chip so it would easily handle 1080p, the CPU would be doing very little.

Would a normal mini itx board do? I really am trying to do this on a budget.

Powerline seems like a good idea but I have no idea how it works, can you explain please? Also, could you recommend a cheapish half decent powerline?

buckeejit · 6 Jun 2012 at 09:19

can anyone please give me a list of items from OCUK that they would use if building a HTPC on a budget?

R088ieS86 · 6 Jun 2012 at 10:03

Whats your budget?

buckeejit · 6 Jun 2012 at 10:12

R088ieS86 said:
Whats your budget?

max £300 if poss. could maybe stretch a little more.

Freefaller · 6 Jun 2012 at 10:30

I'm currently debating between an HP Microserver solution and an Acer Revo solution.

They come out within £50 of one another, they're coming out at around £500, that's for 4TB, RAM upgrade to 4GB, all components necessary and a logitech remote and flirc receiver. Without all that gear you could get it down to £300, heck the Revo is less than £200 and will have everything you need if you already have storage and everything else.

The Revo will need an extra NAS solution for extra storage. However costs are fairly similar for both.

The advantage swings towards the Microserver as it's all enclosed and a 1 solution fix, but will need a GPU,however likely to be noiser than the Revo with a separate NAS that can be kept out of the way.

Not decided yet. So am reading this thread with interest.

R088ieS86 · 6 Jun 2012 at 10:37

Just to check, do you:
want to stream netflix?
want to record/watch live tv?
have a size requirement? (for the case)

buckeejit · 6 Jun 2012 at 10:41

R088ieS86 said:
Just to check, do you:
want to stream netflix?
want to record/watch live tv?
have a size requirement? (for the case)

I would like to stream netflix but it's not essential as I could use my PS3.
I have Sky+ HD so no

Small case if possible, would like to set it under my tv on a stand if possible - I don't want a big computer case.

buckeejit · 6 Jun 2012 at 10:44

Freefaller said:
I'm currently debating between an HP Microserver solution and an Acer Revo solution.

They come out within £50 of one another, they're coming out at around £500, that's for 4TB, RAM upgrade to 4GB, all components necessary and a logitech remote and flirc receiver. Without all that gear you could get it down to £300, heck the Revo is less than £200 and will have everything you need if you already have storage and everything else.

The Revo will need an extra NAS solution for extra storage. However costs are fairly similar for both.

The advantage swings towards the Microserver as it's all enclosed and a 1 solution fix, but will need a GPU,however likely to be noiser than the Revo with a separate NAS that can be kept out of the way.

Not decided yet. So am reading this thread with interest.

Now you have me interested lol. I'm interested in the HP Microserver as it has 4TB of storage

R088ieS86 · 6 Jun 2012 at 11:37

phone is playing up - will post a few ideas up this afternoon when im at a PC. People may give you a few ideas in the mean time.

Cheapest possible option is the Rasperry Pi (if you don't mind waiting a bit)

Freefaller · 6 Jun 2012 at 11:43

buckeejit said:
Now you have me interested lol. I'm interested in the HP Microserver as it has 4TB of storage

I think there's still a cashback deal on them so can be had cheaply.

Then you just need 2x 2TB HDDs and you're laughing.

You'll need something like a radeon 6450 which will have HDMI video and audio (supports DTS and BR movies).

I'd add another 2Gb of RAM too.

buckeejit · 6 Jun 2012 at 13:13

Freefaller said:
I think there's still a cashback deal on them so can be had cheaply.

Then you just need 2x 2TB HDDs and you're laughing.

You'll need something like a radeon 6450 which will have HDMI video and audio (supports DTS and BR movies).

I'd add another 2Gb of RAM too.

So all I would need is the microserver, HD's and a graphics card with HDMI? Is that it?

Schizophonic · 6 Jun 2012 at 13:45

I've got a Microserver but all its purpose is to stream content via Lan and act as a download client with storage content with along my Squuezebox music server.

I've brought a Revo for a relative to be used in a living room, its a good piece of kit and for the use of a computer and attached an external hdd it can be fairly decent. The Revo does need a bit of grunt (4GB) to help with the 1080p content running smoothly but higher RIPS does need more backing from CPU / GPU which the Revo cannot handle.

I don't know why people are saying that they can play Blue-Ray rips over wireless because I've tried it over N and it stutters like mad. What bit-rate are people playing there content over? When viewing 720 content, my bitrate is over 6000K with DTS sound of 1500, that struggled playing over wireless N. However it was streaming of a Buffalo NAS box and did not work effectly, now my content is on the mircoserver and works flawlessly over LAN without any LAG.

Anyway back to the OP, with your budget your better to look out for 2nd hand components as this will give you more options how to handle your content and give you a bit more future prooving. Go for LAN connection if you can, if not you can buy any substantial power line and that will be adequate.

Freefaller · 6 Jun 2012 at 13:50

buckeejit said:
So all I would need is the microserver, HD's and a graphics card with HDMI? Is that it?

It has to be a low profile PCIe card with audio processing, but basically yes. For the most basic setup. You can get fancy later on with remote controls, more ram etc...

They're a little noisy, so just be aware of where you place it.

A friend has xmbc installed on it, and it's just remarkable. It's so good. It's overkill for a HTPC, but with it being so cheap, and such a good solution, why not?!

buckeejit · 6 Jun 2012 at 13:51

Schizophonic said:
Anyway back to the OP, with your budget your better to look out for 2nd hand components as this will give you more options how to handle your content and give you a bit more future prooving. Go for LAN connection if you can, if not you can buy any substantial power line and that will be adequate.

Thanx Scizophonic

My budget could be pushed to £400 if this is any use? I'd rather not go 2nd hand.

buckeejit · 6 Jun 2012 at 13:58

Freefaller said:
It has to be a low profile PCIe card with audio processing, but basically yes. For the most basic setup. You can get fancy later on with remote controls, more ram etc...

They're a little noisy, so just be aware of where you place it.

A friend has xmbc installed on it, and it's just remarkable. It's so good. It's overkill for a HTPC, but with it being so cheap, and such a good solution, why not?!

I honestly think the microserver route would be the easiest route. Any idea of where to get one at a decent price? if so, could you PM? Thanks for all the advice Freefaller

R088ieS86 · 6 Jun 2012 at 14:18

Schizophonic said:
I don't know why people are saying that they can play Blue-Ray rips over wireless because I've tried it over N and it stutters like mad.

You can easily stream a single bluray iso over a wireless N connection providing nothing else is using the wireless at the sametime.
Just like you can stream a single ISO over a Megabit LAN connection.

The issue would have been caused by the very slow read speeds of the NAS. They have horrible controllers on them which normally max the read speed (even in RAID 0) out at a max of 35-40MB/s.

microserver route would be the easiest route

Remember you will need an OS to run this off - if you're looking into linux (free) rather than spending out on a windows license I'd recommend getting a low profile nVidia graphics card over an AMD as their drivers are a lot easier to work with in linux.

Schizophonic · 6 Jun 2012 at 15:03

If you go for the microserver option, there is the £100 cash back and doing a simple google search will give you the best / reliable purchase from a respectable buyer.

The Microserver is capable of running adequate content and also give you that extra ability to act as a storage device and do more than what you need it for however you must remember it must be switched on at all times to be used by others elsewhere in the house.
Its not the quietest of things especially if your running 4 x 1TB hard drives as the low tone buzzing can be 'loud' to some.

If you google "hp proliant microserver as media server" then you'll come across many threads how to do what you need to do without going through the mistakes people have made.

Good luck.

Freefaller · 6 Jun 2012 at 15:23

Yeah you do need to keep it out of the way, or be clever with noise deadening.

Putting it in a loft, with an IR extension is my plan (if I don't go for the Revo) option.

buckeejit · 6 Jun 2012 at 15:42

I'm a bit unsure now as it will be placed under my tv and my mum's room is right below mine and she already complains about the noise of my PC lol. ****, looks like the microserver idea is out the window

arad85 · 6 Jun 2012 at 15:44

I have a Shuttle XS35GT V2 running linux/xbmc. It has an ION2 graphics engine, is totally passively cooled and you can put 2 x 2.5" SATA drives inside - all in not much more volume than a largeish book. You'd need to run Windows for Netflix under xbmc, but I really like it (it is a bedroom box so needs to be silent....)