Help me with a HTPC build

Sanchez · 29 Dec 2012 at 23:31

So I've finally seen the light and decided to do away with a lot of the 'stuff' I have sitting about. The desktop PC is going along with the laptop and iPod and I just want all of my media in one place where I can play it through my TV with ease.

I did contemplate a mATX setup with some of my old desktop parts but I think it would be too large (and loud) so a mITX setup is looking best for me. I have some RAM that I can use from my old desktop to try and keep the cost down as my budget is tight.

My requirements are pretty simple really, I want to be able to play all of my music and any 1080p video I might have through the HTPC on my TV. I don't plan on streaming much, it will all be played via a USB/SATA HDD. Preferably I need it it run Windows 8 and XMBC. I have Windows 7 currently so I guess I could run that if needs be. I'm also comfortable using Crunchbox. I'd also like it to be quite snappy, although I realise were working on a budget here.

I've looked at a few options from OCUK and searched for forums but not had much luck with my questions. Firstly I was looking at the Gigabyte GA-E350N (NOT the USB3). Will this be powerful enough for my needs or should I go for the USB3. I notice there is a more expensive Asus motherboard too. Is the additional processing power going to be worth it for my needs?

Case wise I looked at the Lian-Li PC-Q09 which I know is out of stock. It serves my needs really although I may have to have an external drive tucked away at the back. This case looks good because it has the PSU included. If I was to go for the Streacom ST-F1CB HTPC, which to be honest I prefer, how would I power it? I thing a PSU is going to bump the cost way up. Is that right?

Finally I'll need a SSD at some point. Is there one you could recommend? Only needed for the OS really as all my files will be stored on a portable HDD.

Oh and before I forget....what are my remote control options? This is something that I know nothing about!

Thanks for any help you can give me.

shadow_boxer · 30 Dec 2012 at 13:54

Preferably I need it it run Windows 8 and XMBC. I have Windows 7 currently so I guess I could run that if needs be.

I've used both Windows 7 and 8 with XBMC and both run fine. Windows 8 boots up a little quicker and the metro tile interface is quite nice for a HTPC if your accessing it from your sofa to use other applications and browse the internet etc otherwise I Windows 7 is perfectly fine, esp it you have XMBC to boot from startup.

Firstly I was looking at the Gigabyte GA-E350N (NOT the USB3). Will this be powerful enough for my needs or should I go for the USB3.

I use the Asus E35M1-I Deluxe board and have found it works well for XBMC and Windows. It does feel underpowered though when running a fan art heavy XBMC skin and occasionally will feel sluggish when browsing the net or multitasking. Bearing in mind that I do not encode or rip videos on this system it does it's job perfectly fine and that fact is it passively cooled is ideal in a HTPC. However, if I was build a new system today, I'd be looking at the AMD A10-5700, quad core Trinity APU but with only 65W TDP.

Case wise I looked at the Lian-Li PC-Q09 which I know is out of stock. It serves my needs really although I may have to have an external drive tucked away at the back.

Nice looking case but I'd prefer one with an internal 3.5" HDD. I don't see the point in having a nice small itx case but having external HDD's attached to it.

If I was to go for the Streacom ST-F1CB HTPC, which to be honest I prefer, how would I power it? I thing a PSU is going to bump the cost way up. Is that right?

You'll need a PICO power supply and external brick. A decent 120-160W version will set you back around £70-80 for the two bits but cheaper eBay imports can be had.

Finally I'll need a SSD at some point. Is there one you could recommend?

Loads to choose from. Intel 330 or Crucial M4 would be my preference.

Oh and before I forget....what are my remote control options?

Some cases will come with a built in IR receiver but many unfortunately don't. There are a couple of budget cases around such as the ******** vision media centre case (which I use) and the Xcase Q4 which have a basic one built in and come with a pretty simple remote which works well with Windows Media Centre and XBMC.

Alternatively, you can buy remotes which come with an external IR receiver.

Have a read of this. Also, loads more info over at XBMC forums.

Finally, if you have a smart phone or tablet you can control XBMC through that via apps, although their not very user or missus friendly! :rolleyes:

Sanchez · 30 Dec 2012 at 15:48

shadow_boxer said:
I use the Asus E35M1-I Deluxe board and have found it works well for XBMC and Windows. It does feel underpowered though when running a fan art heavy XBMC skin and occasionally will feel sluggish when browsing the net or multitasking. Bearing in mind that I do not encode or rip videos on this system it does it's job perfectly fine and that fact is it passively cooled is ideal in a HTPC. However, if I was build a new system today, I'd be looking at the AMD A10-5700, quad core Trinity APU but with only 65W TDP.

I think that if I was using it and the interface is slow I'd wish I'd gone for a more powerful setup. I know what I'm like.

shadow_boxer said:
Nice looking case but I'd prefer one with an internal 3.5" HDD. I don't see the point in having a nice small itx case but having external HDD's attached to it.

You'll need a PICO power supply and external brick. A decent 120-160W version will set you back around £70-80 for the two bits but cheaper eBay imports can be had.

My only concern with that case was that I'd have to have an external drive rather than internal. It seems that with the smaller cases there really isn't any chance of getting such a small case which fits a conventional hard drive in it.

Also, with the other case the Pico PSU really is going to bump up the price and close to £160 is a bit over my budget.

shadow_boxer said:
Some cases will come with a built in IR receiver but many unfortunately don't. There are a couple of budget cases around such as the ******** vision media centre case (which I use) and the Xcase Q4 which have a basic one built in and come with a pretty simple remote which works well with Windows Media Centre and XBMC.

Alternatively, you can buy remotes which come with an external IR receiver.

Thanks for that. I suspect I'll probably go for an external one, which although won't be quite as neat should give me a greater choice of case.

shadow_boxer said:
Have a read of this. Also, loads more info over at XBMC forums.

Finally, if you have a smart phone or tablet you can control XBMC through that via apps, although their not very user or missus friendly!

Ha, I know exactly what you mean! My girlfriend can hardy work the Sky remote.

I think I might have to have a look at perhaps going for a larger case and using my existing Phenom II processor with a micro ATX board and a passivly cooled GPU. I've a silent PSU in my existing rig too.

Thanks a lot for your help, you've certainly given me some good information and also plenty to think about.

shadow_boxer · 30 Dec 2012 at 16:07

Which Phenom II processor do you have? I'd be tempted to still go for Trinity with the lower power and heat, plus you won't have to use a dedicated GPU as the A10-5700 has an integrated Radeon HD7660D which'll be more than enough for HTPC duties and some light gaming too.

How about something along the lines of the following.

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD A10-5700 3.40GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Quad Core Processor (AD5700OKHJBOX) £91.99
1 x ASRock FM2A75 Pro4-M AMD A75 Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £59.99
1 x Intel 330 Series 60GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £59.99
1 x Silverstone Milo ML03 HTPC Case - Black (SST-ML03B) £52.99
Total : £264.96 (includes shipping : FREE).

Case will accommodate ATX power supplies but I believe then can't be too big otherwise they interfere with the optical drive bay. I know the Corsair CX430W fits so as long as your current power supply is not longer than that it will be fine (<140mm).

Obviously re-use your current optical drive and RAM, although Trinity likes fast RAM to get the most from it I wouldn't worry too much about it.

A75 chipset FM2 motherboard so has SATA 6Gb/s and USB 3.0 and HDMI so no additional GPU required but still enough expansion slots for TV tuner cards, sound card, wifi etc.

Max TDP is only 65W so shouldn't be a problem to cool inside a small case either.

Can accommodate 2x 3.5" drives internally too.

The ******** Vision Media Centre Case and the X-Case Q4 are nice cases too and have a similar footprint to the Silverstones. Their well priced but the supplied power supply is very loud. Like I said the integrated IR reciever works pretty well out of the box and will do all basic functions in XBMC such pause/play etc. along with short cuts to movies / pictures etc.. Also, with Windows 8 (not 7 though) I can power it on from cold with just the remote (and obviously power down too). Definitely a reasonable mATX/itx case to consider I think but remember you'll probably have to replace the stock SFX power supply.

Sanchez · 30 Dec 2012 at 18:13

I have a Phenom II X3 720 2.8Ghz.

The 5700 certainly seems the pick of the bunch from what little I've read. Especially over the 5800 which is only a little more but I the less power consumption makes it a better choice I guess.

On the graphics side there is always expansion via a low profile card too so that's something I would definitely find useful. Although I do all of my gaming on a 360.

The Vision Media Centre Case looks very nice actually, a quick view and I'd say it's one of favourites, just a shame about PSU. I have a OCZ ModXStream Pro 500w Silent so I'd have to replace that too. Is the ******** badge removable by the way? I suppose I could also sell my Phenom/mobo/Radeon 4870 to offset some of the cost. Damn you! Stop putting expensive ideas in my head.

shadow_boxer · 30 Dec 2012 at 21:35

Sorry. Lol.

Yes the badge is removable. Here's a thread I made when I built my HTPC a little while ago.

Link

Sanchez · 31 Dec 2012 at 16:19

Well I placed my order today. I ended up going for:

SanDisk SSD SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" 64GB Solid State Hard Drive - £43.98
******** Vision Media Centre Case - £49.98
AMD A10-5700 3.40GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Quad Core Processor - £91.99
Gigabyte GA-F2A75M-HD2 A75 Socket FM2 VGA DVI HDMI 7.1 Channel Audio mATX Motherboard - £51.50

Total of £237.50 so I'm pretty pleased with that. I should get some cash back too through Quidco and postage was free on all items. I'm going to see what the PSU is like but I would imagine I'll be looking for a be quiet 300w SFX PSU too if the stock one is too noisy.

Thanks for your help shadow_boxer. I'll let you know how I get on.

shadow_boxer · 1 Jan 2013 at 16:37

That looks great. Would be great to hear some feedback. Good luck with the build.