Help me with a HTPC build

[Sanchez]

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.

 

[Sanchez]

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.

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.

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.

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.

 

[Sanchez]

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.

 

[Sanchez]

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.