Hey guys,
The missus and I are just about to finalise the purchase of our new home and I'm already thinking of building a HTPC for our living room.
We don't really have a need for a TV as most of the stuff we watch we can get online. I'm thinking of building a HTPC primarly just to watch Netflix, general streaming, and watch DVD & Blu-Rays.
Since our living room is not huge, I am undecided about whether or not to get a flatscreen TV or a monitor. What would be the biggest size monitor that would be capable of displaying HD?.. 30 inches?
If I choose a monitor, I would have a budget of about £800 - £850 for everything.
Would a monitor be suitable for a small living room?
I have a set of 2.0 Edifier speakers that I bought from OCUK last year that I will use, but I do plan on upgrading to 5.1 surround sound in the near future. Could I possibly use a Xonar DG or something better for that?
With regards to a Blu-Ray player, I do not plan on burning or copying anything as I will just use store-bought/rented Blu-Rays, so would a standard Blu-Ray player suffice?
I'm not sure if I want to use Windows 8 as I have never used it before. Does this have the capability to have a dashboard style display where I can navigate to Netflix, web browsers, optical drive etc?.. or would XBMC (On Windows 7) or something similar be recommended?
I have also thought about the need for a remote control of some sort. I am thinking about a wireless keyboard with a touch pad so I can navigate the screen from the couch.
Do I need to up my budget a bit for all of this?
I know it's a lot to ask but thanks for any help
.
Edits:
I was thinking of something like this for the keyboard.
I see that I can install XBMC through linux? That sounds ideal.
By the way I have a 5850 HD in my gaming PC at the moment that I will be taking out soon as I am upgrading it. Would this be overkill for a HTPC? I suppose there is no harm in using it if it's going to go nowhere else?
Any changes?
YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus BC-12B1ST BluRay-Rom / DVD-RW Drive OEM £63.98
1 x Mach Xtreme Technology 60GB 2.5" SATA 6GB/s MX-DS FUSION SSD £62.99
1 x Intel Pentium G860 3.00GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £59.99
1 x Silverstone Milo ML03 HTPC Case - Black (SST-ML03B) £56.99
1 x ASRock B75 Pro3-M Intel B75 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £55.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache WD10EZEX - OEM ** Single Platter ** HDD £54.95
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £53.99
1 x Seasonic S12II 430W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
Total : £472.97 (includes shipping : £11.75).
With the above price I'm sure I can add an extra £100 - £200 towards a monitor.
Alternatively, I could transfer the following from my gaming PC into the new HTPC case:
Amd 955 (Stock) & Mobo
4GB Ram
5850
PSU
And I would just buy the case and a new harddrive.
From there, I could build a new gaming PC in a couple of months time.
The missus and I are just about to finalise the purchase of our new home and I'm already thinking of building a HTPC for our living room.
We don't really have a need for a TV as most of the stuff we watch we can get online. I'm thinking of building a HTPC primarly just to watch Netflix, general streaming, and watch DVD & Blu-Rays.
Since our living room is not huge, I am undecided about whether or not to get a flatscreen TV or a monitor. What would be the biggest size monitor that would be capable of displaying HD?.. 30 inches?
If I choose a monitor, I would have a budget of about £800 - £850 for everything.
Would a monitor be suitable for a small living room?
I have a set of 2.0 Edifier speakers that I bought from OCUK last year that I will use, but I do plan on upgrading to 5.1 surround sound in the near future. Could I possibly use a Xonar DG or something better for that?
With regards to a Blu-Ray player, I do not plan on burning or copying anything as I will just use store-bought/rented Blu-Rays, so would a standard Blu-Ray player suffice?
I'm not sure if I want to use Windows 8 as I have never used it before. Does this have the capability to have a dashboard style display where I can navigate to Netflix, web browsers, optical drive etc?.. or would XBMC (On Windows 7) or something similar be recommended?
I have also thought about the need for a remote control of some sort. I am thinking about a wireless keyboard with a touch pad so I can navigate the screen from the couch.
Do I need to up my budget a bit for all of this?
I know it's a lot to ask but thanks for any help
.Edits:
I was thinking of something like this for the keyboard.
I see that I can install XBMC through linux? That sounds ideal.
By the way I have a 5850 HD in my gaming PC at the moment that I will be taking out soon as I am upgrading it. Would this be overkill for a HTPC? I suppose there is no harm in using it if it's going to go nowhere else?
Any changes?
YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus BC-12B1ST BluRay-Rom / DVD-RW Drive OEM £63.98
1 x Mach Xtreme Technology 60GB 2.5" SATA 6GB/s MX-DS FUSION SSD £62.99
1 x Intel Pentium G860 3.00GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £59.99
1 x Silverstone Milo ML03 HTPC Case - Black (SST-ML03B) £56.99
1 x ASRock B75 Pro3-M Intel B75 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £55.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache WD10EZEX - OEM ** Single Platter ** HDD £54.95
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £53.99
1 x Seasonic S12II 430W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
Total : £472.97 (includes shipping : £11.75).
With the above price I'm sure I can add an extra £100 - £200 towards a monitor.
Alternatively, I could transfer the following from my gaming PC into the new HTPC case:
Amd 955 (Stock) & Mobo
4GB Ram
5850
PSU
And I would just buy the case and a new harddrive.
From there, I could build a new gaming PC in a couple of months time.
Last edited:
