HTPC build

Stulid is right no free solution it's to do with licensing that is why theres a fee.

if you rip the files using say anydvdhd then you can run them with free solutions but again you got to pay for anydvdhd which is better value for lifetime then say cyberlink product.
 
Hi, just to add my 2p.

Don't get the Samsung F3! It's too loud for HTPC use. Buy the Seagate Barracuda instead (almost silent compared)

Another thing, the stock Llyano cooler is quite loud. Make sure you set it to 37% in the BIOS then it's not too bad (there is a risk of overheating during taxing gaming) I'd consider looking into a better cooler like a Scythe Shuriken later on.

+1 for the retail Blu-ray drive.

+1 for the Silverstone Milo (not seen the ocUK case though)

:)

Oh and defiantly look into E-350 boards (like the ASUS E35M1-I DELUXE) if your not planning on using the A8 for anything taxing, it's overkill for web browsing and video playback.
 
Hi guys,

Thanks for all the replies and help on the subject.

I've decided against getting such a beasty rig. I'm going to try and build a budget HTPC with enough grunt for my movies / music.

I've decided to go with:

*Samsung F1 1TB
*OCUK Opera Case
*ATI 5350

Now I just need to decide on a nice little motherboard / ram / cpu bundle. I'm thinking about the Phenom II X2 550 BE.

Any suggestions on the few things I need above?

Many Thanks,

Marc
 
2gb ram is plenty, but with ram being so cheap not a major saving really going from 4gb down to 2gb, maybe £8 saving ish.

do you need a copy of windows 7?

take look at AMD athlon x2 + hd6450 or i3-2100 + hd 6450

hd6450 is pretty much the top bang for buck htpc card at the moment, taking over from the impressive hd5450.
 
Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
MSI H67MA-E35 Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro-ATX Motherboard - (Sandybridge) **B3 REVISION** £64.99
(£54.16) £64.99
(£54.16)
Intel Pentium G620 2.60GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £53.99
(£44.99) £53.99
(£44.99)
Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT25664BA1339) £22.79
(£18.99) £22.79
(£18.99)
Sub Total : £118.14
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £25.53
Total : £153.17

There are cheaper boards, but this one has SATA3.0 and USB3.0.
 
Hi Stulid,

Is there any point in me buying a chip with iGPU when I've just purchased a 5350? (Genuine question, but however it's phrased it sounds, what's the word..arrogant)

I was thinking about an AMD Phenom II 550 or something along those lines?

Cheers,

Marc
 
marc69 said:
Hi Stulid,

Is there any point in me buying a chip with iGPU when I've just purchased a 5350? (Genuine question, but however it's phrased it sounds, what's the word..arrogant)

I was thinking about an AMD Phenom II 550 or something along those lines?

Cheers,

Marc
Click to expand...

well the Pentiums/i3's/i5's and i7's all have built in GPU (anything Sandybridge), just don't use it.

the Pentium will use less power/run cooler and performs well - http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/406?vs=187
 
Do you think I'd be better off going with that build then?

I mean, I could probably pick up a Phenom / Mobo / RAM combo for about £110 second hand.

Do you think this would be a better buy? I'm willing to put my faith and hard earned cash in your wisdom :)

Cheers,

Marc
 
The Pentium will use almost upto 50% less power while remaining quicker (thats the progress of technology;)), the bottom graphs in the above link.
 
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I've gone with your suggestion Stulid!

Hopefully this will be a nice little HTPC for me.

Total cost - £280 - Not too bad :)

Thanks for all your help,

Cheers,

Marc
 
Cool stuff.

Also with having a built in GPU present, if say your graphics card turned faulty? you can still use the PC:)
 
stulid said:
Cool stuff.

Also with having a built in GPU present, if say your graphics card turned faulty? you can still use the PC:)
Click to expand...

Do you think it would still be worth using my 5350 in this rig to take load off the CPU or just sell it?

Cheers,

Marc
 
marc69 said:
If it's dire, I guess I should probably use the 5350 then lol
Click to expand...

A little thing I just read about the MSI H67 board is,

HDMI v1.4

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is new generation fully digital video/audio interface which can transfer 1080p High-Definition video and Audio output in single compact connector. Supporting HDCP copy protection such as Blu-ray Discs, HDMI provides you with the highest-quality home theater experience.

Features
- Next-Gen Multimedia Interface
- Deliver Full HD Video & Audio output In Only One Cable
(HDMI 1.4 is only supported with 2nd Intel®Generation CoreTM Processors. Pentium and Celeron Processors support HDMI 1.3)
Click to expand...


And the 5450,

http://www.amd.com/us/products/desk...d-5450-overview/pages/hd-5450-overview.aspx#2

ATI Avivo HD Video & Display technology7
UVD 2 dedicated video playback accelerator
Advanced post-processing and scaling8
Dynamic contrast enhancement and color correction9
Brighter whites processing (blue stretch)10
Independent video gamma control10
Dynamic video range control
Support for H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2, and Adobe Flash11
Dual-stream (HD+SD) playback support12,13
DXVA 1.0 & 2.0 support
Integrated dual-link DVI output with HDCP14
Max resolution: 2560x160015
Integrated DisplayPort output
Max resolution: 2560x160015
Integrated HDMI 1.3 output with Deep Color, xvYCC wide gamut support, and high bit-rate audio
Max resolution: 1920x120015
Integrated VGA output
Max resolution: 2048x153615
3D stereoscopic display/glasses support16
Integrated HD audio controller
Output protected high bit rate 7.1 channel surround sound over HDMI with no additional cables required
Supports AC-3, AAC, Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio formats
ATI PowerPlay™ power management technology7
Dynamic power management with low power idle state
Certified drivers for Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP
Click to expand...
 
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You really don't want to buy that case. It's absolutely terrible! I've had and it's the size of a house, wouldn't fit on any TV unit. Ridiculously cheap and tatty. Fake drive bays at the front etc.

Have you not considered an Acer Revo. It outputs to my amp, audio and video... 1080P is not an issue to the ION graphics which the CPU offloads to.
 
I'm not too sure what you're trying to point out there Stulid. Is it the fact that the MSI can put out HDMI 1.4 but the 5450 can't?

I thought HDMI 1.4 was only needed for 3D stuff?

Cheers
 
marc69 said:
I'm not too sure what you're trying to point out there Stulid. Is it the fact that the MSI can put out HDMI 1.4 but the 5450 can't?

I thought HDMI 1.4 was only needed for 3D stuff?

Cheers
Click to expand...

Both will do 1.3HDMI, so apart from that theres not much difference, so if you sold the card then you arent missing much.
 
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