HTPC - First time PC build, advice?

Associate
Joined
23 Jan 2014
Posts
2
Hi there,

I've never build a PC before but am currently looking into building a HTPC that would sit next to my Samsung TV in our lounge. I currently have an ATV2 that I use for XBMC but would look to replace this with an all-in-one media centre that stores all of my current DVD collection and would then play back through XBMC (research and practice tells me I will rip them into ISO as i don't want to lose any quality). I will need a HDMI link and will run this through a Samsung Surround Sound System with Blu-Ray player. I may still need to use the internet so have opted for a Windows OS also. I have considered a NAS but can't have this next to the TV as internet connection is the other side of the room and don't want to stream my collection as i have tried this with my current PC and was not too impressed with sound quality.

Lots of information there but basically need:
- Access to XBMC (and internet, iTunes)
- Storage for Movie collection
- Optical drive for occasionally playing/ripping DVD's/Blu-Rays
- Nice looking as it will be on display next to TV
- Ease of build as its my first time.

I have put together the following hardware and would really appreciate some advice, ideally don't want to spend any/much more but still require wireless keyboard and remote control (considering Flirc plug-in). Also, quite looking forward to building a PC...

- Lian Li PC-V360A Midi Tower - Black £99.95

- Intel Core i3-4130 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail£83.99

- Gigabyte H87M-HD3 Intel H87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £73.99

- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02733) £67.99

- TeamGroup Elite Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £59.99

- Kingston 60GB SSDNow V300 Drive SATA 6Gb/s 3 2.5" (7mm height) Solid State Hard Drive - (SV300S37A/60G) £49.99

- Pioneer BDC-207DBK 8x BluRay ROM / DVDRW SATA-II Optical Drive - Black (OEM) £42.95

- Silverstone Strider Essential Series - 400 Watt (SST-ST40F-ES) £39.95
Enough power? Quiet? How do i check?

- TP-Link 300Mbps Wireless N PCI Adapter (TL-WN851ND) £19.99

- OcUK Wireless Media Centre Keyboard - Black (9039ARF) £17.99

- Akasa AK-CC7118HP01 K25 Low Profile CPU Cooler £11.99

- Thermalright X-Silent 140 140mm Case Fan £8.99

TOTAL COST = £577.75

Many thanks for reading and for any advice that comes...

ASCC

P.S. Thanks to Assassin for the HTPC Hardware advice on his blog ;)
 
Hello and welcome to the forum.

Nice build. But you could get an AMD APU build cheaper. Also the case is a bit large for a HTPC, would you not prefer something a little smaller and compact. How many hdd`s will you be installing?
 
Thanks for the quick reply!

I did look at an AMD option but heard they ran hotter and wasn't sure about longevity? I'd ideally like something that will last me a few years and do the job well.

Reason for the larger case was that it's my first time build so thought some extra space might help? Initially only installing a SSD and one HDD but felt more space might help for future upgrades. Also really liked the look of the case but would definitely consider an alternative.

Great advice, thanks.

ASCC
 
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