HTPC ideas...

NeverWinter

NeverWinter

NeverWinter

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Joined
25 Mar 2003
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Location
Birmingham
Currently using an older Q6600 with 2GB RAM / HD6450 as a HTPC running XBMC/Sickbeard/SABnzbd in an old mITX case.

Looking to upgrade so just musing over ideas and waiting for things to pop up in the MM...

So I'm looking at new: CPU, mobo, case/PSU, memory.

I'm going to assume it's not worth getting an i3 over a G series 1155 Pentium for this? Is it worth keeping the 6450 or just get rid and use the on board?
 
tjp148 said:
Go for a H61 mobo to take a Pentium G series 1155 CPU,
MSI H61M-P31-G3 Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard

Intel Celeron G530 2.40GHz Socket LGA 1155 Processor - Retail

Combined price of less than an i3!!

So with your 6450 for outputting video, i would say you'd get away without i3.

However, with an i3, you'd have more headroom should you ever decide to use the system for anything else.

Up to you my friend.

What OS will you be using?
Click to expand...

Is that mobo mini-itx? ;) Also it lacks sataIII which is a bit of a let down. A good sataIII SSD would be excellent to boot the HTPC quicker.

I know he said he would like a new case but it adds expense to the build. The OP really needs to decide on a case or wether to keep what he has. This will help us find a mobo to fit and the PSU aswell obviously. The i3 has quicksync which helps a lot with video encoding, so it might be worth the extra if you are ripping your DVD collection to the HTPC storage.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £89.99
1 x Asus P8H77-I Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 MiniITX Motherboard £83.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Arctic White £64.99
1 x Samsung 64GB SSD 830 Desktop Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC064D/EU) £55.99
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £43.98
1 x Adata XPG Gaming v1.0 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (AX3U1600GC4G9-2G) £38.99
Total : £392.03 (includes shipping : £11.75).

 
Last edited:
tjp148 said:
No obviously not. on the other hand ITX boards with decent features cost more than their matx counterparts.
Click to expand...

I'm only teasing bud. You are quite right, going small isn't cheap and often limits your options :(

My biggest issue was that your mobo suggestion doesn't do sataIII. Like say this H61 mobo. I appreciate your choice is cheaper and you are making a suggestion to help keep cost low.....it's not personal bud, just discussing the options :)

Without a budget it's hard to suggest a direction. The H77 mobo i used has lucidMVP which can switch between the IGP and GPU as needed, the IGP can also boost the GPU whilst it's in use.

The G840 isn't a bad lil budget CPU to save money but it doesn't have quicksync support. I would favour the 1155 socket over say AMDs FM1 as you have a better range of CPUs to use and better upgrade potential. If he ditches the mini-itx platform, he could consider a Z series mobo and a cheap pentium CPU, then look to upgrade to an i5K that could be overclocked once they eventually become common secondhand.

Is gaming a consideration as well?
 
I know :)
Reason i picked mATX was to be inkeeping with the HTPC/small PC ethos, but again we don't know OP's preferences...

Well plenty of things for the OP to consider there, good points honosuseri.

Give us more info NeverWinter!
 
I don't have any real budget, I'm currently just putting the feelers out there but I don't want to throw huge bucks at it! The case definitely needs replacing, I was looking at something like the Fractal Design Array.

I wouldn't be ripping to the machine enough to make quicksync worth it IMO. Also the machine is usually on constantly therefore the SSD isn't exactly needed either.

I'm currently running Win7 on it due to using PS3 media server to stream to my bedroom but I'm open to suggestions.

No gaming, I have my main PC for that, purely for HTPC use.
 
 
Sounds similar to my HTPC's current state:

- Antec Fusion case (with Antec 350W PSU)
- H77M-D3H mATX motherboard
- Intel Celeron G530
- 8GB DDR3 (2x4GB) @ 1333 (motherboard can't do 1600 without IvyBridge CPU)
- 6450
- 40GB Intel SSD
- 2 x 2TB WD Green (5400rpm)
- Blu-ray drive
- BlackGold BGT-3650 (4xDVB-T/T2 + TV-in + FM tuner)

It's been rock solid with Windows 7, where my last AMD quad-core MB/CPU always required a reboot between sleep & blu-ray playback. It also pull 70W from the wall during normal use, where the AMD setup used 90W-100W, and it's just as quick to use. The G30 and 6450 combo is brilliant in my opinion, and thoroughly recommended. Was thinking of an i3 as didn't want to trade down too far from the Phenom II X4, but it's been completely un-noticeable in day to day use and boot is actually quicker thanks to the UEFI rather than BIOS.
 
Assuming you're pairing both with the 6450 - none. Both will play video (1080p) flawlessly and with low CPU usage. As the video decoding is done by the GPU (either discrete, or on motherboard/CPU), the CPU would only be an issue if you were massively loading the PC (e.g. stress testing) at the same time as playing a video.
 
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