HTPC noob needs advice

BUDFORCE · 6 Dec 2021 at 17:27

Hi guys,

Im not new to PC hardware or building PC's, but I have never attempted and if I am honest know little about the hardware you would want for a HTPC.

Good news is, I have graphics card spare, gigabyte windforce 960 that can be used which has a HDMI output. It is a small (ish) card and needs 1x6 pin power connector.

It will be used for the TV downstairs which is 1080p.

What I am not sure about is the rest of the specs, I would like to go for something small (ish) & quiet. I will use a wireless mouse/keyboard to control it so needs bluetooth for those to work? (I also need a wireless keyboard and mouse) - I can also connect to the internet via ethernet cable, so doesnt necessarily need wifi.

Needs to have an optical drive so we can watch DVDs. I will need an OS also. Needs to be able to work with that 960. Needs to have some storage but nothing crazy, as I wont start saving tons of videos etc, really just enough for OS with a bit spare.

Any ideas or even just give me full spec?

Also with budget, with everything going on and my lack of knowledge of smaller parts for a HTPC I honestly dont know what you could get or even how much youd need to spend? It only really needs to be able to stream 1080 videos and similar, not play games at all really. So if the cost can be kept down to maybe not absolute bare minimum, but just up a bit from that. I dont mind spending more for a decent power supply etc.

Donnie Fisher · 9 Dec 2021 at 09:37

You may not even need the gpu if you bought a cpu with included graphics (which a lot have) as most will easily handle displaying 1080p content without much fuss. Encoding video is a different story, but just displaying it is easy for most CPUs.

for example a ryzen 2400g, 3400g, lots of intel ones have integrated graphics that would see you fine.

As you mention size comes into play and the smaller things go, the more expensive some components can be.

What sort of case were you thinking of ?

BUDFORCE · 9 Dec 2021 at 11:44

Donnie Fisher said:
You may not even need the gpu if you bought a cpu with included graphics (which a lot have) as most will easily handle displaying 1080p content without much fuss. Encoding video is a different story, but just displaying it is easy for most CPUs.

for example a ryzen 2400g, 3400g, lots of intel ones have integrated graphics that would see you fine.

As you mention size comes into play and the smaller things go, the more expensive some components can be.

What sort of case were you thinking of ?

Hi thanks for the reply.

Honestly I am not THAT bothered on cases, there is a fair amout of room in the cabinet under my TV where it could go, I see some of the HTPC speicifc cases on OCUK and imagine any of those would fit.

Obviously smaller is better.

I am not opposed to just getting a CPU with intergreted graphics either, less parts to go wrong, less power use and frees up that 960 for "just in case" and given the GPU market at the moment have a working spare around isnt the worst thing to have. It might also mean could accomodate a small case.

Having a HDMI output though would be ideal really as that is what would go into the back of the TV, I dont think it has a DP port unless you can get a cable to that DP out to HDMI.

I have never done a HTPC so just things you have to think about that you dont with a gaming PC, different size of hardware and a few considerations (connectiveity etc) that you dont have to worry about otherwise. For example I have never even seen a mini or micro ATX motherboard let alone built a PC with one.

mickyflinn · 9 Dec 2021 at 12:06

Put an thread in the wanted section of the forum for a bundle.

BUDFORCE · 9 Dec 2021 at 20:06

What about something like this?:

(Edited)

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Intel Core i3-10100 3.6GHz (Comet Lake) Socket LGA1200 Processor - Retail= £109.99
1 x Asrock B560M-ITX/ac (Socket LGA 1200) DDR4 Mini ITX Motherboard= £97.99
1 x Team Group Vulcan Z T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey= £44.99
1 x WD Blue SN550 500GB SSD NVME M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3 Solid State Drive (WDS500G2B0C)= £44.99
1 x Silverstone SST-ML06B USB 3.0 Milo Slim HTPC, Mini-ITX - Black= £59.99
1 x Asus Ultra Slim 9.5mm Internal DVDRW (SDRW-08U1MT)= £19.99
1 x Silverstone SST-FX350-G 350W 80 Plus Gold Flex ATX Power Supply= £64.99

Total: £442.93 (includes shipping: £0.00)

slim01 · 10 Dec 2021 at 05:05

I've built and modded several HTPCs and tbh for your usage it doesn't really matter what you get tbh. Any old mini pc should do. The ones that like stick on the back of monitors are around cm£50 used on the bay, around £170 new... Usually intel atom/celeron cpus so not good for much else, which begs the question... Why do you even need it though I don't get? There's plenty of options to stream video, you want the pc for like downloaded films (USB sticks will do that) or just like the general windows experience?

BUDFORCE · 10 Dec 2021 at 06:20

slim01 said:
Why do you even need it though I don't get? There's plenty of options to stream video, you want the pc for like downloaded films (USB sticks will do that) or just like the general windows experience?

You know now I've roughly costed it out does seem a lot of money for convenience.

levontraut · 10 Dec 2021 at 14:06

PLEX ?

BUDFORCE · 10 Dec 2021 at 17:46

So after speaking to my 14 step son about this, turns out we probably have enough spare bits to make one, there is a Sandybridge i5 2500k in an Asus P8Z69 motherboard, with 16GB DDR3, I have an old OCZ600 watt power supply, I took a 250gb data SSD from my main pc that was literally sitting in it for the sake of it, then that Gogibyte 960.

No idea if it all works, it's parts originally from 3 seperate builds, some of which have not been turned on for years, but I am going to try and bulld it all tomorrow, with no case, because I dont have a case for it lol, and see if it'll boot.

Grimley · 10 Dec 2021 at 18:48

if it all works, It'll play 1080p videos no problem. Just enable the hardware acceleration onto the 960. Have a look at Kodi for linux if you dont want to pay for a Windows installation.

Case = Silverstone Grandia GD08 will take a ATX Board, ATX PSU & has space for an Optical Drive. I still use my old SilverStone LC17 case for my Daily Driver PC & at one time I owned 2 of them. That has 2 Optical drive bays.

Bluetooth = usb adapter.

BUDFORCE · 11 Dec 2021 at 13:47

Result!

Fired it up and it works.

It's got 8gb ram not 16 (4x2) but should be enough.

Also the motherboard already has Bluetooth which is a bonus.

Anyone got any thoughts about buying a Windows 10 key from G2A or similar? I've always bought from reputable places but I feel like I've given Microsoft enough of my money over the years.

Donnie Fisher · 11 Dec 2021 at 21:02

The cheap keys have worked fine for me in the past, but I’ve generally bought them from places that have been around for a fair time rather than just the cheapest I can find.

BUDFORCE · 17 Dec 2021 at 14:33

I wish I had done this sooner to be honest, got it up and running and its great having everything in one box, got ublock origin working reasonably well on youtube (its not 100%, but seems to block most of the adds), visual quality is marginally better through the 960 also. Got like a wireless keyboard/mouse combo thing that looks just like a TV remote.

The only thing is I bought a new CPU cooler becuase whatever was on there would definitely not fit the case, the cooler I got is this:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/jonsbo-hp-400-90mm-low-profile-cpu-cooler-blue-hs-008-jb.html

And its really not great..... I needed a small one, but this one is really tiny, I did have more space if I had specced it up better. I believe this CPU used to run about 60c max (and that was overclocked), now its like 75c max, although it did spike 86c once :eek:

, I have not seen it go more than 75c last few uses so maybe thermal paste needed a bit of settling. To be fair its not crashed or any obvious signs of thermal throttle.