HTPC - Please give me your thoughts

geordiejc · 17 Nov 2015 at 21:20

I was using my laptop as a HTPC for Skygo app, and Youtube @ 1080p. The motherboard has died and i need a new HTPC.

I'd love your honest feedback on the options i have.

Option A

no competitor talk please! part list

CPU: AMD 5350 2.05Ghz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard: ASRock AM1B-M Micro ATX AM1 Motherboard
Memory: Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
DVD/RW Driver (Purchased)
AVP HTPC Micro Atx Media Case Black with Blue LED 450W PSU AvP Gladius

Total: £147.67

I think this PC has enough horsepower to stream and decode HD video as it has a built in APU ? i could be wrong?

Option B)

This is on offer for £30 - i'd need to add GeForce GT 610 1GB it for £25 im told - Sorry for poor description - it is what is posted in the advert.

INTEL E6600 , CORE 2 DUO (4 MEG L2 CACHE) 2.4 GIG CPU
QUALITY INTEL MOBO
3 GIG DDR2 RAM
250 GIG SATA HD
DVD WRITER
QUALITY SEASONIC 80+ PSU

Can you guys please evaluate both options please and tell me any pitt falls ? as i said its literally just to watch legit TV/youtube and playback of my own blurays,

Thank you!

geordiejc · 17 Nov 2015 at 21:39

Thanks for your input fella.

i'll go with the AMD / new build.

What CPU would you reccomend that would have enough horsepower for 1080p decoding / playback ?

geordiejc · 17 Nov 2015 at 21:50

i know its a crap PSU and i think the whole system will only need ~150w.

I was going to buy the Apex MI-008 but its shot up in price as no-one sells it anymore.

geordiejc · 18 Nov 2015 at 01:43

i've narrowed my builds down to two.

CPU: AMD 5350 2.05Ghz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard: MSI AM1I Mini ITX AM1 Motherboard
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Blue 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Case: CiT MTX-005B Mini ITX Tower Case w/300W Power Supply
Total: £138.85

or

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor
Motherboard: Asus H81I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Blue 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Case: CiT MTX-005B Mini ITX Tower Case w/300W Power Supply
Total: £180.59

would love to get your thoughts?

geordiejc · 18 Nov 2015 at 19:39

Hey all

Thanks for your input.

Here's my final build which i ordered today

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Blue 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Case: Silverstone ML04B HTPC Case
DVD Drive: Samsung

Hopefully it should be good enough for netflix/kodi/youtube/ 1080 and even 4k over the next 4 years

geordiejc · 18 Nov 2015 at 20:57

Sorry i forgot to add the PSU, its a 500w EVGA 80+ psu - should do the job just fine.afterall the whole system will use <100w at load.

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/pentium_20th_anniversary_series_g3258_processor_review,15.html

According to that article, it handles 1080p / 4k.

geordiejc · 18 Nov 2015 at 22:54

lude1962 said:
Pentium graphics spec
Max Resolution (HDMI 1.4)‡ 1920x1080@60Hz
Max Resolution (DP)‡ 2560x1600@60Hz

you'll need at least an i3 for 4k support

True that.

thanks for everyone's support.

geordiejc · 18 Nov 2015 at 22:57

blitz7287 said:
Im glad you got your build sorted Intel was the better platform

Haha yeah that was just a random guess.

Yeah i think the AMD would have sufficed but i couldnt bring myself to buy an AMD to be frank. it's like buying smart price beans when you can buy heinz for a few pence more.

I hope AMD get their **** together soon though i have high hopes for zen.