LOW POWER LOW BUDGET SILENT HTPC

[benardmens]

Hi All,

I'm new on here, I've been reading a lot of forum posts all over the place and Im getting so confused I decided to join and ask the experts on here for help.

I've seen a few of the newbie htpc threads but non of them seem very conclusive or seem to miss out a few things I want. I'm a newbie to htpc's as well.

I want to build a low powered cheap htpc if possible to do the following

Case 1
run all media including 3d with xbmc. I have a nas box so it will primarily be just streaming from that or browsing flash based sites like iplayer hd etc.
it also has to be as quiet as possible. Some threads talk about the AMD llano processors but say that they cant do certain tasks? Some threads also say that XBMC hardware support on AMD processors is patchy?
additionally it should support from 5.1 sound upwards.

Case 2
if case 1 isnt possible, something that with the same specs that will run with Windows (im not a big windows fan so would like to avoid it if I can). What version of windows would I need as well?

For both cases a media remote and keyboard if needed that will work out of the box.

Thanks for reading

 

[benardmens]

Hi R088ieS86, nocturnal and Alexrose. Thanks for the quick reply.

I do want to be able to upgrade the system as I go along so a media streamer is not really an option for me.

Budget wise, hoping to spend around 250 (i dont know how realistic that is) as my highest upper limit, but lower if I can manage it. From the little I know the cases are very expensive and I think I would want a basic case that just does the job for now. HD wise, I just intend to run the OS off a small hd or sd if possible. I dont intend to have anything but the OS and the required libraries /software on the htpc itself. I dont know how possible that is? I dont intend to connect externals to the htpc. Everything else is held in the nas so a gigabit ethernet connection is all thats necessary or im wrong?

I also thought xbmc was an OS, thanks for clearing that up as well as the fact that I can run it on Windows as well. I think I will be going down the Windows 7 Home premium route then as it seems simpler. Its also good to know that hdmi 1.4 solves everything to do with sound.

I do not have space requirements, but something that can sit unnoticed would be preferable so probably an mITX board. I also am on a budget so future proof wise, anything that will hold up to the next two years of HD and 3D is fine, I'm not intending to do any gaming on the system and I can save up for a crazy powered system later on

The fans and the cooler seem like a very good idea, I'll check them out.

Cheers for reading again!

 

[benardmens]

I would go for a PicoPsu style PSU, I also own a Nexus Value 430W. Very good power supply but expensive, I was able to do a 120W PicoPsu setup for £40, which is 100% silent.

My list would be:

Opera Case £40
120W PicoPsu (or equivalent) £40
Intel G620 CPU £52
MSI/Intel basic motherboard £40
4gb DDR3 £20
Low end Nvidia card £35 (say GT520 or whatever you can find thats passively cooled)

Thanks for the system info saitrix, I will look into it, the picopsu does not look bad at all. OS and HD wise I already have a Windows license and an HD so that wont be an issue.

It's relevant to anything based out of Windows as far as I'm aware, as they all work off Windows refresh rates, which the drivers don't set 100% properly unfortunately.

So Alex from what you are saying is it better to stick with ATI which I assume is AMD and LLano or go for a separate NVIDIA card on Windows. If later on I wanted to try Linux XBMC, would choosing on over the other cause significant issues?

 

[benardmens]

Decision

Opera Case £40
120W PicoPsu (or equivalent) £40
Intel G620 CPU £52
MSI/Intel basic motherboard £40
4gb DDR3 £20
Low end Nvidia card £35 (say GT520 or whatever you can find thats passively cooled)

i3-2100
4GB DDR3
40GB SSD (ahhhh silence...I got it on sale cheap)
GT430 Passive
Nexus Value 430
Scythe Big Shuriken Cooler
2* Nexus Real Silent 120mm fans
2* 5400RPM 2TB Drives (one internal, one external)
Win 7

Alexrose1uk, saitrix, thanks for the feedback, I think i will build an intel rig because I dont have windows in my home and just the thought of having it makes me uneasy ...

Also, it sounds like if I go with AMD i'm pretty much stuck on Windows and I want to have flexibility to try both if needed and it seems like the two builds will do the trick.

Thanks again, Ill let you know how it goes , now to find components