Need spec' help for HTPC build (my knowledge is about 5 years out of date)

[friengineer]

Hello all,

I'm about 5 years out of date in terms of what's out there now so if anyone can help me I'd be immensely grateful!!!

I intend to build an XBMC HTPC in the new year for my living room. I already run a Revo 3700 in my bedroom but wanted to make a more powerful offering for my main TV.

My requirements are as follows:

> 64gb SSD which I assume will be more than enough as I'll be keeping everything on a NAS?
> Ability to playback 3D content when I eventually invest in a 3DTV sometime next year.
> As quiet as possible air cooling
> Blu-ray drive
> XBMC compatible Freeview HD Tuner (can be single as I don't record TV anyway)
> Logitech Harmony Remote - Think I may hide the case in a new TV bench at some point so will have to invest the IR extender add ons.
> Silverstone Lascala case (not decided which model yet but I will allow about £120 for it) or another if anyone can suggest any others of minimalist HTPC design.

Other notes & questions
> This system won't be used for gaming (may do in future, but for now definitely not)
> Would my 5 year old modular ~500 watt Tagan PSU be sufficient/compatible with this? If so, that can be left out of the budget for now.
> Is it worth getting an additional sound card these days? This will be used in a proper separates sound system so audio is definitely a very important factor for me.

What's the minimum amount I'd likely need for this build?

Many thanks in advance

 

[DrPeirson]

I would be looking at around £600 minimum for the pc, Hopefully this comment will bump you up a bit because there are plenty of people that can spec one up for you, In the meantime just take a look at OCUK's full system bundles, there is even a HTPC section but their options are limited at the moment..

 

[SeraphX]

Something like this i would imagine will do the job perfectly.
Budget is allowing for a Logitech Harmony? I know it's a remote, but i have no idea how much it would cost and Ocuk don't sell them.
And yes, your 500w Tagan would be more than ample to power this machine.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Silverstone LaScala LC13-E HTPC Case - Black (SST-LC13B-E USB 3.0) £89.99
1 x LG BH10LS38 10x BluRay-RW / 16 x DVD±RW Lightscribe Drive - Black (Retail) £79.98
1 x OCZ Agility 3 60GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (AGT3-25SAT3-60G) £62.99
1 x AMD A6-5400K Black Edition 3.60GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Dual Core Processor (AD540KOKHJBOX) £49.99
1 x Asus F2A55-M LK AMD A55 Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £47.99
1 x KFA2 GeForce™ GT620 2048MB GDDR3 64bit DVI/VGA/PCI-E Graphics Card £44.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-15000C11 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1866C11D3P1K2/8G) £39.95
1 x Asus Xonar DG 5.1 PCI Sound Card with built in Headphone Amp - OEM £22.99
1 x Compro VideoMate S350 Digital Satellite TV Card - Retail £20.99
Total : £471.85 (includes shipping : £10.00).

 

[friengineer]

Something like this i would imagine will do the job perfectly.
Budget is allowing for a Logitech Harmony? I know it's a remote, but i have no idea how much it would cost and Ocuk don't sell them.
And yes, your 500w Tagan would be more than ample to power this machine.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Silverstone LaScala LC13-E HTPC Case - Black (SST-LC13B-E USB 3.0) £89.99
1 x LG BH10LS38 10x BluRay-RW / 16 x DVD±RW Lightscribe Drive - Black (Retail) £79.98
1 x OCZ Agility 3 60GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (AGT3-25SAT3-60G) £62.99
1 x AMD A6-5400K Black Edition 3.60GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Dual Core Processor (AD540KOKHJBOX) £49.99
1 x Asus F2A55-M LK AMD A55 Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £47.99
1 x KFA2 GeForce™ GT620 2048MB GDDR3 64bit DVI/VGA/PCI-E Graphics Card £44.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-15000C11 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1866C11D3P1K2/8G) £39.95
1 x Asus Xonar DG 5.1 PCI Sound Card with built in Headphone Amp - OEM £22.99
1 x Compro VideoMate S350 Digital Satellite TV Card - Retail £20.99
Total : £471.85 (includes shipping : £10.00).

Many thanks for that. I intended to include the harmony remote as part of the price. So at the moment probably £130-£150 I would expect.

Got a few questions: -

1. I had a quick look at the AMD CPU, would it be worth moving up to an A8-5500 as this supposedly can handle 3D/Bluray? That would obviously mean removing the GPU from the shopping list. Not much in it on price but simpler and I assume a fair bit quieter. It also seems to be 65W TDP so does that mean even with it being quad it would effectively cool the same?

2. Are the stock AMD coolers quiet? What's the best quiet air cooler on the market? My previous experience with stock coolers has been that they're ridiculously loud and that's certainly something I don't want from this build.

3. I noticed the TV card is for satellite. I had intended to go Freeview HD rather than Freesat HD. Was this card chosen because OCUK don't stock freeview HD ones?

Thanks for your help,

Phill

 

[SeraphX]

To the best of my knowledge AMD Cpu's won't support 3D, Hence the Nvidia Graphics card in the list, they do support it.

Stock AMD coolers aren't the quietest tbh
something like > http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-027-SY&groupid=701&catid=2330&subcat=2350 will fit inside the case, cool perfectly well and be totally silent.

on the topic of TV cards, I haven't got a clue, I don't think Ocuk stock them tbh I might be wrong, but I've looked through their range and haven't spotted the word Freeview HD anywhere.

 

[friengineer]

To the best of my knowledge AMD Cpu's won't support 3D, Hence the Nvidia Graphics card in the list, they do support it.

Stock AMD coolers aren't the quietest tbh
something like > http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-027-SY&groupid=701&catid=2330&subcat=2350 will fit inside the case, cool perfectly well and be totally silent.

on the topic of TV cards, I haven't got a clue, I don't think Ocuk stock them tbh I might be wrong, but I've looked through their range and haven't spotted the word Freeview HD anywhere.

According the AMDs website:

2nd Gen AMD A8 Processors include all of the above features, plus:

Blu-Ray/Blu-Ray 3D capability – Provides the ability to watch that latest Blu-Ray and Blu-Ray 3D movies on your desktop
AMD Eyefinity Technology7 capability – Enables multidisplay technology for an immersive gaming, entertainment and productivity experience with up to 4 monitors
AMD HD3D Technology8 – Enables an outstanding 3D experience for movies, photos and gaming content

Or so they reckon...can anyone confirm if this is correct? You'd hope so if it's on their website lol.

I'm liking the look of the Scythe. I have an old Scythe Ninja in my 5 year old desktop. Wonder if that would fit and would I need an adaptor or something?