Spec me a great HTPC

Nameless_87

Nameless_87

Nameless_87

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Joined
8 Oct 2009
Posts
865
Hi all,

I decided to build my own cinema room....

I am going to buy a NAS and will have blurays on it... This will be connected to the HTPC, and the HTPC will be connected to a 40" led tv.
Also I would like someone to help me by telling me how the NAS and HTPC would be connected in order to stream the bluray or dvds and watch them directly from NAS/HTPC (really confused about this)

What I need is a top spec HTPC. As I do not understand anything about them I am completely lost.

One thing I'm almost certain of is to get the Antec Fusion Remote HTPC Case (or is there something better).

Can you spec me a great HTPC that will last me some good years?

Btw, I am not too bothered with money, but I would prefer to keep it under £500.

Thanks :)
 
Would you require a operating system & blu ray player as well?

What does your network consist off, you can connect your HTPC via ethernet or wireless.
 
I have a router... I have 2 pcs connected, a laser network printer and a sky HD satellite receiver to it and 2 laptops connecting wirelessly as well as a PS3.

No I do not need a blu ray player as I would like to do this via network from the NAS (where the blu rays and dvds will be stored). The main thing I am doing this is to avoid having physical media and instead have the movies on hard drive.

As an OS on the HTPC, I do not know what usually goes, but I probably won't need it as I can download it legally from my University. What sort of OS do the HTPC be running usually?
 
What NAS are you intending on getting?

I ask because you could forgo the NAS and use something like the Lian Li PC-Q08B which holds up to six drives and is mini-itx. Pair that with the new AMD mini-itx boards coming out at the minute and you've got a nice little self contained NAS/HTPC. And it beats having two boxes doing the job you can contain in one.
 
I sort of made a small build... dunno where I went wrong... so suggestions needed:

Antec Fusion Remote HTPC Case - Black £138.88
(£115.73) £138.88
(£115.73)
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.40GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.40GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £119.99
(£99.99) £119.99
(£99.99)
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £107.99
(£89.99) £107.99
(£89.99)
Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £103.99
(£86.66) £103.99
(£86.66)
LG BH10LS30 10x BluRay-RW / 16 x DVD±RW Drive - Black (Retail) LG BH10LS30 10x BluRay-RW / 16 x DVD±RW Drive - Black (Retail) £91.99
(£76.66) £91.99
(£76.66)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ) Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ) £32.99
(£27.49) £32.99
(£27.49)

I know there are 2 cpu's... the thing is I dunno which one to go for... I've always had Intel before, but I see a lot of people putting AMD in their HTPCs. Also in both cases I need a good motherboard (no overclocking).

Also I dunno if this is maybe a bit overkill?

The HTPC will be used for movies 1080p and music and maybe some light internet browsing. No gaming whatsoever. I included a blu ray player just in case I decide to rent or buy any blu ray dvds :)

Thanks
 
The i3 Intel and a H67 motherboard would be fine.

I used the Intel E2200 and 4560 gpu which played 1080p blu-rays without a problem.
 
You need an HTPC. Which will be connected to a NAS. But if you put another TV in another room, will you build another HTPC to connect to the already existing NAS?
 
Nameless_87 said:
I sort of made a small build... dunno where I went wrong... so suggestions needed:

Antec Fusion Remote HTPC Case - Black £138.88
(£115.73) £138.88
(£115.73)
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.40GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.40GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £119.99
(£99.99) £119.99
(£99.99)
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £107.99
(£89.99) £107.99
(£89.99)
Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £103.99
(£86.66) £103.99
(£86.66)
LG BH10LS30 10x BluRay-RW / 16 x DVD±RW Drive - Black (Retail) LG BH10LS30 10x BluRay-RW / 16 x DVD±RW Drive - Black (Retail) £91.99
(£76.66) £91.99
(£76.66)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ) Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ) £32.99
(£27.49) £32.99
(£27.49)

I know there are 2 cpu's... the thing is I dunno which one to go for... I've always had Intel before, but I see a lot of people putting AMD in their HTPCs. Also in both cases I need a good motherboard (no overclocking).

Also I dunno if this is maybe a bit overkill?

The HTPC will be used for movies 1080p and music and maybe some light internet browsing. No gaming whatsoever. I included a blu ray player just in case I decide to rent or buy any blu ray dvds :)

Thanks
Click to expand...


That is way over kill for a htpc that you don't plan on using for gaming.

Silverstone LC17
OCZ ModXStream Pro 500w Silent
OCZ Special OPS 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz
XFX ATI Radeon HD 5450 SILENT 512MB GDDR3 Graphics Card
Samsung SH-B123L/BSBP 12x BluRay ROM
AMD Athlon II X3 Tri Core 450 3.20GHz
Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H AMD 880G

This system comes in at about £280 which you can then decide to go for a large hard drive like Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache for £39 or go for OCZ Vertex 2E 60GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive £100
 
Brian8bit said:
You need an HTPC. Which will be connected to a NAS. But if you put another TV in another room, will you build another HTPC to connect to the already existing NAS?
Click to expand...

Is there a way to connect the TV directly to the NAS if I decide to put another TV in another room.

But for the 'cinema' room I will have a NAS -> HTPC -> TV definitely, cause I want a small factor HTPC (I really like the antec fusion) and the NAS won't be used by the HTPC only.

With regards to spec.... AMD vs Intel? And what kind of gfx should I get? Also with regards to psu wattage? And will 4gb ram suffice?

Another thing since the main storage will be on the NAS , I won't need more than 500GB on the HTPC. Should I get a 40/60GB SSD so it will boot faster and be faster in general?

Remember I want this to last me at least 4 years. I am not the upgrade kind of guy... I prefer to get the best and then after 4 years, buy a new thing altogether.

As you can probably see, I am really lost about this.

If anyone can give me a good spec please, and guide me to how I could connect the NAS to the HTPC and to the TV?

Thanks for the help so far :)
 
forgot to ask...

I will need to buy a 5.1 surround sound system.

Will I need a sound card as well?

Suggestions for the surround system and the sound card are appreciated.
 
Last edited:
Nameless_87 said:
I, cause I want a small factor HTPC (I really like the antec fusion)
Click to expand...


The Fusion is not a small factor HTPC or do you mean the micro fusion? Actually, neither are that small really..

If you want small, then look into mini-ITX form factor systems / components. Something like the Lian Li PC-Q09FB Mini-ITX looks fantastic with MSI E350IA-E45 E-350 with HD6310 iGPU installed.
 
Last edited:
pcAnywhere said:
The Fusion is not a small factor HTPC or do you mean the micro fusion? Actually, neither are that small really..

If you want small, then look into mini-ITX form factor systems / components. Something like the Lian Li PC-Q09FB Mini-ITX looks fantastic
Click to expand...

No no, I want the normal fusion... well I meant for me it's smaller than the average pc which is good... cause I am used to cases like the one in my sig...
 
I narrowed it down to 2 choices... if you can spec check please:

Antec Fusion Remote HTPC Case - Black £136.56
(£115.73) £136.56
(£115.73)
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.40GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.40GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £117.99
(£99.99) £117.99
(£99.99)
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £106.19
(£89.99) £106.19
(£89.99)
LG BH10LS30 10x BluRay-RW / 16 x DVD±RW Drive - Black (Retail) LG BH10LS30 10x BluRay-RW / 16 x DVD±RW Drive - Black (Retail) £90.46
(£76.66) £90.46
(£76.66)
Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H AMD 880G (Socket AM3) DDR3 microATX Motherboard Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H AMD 880G (Socket AM3) DDR3 microATX Motherboard £79.64
(£67.49) £79.64
(£67.49)
OCZ ModXStream Pro 500w Silent SLI Certified Modular Power Supply OCZ ModXStream Pro 500w Silent SLI Certified Modular Power Supply £53.09
(£44.99) £53.09
(£44.99)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £46.21
(£39.16) £46.21
(£39.16)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ) Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ) £30.47
(£25.82) £30.47
(£25.82)
Sub Total : £559.83
Shipping : £105.00
VAT is being charged at 18.00% VAT : £119.67
Total : £784.50

which I think is overkill for an HTPC, but I always been bitten by the 'I want the best' bug.

This is a more reasonable option which I think will suit my needs fine:

Antec Fusion Remote HTPC Case - Black £136.56
(£115.73) £136.56
(£115.73)
Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 AMD 870 (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 AMD 870 (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £80.62
(£68.32) £80.62
(£68.32)
AMD Phenom II X2 Dual Core 555 3.20GHz Black Edition (Socket AM3) - Retail AMD Phenom II X2 Dual Core 555 3.20GHz Black Edition (Socket AM3) - Retail £70.79
(£59.99) £70.79
(£59.99)
LG CH10LS20 10x BluRay-ROM / 16x DVD±RW Drive - Black (Retail) LG CH10LS20 10x BluRay-ROM / 16x DVD±RW Drive - Black (Retail) £57.02
(£48.32) £57.02
(£48.32)
OCZ ModXStream Pro 500w Silent SLI Certified Modular Power Supply OCZ ModXStream Pro 500w Silent SLI Certified Modular Power Supply £53.09
(£44.99) £53.09
(£44.99)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £46.21
(£39.16) £46.21
(£39.16)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ) Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ) £30.47
(£25.82) £30.47
(£25.82)
Sub Total : £402.33
Shipping : £105.00
VAT is being charged at 18.00% VAT : £91.32
Total : £598.65


Acouple of things I am not sure about are these:

1. What GFX should I get for the above dual core spec? Is the 5450 a good choice that will run 1080p flawlessly? Or maybe there is a better card?

2. Should I go for AMD dual core or Intel core 2 duo? Cause I read in some articles that Intel is a bit better.

3. Would it be completely overkill if I add a 40/60GB SSD to the build as I want windows and 3rd party apps (such as power dvd) to load faster. (I hate to wait).

Thanks again, and sorry for being a pain :)
 
Nameless_87 said:
Is there a way to connect the TV directly to the NAS if I decide to put another TV in another room.
Click to expand...

Only if you TV supports DLNA - you plug your TV into your router (or connect it via wireless if you TV supports it) and your NAS obviously needs to be attached also.
Then you can simply select your films for sharing over the network via a pc and the tv will locate and play them.
 
R088ieS86 said:
Only if you TV supports DLNA - you plug your TV into your router (or connect it via wireless if you TV supports it) and your NAS obviously needs to be attached also.
Then you can simply select your films for sharing over the network via a pc and the tv will locate and play them.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this :)

Will there be jittering or w/e since its technically streaming?
 
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