Spec me HTPC for £400

kidi_cs

kidi_cs

kidi_cs

Associate
Joined
14 Feb 2007
Posts
23
Hi,

Could you spec me components for HTPC running Windows 7 x64 and Mediaportal. It needs to be capable of processing smooth 1080p content.

OS isnt required but would like to include smallist quality case possible.

Regards
kidi
 
Antec Micro Fusion 350 HTPC Case with Remote - Black/Silver (350W PSU Included) £154.20
(£128.50) £154.20
(£128.50)
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 840 "95W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £74.99
(£62.49) £74.99
(£62.49)
Asus M4A88T-M AMD 880G (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £59.99
(£49.99) £59.99
(£49.99)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)
OCZ Platinum 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Ultra Low Voltage Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3P1600C9ELV4GK) £29.99
(£24.99) £29.99
(£24.99)
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
(£11.66) £13.99
(£11.66)

Sub Total : £310.95
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £64.54
Total : £387.24
 
Intel Sandy Bridge option:

Antec Micro Fusion 350 HTPC Case with Remote - Black/Silver (350W PSU Included) £154.20
(£128.50) £154.20
(£128.50)
Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £103.99
(£86.66) £103.99
(£86.66)
MSI H67MA-E45 Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro-ATX Motherboard - (Sandybridge) £79.99
(£66.66) £79.99
(£66.66)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)
OCZ Platinum 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Ultra Low Voltage Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3P1600C9ELV4GK) £29.99
(£24.99) £29.99
(£24.99)
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
(£11.66) £13.99
(£11.66)

Sub Total : £351.79
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £72.71
Total : £436.25
 
Hi all,

I am looking to build something very similar. I am looking to build a HTPC which will also be capable of, for example, converting media files and encoding to DVD. What I do not want to happen is to be half way through watching something in HD and the screen to start lagging behind or glitching as the processor is struggling to not only view the program but also do other tasks in the background.

Just to be clear, I am not looking for a hugely capable video editing machine, but rather a machine which as well as being an HTPC does not require me to have another machine to perform tasks on the media files; I hope that makes sense.

I am sure that both an i3 or AMD based box would suit this purpose, but I am not sure about the Hudson M1 based boards; does anyone have experience of these? What is the actual raw processing power compared to for example, an i3 or Phenom? Needless to say it is not going to be as good, but is it up to the task?

Any thoughts appriciated. Again, simiar budget available.

Thanks.
 
They're dual core. They can multi-task. Though they're no Athlon II's. They're meant to compete with Atom. They're perfect for HTPC. Especially when passively cooled and paired with quiet drives and quiet power supplies. They'll fit into a case that can go in the living room and not make an absolute racket when you're playing media.

The Phenom II 840 is overkill for an HTPC. The Athlon II 250 is overkill too. The only way you'd want either of those chips is if you're using the machine to encode files like mikesouthby. Then you're going to need to look for fans that provide the best cooling with the least amount of noise. Which will fit in an HTPC case and not create background hum while you're trying to watch media. The Zacate chips will encode files fine. It'll just take a while compared to Athlon or Phenom chips. The same way Atom would take forever compared to Core 2 and Core i chips.

The 760G AMD boards with integrated HD3000 series graphics are more than capable of 1080p playback. The 880G AMD board with integrated HD 4250 could be considered overkill for media playback (though it uses the same graphics as the 785G). It boils down to whether or not you need everything the 800 series chipset offers and if you're willing to pay for it.
 
Last edited:
Brian8bit said:
Then you're going to need to look for fans that provide the best cooling with the least amount of noise.

The 760G AMD boards with integrated HD3000 series graphics are more than capable of 1080p playback. The 880G AMD board with integrated HD 4250 could be considered overkill for media playback
Click to expand...

To be fair most of the time (ie when idle or just watching movies) then the stock cooler you get with the Athlon II chips is plenty quiet enough for most people.

As far as motherboard choices go, I suggested the 800 series board as the price difference is so small it seems a shame to go for the older 700 chipset. The HD 4250 graphics might be slight 'overkill' however the reviews show it's even capable of 3D video playback, which the OP might consider in the future. This is something the HD 3000 series didn't offer.
 
As Brian said, while Mints specs are very good they are overkill.

The Hudson cpu will be more than capable of 1080p playback, and are built with that in mind. That said, would still go with 8XX chipset for the 3D and for the USB3.0 and SATA 6GB/s available on some.
 
The Hudson M1 chipset offers the same things as the 800 series chipset. 65nm fabrication process, six SATA 6Gb/s, AHCI 1.2, 14 x USB2.0, 2 x USB1.1 and HD audio. Though no Gigabit ethernet or RAID according to Wikipedia. (That'll be there in M2 and M3). And no PCI.

On the Asus M1 board, gigabit Ethernet support comes from Realtek chips and the RAID from an unknown. It also offers the HD6310 graphics as opposed to the HD4250 of the 880G.
 
Last edited:
Brian8bit said:
The Hudson M1 chipset offers the same things as the 800 series chipset. 65nm fabrication process, six SATA 6Gb/s, AHCI 1.2, 14 x USB2.0, 2 x USB1.1 and HD audio. Though no Gigabit ethernet or RAID according to Wikipedia. (That'll be there in M2 and M3). And no PCI.

On the Asus M1 board, gigabit Ethernet support comes from Realtek chips and the RAID from an unknown. It also offers the HD6310 graphics as opposed to the HD4250 of the 880G.
Click to expand...

Link to that?

I haven't found any article quite that detailed! or any real reviews
 
Cookeh said:
Link to that?

I haven't found any article quite that detailed! or any real reviews
Click to expand...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compar...Comparison_of_FCH_.28Fusion_Controller_Hub.29

The Asus M1 board also has 2 x USB3 on the back. But there's no mention of USB3 support on the Wikipedia article for the 800 series or 900 series of chipsets. Only the Hudson M3 and D3 chipsets. Since a lot of 800 series boards are now carrying USB3 I'd assume it's just that the Wiki article hasn't been updated yet.
 
Hi guys in thinking of doing something along these lines and this is what i cam up with

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Samsung SpinPoint F4 EcoGreen 2TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD204UI) £62.99
(£52.49) £62.99
(£52.49)
Asus M4A88T-M AMD 880G (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £59.99
(£49.99) £59.99
(£49.99)
Samsung SH-B123L/BSBP 12x BluRay ROM DVDRW DL & RAM Lightscribe SATAII Optical Drive - OEM Black £51.98
(£43.32) £51.98
(£43.32)
AMD Athlon II X2 Dual Core 250 3.00GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £44.39
(£36.99) £44.39
(£36.99)
OcUK Aphrodite Media Case - Black £39.82
(£33.18) £39.82
(£33.18)
OCZ Special OPS 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3SOE1600LV4GK) £35.99
(£29.99) £35.99
(£29.99)
LG GH22NS50 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.16) £16.99
(£14.16)
Sub Total : £260.12
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £54.02
Total : £324.14

Also need to add Win 7 to that but all in all not bad dont you guys think

Fans come to £12 and there is a PSU with the case just trying to do things pretty cheap to keep GF sweet

Any comments or addvice welcome
 
HDD is massive overkill :p

I doubt you'll use 2TB for a media PC, this 1TB will be quieter and a lot faster.

This PSU will handle your PC perfectly fine and is cheaper.

OCZ Platinum RAM is cheaper on TWO and will also be perfectly adequate.

Also, why the Bluray and the DVD drive? Blu-Ray drives can read CD and DVD as well iirc!

Case is down to personal preference so can't advise you on that :p
 
PSU included with case (i know i know horror)

Ram good change

Just wanted to be greedy and have DVD and Blue ray drives

HDD is to good a deal to pass up (might just swap for my GFs sons 500gb)

The problem with "this week only" deals is that i wont be doing it till i get paid next week
 
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