Help me compile my HTPC

[bilalinamdar]

I am so sorry for the late reply guys,
AshD well i have been where you are, confused as to what to choose.
I decided on HTPC because of it's flexibility, ease of use and the fact that i can customize it in anyway i want (be it software support or using it as a server)
When it comes to selecting the processor just keep in mind to select the mother board and then see what sockets processor it supports and buy accordingly, frankly the one i chose is one of the most basic ones yet it is able to play Full HD and 3D movies without any problems.
Now the questions regarding the hard disk, the performance will not be noticeable in daily HTPC use, only when you transfer high amounts of data you might feel the speed.
There are internal hard disks upto 3tb easily available in the market for around 9k .

As far as RAM goes, i think 4 gb is sufficient for an HTPC.
and yes i plan to use XBMC for my HTPC and i have already tried running it and it works well on the current setup.

Don't worry about the performances as mine is the most basic yet it is able to handle all the HTPC as well as server needs easily so rest assured if you buy a better setup or even a similar one it won't disappoint you.

I would like to know few things to
1) Your current ring
- Processor
- Mobo
- Cabinet
- Power Supply
- ODD
- Keyboard Mouse
2) What you desire to have (a little bit more thought)

 

[frank_dude_007]

Frank,

Thanks fore the reply..

Since you said yours is a very basic setup..Can you suggest what all would you upgrade if you were to make a more advanced setup?

If you can help us build a modified higher end version list of materials i can use that to determine the costs.

Well for starters i would get a better processor if i had the budget or the need for one. Something similar to an A-8 APU
My next obvious step would be a little bit more RAM and a 64 Bit windows to utilize the full capacity of the RAM.

If you wish and have the budget for then you can also opt for a intel based setup with a dedicated graphics card.

I would like to know few things to
1) Your current ring
- Processor
- Mobo
- Cabinet
- Power Supply
- ODD
- Keyboard Mouse
2) What you desire to have (a little bit more thought)

If you scroll back a couple of pages i have mentioned with links what my current rig consists of and as far as keyboard and mouse goes i have the basic wired keyboard and mouse for the initial setup which i will remove once i have Internet in the Home theater room, after which i will use my android mobile to control the PC.

Well frankly i am happy with my setup but if given another option i would go with either a better APU or gone the INTEL way with a dedicated graphics card.

 

[bilalinamdar]

Intel g2020 - 3550
Gigabyte Z77n-wifi (the cost difference for h and z are 250 only so)- 8250
Kingston HyperX 1600 4gb DDR3 (corsair was 250 costly kingston is better though)- 2600
asus dvd rw (box pack)- 1100
Dell 21.5" IPS display S2240L- 9050
1TB WD Blue (I DON'T MIND NOISE BUT SPEED IS IMP BTW NOT NOISE ATALL)- 4150
MK200-800
HDMI CABLE-350
CREATIVE A35 SPEAKER (That's it i want for my small room)-550
cabinet circle LIL BLACK with smps (also fits NORMAL DVDRW & hdd & also compatible with micro atx motherboard) other were costly or i can say insanely priced-1950

32.5k can't beat that...

Thanks for anyone who helped

i would also suggest fellow viewers of this thread to check other alternatives too (as per requirement..) i required PC CUM HTPC (mostly pc)...

http://www.ebay.in/itm/ZOTAC-AMD-ZB...PCs&hash=item5d446bee86&_uhb=1#ht_3319wt_1071

http://www.ebay.in/itm/ZOTAC-AMD-ZB...PCs&hash=item5d446bee83&_uhb=1#ht_3519wt_1071

 

[saikatbiswas82]

Gigabyte Z77n-wifi (the cost difference for h and z are 250 only so)- 8250

First of all pardon me for my limited knowledge. But, I could not find any indian site selling Gigabyte Z77n-wifi at Rs. 8250/-
Flipkart is selling Gigabyte H77-wifi @ 9381/-.

Until and unless OC is not a concern and if we dont need virtualization (looking at the processor suggestion I just figured it out) a quick alternative could be :
Intel DH77EB Motherboard - Intel: Flipkart.com
and
TP-LINK TL-WN781ND 150Mbps Wireless PCI Express Network Nic - TP-LINK: Flipkart.com

This could save you more bucks.

P.S. - I've just ordered these items today from flipkart. I've ordered Intel G2120 along with this combo.

 

[bilalinamdar]

First of all pardon me for my limited knowledge. But, I could not find any indian site selling Gigabyte Z77n-wifi at Rs. 8250/-
Flipkart is selling Gigabyte H77-wifi @ 9381/-.

Until and unless OC is not a concern and if we dont need virtualization (looking at the processor suggestion I just figured it out) a quick alternative could be :
Intel DH77EB Motherboard - Intel: Flipkart.com
and
TP-LINK TL-WN781ND 150Mbps Wireless PCI Express Network Nic - TP-LINK: Flipkart.com

This could save you more bucks.

P.S. - I've just ordered these items today from flipkart. I've ordered Intel G2120 along with this combo.

dude i purchased it already
It is my purchase post...(ON FRIDAY 27-09-2013)
I purchased locally from prime mumbai

Regarding OC i don't require it NOW (Still in just Rs 250!!! OC feature why not. Wouldn't you vouch for that ?)


The board you suggested is good but not MINI ITX!!!!!!!!
Dude confusing

Regarding 2120 vs 2020 IT IS ENOUGH FOR ANY HTPC NEED !! WHY TO SPEND MORE LIKE 2K

 

[saikatbiswas82]

dude i purchased it already
It is my purchase post...(ON FRIDAY 27-09-2013)
I purchased locally from prime mumbai

I must say you got an amazing deal. Congrats dude.

Regarding OC i don't require it NOW (Still in just Rs 250!!! OC feature why not. Wouldn't you vouch for that ?)

Because I think I am not building a gaming rig and my processor is g2120 (not i5 or i7)

The board you suggested is good but not MINI ITX!!!!!!!!
Dude confusing

My bad. Actually I intend to build micro atx based system.

Regarding 2120 vs 2020 IT IS ENOUGH FOR ANY HTPC NEED !! WHY TO SPEND MORE LIKE 2K

Even atom is enough for htpc. We probably don't need ivy bridge in that case. Regarding 2020 vs 2120, 2120 has slightly greater values in CPU benchmark tests.

 

[bilalinamdar]

Who says atom is sufficient ? For HD playback ? if Atom is sufficient than how come people don't buy it or consider it for htpc (check yourself) Atom plays with shuttering also it is not compatible with most HD content you have to do driver tweak to get the video worked (cccp or something) which is again software part not hardware...

Regarding 2020 it is the best in the price. the one you got is also good but why would i go for the middle man when i3 is very near the cost ?

i3 supports HD4000 vs 2120 and 2020 are not even that (check online intel website) http://ark.intel.com/compare/65700,65527 "Processor Graphics"
better would have been i3 in place of 2120..

Low power 35w vs 55w
Good graphics hd4000 vs Unknown or less than hd4000
more core

that will be enough for the comparision
I have done my homework before the purchase!! it took 1 week for that

 

[navin advani]

I have limited space and cannot accommodate a large chassis. On the other hand I have a lot of media (5TB+) so I am looking to build a HTPC/Openelec-XBMC box around this.

Coolermaster chassis given below
Cooler Master: Mini 110
the price is 4430 here.
Buy Online Cooler Master 110 Slim Mini-iTX Cabinets (MIN-110-KKA200) in india

My idea is to put 1 2.5" SSD drive in the CD ROM drive slot (I do not need a CD ROM), 1 3.5" drive below the CD ROM and the second 3.5" drive below the first 3.5" drive. See Photo.

I would like to fit 2 3.5" Hard disks given below
WD Caviar Green 3 TB Desktop Internal Hard Drive (WD30EZRX) - WD: Flipkart.com

and 1 2.5" SSD drive given below
Kingston SV300S37A/60G Internal Hard Drive - Kingston: Flipkart.com

The motherboard will be a FM2 motherboard like this one
Buy Online MSI FM2-A85XMA-P33 16GB DDR3 AMD Motherboard in india

with either a A4 (FM2) processor
Buy Online AMD A4-Series A4 4000 Dual Core Processor (AD4000OKHLBOX) in india
or A6 (FM2) like any of the ones linked below
AMD Dual Core A6-Series APU A6-5400K with Radeon HD 7540D (AD540KOKHJBOX) Details
or
AMD Dual Core A6-Series APU A6-6400K with Radeon HD 8470D (AD640KOKHLBOX) Details


Q1: Can anouyone confirm if 2 3.5" hard disks and 1 2.5" Hard disk can fit in the Coolermaster chassis above.

Q2: Are AMD A6 processors (FM2 socket) available in India? if so where?

Q3: Does one need a A6 or will the A4 be adequate for HD video + 7.2 channels sound.

Does anyone see any other challenge in my selection of components (I have not listed RAM because that is the easy part).

 

[frank_dude_007]

I have limited space and cannot accommodate a large chassis. On the other hand I have a lot of media (5TB+) so I am looking to build a HTPC/Openelec-XBMC box around this.

Coolermaster chassis given below
Cooler Master: Mini 110
the price is 4430 here.
Buy Online Cooler Master 110 Slim Mini-iTX Cabinets (MIN-110-KKA200) in india

My idea is to put 1 2.5" SSD drive in the CD ROM drive slot (I do not need a CD ROM), 1 3.5" drive below the CD ROM and the second 3.5" drive below the first 3.5" drive. See Photo.

I would like to fit 2 3.5" Hard disks given below
WD Caviar Green 3 TB Desktop Internal Hard Drive (WD30EZRX) - WD: Flipkart.com

and 1 2.5" SSD drive given below
Kingston SV300S37A/60G Internal Hard Drive - Kingston: Flipkart.com

The motherboard will be a FM2 motherboard like this one
Buy Online MSI FM2-A85XMA-P33 16GB DDR3 AMD Motherboard in india

with either a A4 (FM2) processor
Buy Online AMD A4-Series A4 4000 Dual Core Processor (AD4000OKHLBOX) in india
or A6 (FM2) like any of the ones linked below
AMD Dual Core A6-Series APU A6-5400K with Radeon HD 7540D (AD540KOKHJBOX) Details
or
AMD Dual Core A6-Series APU A6-6400K with Radeon HD 8470D (AD640KOKHLBOX) Details


Q1: Can anouyone confirm if 2 3.5" hard disks and 1 2.5" Hard disk can fit in the Coolermaster chassis above.

Q2: Are AMD A6 processors (FM2 socket) available in India? if so where?

Q3: Does one need a A6 or will the A4 be adequate for HD video + 7.2 channels sound.

Does anyone see any other challenge in my selection of components (I have not listed RAM because that is the easy part).

Firstly the chasis you mentioned can house one 2.5 inch hdd and one 3.5 inch. if you want to fit another HDD in the CD ROM bay then you might be able to do so if the screws positions match then you can just screw it from one side and it will hold the HDD in place

Secondly I think you might be able to find them in Nehru place, delhi
Where do you live ?

Thirdly I would recommend you go with A6 if budget allows to future proof your setup but the A4 will also be able to fulfill your requirements ( I played a 3d HD movie on my A4 a couple of days back and it ran flawlessly)

 

[asliarun]

Slighltly OT, but Haswell, which is Intel's latest set of chips, presents some interesting options for HTPC. I say this mainly because Haswell's power consumption is dramatically lower than the older generation Intel processors, and is especially lower than AMD. It is low enough that you could do a viable near-silent or fully silent HTPC. The IGP (HD4600 and upwards) is also much more powerful than HD4000 while still running cooler.

It is expensive but I don't think this level of performance can be obtained at this power level with anything AMD or Intel's older gen has to offer.

Reference: AnandTech | Intel's Haswell - An HTPC Perspective: Media Playback, 4K and QuickSync Evaluated

(P.S. I was actually researching audio servers when I stumbled into this artcile. I am trying to setup a really compact, energy efficient, and fanless mini server that can run Logitech Media Server with a footprint similar to that of a NUC i.e. really small.)

 

[AshD]

Hi Navin,

Can you post the final config details of your system and the price of all components?

 

[frank_dude_007]

I am attaching the pics of repainted cabinet for anyone who is interested.
The pics aren't clear, please excuse the bad lighting.
But i am satisfied with the job

 

[navin advani]

Can you post the final config details of your system and the price of all components?

So far no box I have found can fit in my space and accommodate 2 3.5" hard drives (leave alone an additional 2.5" SSD).

Prices of the hard disks, motherboard, CPU, etc are on the links of my previous post. Since these prices tend to change often it makes little sense to list them but since you asked

Motherboard + processor + 4GB RAM + SSD (for OS) is about 18K
Buy Online AMD A4-Series A4 4000 Dual Core Processor (AD4000OKHLBOX) in india
Buy Online MSI FM2-A85XMA-P33 16GB DDR3 AMD Motherboard in india
Transcend DDR3-1333/PC3-10600 DDR3 2 GB PC RAM (JM1333KLN-2G) - Transcend: Flipkart.com
Kingston SV300S37A/60G Internal Hard Drive - Kingston: Flipkart.com

2 3.5" drives are about 18K total
WD Caviar Green 3 TB Desktop Internal Hard Drive (WD30EZRX) - WD: Flipkart.com

I assume if one adds a chassis for about 4K you get a whole system for 40K with 6TB of storage and the OS on SSD (fast boot time).

Thirdly I would recommend you go with A6 if budget allows to future proof your setup but the A4 will also be able to fulfill your requirements ( I played a 3d HD movie on my A4 a couple of days back and it ran flawlessly)

Thanks Frank, I live in Mumbai.

 

[Vinod.R]

Quickly, if you are interested, order this PSU VS550, offer on flipkart for just Rs 2443/- only!!!!!

I had ordered the same and it is on offer now!

Corsair VS550 550 Watt PSU - Corsair: Flipkart.com

This is an super PSU, you can also order this:

http://www.flipkart.com/corsair-smps...b-cdf35860dfed

 

[talespin]

So i am in the market for a new HTPC and while researching got very confused as i need some specific features of which finding all of them in one mother board and CPU combo was a big hassle. So i am here for help.

My main requirement includes
3.0 USB ports
HDMI 1.4 output
enough juice to play Blu ray rips and 3D HD movies
and low power consumption as it will be used almost 24x7 because it will have a external HDD and network connection to the house.

If it has Wifi and bluetooth inbuilt then it will be better.
My budget is around 15k but is flexible upto 20k.

This build is only good for playing movies not cpu intensive tasks. This is my build(Rs 16,500) with 20s boot time with XBMCBuntu does not include storage media,Cabinet and PSU. Low heat signature and low wattage. This is the case i am using (Case Techsolo TC-2200 M-ATX HTPC Case 350W Aluminum with media center remote )

Also you can remove Graphic card and spend more on Processor + Motherboard combo. You will get more options with intel processor and heat signature is low.

1. Boot source Sandisk Extreme 16 GB Pen Drive USB 3.0 (XBMCBuntu installed) (1464).
2. Graphic Card ASUS GT620-1GD3-L (4185) (HDMI)
3. Mother Board(Mini-ITX) - B75MA-P45 - (4543)(No HDMI) (Has USB 3.0)
4. Processor - G2020 Pentium Processor(3800)
5. RAM ADATA Premier DDR3 4 GB PC RAM (AD3U1600W4G11-B) (2400)

 

[frank_dude_007]

This build is only good for playing movies not cpu intensive tasks. This is my build(Rs 16,500) with 20s boot time with XBMCBuntu does not include storage media,Cabinet and PSU. Low heat signature and low wattage. This is the case i am using (Case Techsolo TC-2200 M-ATX HTPC Case 350W Aluminum with media center remote )

Also you can remove Graphic card and spend more on Processor + Motherboard combo. You will get more options with intel processor and heat signature is low.

1. Boot source Sandisk Extreme 16 GB Pen Drive USB 3.0 (XBMCBuntu installed) (1464).
2. Graphic Card ASUS GT620-1GD3-L (4185) (HDMI)
3. Mother Board(Mini-ITX) - B75MA-P45 - (4543)(No HDMI) (Has USB 3.0)
4. Processor - G2020 Pentium Processor(3800)
5. RAM ADATA Premier DDR3 4 GB PC RAM (AD3U1600W4G11-B) (2400)

Hey
thanks for suggestions and help but i have already compiled my HTPC and it's up and running.

 

[asliarun]

Navin, I've been looking into this whole HTPC, NAS, audio server thingy as well.

Came across an interesting review and thought you might find it useful.

Can A QNAP NAS Replace Your HTPC? - SmallNetBuilder

Edit: To clarify, from your earlier post, I understood that you have two big needs: HTPC and storage (6TB). And you are finding it difficult to fit your storage in a slim enough HTPC case. Maybe you should look at these requirements separately. NASes are very good at storage and adding/removing HDDs and inbuilt RAID for data protection etc.

You might want to look at a NAS that already has an Intel Atom processor inbuilt (hence x86 platform, hence easy app acccess), and a NAS that has an XBMC app and that can play 1080p.

If for any reason, you want better picture or sound quality, you can built a really compact HTPC that can read from the NAS, and treat your NAS as a dedicated NAS instead of a NAS+HTPC hybrid. Since you don't need multiple storage bays in your HTPC now, you can go real small, as small as the palm of your hand with something like a NUC or equivalent.

Or you could just get a good NAS and a HTPC separately from the get go.

Just a thought.

 

[navin advani]

Edit: To clarify, from your earlier post, I understood that you have two big needs: HTPC and storage (6TB). And you are finding it difficult to fit your storage in a slim enough HTPC case. Maybe you should look at these requirements separately. NASes are very good at storage and adding/removing HDDs and inbuilt RAID for data protection etc.

Or you could just get a good NAS and a HTPC separately from the get go.

Good idea. Deepak Jotwani PMed me the same thought.

A ultra small PC like the Zbox from Zotac connected to a pair of hard disks via a NAS can work. Only I don't know enough about PCs to find the optimum configuration for my needs (AIFF and FLAC play back for music and 1080p video).

I don't want to spend way too much. Even a Mini ITX FM2 - AMD A4 based single box solution is about 40K with the hard disks.

Can you point in me some general direction as to small PCs and NASs that will work together. The small PC need only have room from a 2.5" SSD.

Thanks.

 

[asliarun]

Good idea. Deepak Jotwani PMed me the same thought.

A ultra small PC like the Zbox from Zotac connected to a pair of hard disks via a NAS can work. Only I don't know enough about PCs to find the optimum configuration for my needs (AIFF and FLAC play back for music and 1080p video).

I don't want to spend way too much. Even a Mini ITX FM2 - AMD A4 based single box solution is about 40K with the hard disks.

Can you point in me some general direction as to small PCs and NASs that will work together. The small PC need only have room from a 2.5" SSD.

Thanks.

I will not be the right person to make a good recommendation. I can help with specific components, but not with the entire build. Would you mind creating a thread please? I know several other forum members are quite knowledgeable on HTPC and NAS.

I do feel that the price of HTPC you are suggesting is quite high. I would have pegged the HTPC price to be in the region of 25k. This is based on other posts I have seen.