Building HTPC (first time..)

[esobaki]

Hey guys,

I deciding to build HTPC after going through most of the threads everywhere on this great site (really liked the setup done by Hydra, Sam9s and reignofchaos). First i was inclined to buy media streamer but it has very limited options if you want to upgrade them. and they don't allow customization.

Below are the stuff i already have.

1) Apple iMac 20"
2) Samsung HD LED TV
3) Belkin WIFI router
4) Internet connection

Stuff which i don't like right now.

1) I tried hooking my iMac to TV (HDMI) and tried Plex it works great but i hate to see those towering electric bills.
2) Space is limited on my iMac (500 gigs)

Here's what i want this machine for.
1) Low power consumption (this machine will run for at least 16 hrs a day)
2) HTPC (HD Movies 1080p mostly mkv files i will not be playing Blueray's)
3) Internet browsing
4) Music (iTunes)
4) Downloading
5) Should able to stream content to my Android, iPhone and iPad.

Budget
I have budget of around 15 to 20 K (What's with those hard drive prices. should i wait for them to settle down?)

Can you please suggest what hardware will be suitable for my need. I really like those AMD Fusion CPU's but not sure if they will suit my need.

 

[baijuxavior]

AMD fusion will suite all your needs. I assembled one under 12.5k, excluding HDD and OS. It will play full hd and blu-ray iso and supports HD audio. It will consume around 25 W only. Highly recommended since you will be keeping it on for 16hrs a day.

 

[esobaki]

Thanks baijuxavior (nice work with your HTPC); Which mobo you will recommend for AMD fusion MSI/ASUS or Gigabyte. I see that the Gigabyte one which you have used in your setup doesn't seems to have Wifi onboard.

 

[baijuxavior]

Instead of onboard wifi I am using a small wifi dongle costing Rs.675/-. I won't recommend a particular brand, but gigabyte is a neatly build mobo with USB 3.0 support.

 

[rajivganth]

Intel I3 21000 - 6500
Asus P8P67 - 5000
2 TB Western Digital SATA - 6250
2GB DDR3 Transcend - 840
Antec 4482 with SMPS - 4500
DVD Writer Sony DL SATA - 1000

& Ubuntu linux and lot of research on streaming your content

 

[mandeep]

Instead of onboard wifi I am using a small wifi dongle costing Rs.675/-. I won't recommend a particular brand, but gigabyte is a neatly build mobo with USB 3.0 support.

hello dear,

Please provide the details of the dongle u r using as i need to connect my old desktop to my wifi network.

and how i can extend the range of my exiting wifi setup.

 

[esobaki]

I really don't want to go for ATX form factor. I wanna stick to mini-ITX or max i can go up to micro-ATX. Is it possible to get Asus E-450 Fusion Combo mobo in India.

 

[haisaikat]

Thanks baijuxavior (nice work with your HTPC); Which mobo you will recommend for AMD fusion MSI/ASUS or Gigabyte. I see that the Gigabyte one which you have used in your setup doesn't seems to have Wifi onboard.

From my personal experiance do not spend more than 500 extra for onboard wifi as you might want to remian flexible with 3rd part adapoters which may offer better reception and range during large file streaming over wifi.

 

[EthenHunt]

GIGABYTE (E350N-USB3,E350,Dual Core) - 7300
2 GB DDR3 Corsair - 675
Seagate (1 TB, 6GB/s) - 5250
Logitech/Microsoft Cordless KB+M Kit - 1150
Cooler master Elite 100 - 4200
Belkin Wireless USB Adapter N150 - 750

Install windows 7 and XBMC and you are good to go.

 

[baijuxavior]

hello dear,

Please provide the details of the dongle u r using as i need to connect my old desktop to my wifi network.

and how i can extend the range of my exiting wifi setup.

I bought EDUP wifi adapter which is a really small one. The listed price is Rs.750/-. Used a 10% coupon to get it for Rs.675/- There are adpaters with wifi antenna whcih will give increased range.

usb wifi adapter | eBay

 

[esobaki]

It does make sense haisaikat to go for external WiFi adapter or else i can even use RJ45; Thanks.

Nice specs EthenHunt can you please post link to these items.

 

[esobaki]

Will this Silverstone GD04 accommodate 2 3.5" drive and 1 SSD and bigger micro-ATX mobo (if i want updrade it in future. I know it's specs says it can but want to confirm with you guys)

 

[baijuxavior]

It does make sense haisaikat to go for external WiFi adapter or else i can even use RJ45; Thanks.

Nice specs EthenHunt can you please post link to these items.

My HTPC is based on the above mobo and cabinet. Please see my htpc link.

 

[EthenHunt]

Cooler master Elite 100 you can get from Ebay India and all other price list is from Deltapage.com

Yaa..its better to go for Ethernet cable if possible, especially for streaming BR rips over the network.

 

[esobaki]

It's taking too much time for getting posts to appear.

 

[esobaki]

Will Silverstone GD04-B case accommodate 2 3.5" drive and 1 SSD with bigger micro-ATX board if i want to upgrade in future.

Cooler Master 100 looks nice but only has 1 3.5" bay.

 

[EthenHunt]

This is wat the specification of Silverstime GD04-B says:
External 5.25" x 1
Internal 3.5" x 2 , 2.5 x 1 or 3.5" x 1 , 2.5 x 2

So it can't accomodate 2 3.5" and 1 SSD together.

 

[hydra]

I'd suggest the AMD E350 Fusion platform too. It does everything you want, and does it by consuming very little power.

Between the Asus and Gigabyte boards, the Gigabyte might work out to me more VFM as it has USB3, and (I think) it is a bit more power efficient. Also I don't think the Asus boards are available in mini-ITX any more. The advantage of the Asus board available now (the E350-M1-M, microATX) is that it can work fanless and that it has more expansion slots.

The GD04B can be used with microATX boards as well as mini-ITX boards (I've used it with both).

 

[esobaki]

Thanks Hydra. I really liked your setup

Well most of the stuff are getting in my budget. But two things are giving problems.

1) I want my machine to be at least 2TB there is no point in getting 1TB which is just 1.5K cheaper; and 2TB is about 8K
2) If I go for silver stone then i will have to buy addition PSU which will increase cost more (nice case though).

I am really in dilemma now; don't know what to do.

 

[hydra]

Thank you, @esobaki.

If you want a power efficient setup, you will have to spend a bit extra up-front on a good power supply. Something that's 80plus rated is a must. You'll save in the long run on power bills that way. The Corsair CX430V2 would be a good choice at about 2.3K. Better quality PSUs will also tend to be quieter, which is quite important in a HTPC application. An ordinary PSU (that's just about 60% efficient) will negate all the power savings you make by using a low-power APU like the E350.

Now is a bad time to get a high capacity disc. You will get a Seagate Green 2TB disc for 7.2K at Flipkart. Since it has the advantages of low rpm (5900rpm), low power consumption and low noise, it will be a nice choice for the HTPC. If you have a spare SATA disc lying about (as maybe a secondary disk in another PC), perhaps you can start the HTPC off with it, and buy a 2TB disc in Q2 2012 or so, when the prices should be back to "normal". The same disk I linked to was 6700.00 there just about 3 weeks back. So you can see the prices are still climbing.