Help me compile my HTPC

[manniraj]

Seems like a good option, I also checked it out earlier but i think i enjoy the DIY method that's why bought the following,

Thank you so much for the help guys, it really helped me make a decision.

Motherboard - ASUS F2A85-M-LE
APU - AMD A4 - 4000
RAM - Corsair XMS3 4GB
HDD - WD Green 1TB (for much more silent operation)
Cabinet and PSU - Iball baby 315

Also bought WD My book 3TB external HDD for making it a central server storage.

Now the cabinet i bought because it was compact and mostly because it was cheap and i have heard iball makes decent quality stuff but i didn't like the red border on the front, hence contemplating a repaint. If anyone has already done it then please help me go through it.

Congrats on the build..

Coming to your idea of repainting the cabinet I would suggest you to consider of pasting a black sticker that the cars now-a-days use for the doors on the borders. I think it is a matt finish and you can hide the red color as repainting will be a costly affair. Cabinet repainting needs spray painting that the automobile garages perform which I think is costly.

 

[frank_dude_007]

Congrats on the build..

Coming to your idea of repainting the cabinet I would suggest you to consider of pasting a black sticker that the cars now-a-days use for the doors on the borders. I think it is a matt finish and you can hide the red color as repainting will be a costly affair. Cabinet repainting needs spray painting that the automobile garages perform which I think is costly.

Thank you
Actually my house is already under construction and luckily the painter is working with spray paint machine and will be using black paint on a decorative piece in a week till then i can bear with it. So i will get the work for easy and cheap

 

[manniraj]

Thank you
Actually my house is already under construction and luckily the painter is working with spray paint machine and will be using black paint on a decorative piece in a week till then i can bear with it. So i will get the work for easy and cheap

Then should be a free job hyeah:

 

[Naturelover]

Hi Frank,

Just my two bit.
Came across your thread as I am considering going the HTPC route.
When I was building my PC for general use, I was advised against using a "Green" HDD as primary drive in one of the computer forums. I'm sorry, I can't remember the reason.
Have you started using your setup? Any problems?

 

[vaibhavyagnik]

Hi Frank,

Just my two bit.
Came across your thread as I am considering going the HTPC route.
When I was building my PC for general use, I was advised against using a "Green" HDD as primary drive in one of the computer forums. I'm sorry, I can't remember the reason.
Have you started using your setup? Any problems?

Green HDD generally have lower RPM, typically 5400 RPM and hence have lower transfer speeds. So, you were advised against going with Green drives.

 

[Naturelover]

Thanks. Will that affect HTPC performance?

 

[vaibhavyagnik]

Thanks. Will that affect HTPC performance?

No noticeable difference.

 

[AshD]

k2max6 / Devilwearsprada / Froggy_T / frank_dude_007


Thank you so much for the tutorial for HTPC.

I made notes of the conversation right from Page 1 and I guess I have a ready to use

"How to build your HTPC"

I don't have space to keep an ext HDD, so do I need to make any changes, In case I wanted to have a bigger internal HDD?

What capacity should I go for?

Can anyone help me where to look for these parts locally in Mumbai? Any reliable shop?

I am not so good & neither geared to assemble it myself..so will have to look out for someone to help me do that.

Finally, can you all post pics of your HTPCs?

 

[AshD]

APU - AMD A4 - 4000

Will it matter if I select AMD 3.4 GHz FM2 A4-5300 Processor - AMD: Flipkart.com The socket type is different.. This one is FM2..

RAM - Corsair XMS3 4GB

Will higher RAM, hugely impact the performance of the media player? If yes, pls suggest something better. (need to check price diff)

Will this run on windows or Linux?

I heard that XBMC is a good software for media player. Do you plan to use this?

 

[bilalinamdar]

Will it matter if I select AMD 3.4 GHz FM2 A4-5300 Processor - AMD: Flipkart.com The socket type is different.. This one is FM2..



Will higher RAM, hugely impact the performance of the media player? If yes, pls suggest something better. (need to check price diff)

Will this run on windows or Linux?

I heard that XBMC is a good software for media player. Do you plan to use this?

Dude i can help you in assembly if u want.
I am in ghatkopar.
I also want to buy HTPC my budget is higher. what is your budget ?
if u need we can share email and mobile depends on you. i am new to this forum but very old in thinkdigit, techenclave, erodov

 

[AshD]

Hi Bilal,

Nice to meet you..Welcome to the forum.

This sounds like a plan..

Lets chat up and discuss how we can take this forward.

 

[bilalinamdar]

Hi Bilal,

Nice to meet you..Welcome to the forum.

This sounds like a plan..

Lets chat up and discuss how we can take this forward.

my email chat id
bilalinamdar @ gmail . com
I have lot to discuss. As i am having lot of info over this matter.
waiting for your reply.

 

[AshD]

I just saw the WD media player..

Isn't this doing all what we want? and the price is also reasonable..

Experts.. can you please comment??

WD TV Live Hub 1 TB Network Hard Disk - WD: Flipkart.com

See the comparison...
http://compareindia.in.com/comparis...sus-oplay-gallery-vs-277972-dune-hd-tv101/522

 

[bilalinamdar]

@AshD

dude it depends...

what exactly your requirements ? can you state ?

 

[AshD]

Bilal,

I have almost 1 TB of movies and songs, so I want to sort them all and have them in a HDD. I can use the ext HDD and connect via USB to the BDP or AVR. But I want to get a device which holds the HDD and everyone at home can simply use the remote to play songs and movies with simplicity.

I liked the idea to build my own HTPC, taking inspiration from the experts here..but as I saw the WD readily built device, I think this may be a good option.

Ease of use over the adrenaline rush to DIY, not to mention even in the DIY, I will need help to build it apart from just sourcing parts.

A 2TB HDD in the WD (or any other similar) Media player should be good enough

what about you? I pinged u on hangout. Did you see that?

 

[bilalinamdar]

Bilal,

I have almost 1 TB of movies and songs, so I want to sort them all and have them in a HDD. I can use the ext HDD and connect via USB to the BDP or AVR. But I want to get a device which holds the HDD and everyone at home can simply use the remote to play songs and movies with simplicity.

I liked the idea to build my own HTPC, taking inspiration from the experts here..but as I saw the WD readily built device, I think this may be a good option.

Ease of use over the adrenaline rush to DIY, not to mention even in the DIY, I will need help to build it apart from just sourcing parts.

A 2TB HDD in the WD (or any other similar) Media player should be good enough

what about you? I pinged u on hangout. Did you see that?

i don't use hangout. i use simple email and gtalk.
Regarding the hdd..
You will get Laptop HDD which will cost more.
Better get a biostar or E350N mobo+cpu and use program such as universal media server / PS3 media server and you got yourself...
PC + Home media center.

My plans are mostly towards PC... My system includes Intel Widi Which will allow me to share the PC screen on the fly with my 46inch Smart TV.
Everything depends on personal need.

I would also suggest you to look for barebone kit on ebay.in there you can find prebuild htpc in the same amt which you are abt to spend on wd... (no monitor)

 

[AshD]

i don't use hangout. i use simple email and gtalk.

Gtalk is now Hangout...Can u send me a invite thru your gtalk? I sent you one already, dont think you have got it.

Better get a biostar or E350N mobo+cpu and use program such as universal media server / PS3 media server and you got yourself...
PC + Home media center.

This sounds good, but I would need some hand holding here to understand this..

My plans are mostly towards PC... My system includes Intel Widi Which will allow me to share the PC screen on the fly with my 46inch Smart TV.
Everything depends on personal need.

I would also suggest you to look for barebone kit on ebay.in there you can find prebuild htpc in the same amt which you are abt to spend on wd... (no monitor)

Now I am lost..Can we talk? If you ping me or see my invite.. lets exchange nos. I can call you..Guess that will be easier..

 

[bilalinamdar]

there is no way in here to sent mobile
Rather just email me once... you have my email id (but i don't)... so that i can add you...

 

[frank_dude_007]

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.

 

[AshD]

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.