HTPC for new Home theater

[John]

Thanks once again. Seems like uATX is the route to go with. A little bigger cabinet will do no harm.

Also, I am thinking of a 32 GB SSD, which can be had for around 4K. Should help with boot up times, and keep things cool, right. Movies can be on the Ext HDDs (My Book, Network HDD, et cetera).

 

[baijuxavior]

Extend the budget slightly and get 64GB SSD. Usually xbmc stores the scrapped data in the C drive and as your library grows, 32GB may not be enough. There is not much price difference between 32GB and 64GB.

 

[grunthos]

Thanks once again. Seems like uATX is the route to go with. A little bigger cabinet will do no harm.

Also, I am thinking of a 32 GB SSD, which can be had for around 4K. Should help with boot up times, and keep things cool, right. Movies can be on the Ext HDDs (My Book, Network HDD, et cetera).

32GB will not be enough if you are planning to install Win7 - that itself takes about 30 GB, so 64 GB is minimum required

 

[John]

What about the remote control. There are a number of options of adding a remote control later, but I would need an Infrared in the cabinet?

 

[baijuxavior]

There are a few cabinets with IR receiver and remote, but they are expensive. My suggestion is to get an mce remote from ebay.com or amazon.com. These have a usb ir receiver. Also there is one HP MCE for sale in the forum by FM 'YPS' which is recommended as you don't have to import.

 

[manniraj]

32GB will not be enough if you are planning to install Win7 - that itself takes about 30 GB, so 64 GB is minimum required

I have the 32gb SSD in my htpc and I have installed Win 7 64bit Ultimate and I think it has occupied around 21gb. But I also have a 2TB internal WD green drive with movies/music and other backup data.

Thanks

 

[EthenHunt]

Yes...Windows 7 without any softwares installed will be around 20 GB.

 

[John]

Thoughts on cases, processors, and motherboards. Just putting my thoughts here so that other builders might benefit.

I am torn between Silverstone ML03 and Silverstone Grandia GD05.

The GD05 comes with two 120 mm silent fans, but the ML03 does not come with any fans. ML03 need 80 mm fans, which are not so common nowadays, I think. Now neither of these cases mention support for Mini ATX (although logic tells me it should). Size-wise, no issues, as they are smaller than micro ATX. I am only worried if the mounting holes will be at the right places.

Secondly, I am thinking of one of two boards.

Asus F2A85 M-LE (Mini ATX). 2 Ram slots, up to 32 gb.



or

Asus F2A85 M (Micro ATX) 4 Ram slots, up to 64 gb, CrossFire X.

RAM 4 GB is sufficient, won't need CrossFire, so Asus F2A85 M-LE seems to be the way to go.

I am having problem getting an FM2 socket processor that drawn 65 watts though. My vendor can arrange the A10 5800 one, but it is 100 watts. Also, these processors are quite uncommon, no one seems to have them in ready stock. i3 No issues.

So I am looking at:

A10 5700
A8 5500/5500B
A6 5400B/ 5400K

No leads so far on these processors.

 

[sunilkm]

These APUs were released in India recently and I could see only flipkart listed 3 processors.

In your list A6-5400K is a dual core 3.6GHz with unlocked multiplier for overclocking.
But could not see in any online seller.

But the locked version A4-5300 3.4 GHz dual core is vailable in flipkart for Rs.3021.

Thanks,
Sunil

 

[baijuxavior]

With silverstone ML03, there are some size limitations for SMPS and Optical drive. The smps should have a maximum length of only 140mm otherwise dvd drive cannot be fixed. So getting a psu that will fix in this cabinet is tricky. There are lots of reviews about this cabinet where this shortcoming is illustrated.

 

[John]

These APUs were released in India recently and I could see only flipkart listed 3 processors.

In your list A6-5400K is a dual core 3.6GHz with unlocked multiplier for overclocking.
But could not see in any online seller.

But the locked version A4-5300 3.4 GHz dual core is vailable in flipkart for Rs.3021.

Thanks,
Sunil

Yes Sunil, thanks. Availability seems to be an issue at the moment, so Santa will probably come late for me this year . Perhaps by January 1st week. Meanwhile, I must get the case imported. The processors I am looking for is A10 5700 (65w) or A8 5500.

Kind regards,

John

 

[John]

With silverstone ML03, there are some size limitations for SMPS and Optical drive. The smps should have a maximum length of only 140mm otherwise dvd drive cannot be fixed. So getting a psu that will fix in this cabinet is tricky. There are lots of reviews about this cabinet where this shortcoming is illustrated.

Baiju, you are right. I have read this thing. The PSU I am looking at it the Corsair CX430 , Antec VP 450, Cooler Master Thunder 450/500, Cooler Master 300, Coolter Master Extreme 525, which are 140 mm depth, so I should be fine.

Having said that, it is always better to get a bigger cabinet, if one can afford it.

 

[Santy]

Baiju, you are right. I have read this thing. The PSU I am looking at it the Corsair CX430 , Antec VP 450, Cooler Master Thunder 450/500, Cooler Master 300, Coolter Master Extreme 525, which are 140 mm depth, so I should be fine.

Having said that, it is always better to get a bigger cabinet, if one can afford it.

I don't think PSUs from CM are preferred by users due to reliability issues. Better stick to Corsair.

 

[John]

Updating the thread.

I have ordered Silverstone Grandia GD05. Two main reasons I did it was:

1) USB 3.0 front support - useful for the future.
2) Larger height = better cooling. The new Trinity heatsinks are quite meaty, from what I am been seeing on YouTube.
3) Good built quality (compared to nmedia)

Secondly, what benefit do I get by going with Trinity (FM2) and not FM1, older processors like A6 3500 and the like? I can save a bunch of money this way.

I am not going to any gaming as far as I can see.

 

[grunthos]

With silverstone ML03, there are some size limitations for SMPS and Optical drive. The smps should have a maximum length of only 140mm otherwise dvd drive cannot be fixed. So getting a psu that will fix in this cabinet is tricky. There are lots of reviews about this cabinet where this shortcoming is illustrated.

While trickier than normal cases, it is nowhere so difficult that you should not select this case

I have this case and its a beautiful looking case. Sleek, it settles well into an AV rack
I have a micro ITX board in it (mounting points are pefect) along with a Corsair CX430 PSU and a optical drive. Its got USB 3.0 port at the front (though my motherboard is an older pre-USB3.0 model) and yes, you have to buy fans additionally. I bought a Noctua NF-R8 from flipkart for it. Its so quiet that I can hear the CPU fan over it.

And irrespective of the case you go with, consider this Lenovo N5901 remote for your HTPC. While conventional wisdom says going for a simpler MCE remote, this remote lets you use a full keyboard + mouse when you so require - like opening a website to watch some video. And its small enough to look incongruous amidst your other remotes. Very convenient to use one handed if all you want is the mouse - and it has drawn appreciation from everyone who has laid their eyes on it

 

[John]

How does the Lenovo N5901 compare to the Rii Mini?

 

[John]

And irrespective of the case you go with, consider this Lenovo N5901 remote for your HTPC. While conventional wisdom says going for a simpler MCE remote, this remote lets you use a full keyboard + mouse when you so require - like opening a website to watch some video. And its small enough to look incongruous amidst your other remotes. Very convenient to use one handed if all you want is the mouse - and it has drawn appreciation from everyone who has laid their eyes on it

How does it compare to the Rii remotes?

 

[John]

After a lot of waiting, the AMD Trinity processors, 65 Watts is hard to come by (impossible it seems).

So I am at the crossroads if to go with the older AMD A6 3500 (65 watts) or AMD A10 5800 (100 Watts). The latter being a newer socket should have more hope, but will the extra heat matter. I can up the budget because the AMD 10 5800 configuration will cost me around 5K more.

Or yet to go to Intel i3 + discrete video card.

I am disappointed to say the least with the AMD processors availability.

I just got the Lenovo N5901 remote. Posting pictures in a while.

RAM, GSkill Ripjaws-X 1600? How is Corsair Vengeance 1600?

 

[vaibhavyagnik]

AMD A10 5800 will generate 100 Watts worth of heat only at full load, which i doubt it will achieve since its just being used as an HTPC. I dont see the extra power utilization as an issue over here. As far as intel combination is concerned, you can go with a Intel celeron G620 or higher to save cost with a Gigabyte H61 D2S. The intel combo should not cost you more than 6K, although you might need to add a discrete graphics card.
It all goes down to what you budget is.

 

[grunthos]

I just got the Lenovo N5901 remote. Posting pictures in a while.

RAM, GSkill Ripjaws-X 1600? How is Corsair Vengeance 1600?

Congrats for the remote (I am typing this on my Lenovo N5901 )

Also, I have a genuine doubt. How do you compare performance of RAM ? I mean if you buy a 1600 Mhz DDR3 stick from Corsair, Kingston or Transcend, how much of a difference do you expect ? All are well known brands - if you buy from a genuine retailer, very little chance of them turning out DoA. Performance-wise, is there such a huge gap in top brands ?