[aflac68]

I often browse these forums and look at what other people are making as well as read some of the beginners threads. I really want to try and take the leap of building my own htpc, hopefully with the help of this community. I have always wanted to build my own pc so I figured now would be a good time to try it.

I will probably have a couple questions but the first ones I have are the following:

1. Will this motherboard suffice?

I have done a little research and from what I have read the nvidia ion is good enough to handle 1080p video? I apologize if I am not using correct terminology, kinda a noob here I have read into nvidia purevideo hd technology which i guess this has? Is the cpu good enough though? Also my local computer store has this mobo for 90$ instead of the newegg price of $130

2. I am planning on purchasing a mini itx case with 200w psu as well. Besides that the only thing else i need is ram and a hard drive correct?(optical drive possibly later)

3. Would it be better to run windows with xbmc or the linux version of xbmc? I have already purchased an ir receiver + remote for my laptop which i am currently running xbmc on now.


Thank you for your time in looking at my thread and any responses are greatly appreciated

[RaggSokk3n]

1. probably - and worst case scenario it has pci e 16x so you could add a dGPU
2. yes
3. try them all and start with the Linux ones - if their enough for you than that's the best choice

[aflac68]

Thank you very much for your response. Only thing is I was trying to avoid having to put in a discrete graphics card because I am not sure it will fit in the case that I want it to.

Heres the case

[Dougie Fresh]

If you want to run OpenELEC, check out this Celeron 847 motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813138368. The integrated Intel 2000 HD GPU works very well for 1080p video. There's a thread around here about it. You can also get a way with only a 60W power supply for this motherboard widening your case options.

[aflac68]

Awesome thank you for that response as well seeing as my ultimate goal is to create the cheapest 1080p capable htpc as possible.

[cwide]

If your local computer store is Microcenter I believe you could do a lot better for ~$90.

They have A6-3500s for $30 right now. Or even the Celeron G550 for $35 would be WAY better than those integrated CPUs.

If you are really only interested in creating the cheapest 1080p capable HTPC (without caring about looks or form factor) you can create a much more powerful HTPC for probably less than those all-in-one ITX boards.

I have had a super huge and ugly HTPC for a few years now that does the job just fine that cost me ~$150 doing some Microcenter bargain hunting (open box mostly). If you can hide your HTPC in a cabinet somewhere then you don't need to worry about size or looks.

[Dougie Fresh]

Right, what's the goal here "create the cheapest 1080p capable htpc as possible" or what you describe in your first post? If it's cheapest then I agree, go a totally different direction and pick up some used stuff off eBay or head to MicroCenter's open box bin.

[aflac68]

Okay sorry didnt mean to mislead you guys.

When i say the cheapest possible thats not exactly what I mean. Id like to keep the size of the htpc around the same size as an xbox 360 which is why I picked the mini itx boards. Id like to keep the build around 200$ or below if possible. You are right that I could make a big ugly one and just have the ir receiver visible however I believe my budget is big enough with 200$ to create a smaller space efficient htpc.

Thank you again for all of your responses.

[Beer40oz]

If your local computer store is Microcenter I believe you could do a lot better for ~$90.

They have A6-3500s for $30 right now. Or even the Celeron G550 for $35 would be WAY better than those integrated CPUs.

Woah! a6-3500 for $30 bucks.... What a steal...

[Dougie Fresh]

No A6-3500s in my MicroCenter

[MultiMediaman]

Okay sorry didnt mean to mislead you guys.

When i say the cheapest possible thats not exactly what I mean. Id like to keep the size of the htpc around the same size as an xbox 360 which is why I picked the mini itx boards. Id like to keep the build around 200$ or below if possible. You are right that I could make a big ugly one and just have the ir receiver visible however I believe my budget is big enough with 200$ to create a smaller space efficient htpc.

Thank you again for all of your responses.

I really have to ask how you intend to use this? Is this just for one TV output or computer monitor? Where do you intend to derive content; internet, external cable tuner? Do you intend to use it as a DVR?

[aflac68]

Okay sorry didnt mean to mislead you guys.

When i say the cheapest possible thats not exactly what I mean. Id like to keep the size of the htpc around the same size as an xbox 360 which is why I picked the mini itx boards. Id like to keep the build around 200$ or below if possible. You are right that I could make a big ugly one and just have the ir receiver visible however I believe my budget is big enough with 200$ to create a smaller space efficient htpc.

Thank you again for all of your responses.

I really have to ask how you intend to use this? Is this just for one TV output or computer monitor? Where do you intend to derive content; internet, external cable tuner? Do you intend to use it as a DVR?

It will only be used for one tv. I plan to only have movies and tv shows I download or rip from my other computer. I dont need netflix or hulu or anything. I saw some youtube programs in xbmc where it would let me play those videos although those arent really necessary as long as it can play my 1080p movies and tv shows I would be happy.

I dont plan on attempting to hook cable up to it(pvr i think its called?) I can just as easily switch the input to my htpc with my harmony remote.

I think it would be cool to be able to auto torrent things on the box but that again isnt necessary seeing as I could do it on my other computer and transfer it over(not sure if i am allowed to talk about that or not, if not please remove)

Something in the future might be adding an optical drive although I have an xbox which i could play dvds on. But if i could figure out to rip a dvd directly into my library on my htpc that would be a plus

[MultiMediaman]

The 1.3 celeron should handle simple playback of data just fine. Planning the addition of a low profile nvidia video card such as a 430 or 610 1GB I think is prudent but you should try it without to see if it works first. Web browsing and streaming with a video card should go easy but using this to watch and record a TV stream at the same time would probably go well also so being a modest PVR is not out of the question. Single core atoms work just fine to tune and watch TV so I do not know why this would be any different. You only have 3 GB sata ports so having an SSD may be overkill with limited benefit.

[Vertigo]

Since no one else mentioned it, I thought I should. Have you considered a raspberry pi? Its $35 (plus about the same for essential accessories like case, wifi, psu, memory stick). Not only is it cheap, it will do 1080p effortlessly, make no sound at all and take up next to no space. Run OpenELEC on it, and its dead easy to install and use to.

To store the files, either use a USB external drive, a NAS or re purpose an existing PC (if any).

[Beer40oz]

No A6-3500s in my MicroCenter

Ok Dougie stop hugging them all... I know for sure you wen't and bought them all.... will make a good profit.