First HTPC Build.
#1
I am completely lost. I know what I want but don't know where to start. I want to be able to play bluray. Have gigabit speeds. Digital optical out (For my surround sound) and hdmi. Plus as much storage as possible (I'm running out of room on my pc now). My current set up is a PS3 with my PC running PS3 Media server. Id also like 3D compatibility and the ability to rip my own blurays. I'm returning my PS4 pre order and using the money the build a HTPC. So it needs to be quiet and preferably small. Id also like to be able to control it with my logitech remote. My dad has an OUYA and it seems to work fine. Except it would lag as you changed from show to show. I have a $500 dollar budget. Can anyone give me a starting point on where to go? Recommendations? I built my own gaming rig but I didn't have a budget at the time. So some knowledge from people that have went down this path before would be great.
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#2
Can you use/turn your current PC into a home server and store all your media there? Then you'd be able to build a small system for playing blu-rays/running XBMC/etc. for your HTPC.
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#3
My current rig is used in the game room. The case is a huge Antec 1200. Wife doesn't want that in the living room. Id prefer having a small box to replace my PS3 that I am currently using for streaming. These small (pre-made) boxes for like $100 seem to have issues with lag and compatibility at times. My media is currently stored on it at the moment. Although I need new hard drives as I'm running out of room.
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#4
Dougie means use your gaming rig as a server. Then you can build/buy a small, quiet device for a client.
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#5
That's very feasible. I do have a gigabit network ran through the whole house. So I could basically just buy a WD red 4tb drive for my gaming rig and build a small pc with just an ssd for xbmc? Whats the smallest spec processor wise you would recommend? Should I get on board video? I was thinking either and amd a6 or a8 processor. Not familiar with amd as I have always used intel.
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#6
Finally got some parts together. I am a little over budget but hay what can I say. Also not sure if I am missing anything that may be needed. If anyone has advice on where I can tweak things to get the price down just let me know. Remember I must have spdif as my receiver hdmi ports are currently inoperable. So digital optical is the only way to get sound into my receiver. Also will this set up allow me to do DTS and DD sound?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1I28J

PS sorry for double posting. Wasn't sure if it was against the rules.
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#7
if your going to make your 1200 into a server it should have all the space you need to add drives.
might want to consider a larger solid state that 32gbs will fill up fast.
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#8
I decided to just build a whole new pc for the living room. My pc is old and needs replaced. Id rather have a XBMC machine just for the living room. Is the one I have built above adequate enough for XBMC? Any way I could save some money on this build? Lets just completely disregard the fifth post and go from there. The wife doesn't mind adding it so why not add another PC in the house. Plus she could use it when she needed it to get on the web and do what she needs to do since her laptop went south. The link in the post has all the parts I thought I would need.
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#9
That cooler won´t fit in that (expensive but nice case), it´s too tall. Cooler Master GeminII M4 is a great low profile cooler
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#10
Is this build going to handle only XBMC and browsing ? If so then my suggestions are this:

i3 + standard cooler - for HTPC use and ANY browsing tasks is great - almost the same as A8 + extra cooler but more powerful and doesn't have linux issues , like the ones you'll have with A8 ... Smile

having a low power cpu means you can get a smaller case with external PSU at half the price 80W will handle the whole build just fine - check out the cases outlined here http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=94199

I hope this helps
cheers
mircea
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#11
(2013-09-27, 04:07)OGMCVilleTC Wrote: Finally got some parts together.

The case you chose is massive, and weights 6.5kgs just on its own.
Keep the media files off the HTPC, and on a Server (then eventually on a NAS).
Burn your Blu-Rays on the main PC, not the HTPC.
Keep the HTPC small and quiet.
Try this instead, and easily doable in your $500 budget:

Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX DTX Case
But also consider:
Silverstone SG06 Black Cube with 300W PSU
ANTEC ISK 110 VESA / 90W

Intel Core i3-4130 54W / Intel HD 4400
Also consider Core i3-4130T 35W if it is the same price.
GIGABYTE GA-H87N-WIFI LGA 1150
Blu-Ray player (maybe if you really need to play discs).
4GB Single Stick
Fujitsu 64Gb SSD

Pros?
FULL 3D 1080P Ready
4K picture ready
Bitstreams DOLBY TRUE-HD & DTS-HD MASTER
Built-in WiFi
Built-in Bluetooth
2 x HDMI output
1 x Optical (S/PDIF) output
4 x USB 3.0 ports
2 x USB 2.0 ports
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#12
Without knowing your requirements (2D, 3D, HD audio, etc.) you can easily build both a server and a separate htpc for $500 if all your doing is 1080P 2D files.

Not saying they will be the greatest, but IMO having two separate machines is better than having one mega machine. I have done both...

If you are only serving one TV then a HTPC with a few WD green drives really isn't bad. Just stinks when you have to go in and mess with settings or one of your server applications is messing up and you have to hog the HTPC.

I moved to Celeron G1610 based systems. I have it in both my HTPC and server... but I only do 2D playback. If the time ever comes for 3D/4K I will just slap in a video card.

My server cost me $250 before hard drives. My HTPC cost me only $140. You could save a little bit more money by going with Celeron 847 or 1007 based machines which will basically do the same thing.
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#13
I'm looking to be able to do 3D, (hopefully 4k one day) 1080P, and HD audio. I would also like to keep it one machine for now. Since my last post me and the wife have discussed it and I am able to get to around an $800 dollar budget. Theory is if my main pc goes out I'll have this one to work with and do some gaming on. Hell if a friend comes over we could both play Smite or something like that even. I've put together an alternate build and was curious as to which is going to be better. Not just for XBMC but for other task such as light gaming, surfing the web, and everyday things (mainly for XBMC though). I may even run seti on it when its not in use like I do my main rig. Anyways here goes the new setup. Let me know what you think.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1IoDp
I didn't put a cpu cooler in either as I wasn't sure what would fit.


or would this system do the same way cheaper? I would just need to add in the WD 2TB drives.
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=166631


PS I know I've switched it up on us and probably made this more complicated than it needs to be, but I do appreciate the input.
PSS and the main reason I chose that case is because it is going under my tv on the stand and I think it looks aesthetically appealing.
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#14
Still not sure why you want such a massive case.
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#15
It's going to go where my PS3 was in my entertainment center. I want it to look like a receiver and it's the only one I found that looks like it belongs in a home theater set up.
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First HTPC Build.0