[Mavers]

Hi,

Have been lurking in the forums for sometime researching the ideal htpc for my needs:

1) Need to be able to play 1080p content. Mostly will be dvd rips but would be nice to be able to stream from iplayer (not a deal breaker if it cant)
2) Would like it to be able to wake up two laptops and backup data
3) Would like to be able to browse the net
4) Would like it to be quiet, but does not need to be silent.


Hardware wise, i'd like to use a ssd hard disk (for boot) and a 1tb hard disk for data. As my data needs grow i'd like to build a NAS, but thats all for the future.
Not sure whether i'm better off going with a i3 cpu or the ion path?

Software wise. I've never used Linux before but am willing to try and learn. Would like to use Ubuntu and then install XBMC ontop it. I know it might be too much for a total newbie, but it does seem with a little bit of tinkeing i can get a linux setup where someone without any techy skills can use the HTPC.

Any comments are appreciated on the hardware side of things or even if the ubuntu path is the best way forward.

Thanks

[Flomaster]

whats your budget?

and going from experience....tiz better off building a server and buying set-top box to run as your xbmc front end (zotac, Acer revo,etc). I bought the zotac mobo, 4 gigs ram, big case, but found out 1TB hard drive is NOT that big at all and fills up fast. I am about to put my unRaid sever together tonight after UPS drops off my goodies.

basically I could have saved $150 on my build and used it towards the unRaid server or hard drives.

-=Jason=-

[Mavers]

Budget is around £500-600 ($750- $900).

The only issue i have with going with a server and a front end, is that i'd like to take it step by step and not put too much on my plate straight away.

If some of my requirements are best suited for a server i dont mind postponing them until later. Unfortunately the flat i'm renting doesnt make it easy to run a server in a separate room from the living room (unless its wireless, and im not fond of that for streaming HD content)

[Hannes The Hun]

you don't need to build yourself a server right from the start, you could just buy a good NAS drive where you store all your media and do backups, while a small Ion set-top box (zotac, acer revo, etc etc) with win7 and XBMC will do the rest for you.

[poofyhairguy]

The only issue i have with going with a server and a front end, is that i'd like to take it step by step and not put too much on my plate straight away.

That is 100% fine, but the trick is to never spend money on something that is just a waste when you DO go back and do things the right way in the future. I have done that tons of times, I have wasted hundreds of dollars, and that is why my sig is there as a warning for other not to do the same.

The best way to avoid this fate is to FORGET about storing the data in the HTPC. External USB drives are a great way to start (get a 2TB drive though, 1TB drives in 2010 are a joke) without having to get a bigger (and therefore wasteful in the future) case and mobo.

Just be honest about where your content comes from to yourself. I built my first XBMC box (with hard drive inside for storage) around the same time I learned what the Usenet was. Within 6 months I had filled every bay in that tower case with a hard drive and was still running out of space, and it wasn't until I built my two Unraid boxes this year that I finally fixed that mess.

Long story short- 1TB seems like a lot now, but in this world its nothing. Of my two Unraid boxes one has 13TB of useable space and its completely full. I know a guy with a 30tb Unraid box that is full. Media (espcially HD media) eats hard drive space more than anything else in the consumer computer arena.

With that said if your content is only gonna be your small DVD collection, and you know you only buy a new DVD every six months, maybe you are safe with a 2TB drive. Its all about how you plan to acquire content for the HTPC that matters.


Hmmm...you are hard to recommend for. Most people around here want basically XBMC appliances, so for them I always recommend ION boxes. But it seems you want to hook this HTPC up to the TV and treat it like any old computer (with the TV as the monitor) for which ION is a poor choice.

I think you officially are the first poster I can in good conscience recommend one of these to:

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name...9360ab89d3

Another perfectly good option would be any Nvidia GPU Mac Mini.

[Mavers]

Thank you all for the quick replies. It has given me quite a lot to ponder.

I'm quite happy to buy a 2tb hard disk and attach it externally. I know my content needs will increase but i dont need to immediately address that. Get the htpc built, and then start thinking about a media server/unraid box.

Out of curiosity how much noise does your unraid box make?

Is there any preference to go win 7 + xbmc or ubuntu + xbmc?

[poofyhairguy]

Out of curiosity how much noise does your unraid box make?

Not that much. I use Antec cases with large 120mm+ fans. That makes a big difference in the noise factor.

Is there any preference to go win 7 + xbmc or ubuntu + xbmc?

I prefer XBMC + Ubuntu (aka XBMC Live) because it gives the box an appliance feel. Family members turn it on and it goes straight to XBMC, like a TiVo would.

For you I recommend Windows 7, as you plan to do things outside XBMC on the box. One thing to note is if you go the Windows route then ION becomes a more acceptable option for what you want to do. With Linux you NEED an i3.

Ask more questions, we are glad to help.

[Mavers]

I've been contemplating my build and have come to the conclusion that:
1) I'm not going to use my htpc to back up the two laptops. on a wireless connection this would be horrendously slow. Instead i'm thinking i will back them up manually.
2) I'd like the htpc to download torrents/newsgroup tv shows as they become available
3) To complement the htpc i'd like to build an unraid server in the future.
4) I'd like other people to be able to use the htpc with ease

After these considerations im still torn which is the best way forward.
Linux/win 7 - i3 + gt220/gt240 or ion?

Also for point 2, is it better to download tv shows directly on the unraid or on the htpc?

[poofyhairguy]

I think downloading on the HTPC is better, some disagree.

Considering you want others to easily be able to use the unit, and you have backed off the "web" requirement I think ION+ XBMC Live is perfect.

One great thing about downloading on a Linux box is it can't get infected by the nasty things that sometimes sneek into torrents...

[Mavers]

Considering you want others to easily be able to use the unit, and you have backed off the "web" requirement I think ION+ XBMC Live is perfect.

Before you mentioned that with Linux its best to go the i3 route? Will Ion+ be capable enough?

Thanks again for your input

[poofyhairguy]

Before you mentioned that with Linux its best to go the i3 route? Will Ion+ be capable enough?

Thanks again for your input

Here is my honest opinion:

If you want others to use it and like it, it NEEDS to be a XBMC appliance, not some franken HTPC that switches between tons of apps and browsing and the like. I think it needs to be just XBMC, boot to XBMC, and reboot to XBMC. Any other way and the illusion that it is not a computer is lost, and in case you didn't know regular people think computers are hard and that they don't belong in the livingroom. The magic, and the chance for heavy use, is lost.

The BEST XBMC Appliances are ION boxes. Period. I told you i3 because I thought the box way just gonna be for you, single guy using it yourself in a basement. If you are gonna want others to use this thing, it needs to be simple.

i3 rocks because the sheer power can overcome things like Silverlight that exist outside XBMC. In XBMC ION is the unofficial platform and there is very little that can be done in XBMC that an ION system can't do.

Honestly for other people to use the box Linux is often the best choice IMHO (as hearing the "Windows Noise" on a very long and familiar bootup also ruins the "magic"). The places in Linux where an i3 is better than an ION I really think you should avoid doing anyway if you don't want to scare everyone off.

So I changed my advice for you the second I heard other people must use the box. In fact at that second your needs overlap with mine, and honestly my sig is the best advice I can give you.

If you really want streaming stuff, for the price difference between a decent i3 box and a ION box (plus SSD of course) you can get a streaming Blu Ray player. I have this setup, and I must say that the quality of streaming content over my Samsung Blu Ray player is much better than I ever got from the web (especially with Netflix). They obviously get preferred servers, and that alone is an advantage no HTPC can match. Its a great synergy, especially for non-geek users.

Oh, and for others to use it you need a Harmony. Nothing else comes close.

[Mavers]

Just a quick spec check on the components im looking to get:
It will run ubuntu + xbmc.

Motherboard - looking at Zotac ion offerings. They appear to all be quite similar, differing whether they have wifi/pci express slot. Is there much difference between the DC power brick mobo?

Ram - 1x 2gb stick

Hard disk - OCZ Vertex 2E 60GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive

Case - Silverstone SUGO SG06B /lian li offering.

Remote - Logitech harmony one (unless the 900 offers any significant advantages)

My main query is around whether its worth going via ATX or DC for the power supply. Going via ATX seems like i might be over speccing the PSU power (couldnt seem to find many lower wattage psu), but would provide some air movement in the case.
Going via DC, well less heat will be generated in the case but worried about the lack of airflow.

Thanks