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Your Very First HTPC? But Where do You Start?
(2012-07-20, 00:30)DavidT99 Wrote: Those CPU marks in post #1 need updating.

David

OK, I'll do it.....not the whole story but just to ensure accurate info.

A6-3500 CPU mark 2236
G530 CPU mark 2276
G620 CPU mark 2484.............added as it is good value at the moment.
i3-2105 CPU mark 3862
A8-3850 CPU mark 4263

David

HTPC1: Intel Pentium G620, 4GB RAM, AMD HD6570, Samsung 830 SSD, Silverstone GD05 case.
HTPC2: AMD Athlon II X2 255, 4GB RAM, AMD HD5450, Western Digital HDD, Silverstone ML03 case.
HTPC3: AMD E350, 4GB RAM, AMD HD6310, OCZ Agility 3 SSD, Akasa Crypto case.
Media Server: i3-3220, 8gb RAM, WHS 2011, 8tb capacity, Fractal Design ARC Midi R2 case.
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Is it possible to play 3D movies with this motherboard?
I'm asking because in the ASRock's specs we clearly see HDMI 1.4a support, but in Gigabyte's specs we just see HDMI, with no mentions of 3D.

(2012-02-12, 18:14)bluray Wrote:
Excreator Wrote:Graphics/power/quietness etc.

Going to go Win 7 64bit, XBMC,

[CPU+GPU] AMD A8-3850 Llano 2.9GHz Socket FM1 100W Quad-Core Graphic AMD Radeon HD 6550D
[MOBO] GIGABYTE GA-A75M-UD2H FM1 AMD A75 (Hudson D3) Micro ATX
[RAM] G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600
[SSD] Corsair Force Series 3 CSSD-F60GB3A-BK 2.5" 60GB SATA III
[CASE] nMEDIAPC HTPC 7000B Micro ATX
[PSU] Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W Continuous Power ATX12V
[HDD] WD20EARX 2TB SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

please, any comments are very much welcome.
You'll have a powerful media player! Smile

If you want XBMC to natively playback BD in full 1080P video with DTS-HD/TrueHD audio, you can use the latest XBMC patches- XBMC Beta3 + HD-Audio + Global AV Delay.

If you want to enjoy the original blu-ray menus, previews, chapters, 3d, etc, you can use this "External Player", and you can simply named your BD files "title_ext.iso" and use this protocol "<rule filename=".*_ext.iso*" protocols="*_ext.iso*" player="ext_Player"/>". The rest of the blu-rays still can playback using the latest XBMC patches.

The latest XBMC patches and external player "TMT5" are excellent combination for XBMC! Smile

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(2012-07-21, 16:04)leandro.costa Wrote: Is it possible to play 3D movies with this motherboard?
I'm asking because in the ASRock's specs we clearly see HDMI 1.4a support, but in Gigabyte's specs we just see HDMI, with no mentions of 3D.
According to this "Futuremark 3DMark Vantage (IGP vs. IGP)" tests, the AMD APU IGP seem to do well with Gigabyte mobo.....

This article said it is HDMI 1.4a- Gigabyte A75M-UD2H Socket FM1 Micro-ATX Motherboard Pictured

This forum said they can do 3d this mobo- » HTPC build help

>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
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Hello, got a question.

How "snappy" are the menus in a relatively intensive skin with the A6-3500?

I need to replace our HTPC (roommate is moving out and taking it with him) and am looking at building a basic Llano box. I see the A6-3500 is heavily recommended around here as the best choice, but I really want to be sure that it will be buttery smooth in menus. I can't find a good video of the interface on Youtube, but I did find a video of a Core i3 2100 vs an A4-3400 and it's not very encouraging - the A4 visibly jerks and stutters while scrolling through poster view, while the i3 is comparatively zippy and snappy. I know the A6 has a slightly better onboard GPU than the A4, but I'm not sure it's enough to make up a gap that big.

I'd be happy to spend a bit more money to be certain of great performance... but I really don't want to buy an i3 with HD2000/3000 or an A8 now, seeing the i3-3225 with HD4000 and the Trinity A10 are right around the corner. Unfortunately neither of them are available for a few months, and I need something before then! The A6 is cheap enough that I wouldn't mind picking up one now and upgrading in six months if I feel the need, but I really really hate chuggy menus...
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I have that exact cpu and it runs great for me. Some skins like aeon nox are a little slow when using "wall" viewtype but that seems to be an issue with the skin itself since mq4 runs absolutely without hiccups.

I don't have a lot of spare time, but if I do get some I'll try and record a video for you.
Reply
Hi everyone - I've been following this and other threads for a while on this forum but this is my first post.

I'm building a HTPC for my parents in an attempt to get them off of cable - the goal is:
  • Easy to use
  • Has a remote - It was my understanding with the IR remote I could turn the unit on/off and set it up to control XBMC.
  • It will last a few years

Using a combination of the OP suggestions and what I've seen from others I came to the following conclusion:

OS Win 7 64 Ultimate
SDD Crucial M4 64Gb (already bought)
CPU A8-3850
MOBO ASRock A75
PSU Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W
CASE SilverStone
RAM Kingston 1866 2 X 4gb
Cooler Scythe SCBSK-2100
HDD 2TB WD20EARX
IR Kit ASRock Universal Remote


They will be using it for streaming Netflix, watching blu ray (to be installed later) and 720p MKV.

If you see anything incompatible or something I am missing please let me know.

Thank you in advance.
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(2012-07-25, 12:12)allio Wrote: Hello, got a question.

How "snappy" are the menus in a relatively intensive skin with the A6-3500?

I need to replace our HTPC (roommate is moving out and taking it with him) and am looking at building a basic Llano box. I see the A6-3500 is heavily recommended around here as the best choice, but I really want to be sure that it will be buttery smooth in menus. I can't find a good video of the interface on Youtube, but I did find a video of a Core i3 2100 vs an A4-3400 and it's not very encouraging - the A4 visibly jerks and stutters while scrolling through poster view, while the i3 is comparatively zippy and snappy. I know the A6 has a slightly better onboard GPU than the A4, but I'm not sure it's enough to make up a gap that big.

I'd be happy to spend a bit more money to be certain of great performance... but I really don't want to buy an i3 with HD2000/3000 or an A8 now, seeing the i3-3225 with HD4000 and the Trinity A10 are right around the corner. Unfortunately neither of them are available for a few months, and I need something before then! The A6 is cheap enough that I wouldn't mind picking up one now and upgrading in six months if I feel the need, but I really really hate chuggy menus...

XBMC menus are not hardware accelerated so the A6 gpu will have no effect. For fast menu's you need CPU power, even an Intel G530 has more CPU power than an AMD A6-3500 and it is cheaper at just over £30. If you buy an H77 motherboard you will be able to upgrade to the i3-3225 when available as both cpu's use the same 1155 socket. If you buy an A6 today you won't be able to upgrade to Trinity as they use different CPU sockets.

David

(2012-07-25, 17:15)ryanj Wrote: Hi everyone - I've been following this and other threads for a while on this forum but this is my first post.

I'm building a HTPC for my parents in an attempt to get them off of cable - the goal is:
  • Easy to use
  • Has a remote - It was my understanding with the IR remote I could turn the unit on/off and set it up to control XBMC.
  • It will last a few years

Using a combination of the OP suggestions and what I've seen from others I came to the following conclusion:

OS Win 7 64 Ultimate
SDD Crucial M4 64Gb (already bought)
CPU A8-3850
MOBO ASRock A75
PSU Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W
CASE SilverStone
RAM Kingston 1866 2 X 4gb
Cooler Scythe SCBSK-2100
HDD 2TB WD20EARX
IR Kit ASRock Universal Remote

Just a couple of things spring to mind;

1. The ML03 case will take a microATX motherboard which will be cheaper than the miniITX board you have selected.
2. You don't need 1866 RAM, 1600 is generally thought to be the sweet spot and should be cheaper.

David
HTPC1: Intel Pentium G620, 4GB RAM, AMD HD6570, Samsung 830 SSD, Silverstone GD05 case.
HTPC2: AMD Athlon II X2 255, 4GB RAM, AMD HD5450, Western Digital HDD, Silverstone ML03 case.
HTPC3: AMD E350, 4GB RAM, AMD HD6310, OCZ Agility 3 SSD, Akasa Crypto case.
Media Server: i3-3220, 8gb RAM, WHS 2011, 8tb capacity, Fractal Design ARC Midi R2 case.
Reply
(2012-07-25, 12:29)e2zippo Wrote: I have that exact cpu and it runs great for me. Some skins like aeon nox are a little slow when using "wall" viewtype but that seems to be an issue with the skin itself since mq4 runs absolutely without hiccups.

I don't have a lot of spare time, but if I do get some I'll try and record a video for you.

Thanks - a video would be much appreciated if you did get around to it, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's tried to find one!

(2012-07-25, 21:54)DavidT99 Wrote: XBMC menus are not hardware accelerated so the A6 gpu will have no effect. For fast menu's you need CPU power, even an Intel G530 has more CPU power than an AMD A6-3500 and it is cheaper at just over £30. If you buy an H77 motherboard you will be able to upgrade to the i3-3225 when available as both cpu's use the same 1155 socket. If you buy an A6 today you won't be able to upgrade to Trinity as they use different CPU sockets.

David

Ah, no GPU acceleration of menus! Didn't know that. That's the answer. Thanks so much - you're dead right. I'm not sure why I hadn't considered using a low-end Intel CPU in the interim, but it'd be the perfect solution for me. Biggest advantage is that I can get the motherboard I want now instead of trashing it when a new socket (FM2) comes out.

Can the G530 do DXVA acceleration of 1080p? I guess it doesn't really matter as it would have more than enough grunt to do it in software.
Reply
(2012-07-25, 21:54)DavidT99 Wrote: Just a couple of things spring to mind;

1. The ML03 case will take a microATX motherboard which will be cheaper than the miniITX board you have selected.
2. You don't need 1866 RAM, 1600 is generally thought to be the sweet spot and should be cheaper.

David

Thank you David! I had not realized the case supported microATX.

Looks like the winner is ASRock A75M now.
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Seriously can someone (mods?) please update the first post to correct the blatant misinformation about the G530?

It does bitstream HD Audio. Let's correct this misinformation. Maybe include the opinion of people that have actually used some of these options?
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(2012-07-30, 05:32)assassin Wrote: Seriously can someone (mods?) please update the first post to correct the blatant misinformation about the G530?

It does bitstream HD Audio. Let's correct this misinformation. Maybe include the opinion of people that have actually used some of these options?

Especially since it always could via launching an external player such as MPC-HC with FFDShow (when it first supported it) before there was native XBMC player support -- whether or not it's disputed if this is actually "XBMC". That solution was cheaper than buying a discrete GPU.

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All the builds list separate GPU cards. Wondering why? I want to build a mini itx system and very limited on space so need to use a case like the size of Asrock mini pc's. Planning to use i3 2525 which has built in hd3000 gpu running at 1100 frequency. Is the built in graphics enough to run blu ray at full hd? This will be strictly an XBMC dedicated build.

Question 2. In theory is the on board HD3000 Almost the same as the zoTac gt210?

Thanks
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(2012-08-01, 15:22)mustangjim1 Wrote: Planning to use i3 2525 which has built in hd3000 gpu running at 1100 frequency. Is the built in graphics enough to run blu ray at full hd? This will be strictly an XBMC dedicated build.
Yes, and there is no need for a discrete GPU.....
>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
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any comments on my build pls

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=137438&page=2
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I have a HD tv, so HD streams would be nice. I'm not interested in building a HTPC, would like just to purchase one to run XMBC for Skysports & Asian tv channels really. #

Can someone offer me some guidance please? I want a box, just for XMBC & 2 add ons for sports and asian movie channels to go straight to my tv...

I'm quite boggled by the information about #confuseeeed Huh
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