Hi Folks,
I know, I know, this is an old thread that has been beat to death, but most of the other threads are 2 to 3 years old. So, here we go again...
I am an avid DIY PC builder and love building new PC’s. But in our current economic situation, money is a bit scarce. And I am seeing a plethora of set-top devices that seem to do most of what I want an HTPC to deliver. So, I am trying to determine whether I should try to build my own HTPC or buy one of these new set-top boxes.
My current home theatre is a dark room with five electronic reclining chairs, a JVC DLA projector, a rack of equipment in a closet and a 110 inch screen. I have CAT6 cable throughout my house. I have a Blu Ray disc player and a Vudu device that lets me play Vudu movies I have purchased.
First, here’s what I want in a HTPC/device:
- Play all of the 1080p Blu Ray movies I have ripped to my Home Server PC
- Play any other personal videos I have taken that are stored on my Home Server PC
- Access the internet to round out my ability to see movies and TV online (I have DirecTV and Vudu, but I know there are other options open to me like Hulu and YouTube)
- Future-proof to some degree, as much as is possible
So should I consider building a new HTPC with a shiny new Sandy Bridge processor that will let me play my Blu Ray movies without a discrete video card? Or buy a Sony SMP-N100 device or something similar?
Thank you in advance!
GamingDaemon Wrote:So should I consider building a new HTPC with a shiny new Sandy Bridge processor that will let me play my Blu Ray movies without a discrete video card? Or buy a Sony SMP-N100 device or something similar?
Thank you in advance!
Regardless of economic situation, DIY person will always be a DIY person. As far as all-in-one processor, there is nothing better and cheaper than AMD A8-3850. This build should be able to do everything in your list then-
Great Gift (AMD A8-3850).
bluray Wrote:Regardless of economic situation, DIY person will always be a DIY person. As far as all-in-one processor, there is nothing better and cheaper than AMD A8-3850. This build should be able to do everything in your list then- Great Gift (AMD A8-3850).
So, I have been a long-time Intel fan, and haven't built an AMD rig since 2006 or so. But I researched the Llano, and I am impressed. I am looking at the A6-3500 for $90. Do these processors avoid the Intel 23.976Hz issue playing movies? If so, then I am sold!
Also, what mobo do you reccomend? I am looking for a small form factor so a mini or micro ATX/ITX is desired.
Thanks!
GamingDaemon Wrote:Do these processors avoid the Intel 23.976Hz issue playing movies? If so, then I am sold!
oh yeah, no issues playing ANY POSSIBLE FILE FORMAT/SIZE !!
GamingDaemon Wrote:Also, what mobo do you reccomend? I am looking for a small form factor so a mini or micro ATX/ITX is desired.
Thanks!
i suggest you check the builds in my HTPC GUIDE...
its all in there man
GamingDaemon Wrote:So, I have been a long-time Intel fan, and haven't built an AMD rig since 2006 or so. But I researched the Llano, and I am impressed. I am looking at the A6-3500 for $90. Do these processors avoid the Intel 23.976Hz issue playing movies? If so, then I am sold!
Also, what mobo do you reccomend? I am looking for a small form factor so a mini or micro ATX/ITX is desired.
Thanks!
Yeah the new AMD chips to skip around that issue...
Check out eskro's guide for the best MOBO
GamingDaemon, here is my thoughts. I used to build my own machines. I'm an engineer by trade, and after awhile, I saw no sense in building my own machine. You do get a sense of satisfaction with building your own, but if you're a busy person with not a lot of time, it just doesn't make any sense.
I started XBMC by running it under Windows and Mac. I then went off and bought an ION based netbox and installed Ubuntu and XBMC (the hard way). There was satisfaction after 2 days of configuring it, but then the next version came out, and I just couldn't be bothered. I went out and bought a Boxee Box. It will play any blu-ray rips, even 3D. Plug and play. $200, auto software update, can use my ipod or ipad as remote.
I recently updated my netbox with the latest xbmc. It is, admittedly, much easier and faster to install now, but I still see micro stutter watching blu-ray rips and the Boxee Box has ZERO. I refuse to build my own HTPC, mostly because I don't want a power sucking box. A Boxee Box or netbox will suck down 11 watts or less. I highly recommend Boxee Box unless you really have time on your hands and want to fiddle. The Boxee's UI is also much more streamlined and refined. I still love both, but the Boxee is in my living room and the xbmc box is in my office. You can guess which is priority.
I want to add, when I look at the new AMD APUs, they do look very good. I wish they were out when I got my netbox. I do think they may be overkill for an HTPC. Sometimes we want MORE when we need less. Even the new Tegra 3 chips can play almost any blu-ray rips. Many pre-built HTPC will play any blu-ray rips, even those not based on XBMC. My point? You don't need a overkill to be future proof. A Boxee Box will handle any video that the fastest Sandy Bridge can so why go for faster chips just for HTPC? I'd recommend checking out all the unique features you can get with a Boxee Box, like live TV and sling player support.
sflxn Wrote:why go for faster chips just for HTPC?
To make sure our HTPC will handle any desired XBMC skins fluidly!
@
eskro, clearly your HTPC post about HTPC's is AMAZING!! Impressive.
But I was also reading about ReClock (
about reclock, last post on the page), and if I am not going to play any video games on this HTPC (I have a gaming rig with 5.1 surround in my office), then wouldn't the i3-530 plus ReClock do everything I need to do? I'd like to play my .mpeg, .mkv streaming from my home server PC, and also play Blu Ray movies using an ODD.
Or, do you still recommend getting the AMD?
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sflxn, so you can play .mkv and .mpg and other files you may have ripped from say a Blu Ray movie onto a home server? I have Cat6 throughout my house, so I have a gigabit network. If I can do that, plus get TV and movies with a Boxee Box without any stutter at 1080p/24 then I am very, very interested.
yes, the i3-530 will play any 2D 1080P movies
using its onBoard GPU,
but you may encounter the 24p issue
intel SandyBridge has..
just google it
and yeah i still suggest AMD/ATI if u go with Windows as O/S!!
eskro Wrote:yes, the i3-530 will play any 2D 1080P movies
using its onBoard GPU,
but you may encounter the 24p issue
intel SandyBridge has..
just google it
and yeah i still suggest AMD/ATI if u go with Windows as O/S!!
Does the 24p issue only surface when watching Blu Ray discs off of an ODD? Or when you are watching an .mkv file of a Blu Ray ripped your hard drive?
And if I go the AMD route, do I really need to spend $135 on the A8-3850? Or can I go with the cheaper A6-3500 at $90? Or even cheaper?
GamingDaemon Wrote:So, I have been a long-time Intel fan, and haven't built an AMD rig since 2006 or so. But I researched the Llano, and I am impressed. I am looking at the A6-3500 for $90. Do these processors avoid the Intel 23.976Hz issue playing movies? If so, then I am sold!
Also, what mobo do you reccomend? I am looking for a small form factor so a mini or micro ATX/ITX is desired.
Thanks!
1. Case-
SILVERSTONE Sugo Series SG06-B. Silent fan and efficient PSU are included.
2. MOBO-
ASRock A75M-ITX FM1 AMD A75. It'll allow you to turn on/off HTPC with MCE IR/Remote.
3. APU- If you want the best, go for this-
AMD A8-3850 Llano 2.9GHz and if you want slightly less core and still can playback everything, go for this-
AMD A6-3500 Llano 2.1GHz (2.4GHz Max Turbo)
4. HD-
Patriot SSD 32GB. It's more than enough for to run w7 64-bit.
5. RAM-
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB. It's is more than enough for HTPC.
yeah its important...
the A6-3500 TripleCORE si truly the one im aiming
