As a result of this thread I am now building my first HTPC.
The parts liste is something like this:
Graphics card: ASUS GeForce GT430
Motherboard: ASUS P8H61-M PRO
RAM: Crucial DDR3 1333MHz 4GB Kit
CPU: Intel Core i3-2100
Case: Silverstone SST-GD05B
PSU: Silver Power SP-SS500
I am kinda on a budget, so for startes I will use both HDD and DVD-ROM I have laying around, but I guess I will upgrade to both a SSD and a blu-ray-rom later on.
Last part of the shipment should be delivered today, so I can start building soon.
Haven't quite decided what OS to run on it yet. I am a fan of Linux, but since I also want to be able to bitstream HD-codecs I am not quite sure what to do. I might just set it up with multiple boots in the beginning, to do some testing.
Linux and HD audio Bitstream = No go!
if u where on a budget, and had a windows copy laying around,
i would have suggested an AMD A6-3500 as CPU/GPU.
eskro Wrote:Linux and HD audio Bitstream = No go!
if u where on a budget, and had a windows copy laying around,
i would have suggested an AMD A6-3500 as CPU/GPU.
+1, great suggestion! GT430+w7= macroblocking too. bitstreaming= AMD A6-3500+w7 (cheap and powerful for HTPC).
indeed, very cheap and pretty powerful
AMD A6-3500 as CPU/GPU + 1
Guys you must be getting tired of the same questions and answers all over again!......
Maybe we need a thread that says what hardware will macroblock what will not....
Or Eskro somehow add this to your guide.... also wake up from sleep don't work on the Gt430.... this is with w7..... but gt210 gt220 and ATi does wake up.... from what I tested....
yeah, im tired of the same questions,,,
specially when i made a guide that answer many of them,,
:/
Have to say it might be repititious but it's OK for you throwing advice around... when people are spending $300 are you surprised if they want to be cautious and triple-check? (although it must get tiresome approving builds when the first page of this guide sums it all up nicely!)
Incidentally I'm almost decided on an A6-3500 so you AMD fanboys have convinced me not to stray over to the dark side
actually to be honest it was mainly the Gigabyte website bragging about o/c potential, the FM1 board I'm looking at is killer.
And cfg9000, this was useful info, thanks for explaining!
http://forum.xbmc.org/showpost.php?p=950...tcount=630
PS eskro, you might want to check & update the passmarks of your CPUs in post one, they're a bit messed up.
[Mini-ITX] A6-3600 (4x2.1Ghz/2.4Ghz) + HD6530D ($277) --> Average CPU Mark: 5247
It's actually 2804 and only triple core?
Hi Guys im looking to build a htpc to run openelec could you let me know if these components would work? thanks in advance.
MOBO: MSI H61I-E35 Mini Itx (£49.19)
CPU: Intel Pentium G620 2.60GHz (£47.53)
Ram: 4GB Mushkin Silverline DDR3 1333MHz 9-9-9-24 (£16.16)
CASE: CFI A2059 Mini-ITX including 300w psu (£59)
HDD: 8gb sd card and sd to sata converter (£22)
Not sure if i need a gpu or i could use the onboard graphics as it has HDMI out, but incase i do i would use this:
GPU:MSI GeForce GT 210 1024MB DDR3 PCI-Express £26.39
Total build cost w/o GPU : £193.88
Total cost with GPU : £220.27
I got about 375 1080p movies (mkvs) and 100 tv shows would the spec of this build be sufficent enough to handle everything including one of the heavy duty skins?
Thanks guys.
Fishy
Ok, first of all, a big thank you to everyone for all of the info here. Second, I'm a noob here and at HTPC. So I hope I found the right place to post this and very sorry if I got it wrong.
I am trying to build my very first HTPC and frankly, a lot overwhelmed by all of the info and options....etc. Plus I have never really been into h/w either. So I thought I would just post my requirements and get some suggestions.
My Requirements:
-Linux (I have 20+ years of experience with Unix/Linux, so I could not even think about Windows)
-XBMC
-as inexpensive as is reasonable
-Want to stream 720p (Hulu, ripped bluray)
-Need Optical audio out (sp-dif)
-Want to be able to stream 1080p (for future TV upgrade)
-HDMI output
-stream MP3 music/audio files
-very low power (like it to be green)
Equipment:
-Mitsubishi HD1000U (native 720p projector) onto 92" screen
-Denon Stereo with 5.1 surround (no HDMI support) (has both optical and coax digital input)
-auto HDMI switch (inputs from: directv, Bluray, and soon HTPC)
I was just about to pull the trigger on a Zotac AD02 for $216, but then today saw comments about many ATI/Linux issues. So now I am leaning more toward the nvidia ION boxes (specifically Zbox id41u) Unfortunately, the more I read, the more I get confused! I guess that is easy for noob like me.
What confuses me the most is the digital audio output. Does that make this group-6? Which is why I was looking at the AD02. I also see comments that any ION box even single core CPU can stream 1080p. So the AD02 and ID41 seem like overkill and a waste of money.
I already have a couple of SATA drives, and longterm will add some type of NAS storage.
I plan on going with 4GB of RAM, but leave that open to suggestions too.
TIA for your ideas and suggestions.
eskro Wrote:yeah, im tired of the same questions,,,
specially when i made a guide that answer many of them,,
:/
I feel for you on this, but you have to admit to a noob, this place is like information overload! It is a great resource and full of a lot of great info, but a little overwhelming at the same time. It could take a month or more to read all of the threads here.
garylfox Wrote:I feel for you on this, but you have to admit to a noob, this place is like information overload! It is a great resource and full of a lot of great info, but a little overwhelming at the same time. It could take a month or more to read all of the threads here.
I think the guide does explain very well why you go, or rather, shouldn't go for the AMD platform. I have been researching this issue for a while but nobody seems to provide a clear answer.
Probably because things are moving so fast?
There is no clear answer, it depends on your requirements.
If you need raw CPU power + HTPC stuff and have money then go Intel i3 + discrete GPU.
If you need a HTPC + CPU power, then go AMD A8. Or drop to A6 for less money and less CPU power.
Video Quality is marginally better on the Radeons vs GeForce which are both much better than the PowerVR Sandy Bridge onboard GPUs.
In short it doesn't really matter. They're all kickass.
garylfox Wrote:I feel for you on this, but you have to admit to a noob, this place is like information overload! It is a great resource and full of a lot of great info, but a little overwhelming at the same time. It could take a month or more to read all of the threads here.
Personally I'm lucky that I've got to wait until March before I purchase, so Intel will hopefully get things right, Ivy Bridge will come along and shake up the market, and hopefully the prices will drop on the A6/A8 as AMD start to panic
Or it'll throw a spanner in the works and I'll go for Intel, LOL
PS I'm giving myself 3 months to read everything. It's taken me 3 weeks but I haven't slept much
I'm sorry if this has been answered already but I am going with the ZBOX-AD03BR-PLUS-U based on the which group do you belong post. It is a group 6 system but runs an AMD M1 onboard cpu. With all the AMD issues I am curious if I am going to have a problem. I plan on going the W7 route. TIA
baldmosher Wrote:There is no clear answer, it depends on your requirements.
If you need raw CPU power + HTPC stuff and have money then go Intel i3 + discrete GPU.
If you need a HTPC + CPU power, then go AMD A8. Or drop to A6 for less money and less CPU power.
Video Quality is marginally better on the Radeons vs GeForce which are both much better than the PowerVR Sandy Bridge onboard GPUs.
In short it doesn't really matter. They're all kickass.
Personally I'm lucky that I've got to wait until March before I purchase, so Intel will hopefully get things right, Ivy Bridge will come along and shake up the market, and hopefully the prices will drop on the A6/A8 as AMD start to panic Or it'll throw a spanner in the works and I'll go for Intel, LOL
PS I'm giving myself 3 months to read everything. It's taken me 3 weeks but I haven't slept much
Thank you.
I have been reading so much good stuff on Intel's H55 platform and
can't wait to get a Core i3 myself. I don't mind spending a few
extra bucks now if that means I can do more with my hardware later.
You mention that you are waiting till march. I also play a waiting
game. I am curious to know if the Apple TV 3 will be good enough to
run 1080p and 1080i content once it is hacked by the XBMC team.
If this happens it means that we will have a very inexpensive capable
xbmc machine.
Reading up on the news I learned that the Apple TV 3 is expected to be
released soon. Some say it will be in the first quarter of 2012. Apple
has been a little shaky as of late, so I have my fingers crossed that
they don't screw up!
baldmosher Wrote:Personally I'm lucky that I've got to wait until March before I purchase, so Intel will hopefully get things right, Ivy Bridge will come along and shake up the market, and hopefully the prices will drop on the A6/A8 as AMD start to panic Or it'll throw a spanner in the works and I'll go for Intel, LOL
PS I'm giving myself 3 months to read everything. It's taken me 3 weeks but I haven't slept much
For the all-in-one stuff, Intel should be worry instead. They're behind AMD in iGPU department, and AMD is rolling out their Trinity APU in Q1 2012. Both their CPU and iGPU will get up 30% performanc increase with their Trinity version next year!
AMD Trinity APU internal benchmark slides surface