[W1nks]

Hi, I posted here before about building an HTPC but ended up holding off. Now I'm seriously looking at purchasing one. I want this computer to be able to:

-Play 1080p videos with 7.1 HD Audio passed through my receiver.
-Run Windows 7 64 bit Pro
-Be able to run emulators up to N64/PSOne era
-Play Blu-Rays/DVDs
-Use my Logitech Harmony 700 remote to control it

This will be hooked up to my wired gigabit network where it will receive my digital files over my Synology NAS.

Here are my parts:
SilverStone Aluminum/Steel Micro ATX HTPC Computer Case GD05B (Black)
Antec EA-380D Power Supply EA-380D
Intel Core i3-2100 Processor 3.1GHz 3 MB Cache Socket LGA1155
MSI LGA1155/Intel H67(B3)/DDR3/SATA3&USB3.0/A&GbE/MATX Motherboard H67MA-E35 (B3)
Corsair XMS3 4 GB 1333MHz PC3-10666 240-pin DDR3 Memory Kit for Intel Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD CMX4GX3M1A1333C9
Western Digital 500 GB Sata 6.0 Gb-s 16 MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare-oem Drives WD5000AAKX
ASUS ENGT430/DI/1GD3(LP) GeForce GT 430 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card
SAMSUNG Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Combo Model SH-B123L LightScribe Support - OEM
HP 5187-4592 MEDIA CENTER REMOTE CONTROL USB RECEIVER

Alternate CPU/Mobo ($75 cheaper):
AMD Athlon II X2 265 Processor (ADX265OCGMBOX)
ASUS Socket AM3/AMD 760G/A&V&GbE/Micro ATX Motherboard s M4A78LT-M

I was following the "My very first HTPC, but where do I start?" guide I think I will meet all the requirements with this. It looks like my video card should do the 7.1 audio and my processor should be able to handle roms and 1080p videos. What do you think? Do you notice anything wrong or should be possibly different? I plan on possibly upgrading to an SSD once the price/size gets better. Right now the price is about $570 so if I could drop a few bucks off that would nice. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

[Mallet21]

I think you will be extremely happy with that build.

If you wanted to save some money you could go with the Pentium g620 processor instead of the i3.
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Pentium-Grap...404&sr=1-1

[GundamWZero]

Make sure your receiver can use HDMI inputs and outputs. I built my HTPC around the 7.1 EVGA motherboard sound card. But there is only one 7.1 input on my receiver. So that means that only the HTPC can take full advantage of THX quality, 7.1 surround sound, but the other componets (PS3, DVR) are being ran via 2ch through the TV.

[W1nks]

Thanks for the input. I have a YAMAHA RX-V667BL 7.2-Channel Receiver. Right now I'm only using 5.1 surround sound but I want to stay future proof and still be able to play 7.1 audio. For now it will just be 5.1 HD audio.

How well would AMD work? I can get this combo and save about $75.
AMD Athlon II X2 265 Processor (ADX265OCGMBOX)
ASUS Socket AM3/AMD 760G/A&V&GbE/Micro ATX Motherboard s M4A78LT-M

I would think that would also be able to handle anything I throw at it just as fine.

[eskro]

Like Mallet21 said,

you can drop to a G620 which is to me,
the BEST CPU HTPC'wise!!

with the saved money,
i would get this RAM --> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6820231276

and also,
i would get this PSU --> http://ow.ly/1vD8as

and if u can, an SSD like this --> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6820233188

[W1nks]

Like Mallet21 said,
you can drop to a G620 which is to me,
the BEST CPU HTPC'wise!!

with the saved money,
i would get this RAM --> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6820231276

and also,
i would get this PSU --> http://ow.ly/1vD8as

and maybe an SSD like this --> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6820233188

Thanks, the power supply upgrade makes sense since it's only a few more dollars.

Is there a reason why I should get the 2x2GB ram sticks instead of the 1x4GB one?

Would you recommend the Intel route over the AMD one then? If I did end up with Intel I would probably take the G620 since you both recommended it. Thanks!

[eskro]

you can drop to a G620 --> http://ow.ly/1tYzWW

with the saved money,
i would get this RAM --> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231276

and also,
i would get this PSU --> http://ow.ly/1vD8as

and maybe an SSD like this --> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820233188

oh yeah and, this mobo --> http://ow.ly/1vD8Dw

and you could save on the case too,,,
like you could get a ML03B instead,,,
save $30


[cpu] Intel Pentium G620 2.6GHz LGA-1155 Dual-Core 65W ($70 + $0)
[mobo] GIGABYTE GA-H61M-S2-B3 LGA-1155 μATX ($70 + $3)
[gpu] ASUS GeForce GT430 1GB DDR3 128-bit Low Profile ($66 + $0)
[case] SILVERSTONE ML03B μATX ($60 + $0)
[psu] Antec EarthWatts 430W ATX12V ($44 + $0)

** i updated my guide recently and swap'ed some stuff **

[W1nks]

Here is what I think I am going to go with:

SilverStone Aluminum/Steel Micro ATX HTPC Computer Case GD05B (Black)
Antec EA-430D Power Supply EA-430D
AMD Athlon II X2 265 Processor (ADX265OCGMBOX)
ASUS Socket AM3/AMD 760G/A&V&GbE/Micro ATX Motherboard s M4A78LT-M
Corsair XMS3 4 GB 1333MHz PC3-10666 240-pin DDR3 Memory Kit for Intel Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD CMX4GX3M1A1333C9
Corsair Nova Series 2 CSSD-V60GB2 2.5" 60GB SATA II Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
ASUS ENGT430/DI/1GD3(LP) GeForce GT 430 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card
SAMSUNG Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Combo Model SH-B123L LightScribe Support - OEM
HP 5187-4592 MEDIA CENTER REMOTE CONTROL USB RECEIVER

The reason I think I'm going to go with AMD is pretty much price. I don't think I will really need to little speed improvements that Intel will give since all its's really going to be doing is 1080p videos/emulators/BluRays. Does anyone see a problem with that? With that saved money I decided to go with the recommend 60GB SSD. I stayed with the original case because of size constraints. This one is already going to be a tight squeeze and the other SilverStone looks a little bigger.

[Beer40oz]

Try Gigabyte motherboard.... if you like Asus then its all good....

60GB SSD is awesome.... fit win 7 + some software.

[W1nks]

Try Gigabyte motherboard.... if you like Asus then its all good....

60GB SSD is awesome.... fit win 7 + some software.

Is a Gigabyte bad? I've only used Asus I guess and have never had problems I guess. Is this a better alternative?

Gigabyte AMD 760G ATX Socket AM3 PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard GA MA78LMT-S2

[eskro]

i would get this RAM --> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231276

oh yeah and, this mobo --> http://ow.ly/1vD8Dw

and this cpu G620 --> http://ow.ly/1tYzWW

[bluray]

if want to enjoy hd audio with your new htpc and yamaha avr, here are two ways to enjoy it:


download darma 10.1, but launch xbmc from this folder- xbmc_hd_audio.

if you're using win7 mce, here are step by step to pass-through dts-hd and truehd codecs to your avr via hdmi:
1. download- w7 codec pack
2. download- shark007 32bit. if you're running w7 x64, you have to download this too- shark007 64-bit
3. follow this step by step visual instruction after 1&2 downloaded and the settings have to be correct for it to work properly- dts-hd and truehd pass-through

the hardwares in your list should be fine!

[W1nks]

if want to enjoy hd audio with your new htpc and yamaha avr, here are two ways to enjoy it:


download darma 10.1, but launch xbmc from this folder- xbmc_hd_audio.

if you're using win7 mce, here are step by step to pass-through dts-hd and truehd codecs to your avr via hdmi:
1. download- w7 codec pack
2. download- shark007 32bit. if you're running w7 x64, you have to download this too- shark007 64-bit
3. follow this step by step visual instruction after 1&2 downloaded and the settings have to be correct for it to work properly- dts-hd and truehd pass-through

the hardwares in your list should be fine!

Thank you. I heard the next version is supposed to support HD audio natively. Is this true?

Also I think I'm going to go with a AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition Heka 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Processor HDZ720WFK3DGI - OEM processor with a ARCTIC COOLING ACALP64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler for a little more power.

I'm thinking of making the purchase tomorrow. Does my build seem solid enough? Thanks for all the help!

[bluray]

Thank you. I heard the next version is supposed to support HD audio natively. Is this true?

Also I think I'm going to go with a AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition Heka 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Processor HDZ720WFK3DGI - OEM processor with a ARCTIC COOLING ACALP64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler for a little more power.

I'm thinking of making the purchase tomorrow. Does my build seem solid enough? Thanks for all the help!

that's what i heard, but the pre-eden in my signature can playback m2ts/iso/mkv at 1080p with dts-hd/truehd audios flawless on my lesser spec htpc.

the hardwares you selected are fine. it should handles 1080P with dts-hd/truehd audios using xbmc fine.

[W1nks]

Made the purchase just now. This is my final build:

SilverStone Aluminum/Steel Micro ATX HTPC Computer Case GD05B (Black)
Gigabyte AMD 760G ATX Socket AM3 PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard GA MA78LMT-S2
Corsair Nova Series 2 CSSD-V60GB2 2.5" 60GB SATA II Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C9
Antec EarthWatts Green EA-430D Green 430W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS 12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
ARCTIC COOLING ACALP64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition Heka 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Processor HDZ720WFK3DGI - OEM
ASUS ENGT430/DI/1GD3(LP) GeForce GT 430 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card
SAMSUNG Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Combo Model SH-B123L LightScribe Support - OEM

I'll hopefully get everything by this Friday and get it put together over the weekend.