So one thing that I noticed in this forum that is of significant prevalence that I don't see in other forums is the continual behavior of pinching every penny, making compromises, or taking the path of least resistance. I know that I am guilty of it too. But I wonder why this is the case with HTPC when many of the same folks doing it I see obsess about the smallest details in other other forums. Is there some inherent thing about HTPC that make people do this?
I know when I first joined this forum I fell victim. I followed the trend that was saying all you need for HTPC is a celeron. Back then people building i5 and i7 machines were constantly being told it's not needed, waste of $$ etc.. So a celeron is what I built. I think I started a thread about it. I spent about $250 on the HTPC.
It wasn't too long I was back for more though. Turns out it wasn't exactly ideal for me and the more I learned the more I wished for something a little more. I was getting sucking into the world of HTPC. But I found a killer deal on a Asrock mobo that was a step up (I think I had an H61 and stepped to Z68 then) for like $75 (normally was like $120) so I jumped on it. I also came across a deal selling Pentium chips for $47 which seemed like a really good deal. It was about 500mhz faster than the celeron I was using so I said sure and ordered it up.
That was cool for a time, but then I realized it didn't do 3D. Crap. Well third time is a charm right? So by this time I had spent a little time in this forum and I really was beginning to understand HTPC better. I went out and grabbed that microcenter special on the i5 3570k and the Asrock Extreme Z77. I've had that for a couple years now, and I can honestly say I am happy and have no intention or need to upgrade that even a couple years later. Part of me looks back and wonders WTF was I thinking? Why waste so much time and money to save like $20 here or $30 there? Was it actually worth it ?
I love a great deal as good as anyone else. I've pieced together a desktop, server and HTPC by jumping on sales and good deals over the years. But at the same time as I get a little more mature about this stuff I see that for the small difference in cost the extra head room is well worth it. The insurance of knowing you have something good that won't need to be replaced anytime soon has a value to most people but I think that value is lost in this forum.
So I'll ask what is it about HTPC that makes people so freakin' cheap? Is it really worth saving that $20 on that suspect PSU? Or the $20 you save by not grabbing that better motherboard? Or faster SSD? How about the CPU? Worth getting a turd?
I see some people spent thousands on their display or speaker or AVR or subwoofer system. I see the same people spent $300 on a microphone to measure their system, and $80 on speaker wire to hook it up. Thousands more on furniture like AV racks or TV stands or theater chairs. In comparison that $20 you saved on that crappy PSU worth it? Or the $40 you saved getting the pentium or Celeron CPU ? I'm not sure what it is about HTPC that makes people think like this.
I know personally when I use something and it works really good it makes me smile. I like it. If I build something, buy something, use something that is great... it makes me happy. I like nice stuff, and I like stuff that works well. In comparison I get a little frustrated when stuff is less ideal, it makes me wish I had better or regret buying it, or make me upgrade. For $100 having a faster snappier HTPC seems like it's worth it to me.
Wait. Scratch that.
Having used HTPC for years now and having owned and built a bunch of them I can say with absolute certainty that having and using a snappier quicker HTPC is more enjoyable and worth it. Especially when I realize that better SSD was $20 and the faster CPU was only $40. It seems like money well spent, even if the cheaper crap is "enough". It's also insurance against the future and realistically will remain viable longer which has a value too.
So what is your story? If you could change something about your first HTPC purchasing what would you change?
What advice would you give someone or wish someone gave you when you started out?
My advice is don't cheap out. Get something nice you'll enjoy for a long time and you won't regret or have to fuss with. If you'll actually use your HTPC consistently and not just once it's pennies on the dollar.
I know when I first joined this forum I fell victim. I followed the trend that was saying all you need for HTPC is a celeron. Back then people building i5 and i7 machines were constantly being told it's not needed, waste of $$ etc.. So a celeron is what I built. I think I started a thread about it. I spent about $250 on the HTPC.
It wasn't too long I was back for more though. Turns out it wasn't exactly ideal for me and the more I learned the more I wished for something a little more. I was getting sucking into the world of HTPC. But I found a killer deal on a Asrock mobo that was a step up (I think I had an H61 and stepped to Z68 then) for like $75 (normally was like $120) so I jumped on it. I also came across a deal selling Pentium chips for $47 which seemed like a really good deal. It was about 500mhz faster than the celeron I was using so I said sure and ordered it up.
That was cool for a time, but then I realized it didn't do 3D. Crap. Well third time is a charm right? So by this time I had spent a little time in this forum and I really was beginning to understand HTPC better. I went out and grabbed that microcenter special on the i5 3570k and the Asrock Extreme Z77. I've had that for a couple years now, and I can honestly say I am happy and have no intention or need to upgrade that even a couple years later. Part of me looks back and wonders WTF was I thinking? Why waste so much time and money to save like $20 here or $30 there? Was it actually worth it ?
I love a great deal as good as anyone else. I've pieced together a desktop, server and HTPC by jumping on sales and good deals over the years. But at the same time as I get a little more mature about this stuff I see that for the small difference in cost the extra head room is well worth it. The insurance of knowing you have something good that won't need to be replaced anytime soon has a value to most people but I think that value is lost in this forum.
So I'll ask what is it about HTPC that makes people so freakin' cheap? Is it really worth saving that $20 on that suspect PSU? Or the $20 you save by not grabbing that better motherboard? Or faster SSD? How about the CPU? Worth getting a turd?
I see some people spent thousands on their display or speaker or AVR or subwoofer system. I see the same people spent $300 on a microphone to measure their system, and $80 on speaker wire to hook it up. Thousands more on furniture like AV racks or TV stands or theater chairs. In comparison that $20 you saved on that crappy PSU worth it? Or the $40 you saved getting the pentium or Celeron CPU ? I'm not sure what it is about HTPC that makes people think like this.
I know personally when I use something and it works really good it makes me smile. I like it. If I build something, buy something, use something that is great... it makes me happy. I like nice stuff, and I like stuff that works well. In comparison I get a little frustrated when stuff is less ideal, it makes me wish I had better or regret buying it, or make me upgrade. For $100 having a faster snappier HTPC seems like it's worth it to me.
Wait. Scratch that.
Having used HTPC for years now and having owned and built a bunch of them I can say with absolute certainty that having and using a snappier quicker HTPC is more enjoyable and worth it. Especially when I realize that better SSD was $20 and the faster CPU was only $40. It seems like money well spent, even if the cheaper crap is "enough". It's also insurance against the future and realistically will remain viable longer which has a value too.
So what is your story? If you could change something about your first HTPC purchasing what would you change?
What advice would you give someone or wish someone gave you when you started out?
My advice is don't cheap out. Get something nice you'll enjoy for a long time and you won't regret or have to fuss with. If you'll actually use your HTPC consistently and not just once it's pennies on the dollar.