Guide to Building a HTPC, Workstation and Server - Page 505

OK, I have bought the following as per the recommendation by Fry's associate. I need blesslings from all of you before starting the assembly for my HTPC:

AMD Athelon II x4 640 3.0 Ghz Quad Core 95W 2MB Chache AM3
Thermaltake Armor A90 Mid-Tower Chassis
MSI 870A-G54 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Asus HDAV Slim 192 Khz Audio/Video Card together (not sure if it is a good idea?)
Patriot DDR3 4 GB 1333 MHz-memory
Coolmax 600w PSU - Power supply (should I go for more? this was on sale for $35?)

I will be running Windows 7 and mostly it will be for watching HD movies (.mkv files) and copies of my old DVD movies stored on HDD.

Thanks.

I'd recommend a HTPC case [horizontal]

Ditch the sound card and go for a Video card with HD audio over HDMI [most ATI 5xxx and above do that]

PSU....you dont need more. I like Corsair or the old faithful Antec........but just about any brand will do.

You did not mention HDD.

I like to run RAID0 for speedy disk access times [high speed] but that is just me....I understand the risks over speed. Losing ripped movies is no great risk to me. I am running two 500GB drives for a couple of years without any issue. However, I do backup the useful data on them, daily.

Today I'd go for two 1 TB drives in RAID0

Thanks for your inputs. I am going to get separate audio and video cards and not use ASUS HDAV Slim. Also, let me see if I could get a good PSU of Corsair or the old faithful Antec.

I also had a question though, it may turn out to be a debate, but very briefly:

Intel (i3/i5 on h55/57 motherboard) vs. AMD Quad4 on the motehr board I have selected, how much difference will it make in terms of video rendering (no, I will not use it for gaming but only watch movies from my .mkv files and old archived DVD copies)?

Thanks.

If you do the i3/i5 you won't need the discreet audio or video cards.

That board takes ddr3 I have an extra set of ddr2 I'd like to use

I concur with rajdude on the case, depending on how visible you want this thing! I've written a recent article about the topic here: http://www.homesystemintegration.com...pc-experience/

Hopefully it helps! Tom

I posted this as it's own thread, but nobody responded. I'm doing an HTPC build, and will use it to replace my current blu-ray player (LG BD370).

I'm going to with one of two options (same price)
1) Intel i3-540 with integrated graphics
2) AMD x4-630 with a discrete graphics card

Will run Windows 7, connected via HDMI to Denon AVR-2310CI and Pioneer Kuro KRP-500M, which has a 24p (72hz?) mode.

My understanding is that option 1 will give me bitstreaming, but has some issues with 1080p/24 playback. Is this the case?

If I go with option 2, it sounds like I can use an Ati HD5450/5670, which has bitstreaming, and should work with 1080p/24? Are there Nvidia options that are better? Looking at 50-80$ on a graphics card.

Also, if I use HDMI, does this work for all system audio?

Can someone clarify this for me, and make a recommendation? I've read through some of the threads, but so many of them discuss drivers that have been replaced. I'm using the Kuro, and am pretty picky - picture quality matters to me. And since my wife will be using it, I'd like something that is stable and easy.

Thanks in advance.

You mentioned that you wanted to replace your current standalone player. So if it is limited to that, my recommendation is to stay away from an HTPC. While they have come a long way, but are still not as stable as standalone BR players. They are also more expensive.

On the other hand they are also more versatile, etc.

____
Axel

Started build of the HTPC today.

MB ASROCK H55M PRO
SilverStone 500W MicroATX 12V 2
SilverStone Grandia GD02B
...

MB is set up bare, just the CPU & fan.

Only thing connected to the power supply is the MB, both connectors, verified they are seated.

Only the power wire from the case is connected to the MB other than the case fans.

Turn on the PS, hit the power button on the case and the CPU and case fans spin up for about 2 seconds and then stop, waits a couple of seconds then repeats.

PS fan never comes on. No love here

Suggestions?

Ok. Any comments on an x4-640 vs i3-540?

Also, am I correct in assuming that HDMI will carry all system audio?

When we talking about bitstreaming, we are talk about a stream that hasn't been decoded by the source. If I have a card that doesn't bitstream, does it send decoded multi-channel LPCM? If so, is the Radeon 4200/4250/4290 in the AMD mobo's able to send the decoded info? Can it provide 1080p/24?

Thanks for the help renethx. This thread is great.

Hey renthex,

Thanks again for this great information your provide in this thread. It has helped me immensely.

I just started to buy the components for the htpc and i decided to splurge. I went with the MSI 890GXM-G65 mobo for the updated northbride/southbridge, and Sata 6/USB3.0 combo for future proofing. Also, got a AMD Phenom II x4 965BE. Will the integrated graphics core (HD4290) be sufficient for HTPC use until the newer HD6xxx series cards come out? Also, will a 550w power supply be be too much power for its purposes, or should i stay in that range for the CPU and discrete graphics card down the line? Thanks again and there will be a donation coming your way when its all said and done.

Let me re-post from another thread my questions:

Has anyone measured temperatures of HDDs in Silverstone GD01B loaded with 4-5-6 HDDs? Please share your overall experience with HTPC+NAS that use this case!

How's my config that I'm planning to assemble?:

Silverstone GRANDIA GD01B-R Black

Chieftec APS-550S 550W ATX (are cables long enough for the case?)

Intel Core i3 530/ 2.93 GHz BOX

GigaByte GA-H55M-USB3 (ASRock H55 Extreme3 is a rarity here in Russia)

Kingston ValueRAM KVR1333D3N9K2/4G DDR-III DIMM 4Gb KIT 2*2Gb CL9

HDD #1 (OS): Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 7200rpm 32Mb

HDD #2 through 6: Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARS 64Mb

DVD-RW Optiarc AD-7241S

D-link DWA-525 PCI 150/54/11M IEEE 802.11b/g/n

Is there need for additional case fans besides the 2 x 80 mm that come with the case?!? Are these two quiet enough? Is there need for HDD cage fans; as they would blow toward the solid (no vents!) front panel?!?

Thanks in advance

First post here. This looks like a fantastic guide and having read through quite a few pages, I have designed my build and want to get the opinions of some of you here. My goals with this is to record HD OTA transmissions, rip BD to the PC, playback of both of those. Maybe some web browsing and watch some streaming media via Hulu.com and Netflix. Through Hulu and Netflix, I am not worried too much about quality because my connection is not very quick and I'm a cheap SOB.

Parts list:
Case: Antec MicroFusion Remote 350 Micro ATX Media Cente - $100
MB: GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-UD2H HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 - $100
CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 440 Rana 3.0GHz - $75 (possible to unlock 4th core)
Mem: Kingston HyperX Blu 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR3 1600 - $50
HDD: Western Digital 1TB 5400 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s - $70
BDD: LITE-ON Black 4X BD-ROM 8X DVD-ROM 32X - $50
TV Tuner: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 Media Center Kit Dual TV Tuner - $125
KB/Mouse: Logitech EX 100 USB RF Wireless Standard Keyboard and Mouse - $28
Total: $600

If you see somewhere where I could save money, please let me know. Also, if I need to spend some more money somewhere, let me know.

Also, for ripping Blu-Ray, is there any free way of doing this? If not, I have no issue buying AnyDVD HD but would like to keep costs minimal. Also, once ripped, for purposes of playing on my 50" Plasma (1080p), any suggestions on file/compression type? I'm very new to video encoding so I am lost when it comes to that. Btw, I have no issues letting the computer crunch all night working to encode.

I'll be running Windows 7 Pro 64bit. Got it for the price of shipping when they first release Windows 7. Some special program MS ran for students.

Thank you so much for the help!

Interesting, I didn't know the resolution was limited but it should be enough to run 1080p. The audio isnt a concern right now as I don't have a receiver capable of DTS-MA HA audio decoding (for now, lol). I guess I will probably just get a HD5xxx series, hopefully I can find a passively cooled HD5670 on sale in the coming months. Have you had any experience with the passively cooled cards? Any preferences between passive and fan?

About three weeks ago I was asking for recommendations, etc on HTPC setup, I'm glad to report that I've built the system.

Components are as follows:

Case: Silverstone Sugo SG05B
Mainboard: ZOTAC H55ITX-C-E
CPU: Intel Core i3-540
RAM: Patriot Sector 5 PVV34G1333LLK 4GB
SSD: OCZ Vertex 2 Extended 60Gb
HDD: Western Digital WD20EARS
DVDRW: LITE-ON 8X Slot Loading DVDRW

Slightly more expensive than I've originally planned, but so far I'm satisfied.

Some comments about my HTPC in case somebody thinks of building similar.

• Case is very nice and fan at the front and in the power supply are very quiet
• Motherboard is working "as expected". However wireless card is junk. It can see my router with excellent signal strength however signal it transmits my router (WRT600N) barely picks up. WiFi is in 2.4Ghz only. I'm thinking of switching this card to the Intel one which works at 5.8Ghz. SilentPCReview website found a few issues with the motherboard which hopefully can be fixed with BIOS update if it ever gets released.
• Any current XMBC Live CDs once installed do not work properly with Core i3. I've tried to update kernel, X & drivers - at the end I have 190% CPU usage. Tried to install Ubuntu Maverick Beta and play with VLC. CPU Usage is around 80-100% (for 1080p 11mbps content). Meaning that VA-API is not being used, however video plays smoothly. It also seems that everyone at XBMC is preoccupied only with ION or other NVIDIA cards and don't even want to discuss GMA HD graphics - most topics on XBMC forums about GMA HD are immediately turned into "Switch to NVIDIA" propaganda.
• SSD makes Windows boot insanely fast. I think I get to the desktop from power on in around 20 seconds (though I never measured), so fast that my harmony remote is not even done with switching on the rest of the equipment.
• WD EARS disk is JUNK. It constantly spins down and Windows on a couple of occasions lost this drive completely when getting out of Sleep mode. Will replace it with Samsung F4 once price drops a bit and will use WD in external enclosure.
  Edit: Modified internal drive settings with wdidle3 tool for drive to stop spinning down every 8 minutes. Even though I asked to disable it completely, tool reported that it is now set to something like 63 minutes - works for me.

Thanks again. I feel like an idiot. I've looked at this thread repeatedly, but every time from behind a firewall/content protector that hasn't allowed for display of the charts, and had no idea they were there....

So I think I'll go with:
ASRock 890GM PRO3 AM3 AMD 890GX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI Micro ATX
AMD x4 - 640 using stock cooler
4 gbs of DDR 1600
Rosewill Blackbone case
OCZ Fatality 550W supply
500 GB Samsung F3
SATA DVD

For 440 - 40MIR = 400$.
I have a Win 7 Pro x64 at home, and in a few months, I'll add discrete video and BR player.

Any problems with this for Netflix, general music, Pandora, etc + DVD ISOs + some media content serving to the rest of the house + print server + storage?

Thanks.

You are the man, btw. This thread is great.

Any issues with using WD10EALS 1TB 7200 RPM drive? I want to be able to keep copies of all my BD disks and some broadcast shows. Eventually leading up to a few hundred blurays and some shows. Would that kind of data fit on a 500GB drive? If so, then the $$$ savings would be fine.

Any recommended remote?

Yeah, I checked specs after posting...

So the alc892 will affect the audio going through HDMI? It will be nice to only need one line to my Denon and one to my switch for network.