First time HTPC critique

J

jamestime88

[H]ard|Gawd
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Dec 10, 2003
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So I've finally decided to jump on the HTPC bandwagon. Here is my build so far:

cpu - AMD A8-3850 Llano 2.9GHz Socket FM1

motherboard - ASRock A55M-HVS FM1 AMD A55

power supply - FSP Group FSP400-60EGN 24Pin 400W

case - SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum skin reinforced plastic front panel, 0.8mm SECC body MILO Series ML03B Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case

memory - SAMSUNG 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

ssd - Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB

hdd - Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARX 2TB

OS - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882005097 windows 7 home premium

tv tuner - 1080i with 2 tuner minimum ???

this will be hooked up through an LG 5.1 blu-ray reciever to an LG 60" plasma

I havn't bought any computer hardware in about 8 years so I'm not even sure if my choices were any good. I want to use this in place of my xfinity cable box. I would also like to be able to stream recorded (or even live TV if possible) to my xbox 360 over wireless. What type of input device would you recommend? I want a compact qwerty keyboard with at least 15 foot range and built in trackpad or something. I don't know what I'm missing so let me know if there's anything you can think of. I'd also appreciate lowering the cost wherever possible, as long as i can still play 1080 video with 0 stuttering.
 
Those look like good choices to me. I'm not really familiar with that brand of power supply. I usually go with Seasonic, XFX, or Corsair.

I just put together my first htpc and it's been fun. As for the speed of your setup I doubt you'd have any stutter issues.

I'm running an AM2 4400+ dual core AMD and my media is stored on a different PC over gigabit network on a WD Green drive and I have no issues streaming blu-ray rips or live HD TV.

I'm using one of these for a keyboard
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Wireless-Keyboard-Multi-Touch-920-003070/dp/B005DKZTMG

and my tuner
http://www.amazon.com/Hauppauge-1213-WinTV-HVR-2250-PCI-E-Tuner/dp/B001E2V7R8

I use Windows Media Center as my primary launch program as I like the Live TV setup (basically nothing) and XBMC for all my other media. There is a plugin available to have the XBMC launch icon in Media Center. The only quirk right now is getting the remote to work good that came with the tuner. It's you standard media center remote but it's hooked in through the tuner card itself vs having a usb ir reciever. The only way I can see to modify the buttons to work in XBMC is to modify the irremote.ini file which is a pain.

As for streaming to the xbox I'm not really familiar with your options there. I've streamed some movies in the past from my desktop to the xbox but without some sort of on the fly transcoding app I think you are pretty limited in the file formats you have for your movies.
 
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A few things:
- No idea on the PSU, did you check reviews to see if it performs well/doesn't fry a lot of boards? My HTPC has a Corsaid CX430, a bit more reputable and with decent/good reviews
- 2250 is a great OTA tuner, been running mine for 3-4 years, has been solid throughout. Consider the retail version which comes with the USB receiver and remote.
- A good/cheap qwerty keyboard would be the Lenovo ones that are always on sale, I've got the older version and the new one is better since there is a backlight
- If you want to save a few bucks, you can skimp on the memory and just run 4GB (2x2)
- Consider a Harmony 600 or 650 to control your devices too all-in-one functioning
- I won't get into it but maybe consider an SB (or IB if/when they finally come out) i3? A few pluses over AMD (idle/power/watt draw), few negatives too (better IGP). I ended up with Intel.
 
Going to have to agree about the PSU. Stick to Corsair, Seasonic, or Antec. If you're not in a hurry, there seems to be one of the above on Newegg Shellshocker once a week or so.

+1 for the Lenovo keyboard remote thing. I grabbed one after having some problems with my previous wireless kb/m setup. Small and out of the way, though I do have problems with the range sometimes.

If you're replacing an Xfinity Cable Box, you're going to need a CableCard tuner, not one of the OTA tuners linked by others. The most common are the Ceton InfiniTV 4 (4 tuners) or the HD Homerun Prime (3 tuners...I think). Do your research on which will work better for you. Setup of my Ceton was a nightmare due to Comcast not knowing anything, and I had a few hiccups/missed recordings in the first week, but after that, it's been perfect for 3+ months and 10-12 recordings/week.

If you plan on using Remote Desktop to access your HTPC from other builds, consider Win7 Pro instead of home premium. There are other programs (TeamViewer, LogMeIn) that you can use, but I prefer the actual RDP thing built in. Worth the small extra cost to me.
 
I didn't read the part about cable - you definately cannot use the 2250 as that would be OTA only. I don't think Ceton tuners are a problem now as they are, while not completely mainstream, well known by the cable industry. I have Comcast and when cable cards first came out, they had no idea about it nor the pricing. Now, they are able to tell you the price, what type of cable card, and the steps needed so yeah, they are more experienced and knowledgable about it now. As for Ceton vs. HD Homerun, the primary difference is internal vs. external (albiet you can get a USB Ceton), and than 4 tuners vs 3 (cheaper) or 6 (more expensive).
 
I chose the FSP psu because I just read a review on anandtech where an FSP got a gold editors choice. I'm more than happy to switch to an antec psu if it's better, they used to be the only power supplies I bought.

I was wondering if the SSD is really necessary. I was just going to use it for the OS but if I can shave off an extra $75 or whatever and run everything from a 5900rpm drive I'd be cool with that. Or I could find a cheap 7200rpm drive?

Can anyone confirm that this http://www.amazon.com/Ceton-InfiniT...d=1341541575&sr=1-4&keywords=HD+Homerun+Prime works fine as a stand alone digital cable tuner with xfinity service?

Will I be able to navigate through recorded content or possibly watch live TV on other computers and media center extenders in the house? Is windows 7 professional needed on both computers to do that?
 
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SSD isn't neccessary but it is nice to have. As for the tuner and your cable service, call them and find out. Again, a lot of companies a year ago couldn't give you reliable information, but now they are much more knowlagbable. Also, the Ceton would only work on that computer and media extenders only and would not work with another comoouter. I believe the HD Homerun Prime can as it is a network tuner but you better read up on that.
 
I built a similar system with a a6-3650, 2gb WD green drive, SSD for boot, 1tb 7200 drive for games, and a Ceton pcie tuner card. I didn't build the htpc to play games but the upgrade bug kept biting and I added a better discrete gpu for gaming with a wireless xbox controller.

Ceton works great with comcast, just go pick up a cable card from a paycenter and install it yourself. You can dedicate a tuner to another computer with windows media center or use an xbox to access livetv/recordings from the main htpc.
 
Actually the Ceton has documentation on how to make it a network tuner as well. I just bought one for my HTPC build.
 
jamestime88 , That is my setup. I have been using it for 2 months now on Windows 8 with a haugpuage 2650 cablecard.

everything is the same except I use an intel ssd and a corsair psu.

My only regret is not getting the Ceton Cable card for 4 tuners.

note: Live TV is great :)

I did forget something. I could not get the gpu to work in the amd chip. What I mean to say is I had alot of HDCP errors. The bandaid for this is to minimize media center and open it back up. I eventually installed a gt520 and all the problems went away. I understand it to be a hit/miss on both brands of cards.
 
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Looks like a good build. I went with a Gigabyte A75 mobo myself.
I have not had any issues so far. Mine was an upgrade so all I need was the mobo, proc and memory. I am still using the PSU that came with my HTPC case I bought back in 06 and it is still rocking.
 
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