Small HTPC solution ($500 range)

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vertigomhs

[H]ard|Gawd
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Aug 1, 2008
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hi, im looking into building a small form factor HTPC, but im not sure on what to build on, ive never built a system, but from experience in taken my computer apart it doesnt seem that hard and im sure i can find guides on the net.

ok so id like the HTPC to be small (of course!). my budget is around 500 bux, no os or accesories needed, i just need something that will have HDMI and can support HD files and not have much of a stutter. i will not use this for gaming, just multimedia, transcoding , basic internet.

i cant seem to choose between amd or intel, the 780g looks good and cheap but the g45 also looks good but its new and more costly.

not sure what to get, this is where you guys come in! thanks
 
Nvidia 780g or nvidia 8200 series motherboards. Start there. It's been proven time and time again to be a cost effective solution that works great. See the link in my sig to my sale thread where I'm selling a completed HTPC system based off the 8200 series nvidia chip. It should give you some ideas where to start. =)
 
w1retap said:
Nvidia 780g or nvidia 8200 series motherboards. Start there. It's been proven time and time again to be a cost effective solution that works great. See the link in my sig to my sale thread where I'm selling a completed HTPC system based off the 8200 series nvidia chip. It should give you some ideas where to start. =)
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actually ur thread was what inspired me to make an htpc haha I was gonna use an mitx board and that case but it would cost too much so I decided to use an matx case so any other suggestions? should I consider bluray or intel?
 
vertigomhs said:
actually ur thread was what inspired me to make an htpc haha I was gonna use an mitx board and that case but it would cost too much so I decided to use an matx case so any other suggestions? should I consider bluray or intel?
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Would the NSK2480 fit your definition of small?

Forget Intel. Go with Blu-Ray if you want or have Blu-ray DVDs.
 
vertigomhs said:
might consider it if my budget can fit it in, any more suggestions?
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Well if you want to cut $50, drop the Phenom/G.Skill RAM combo and go with this combo instead:
AMD Athlon64 X2 5000+ CPU - $66
G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ 2 x 1GB DDR2 800 RAM - $45
---
$101 plus tax and shipping.

A quad-core CPU is not needed to watch HD content.

Also, go with this faster and larger drive:
Western Digital WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $62

And I highly highly recommend getting that Antec case. The Apex PSU is not good nor trustworthy. It's a POS.
 
Danny Bui said:
Well if you want to cut $50, drop the Phenom/G.Skill RAM combo and go with this combo instead:
AMD Athlon64 X2 5000+ CPU - $66
G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ 2 x 1GB DDR2 800 RAM - $45
---
$101 plus tax and shipping.

A quad-core CPU is not needed to watch HD content.

Also, go with this faster and larger drive:
Western Digital WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $62

And I highly highly recommend getting that Antec case. The Apex PSU is not good nor trustworthy. It's a POS.
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well I was going to do transcoding and other things with this too I'm also hoping to replace my old pc which sucks with this one.

I kinda want a fast processor so I might go with the 5400 be

thx for the link to that hard drive too.

well the case is what's going to be hard to get, the shipping always screws me over because everything I chose has free shipping except the case and it's like 20 bux.

as for it budget it increased so I have a little more breathing room it's not 565 minus 130 for the bluray drive from frys.

the reason I have such a strict budget is because I'm 16 and this is all I could gather up so my budget isn't very flexible you see :(
 
vertigomhs said:
well I was going to do transcoding and other things with this too I'm also hoping to replace my old pc which sucks with this one.

I kinda want a fast processor so I might go with the 5400 be
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There is no 5400 BE. Are you talking about the X2 5400+? If so, don't bother. If you want a fast setup, stick with the Phenom/G.Skill combo.

So what is your budget exact? Without the Blu-ray drive included.

Yes i understand that your budget is limited but you simply shouldn't skimp on a quality PSU. A crappy low-quality PSU, like the one in the Apex case, can take out your entire system when it dies or slowly kill your system over time. So it's best to invest in a quality PSU or you may have to spend more on replacement parts down the line.
 
Danny Bui said:
There is no 5400 BE. Are you talking about the X2 5400+? If so, don't bother. If you want a fast setup, stick with the Phenom/G.Skill combo.

So what is your budget exact? Without the Blu-ray drive included.

Yes i understand that your budget is limited but you simply shouldn't skimp on a quality PSU. A crappy low-quality PSU, like the one in the Apex case, can take out your entire system when it dies or slowly kill your system over time. So it's best to invest in a quality PSU or you may have to spend more on replacement parts down the line.
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oh my bad I must of not looked at it right. I'm new to the amd scene or rather pc building scene.

my exact budget as of now is 565 with taxes and shipping, I'm not sure if I can find a place that doesn't charge taxes since I'm in los angeles and I think everyone in California has to pay taxes for online purchases

and I get you about the psu any other suggestions for a case? I'm still just looking around. is rosewill any good for case/psi combos?
 
forgot to mention would an intel matx build even be considerable for what I want on this budget? I'm just wondering but I'm definately set on an and build. also bluray is not a necessity as prices will drop over time.

sorry for double post but my phone had trouble editing my other post
 
Yes all California residents have to pay taxes for online purchases (SoCal resident myself:))

Well your requirement for a slim-mATX case is pretty much limiting all the cases that I can recommend. In fact, the Antec Minuet350 is the only slim mATX case that I can recommend. And no, Rosewill is not good for case/PSU combos. Generally, the PSU that comes with cases in most Case/PSU combos are pretty crappy and/or shitty. The only exceptions are Antec cases and some Coolermaster cases.

So just to make sure things are clear, that $565 with taxes and shipping does not include the blu-ray drive, correct?
 
Danny Bui said:
Yes all California residents have to pay taxes for online purchases (SoCal resident myself:))

Well your requirement for a slim-mATX case is pretty much limiting all the cases that I can recommend. In fact, the Antec Minuet350 is the only slim mATX case that I can recommend. And no, Rosewill is not good for case/PSU combos. Generally, the PSU that comes with cases in most Case/PSU combos are pretty crappy and/or shitty. The only exceptions are Antec cases and some Coolermaster cases.

So just to make sure things are clear, that $565 with taxes and shipping does not include the blu-ray drive, correct?
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correct my budget is that without anything.

thanks for clearing that up so antec is the way to go.

well a slim case is not a necessity, so can you recommend any others? reason I wanted slim is because my setup would require to put it on top of my table which also has my tv and the case might block my view but I'm sure there's a way around it.
 
$300 for a small case and 8200 based mobo is a little on the high side...
 
just saw that the 790gx is coming out very soon would that board be of any importance to me? because I'm willing to wait for it. but if of wouldn't really affect me I'll go with the 780g
 
The 780G is inexpensive and can do anything you would need from a HTPC. The 790GX will be rather expensive. For a budget like this, stick with the 780G.
 
Flavorite said:
Didn't see anyone mention it, but a barebone shuttle might be worth looking into. Small and very easy to assemble for a first time builder and generally work great for a htpc.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856101073

HDMI out and good integrated graphics, this route may put you over budget.
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was thinking about that at first but yea, its too expensive and not worth it really, shuttle asks for too much money in my opinion.

anything thing else i should know?

im pretty much locked onto this mobo (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128341)

except im getting it from mwave for about 20 bux less.

not sure in cpu yet, was thinking a phenom, but ive heard they arent that great and are resource/psu hogs?

the ram im getting has a really good combo deal on it for a phenom 9600 for 149

(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098)

is g skill a reputable brand? ive had corsair before so i wouldnt really know.

locked in for a western digital hd, not sure in size yet but most likely 320gb.

optical still not sure, but frys has a tempting deal for an lg super drive bluray for 130 free shipping :). if not ill just get a temp drive for 20 bux.

case, is still blurry, i still need to look around and try not to get screwed over by shipping :rolleyes:

thanks for your help guys
 
The Phenom aren't that great compared to their Intel counterparts. But for $150 in addition to the G.Skill RAM, that's a hard deal to pass up. ANd yes G.Skill is a reputable brand. And definitely get the 320GB drive.
 
Danny Bui said:
The Phenom aren't that great compared to their Intel counterparts. But for $150 in addition to the G.Skill RAM, that's a hard deal to pass up. ANd yes G.Skill is a reputable brand. And definitely get the 320GB drive.
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right, guess im locked into those as well, now for mobo, is that good? it looks like a revision to an older model the only difference i see is the D in the model number and the fact that it has sideport memory, but for 90 some on mwave it looks good for the price. should i go with gigabyte? or another mobo brand?
 
I'm not sure if you're dead set on a HTPC but have you looked at a Networked Media Tank?

I just heard about this a few months ago and recently got an Istar Mini last month. There's several other brands and models - several new ones coming out as well. It may not fit your needs but it definitely works for me as I already have a system that I use as a file server and didn't want/need another computer in the house. I use the Mini to stream all of my media from the file server to our HDTV. What I love best is that there's no transcoding involved. It plays just about anything you can throw at it. It's still a developing technology so there are some bug fixes and refinements occurring but if you already have a computer to use as storage or even NAS, you can stream the data to the NMT. There's a lot of other features that are available but I don't use/need them.
 
vertigomhs said:
right, guess im locked into those as well, now for mobo, is that good? it looks like a revision to an older model the only difference i see is the D in the model number and the fact that it has sideport memory, but for 90 some on mwave it looks good for the price. should i go with gigabyte? or another mobo brand?
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The moteherboard is a good choice so definitely go with it.
 
CrimandEvil said:
Uh, why? Go with the previous board.
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well because i sort want a more future proof board, and this seems to have a more powerful gpu, and now ive been informed on avs that the new g45 is on par with the 780g, or better at that, man this is going to be a tough decision.

reason im doubting amd is because they arent on 45nm yet, processors take a lot of power and heat, and id rather take advantage of a c2d.

this htpc will also be used for multi tasking you see, ill be running photoshop, ripping dvds/bluray and other intensive things.
 
As others have mentioned, the 780G can handle the HD content so the board you chose is good enough. I actually have the downgrade version of the board you linked, the gigabyte S2H which is about 70 bucks now. It plays bluray discs without a hiccup and my amd 4850e is usually at 30% utilization during the whole movie.

Downloaded content on the other hand, took some tweaking and fine tuning with the help of the guide on this forum. Some stuff didn't want to play in PowerDVD (so I had to use media player classic (MPC) without hardware acceleration). My cpu is around 50-60% when watching HD content using MPC

I stuffed my board with 6gb of gskill ram and it works great. My system has two great aspects. 1)The playback of HD and bluray movies is great and smooth. 2) It's quiet/cool and has low power consumption. Probably the two most important features of an HTPC. I don't do much else on this htpc.

"this htpc will also be used for multi tasking you see, ill be running photoshop, ripping dvds/bluray and other intensive things." - this is pretty much a standard non-gamer computer nowadays..a multimedia PC. I wouldn't go as far as to say that you're in the wrong forum (you don't even want an htpc case), but it seems like what you need is a PC (perhaps a small form factor, SFF forum) with a strong CPU (you can get a quad core amd for 175), and just slap in bluray drive whenever you're ready.
 
Jonathan said:
As others have mentioned, the 780G can handle the HD content so the board you chose is good enough. I actually have the downgrade version of the board you linked, the gigabyte S2H which is about 70 bucks now. It plays bluray discs without a hiccup and my amd 4850e is usually at 30% utilization during the whole movie.

Downloaded content on the other hand, took some tweaking and fine tuning with the help of the guide on this forum. Some stuff didn't want to play in PowerDVD (so I had to use media player classic (MPC) without hardware acceleration). My cpu is around 50-60% when watching HD content using MPC

I stuffed my board with 6gb of gskill ram and it works great. My system has two great aspects. 1)The playback of HD and bluray movies is great and smooth. 2) It's quiet/cool and has low power consumption. Probably the two most important features of an HTPC. I don't do much else on this htpc.

"this htpc will also be used for multi tasking you see, ill be running photoshop, ripping dvds/bluray and other intensive things." - this is pretty much a standard non-gamer computer nowadays..a multimedia PC. I wouldn't go as far as to say that you're in the wrong forum (you don't even want an htpc case), but it seems like what you need is a PC (perhaps a small form factor, SFF forum) with a strong CPU (you can get a quad core amd for 175), and just slap in bluray drive whenever you're ready.
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exactly what i was thinking of doing actually
 
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