HTPC Build

[Aj12]

1. What is the purpose of the computer? (Note: If you are planning to say multimedia, you will have to be more specific as all types of systems are capable of doing that)
A: WiLL primarily be used to watch movies, SD & Full Hd content(1080p).

2. Are you open to alternate ideas/products giving similar better performance but offering more VFM/ sellers? If not- why?
A: Yes

3. What is your MAX budget?
A: 15k, may flex a little if deemed worthy.

4. Planning to overclock?
A: No

5. Which OS are you planning to use?
A: Win 7 Ultimate

6. How much hard drive space is needed?
A: 2 TB

7. What resolution will the screen run at & whats the size of the screen you want? If you already want have one and want to use it, mention its resolution and size.
A: Will be connected to the already existing Samsung 32" LCD TV (32" HD Ready TV that is pure perfection - LA32A330J1N - LCD TV - television | SAMSUNG with resolution 1366 x 768 via HDMI

8. How would you rate your hardware knowledge from the count of 1-10? (1 being the lowest, 5 being you are somewhat in sync with the current performers and 10 being the highest)
A: 8

9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
A: will be done by an assembler

10. When are you planning to buy the system?
A: ASAP

11. Are you one of the types looking out for "future proof" configurations?
A: yes

12. Are there going to be any components that you don't want to include in this new rig? If yes, do mention.
A: Already have Tv and speakers

13. Which city do you live in and are you open to buying from shops from other city/states?
A: Kerala. Yes

14. Mention any other points if deemed necessary
A: Small form factor is a priority

Here's what i had in mind...

Mobo/APU - Asrock E350M1 Hudson M1 Mini-ITX mobo w/AMD E-350 APU (1.6GHz, dual-core)

Cooler - Stock

Ram - Corsair Vengence 4GB (2x2)

Hdd - Seagate Barracuda LP 2Tb

Gpu - integrated Radeon HD 6310

Cabinet - Cooler master Elite 100 or Antec ISK 300-65 case

suggestions are welcome

and should invest in a media centre remote or wireless keyboard & mouse combo??? (i will be using xbmc)

and if a remote please suggest one,cause i do not own a phone running ios or android hence ruling out remote apps.

i will use this rig just for watching movies.

Thats all for now.

 

[Tenida]

Refer to this thread by Sam9S

 

[d6bmg]

Or, you can even PM Sam9S for any help if you need any.

 

[Aj12]

@Tenida & d6bmg
Thanx

 

[Aj12]

Nice setup!!!

I will definitely increase my budget to get what u suggest

But which would be better

Running windows 7 home premium and running xbmc on startup By either changing the Shell or using the MMC to change the user interface as u described in ur thread

(wont this be better with respect to installation of drives codecs and even support for a discrete media centre remote as opposed to running on OpenELEC)

or running OpenELEC off a 2gb flashdrive.

keep in mind that i plan to store all my media files locally on the internal hdd
and not stream them from a desktop hdd or media server.

and could you also specify a physical remote for use with this setup as i have symbian...

just a suggestion...

why not use an intel core i3 2100/2100T @ 5500 & Zotac H67 mini ITX @ 6000
again this is just a suggestion..

 

[Krow]

Just an general query, how is the AMD Fusion platform for an HTPC? Review here: AMD Fusion A8 3850 Review : The IGP Reinvented

 

[Cilus]

Just an general query, how is the AMD Fusion platform for an HTPC? Review here: AMD Fusion A8 3850 Review : The IGP Reinvented

They are the best in HTPC solution, provide processing power slightly better than an Athlon II X4 3 GHz processor and GPU performance slightly better than HD 5570. So in GPU aided HD playback with different post processing filters, they provide better performance + you will get decent enough performance for casual gaming.

 

[Krow]

^That's what I thought. Only problem might be driver related though. Not sure about that.

 

[Aj12]

I have not used Open ELEC extensively, but its been said that what ever you can do with XBMC 10.1 you can do with open ELEC as well. See its not a huge thing to try our, its free as well. Just install and try it by yourself, if it works per your satisfactions continue using it and further configure it. If you are unsatisfied due to any reason dump it and go for XBMC over windows simple.

And yes you can use Core i3 2100 as well its definately better then i3 530 as its second gen proc and mobo, but I guess it would land more expensive. With i3 2100 and H67 its might shoot further (keeping the rest same), while there would not be a huge jump over the performance. The only main difference between H55 and H67 is H67 supports 2nd gen CPU, supports more ram (16gb) and also has USB 3.0 rest everything is same.
So it only boils down if you can afford and stretch your budget go for H67 else H55 will also do the job.

For remote you can go with something like ...

Microsoft MCE Remote Control USB IR Receiver win7 Vista | eBay

NEW HP MCE /REMOTE CONTROL /USB IR RECEIVER /IR Emitter | eBay

So for a budget of 20K what would you recommend???

The i3 2100 & H67 or the i3 530 & H55

cause i am not familiar with the prices & could you also provide the total cost excluding the price of the remote...

 

[jagdish]

AJ12, if you are only going to watch movies go with AMD liano A8 3850 it will serve your purpose better it has a powerful GPU built in with CPU so less heat generation, low power consumption and its a quad core CPU hence better perfomance.it will have better post processing so it can improve video quality so it will save money because you need not have to purchase Powerdvd for its post processing Now my MB has a integrated 4250 GPU and video quality is impressive it takes very less CPU to play HD movies just about 2-5% and I am happy with itSo go for liano

 

[Krow]

Llano makes sense if one is on a tight budget. Anyway, I never understood why people would spend a lot on their HTPC and not so much on the display and the audio setup. I think the audio setup needs more investment with a sound card and a good 5.1 system along with the display.

 

[Aj12]

Yes, APU will cost you much less than a separate built, but then there are trade offs, but I guess jagdish is right in a way that if only movies is what you want APU will suffice. How ever if you also wanna do some processing (like ripping and encoding DVDs or BDs) or decent gaming, the i3 combination will do far better.

As mentioned earlier i will use thing rig ONLY to watch movies(it should full hd content without any playback issues)
and i plan to use it for about a year or two or even more.

i will make use of my main rig for all encoding,ripping & gaming.

but as you mentioned earlier wont there be a problem with drivers and or are the solved with an update.

Llano makes sense if one is on a tight budget. Anyway, I never understood why people would spend a lot on their HTPC and not so much on the display and the audio setup. I think the audio setup needs more investment with a sound card and a good 5.1 system along with the display.

i am on a tight budget right now

so unfortunately cannot afford a better audio setup right now.

and i plan to use this HTPC with the display that i already own..

But i will upgrade i 6 months time(even then this rig will be used only to watch movies as mentioned previously) and it also should have the provision to add a sound card for a better audio setup if the on board audio does not cut it...

 

[jagdish]

Aj12 go for APU, HD encoding require hardware decoding so AMD A8 3850 will serve you better.

 

[Krow]

You are likely to encounter driver issues with any AMD setup in case you use a non-Windows setup. Bear that in mind before you make your purchase. For the hassle free setup, I guess Intel takes the cake. You should look at a good sound card and HT setup later though. Best of luck for your purchase.

 

[Aj12]

Every Watt Counts: AMD E-350 vs. Intel Core i3-2100T - X-bit labs

 

[jagdish]

I don't understand why people are so Intel centric Aj12 has mention he will use windows 7 and he strictly mention that he will use this one for watching movies which it will run in its full glory come on guys as far as i know intel based rig too will not natively support 3D
so my suggestion are :
AMD A8 3850-7000
Gigabyte A75M-UD2H -4300
G-skill F3-10600CL9S-2GBNT-700
Seagate Barracuda 1 TB –2800
DVD Writer LG 22X SATA DVD writter-675
Microsoft wireless 800 desktop mouse and keyboard combo-1000
total-16475
you can buy any case you like
if budget is issue then buy 500 GB HDD latter go for 2TB
dude amd e350 will be too weak

 

[Aj12]

i have decided to go for the i3 & h67 combo over the E350 Apu

i still need help with my chosen config

CPU - Intel Core i3-2100/2100T ???

Mobo - Zotac H67-ITX WiFi
( sam9s could u tell me where u got the price of this board as i could not find it on an Indian website offering it for sale & i found its price to be less than 7k, by referring to amazon and newegg and do correct me if i am wrong)

RAM - 2/4GB ??? Corsair/Gskill DDR 1333

Hdd - 1 Tb wd or segate ???
2 Tb if build does no exceed buget(20k)

Case - Antec ISK 300-150 CPU Mini-ITX

DVD writer - Have one lying about

Remote - any one of the two that sam9s specified in his earlier post
(i would prefer not to look at a wireless keyboard&mouse combo)

but the problem is that jagdish mentioned another amd config and i a now confused as to whether i should go with his config or the one that i have decided upon....

 

[Cilus]

Aj12, we have never suggested you E-350 which is just a nettop processor, not a desktop one. So obviously i3 2100 wins. We were talking about A8 3800 processors.
Kro, AMD driver has driver instability problems when you Crossfire a dedicated GPU with the Llano's integrated GPU, but the problem is only some of the games, not in wathcing movies.
2ndly AMD driver's has also improved a lot in non-Windows based OS like Linux.

Here is one quote from wikipeia:-

Linux version has been criticized for its perceived stability and performance issues as well as lack of options. The state of the driver has improved over time with AMD trying to work in concert with application developers, although for most instances the drivers are considered to be solid enough for most tasks and functional for most users.[13]

Also the problems are mainly in some gaming and for developer's point of view, not for movie watching in any days.

 

[jagdish]

Aj12,As cilus has mentioned driver problem is with crossfire configuration again AMD is now releasing new driver update every month so that issue will probably solved. its all finally depends on you in my opinion AMD liano is the way to go.

 

[Piyush]

i have decided to go for the i3 & h67 combo over the E350 Apu

Why are you comparing i3 2xxx with E350?
if you want to compare i3 with something, then it should be E3850