HTPC Configuration advice

[skeletor]

One more thing. You won't be able to use your motherboard's expansion slots (PCIe and PCI) with CM Elite 100.

Asus - ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Motherboards- ASUS F1A75-I DELUXE

comes with built-in Wifi as well.

Availablity of all these boards is going to be a problem as we are in India. So, before buying a cabinet, make sure that you have the board in your hand.

 

[mohsin20]

One more thing. You won't be able to use your motherboard's expansion slots (PCIe and PCI) with CM Elite 100.

Asus - ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Motherboards- ASUS F1A75-I DELUXE

comes with built-in Wifi as well.

Availablity of all these boards is going to be a problem as we are in India. So, before buying a cabinet, make sure that you have the board in your hand.

question:- what does pcie and pci slots come in use for and second what is expected pricing of this board.

 

[skeletor]

Pricing of the board? I can't comment, but expect it to be around Rs. 9,000. I haven't seen it anywhere in India..!

PCIe and PCI are expansion slots. Like if you feel the need to add an internal discrete sound card or TV Tuner or something.

example,

*www.hauppauge.co.uk/pics/prods_hvr2200_board-s.jpg

See in these pics. The PCIe slot goes under the PSU and no outlet at the back. You can't insert a card.

*www.coolermaster.com/upload/product/6623/featured/top4.jpg?264234008

*www.coolermaster.com/upload/product/6623/featured/top5.jpg?880034869

 

[mohsin20]

Pricing of the board? I can't comment, but expect it to be around Rs. 9,000. I haven't seen it anywhere in India..!

PCIe and PCI are expansion slots. Like if you feel the need to add an internal discrete sound card or TV Tuner or something.

example,

*www.hauppauge.co.uk/pics/prods_hvr2200_board-s.jpg

See in these pics. The PCIe slot goes under the PSU and no outlet at the back. You can't insert a card.

*www.coolermaster.com/upload/product/6623/featured/top4.jpg?264234008

see my lcd tv is monitor cum tv lg m237wa. and i beleive i will get onboard hd sound. so i don't need both. any other purpose of these slots.

will the corsair psu fit in that place. coz in the image the psu section looks very small.

 

[skeletor]

see my lcd tv is monitor cum tv lg m237wa. and i beleive i will get onboard hd sound. so i don't need both. any other purpose of these slots.

yes, I know. But mentioning everything is my duty.

Other purpose? On high-end computers like mine, we put in Graphic card in a PCIe slot. Then there are few people who put in an "internal" Wifi card. That's all. Some people might need, some might not.

 

[mohsin20]

yes, I know. But mentioning everything is my duty.

Other purpose? On high-end computers like mine, we put in Graphic card in a PCIe slot. Then there are few people who put in an "internal" Wifi card. That's all. Some people might need, some might not.

the amd processor has graphics so that is also covered. i would rather prefer an external wifi adapter if i can't find that asus mobo. thanks anyway for giving me the uses of those slots. speaking of mobo. no one in india is selling them atleast not online. i will still need to check with stores. any other options for mobo besides the 2 discussed. also please check the psu section on the cabinet and confirm if the corsair will fit in that gap.

 

[skeletor]

the amd processor has graphics so that is also covered. i would rather prefer an external wifi adapter if i can't find that asus mobo. thanks anyway for giving me the uses of those slots. speaking of mobo. no one in india is selling them atleast not online. i will still need to check with stores. any other options for mobo besides the 2 discussed. also please check the psu section on the cabinet and confirm if the corsair will fit in that gap.

No. Corsair CX430v2 will NOT fit in CM Elite 100. I had mentioned that Elite 100 will require Flex ATX PSU. Supermicro makes these...again tricky to find in India. CM might bundle theirs, but CM's PSUs are not safe. May be they have bundled a good one for this, but I won't comment because their history is shady as far as normal ATX PSUs are concerned.

Corsair CX430v2 is PS/2 ATX.

 

[mohsin20]

No. Corsair CX430v2 will NOT fit in CM Elite 100. I had mentioned that Elite 100 will require Flex ATX PSU. Supermicro makes these...again tricky to find in India. CM might bundle theirs, but CM's PSUs are not safe. May be they have bundled a good one for this, but I won't comment because their history is shady as far as normal ATX PSUs are concerned.

Corsair CX430v2 is PS/2 ATX.

sorry u did mention about the psu earlier but my mind skipped it.
now we have two issues with this cabinet. the psu unit and the mobo which are hard to find. to be honest i liked the mobo and i would like to buy that one (ASUS F1A75-I Deluxe mini-ITX FM1 Price in India & Specs),. but the psu is what i am worried about. so either i will have to purchase another flex atx psu of about 200-250w or change my cabinet to another brand of same size. damn this is complicated.

 

[skeletor]

yea, it's complicated. Actually, that the 150w bundled Cooler Master PSU should end up being fine for A5-3500 (not A6-3650). But the thing is, Cooler Master is shady. Sells a sub-par 400w PSU as 600w.

Off to sleep now. Good night.

okay wait.

Cooler Master Elite 100 Case Review | Hardware Secrets

HardwareSecrets approved the PSU. So, it's fine.

But mind you, A6-3650 is around 120w under full load while gaming. (ignore if you won't) And also..you'll add hard disk and stuff. PSU might still be needed afterall.

 

[mohsin20]

yea, it's complicated. Actually, that the 150w bundled Cooler Master PSU should end up being fine for A5-3500 (not A6-3650). But the thing is, Cooler Master is shady. Sells a sub-par 400w PSU as 600w.

Off to sleep now. Good night.

okay wait.

Cooler Master Elite 100 Case Review | Hardware Secrets

HardwareSecrets approved the PSU. So, it's fine.

But mind you, A6-3650 is around 120w under full load while gaming. (ignore if you won't) And also..you'll add hard disk and stuff. PSU might still be needed afterall.

last question for the night. would a 200w flex do the job

 

[skeletor]

yup, it would be fine if it's a good one and can actually deliver the rated power with good noise/ripple supression and good voltage regulation. Internet reviews will be needed. Otherwise it may not be any better or may be worse than the bundled one in CM Elite 100.

 

[Cilus]

I thnk OP is going for 2X4GB Ram. Now can anyone explain me why 8 GB Ram is required for just HD movie watching?
2ndly Ico, there is a review regarding the Video enhancing performance of the different Graphics cards from both AMD and Nvidia and the winner was AMD. Also it is observed that if you really wana enhance the quality then a HD 5570 class Gfx is required along with good CPU. So I think OP should stick with at least with the Tri Core Llano processor.
2ndly I know the Mini ITX cabinets are ideal fo HTPC purpose but the components OP are purchasing are not at all HTPC components. OP is going to purchase A6-3650 which is a quad core CPU and performance wise close to Athlon II X4 635. It is a 100 W TDP CPU and simply shouldn't be put inside a Mini ITX cabinet. Most of the HTPC builds are based on Nvidia Ion and AMD E-350 based which comes with sub 30W TDP whereas your choice is to put a 100W TDP Processor and use a 150W PSU to power it. SO better opt for a smart looking normal small cabinet rather than a Mini ITX one.

 

[d6bmg]

I thnk OP is going for 2X4GB Ram. Now can anyone explain me why 8 GB Ram is required for just HD movie watching?

No need. 4GB will suffice for HTPC. Even 2GB will do the work flawlessly.

SO better opt for a smart looking normal small cabinet rather than a Mini ITX one.

Exactly! That's why I've already suggested Elite 310 + HTPC cases have very limited extension slots which won't help in OP's case in anyway.

 

[whitestar_999]

@mohsin20,first of all please don't mind my views as i am only being honest & no intention of offending anyone.

i normally download hd/bluray formats and use vlc or bs player to watch movies.

if you are using vlc or bs player then you are using windows 7 default renderer EVR which quality wise is considered as at best an avg renderer.using EVR renderer means you will be wasting any extra graphics power you got(graphics card/AMD A series processors).so if you are not going to use that power what is the point in getting it at the cost of increased power consumption & temp.a pentium G620 processor will run cooler & its integrated graphics is more than enough for EVR.according to reviews G620 can be considered effectively as a 35W TDP cpu which comes very close to i3 2100T(intel pricey power efficient core i series almost double the price) operating temps.

@cilus,5670 is a good card(one i have in mind & powerful than 5570) but you need madvr renderer to fully use its capabilities no matter which decoder being used.i use madvr with 2gb GT440M card & for HD interlaced material gpu-z show ~60% gpu load.even with 720p clips with fancy animated subtitles load is ~40% though i haven't tested the fancy subtitles 10bit h264 clips but these clips are rare & only used in japanese anime releases.

 

[skeletor]

He doesn't have enough space in the cupboard to put a Micro ATX cabinet in there. CM Elite 100 is the only choice.

 

[whitestar_999]

i am not familiar with h61/h67 mini-itx board pricing but surely they can't be costlier than amd ones,right?if this is not the case then my suggestion is go with the cheapest amd mini-itx processor+mobo combo.

 

[Cilus]

If he is willing to go with Elite 100 Case then opt for a Dual core APU rather than a quad core one.

 

[mohsin20]

hey guys back in mumbai again.
question:- which is the best software to play hd/bluray movies. coz i wud play in vlc or bs player and was quite happy wih the rendering. if there is any software that can make my vieweing experience better please advice.

secondly.

my cabinet space is 12.5Hx10Dx20W. (317x254x508 mm) now i have play within that space constraint. @ico and i were contemplating a lot of options late last night. and then i had to leave for delhi. after returning i have managed to find some other cabinets that will fit in that space but again it has flaws.

for example these zebronics wil fit but they only one slot for hdd
Zebronics - Cabinets - Slim Series - Flair
Zebronics - Cabinets - Slim Series - Genie

then there is this which i think is better than the cooler master case

XION XON-810P Micro ATX/ITX HTPC Case | HTPC Reviews, Home Theater, Media PC Guide
it has two bays but no slot for 2.5" hdd.

the configuration to be fitted in that case is as folows.

amd a6-3650
ASUS F1A75-I DELUXE (if i find a retailer)
8gb ram
64gb ssd
1tb hdd 3.5"
Corsair CX430v2 @ 2400

my issues
a) space constraint.
b) since it is inside a cupboard (very limited ventilation) should not overheat a lot even when its on for days or weeks.
c) should play hd seamlessly.
d) should not lag or hang when multitasking

 

[whitestar_999]

@mohsin20,video player does not decide picture quality,renderer does.vlc & bs player use EVR renderer(default windows 7 renderer).there are renderers which are better than evr & the best of them is not supported by these players.however since you are satisfied with present results so keep using these players.also using those renderers is not possible in your current scenario so leave it at that.

now coming to your main usage which is watching hd videos using evr renderer in vlc/bs player you don't need much graphics power so even the lowest amd dual core A series processor is enough for you.also because of your space constraints & your 24*7 pc on scenario coupled with poor ventilation you really can't afford any quad core processor.8gb ram is overkill for your config so get 4gb ram instead.

should not lag or hang when multitasking

it all depends on you.you can hang a 6 core processor if you want to.anyway a dual core processor is fine for your usage scenario & i think you can run a virus scan in background while watching hd videos though it will also depend on what antivirus you will use because some are very cpu intensive during scan.

 

[mohsin20]

@mohsin20,video player does not decide picture quality,renderer does.vlc & bs player use EVR renderer(default windows 7 renderer).there are renderers which are better than evr & the best of them is not supported by these players.however since you are satisfied with present results so keep using these players.also using those renderers is not possible in your current scenario so leave it at that.

now coming to your main usage which is watching hd videos using evr renderer in vlc/bs player you don't need much graphics power so even the lowest amd dual core A series processor is enough for you.also because of your space constraints & your 24*7 pc on scenario coupled with poor ventilation you really can't afford any quad core processor.8gb ram is overkill for your config so get 4gb ram instead.


it all depends on you.you can hang a 6 core processor if you want to.anyway a dual core processor is fine for your usage scenario & i think you can run a virus scan in background while watching hd videos though it will also depend on what antivirus you will use because some are very cpu intensive during scan.

what other renderers are there that can make my experience better in watching hd movies. and what players would you suggest i use.
i currently use kaspersky and that does use a lot of processing power and the movies start to hang. although i don't play games on pc, but i do have a son growing up and soon he will look to play pc games. so therefore i am thinking about the quad core. i know it looks an overkill for my requirement for the moment but i rather be safe than sorry.i was also contemplating between a6-3650 and A8-3850 as both are quads and within my budget.