HTPC system build

charl · 2012-09-06 11:34:17

Hi there everyone,

It is good to be back, I've been absent for a few years wink Life has been good and I have been having a lot of fun.

So let's get straight into it...

I am going to be putting together a HTPC with room to expand and grow. And because of my very early love of #! I want my system to run on it. Currently I am weighing up the hardware options taking into account a Linux system.

These are my options so far:

System 1

intel innovation series d2800MT - Marshal Town , Retail pack , mini-iTX - all-in-one mb with Integrated Intel Atom N2800 dual-core cpu

Kingston Hyper-X KHX1600C9D3K2/4GX , 2x 2Gb kit

Coolermaster RC-120A-KKN1 , Elite 120 advance mini-iTX gaming cube case with 2x expansion slots

Coolermaster RS-420-SPM2 Silentpro M2 - 420w

Kingston sh103s3/90G 90Gb 2.5" SATA6G SSD

Western Digital Green WD20EARX , 2Tb/2000gb , Sata6G

LG GH24NS90 , 24x

Logitech 920-003117 Wireless K400 + built-in 3.5" touch pad

System 2

Intel media series H61AG Apple Glen Retail pack : all-in-one LGA1155 mini-iTX mb ; intel H61-B3 chipset , 2x dual channel So-Dimm DDR3 1333 , 2x s-ata3G + 1x eSATA , on-board VGA with dual -output ( DVi+HDMi with Flexible eDP/LVDS flat panel display support ) + 10ch (7.1+2) audio with SPDiF out + gigabit lan ; 2x PCIe-mini ( full-size + half-size ) , 1 x pci-e (4x) , with 2x USB3.0 + 2x USB2.0 - mini-iTX - powered by universal NB ac-adapter

Intel Sandybridge lga1155 i5-2320 - Quad core / 4threads , 3.0ghz box cpu / 3.3ghz turbo boost , 32nm , VT-x + AES-N + AVX , no vPro , no TXT , no VT-d , built-in dual channel DDR3-1333 memory controler , 21Gb/sec memory bandwidth , built-in HD2000 graphics ( 6EU , 850/1100mhz , dual stream video decode + HDMi ) , 6mb L3 cache , 95w - Quick Sync Video + InTru 3D + Insider + FDi + Clear Video HD + Dual Display Capable

Kingston ValueRam KVR16N11K2/16 , 8Gb x2 kit ddr3-1600 , CL11 , 1.5v - 240pin - lifetime warranty

Coolermaster RC-120A-KKN1 , Elite 120 advance mini-iTX gaming cube case with 2x expansion slots - 240x207x401mm , black with silver aluminum finish front panel , No psu , with cable management , support upto 343mm long vga card , 1x front usb3.0 + 2x usb2.0 + audio in/out - 1x5.25" + 3/1x 3.5" hidden + 0/4 2.5" hidden - 1x80mm +1x 120mm fan support upto 3 - mini-iTX

Coolermaster RS-420-SPM2 Silentpro M2 - 420w

Western Digital Green WD20EARX , 2Tb/2000gb , Sata6G

LG GH24NS90 , 24x

Logitech 920-003117 Wireless K400 + built-in 3.5" touch pad

I'm opening the floor to discussion now smile

VastOne · 2012-09-06 14:54:23

^ What would you like to discuss? Which is a better choice? Cost? Setup? Where to buy?

charl · 2012-09-06 14:57:31

Of there is any other hardware considerations to make for a HTPC. I would assume AMD still isn't a viable option really.

mynis01 · 2012-09-06 18:38:20

I'm a fan of using nvidia vid cards to decode video using vdpau. Even a $20 g210 paired with an old single core p4 or athlon can decode 1080p video reasonably well. I'm not sure how this affects power usage though vs using an intel HD4000 GPU, and the HD4000 is definately capable of smooth 1080p playback from what I hear. OTOH, if you get a decent GPU, you really won't have to worry about anything else in the machine, at least as far as video playback is concerned, and could probably easily get by with an atom board or one of those cheap $40ish Semprons. This GeForce here has 96 cores and 2 GB memory and runs around $60. If complete overkill is your thing, you can spend $95-105 and get the GT 640 which has 384 cores and some other more modern features.

charl · 2012-09-07 08:47:20

The other idea behind the system is that it can be expanded to handle all of my media and storage. So the fact that I can expand on storage. So I am leaning to maybe a little more grunt.

Curiously enough the two systems cost the same.

pvsage · 2012-09-07 10:02:56

If expandability is a goal, maybe a standard ATX mobo and an ATX tower (or perhaps a purpose-made HTPC case)? An advantage (or perhaps disadvantage) of the HTPC cases is they usually have a display similar to the typical home theater amplifier/receiver, and I understand some of them work OK with Linux HTPC applications. I think a few of them might also come with full 5.1/7.1 power amps, but this may be a bit out of your price range.

charl · 2012-09-09 05:02:19

My biggest consideration to make is if a Intel Atom based HTPC with just 4gb of RAM will last as long, and provide enough expansion as a i5 ITX system with 16gb of RAM. Or is it just overkill?

pvsage · 2012-09-09 07:42:09

If by "last as long" you mean will still be considered a relatively powerful processor, then no. Quite frankly, the Atom processors have all been about as powerful as processors that were considered top-of-the-line about a decade ago. And considering how volatile the home theater market is right now, it's difficult to predict if even an i5 paired with a high-end GPU would be adequate for typical HTPC usage a decade from now.

charl · 2012-09-09 12:09:39

The timeframe I was thinking of was around 2-3 year lifetime.

But thanks for the advice, think the i5 is going to be my best option. Will keep everyone updated on the progress.

xf · 2012-09-15 09:40:14

Why do you need an i5? I am using an Atom CPU with a nVidia ION GPU for my home cinema. Bluray, DVD, mkv/avi@1080p are no problem. Something like Asus AT5IONT is absolutely sufficient. You don't need so much hardware power in a htpc. And with the vdpau lib, you can forward the 1080p movies to the ION. It works great and you save much money (the low energy costs of an atom cpu are amazing!).

Last edited by xf (2012-09-15 09:49:51)

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#1 2012-09-06 11:34:17

HTPC system build

#2 2012-09-06 14:54:23

Re: HTPC system build

#3 2012-09-06 14:57:31

Re: HTPC system build

#4 2012-09-06 18:38:20

Re: HTPC system build

#5 2012-09-07 08:47:20

Re: HTPC system build

#6 2012-09-07 10:02:56

Re: HTPC system build

#7 2012-09-09 05:02:19

Re: HTPC system build

#8 2012-09-09 07:42:09

Re: HTPC system build

#9 2012-09-09 12:09:39

Re: HTPC system build

#10 2012-09-15 09:40:14

Re: HTPC system build

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