HTPC - High spec build Our i3-2100 based HTPC, which I assembled in 2010, is becoming a little long in the tooth and eccentric. I put this down to a lack of updated drivers resulting in occasional sound and video glitches and a complete inability to run Cyberlink Bluray software without crashing - it has also become louder over the years. Anyway, Mrs Chunkers has demanded an upgrade as she has a low tolerance for such things and having run it 24/7 for almost 5 years I am more than satisfied. Budget : flexible and not the priority Main uses of intended build: HTPC, I want a seamless smooth operating, quiet WIndows MCE based HTPC which can also trasncode and run the occasional game in HD (e.g. FIFA 2015). I want to be happy for another 5 years basically, I will not re-use any components apart from my recently purchased Parts required: flexible, I could use my recently purchased Quad tuner TBS 6205 DVB-T2 card and a 750ti gfx Previous build information (list details of parts): i3-2100, H67 mb, BlackGold dual tuner DVB-T2, not re-using anything Monitor resolution: HD (no 4K, but possibly future?) Storage requirements: SSD for OS and 3 TB hard disk Will you be overclocking: no Any motherboard requirements : no Extra information about desired system: I am fine with overkill as a strategy to ensure good performance, I obviously want it to be QUIET Case : I have a pretty large well ventilated space in my TV cabinet which can accommodate a decent sized horizontal case so will be looking a full desktop size case to maximise airflow and preferable using quiet large diameter fans In my mind is a spec like this : i5/i7 CPU ATX motherboard, I generally favour Asus 16 Gb RAM Geforce 750ti graphics card for the odd game (if quiet enough) TBS 6205 Quad tuner DVB-T2 card Large-ish case maybe like the Lian Li PC-C50 (recommendation?) Bluray drive 200 Gb SSD for the OS 4 Gb HD Seasonic or other PSU Questions / Help!: Case : I am struggling here, am really interested in peoples recommendations here for a good airflow, large-ish HTPC case which looks good under a TV and will allow a quiet build. Current case I will not re-use is a Silverstone GD04, quite nice but too tight for my liking, not good airflow and annoying fitment of bluray - 80mm fans not as quiet as I would like. CPU : i5 or i7? What do you think? I am happy to go to an i7 if there is long term benefit, if in doubt I will up-spec rather than down just for the long term capabilities Cheers Chunkers
It's certainly limited choice, I am considering the Silverstone Grandia GD09 which might fit the bill. Chunks
Fitting a computer case into a TV cabinet can be a total B. In my experience the main issue is cabinet drawer depth, PC cases are often much deeper than TV components. First off, I found out today that MS is killing off Media Center in Windows 10, I currently am fielding suggestions for alternatives in the software forum, something to look out for... Second, ATX for sure? Limits case choice severely. My signature HTPC is mATX, I could potentially go to mITX because I only populate one slot with my TBS quad tuner. If I were you I would switch from Intel to an AMD APU partnered with a quiet cooler or AIO water cooling solution and ditch the graphics card altogether, then you could get an mITX or mATX board, the smaller the board the more options on cases. Looks it can cope with Battlefield 4 at 1080p if you tweak the settings, the caveat is you need to buy fast overclockable RAM as this is shared. My signature HTPC has been in 3 different cases to fit into different types of tv cabinets, started with an antec desktop NSK2480, which was cheap and actually quite nice internally. I did have the Lian Li PC-C50, which was a pretty good case but the internals were pretty cramped and not fun to build, the spar across the centre of the case that hangs the drive cages obstructs the pci slots so installation and upgrades where fiddly, I also found that the cramped case made for seriously suspect air flow. Each time I upgraded was because my tv cabinet changed, finally I got the Lian Li PC-V355B, this is a cube and is actually really nice to build and is very roomy, a niggle is that the CPU socket is seriously infringed by the power supply placement. I have a large Be Quiet cooler that was fine in the other desktop cases but had issues here which seem strange when you look at the case, in the end I had to reinstall the fan under the heatsink, a pain but had little negative effect. It may be good for an AIO water cooler though. Measure up carefully how much space you have in the cabinet carefully before anything else.
i have a Silverstone GD05B and that is slightly shorter than a normal case. It fits perfectly in my large ish oak cabinet. it will take a 2.5 and a 3.5 disk so no issues full height cards and mATX board. It also supports a full ATX PSU although be careful which one you buy as it only supports up to 180mm Id also opt for a AMD CPU with a decent onbaord GPU. 16GB is a waste - id just grab 8GB as even games wont chew through it.
I have a Zalman HD501 case. I like it - nice build quality and finish. It has a similar profile to my stereo amp. which sits beside it. I have 2 case fans (120 mm Sharkoon Silent Eagles) set up to provide a cross-flow. No fan on the CPU or GPU. It's virtually silent. How annoying if fans are audible during the silent parts of movies. As Bungletron suggests, the TV cabinet with sufficient depth was the most difficult part. I got a 3-shelf glass one from a specialist online retailer.
Thanks guys, I will definitely check out the Zalman case and do a bit more research into AMD CPU's (I haven't built a non-intel system since the 90's!) I am troubled by the prospect of WMC being dropped, WMC boxes have been part of the family for a long time now, grrr. I have a large open-backed TV stand with adjustable glass shelves so I am not expecting to have any trouble with a large case (famous last words!) I'll keep you posted Chunks
This thread and your comments have been so helpful, thanks all. The expiry of WMC has made me re-evaluate the whole build to be honest, I am in discussion with Mrs Chunks about what we do, the WMC lounge HTPC is really for her. I guess she is going to have to consider Kodi vs MediaPortal frontend as I already have a Quad tuner MediaPortal server in the house. As Kodi runs perfectly well on a Chromebox (or my current HTPC) I am now wondering whether I should just scrap the whole new 'premium' HTPC and get a chromebox and supplement it with a Steam machine build for the odd gaming session later this year. This way I can just switch off the Steam machine when I am not playing games and save the power / noise. Ho hum ...... Thanks al! Chunks
OK, I have made up my mind and here is the current build, comments welcome : http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/Chunkers/saved/c8ZKHx Intel Core i5-4690 Zalman CNPS8900 Quiet CPU Cooler Asus H97M-E Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive Western Digital WD Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card TBS 6205 Quad tuner DVB-T2 tuner card PCIE Silverstone GD09B HTPC Case Silverstone 500W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) Noctua NF-F12 PWM 55.0 CFM 120mm Fan Cheers Big ears! Chunks
I must admit I haven't looked at that, I have a big roomy case and lots of space for it and want a minimum of a PCIe 3.0 (x16) and another PCIE slot for a tuner if I want it. If I was attempting a small / compact build then would definitely consider it if there was one with enough expansion slots. Chunks
Just in case anyone is looking through this thread I made a quick build video of this PC : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0LoQ15AlWM I thought some of you might be interested Chunks
Cool, its fun making them, I am away on business at the moment but I am planning to complete an Ambilight system build I have next month which is driven by the HTPC - that will probably be my next video. Flashy lights for the win! C
