Hello my favorite online computer enthusiast community! I don't often post here, but I go through the forums regularly, so much good info! Anyway, I am considering building a HTPC. Being an engineering student, I have an appreciation for the quote "a designer knows he has achieved perfection, not where there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left, to take away." That said, let's get down to some specifics! I have a Windows Home Server box (phenomenal unit, highly recommend it!). On there I have loads of blu-ray rips, mp3s, FLAC files, and other various videos. I want to be able to play them back on my living room TV. I am planning on using windows 7, with arcsofts totalmedia theater software (it handles ripped blu ray playback nicely from what I've gathered). I have no need for a large capacity storage, since most of everything will be streamed. I am considering the use of a small capacity SSD. I also will have no need for an optical drive (main desktop PC does my rips, just going to have to get creative on how I will install windows 7). What I do need is a unit that is very queit, and preferably power efficient (and doesn't produce a lot of heat). Need good audio output (I'm not a huge audiophile, but I would like to be able to take advantage of my FLAC ripped CDs) Need HDMI output (I know nothing of graphics cards that output HDMI). Need enough computing power to handle smooth playback o a 1080p bluray rip. Preferably a very small case (although, small and quiet don't necessarily go hand in hand I know. I have a fair amount of money to work with, I am not on a strict budget. Need a stable network controller (I know that they are generally reliable, but figure its worth throwing in). Any feedback is greatly appreciated! Ogi p.s. I am in the US if it matters.
Go for a i3 spec. That should power your needs. possibly with a RAID 0 Samsung 1TH array, so you don't have to worry if a drive die's. Most GPU's come with a DVI to HDMI adapter these days, so a basic 5XXX sersies GPU should sort you. Hope this helps
not worried about storage, but I really don't even know where to begin with a small, quiet and cool HTPC case. I already got my storage taken care of, all I need is a SSD to run the OS off of, all the media will be streamed through my network.
I built my htpc a year ago using bit i had lying about, and found that its just too big, It was completely silent though. Have you had a look at any of the Mitx ion boards? Not the most powerful solution granted but should be more than enough for what you need, and it would mean you could fit in a tiny case seeing as you dont want an optical drive. Im currently looking at the Zotac ION-ITX-G Synergy and This Case which was posted the other day in the forums.
Do you need to run Windows 7 on it? If you are just building this for the Points you have mentioned then You really don't, but you maybe looking for a more multi purpose machine. If not have you considered XBMC Live? I have pretty much exactly your setup, WHS, PC & HTPC. I recently rebuilt by HTPC from a reasonably powered desktop that could do a fair amount well, to a low powered M-ITX system that concentrates almost entirely on the HTPC bit. I got one of these Mobos with this Case. They are doing a fair bundle deal but you'll probably find it cheaper on your side of the pond. I already had 4Gb RAM and an SSD. With that board you get integrated Wifi (i don't use that since I'm set for ethernet) and you get onboard power supply so your box essentially consists of Mobo, HDD and a few cables. You've also got three digital Audio connections and three video. XBMC Live uses VDPAU so full 1080p high bitrate video is dealt with at about 10% cpu utilisation... basically it does what it says on the tin. And as long as you hook everything up during the install it configures everything for you too. EDIT - If you do go down the Windows 7 Route you can use this tool to create a bootbale USB stick from ISO
Audio - try looking at the Xonar HDAV (slim) series. http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2009/08/22/asus-xonar-hdav-1-3-slim-review/1 HTPC backbone, something like this: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/mo...zotac-h55itx-ae-mini-itx-motherboard-review/1 with a Core i3-530? Tons of performance for extra stuff, handles Blu-rays great. Storage - SSD. 40GB intel or OCZ one. Doesnt have to be fast, but it's SILENT which I cannot recommend enough!
What with the htpc be plugging in to (audio & video)? Do you want to use it for live TV as well (or even streaming TV from the home server around the house)?
Thanks for all the feedback everyone, this community is awesome This HTPC will not be used for any kind of TV streaming. The audio output will be coax/fiber optic into my stereo receiver, where the video will go as well. I was under the impression that XBMC was unable to playback ripped blu-rays. I could be mistaken though, and please correct me if I am wrong I LOVE the m350 enclosure, that's probably what I'll end up using. Thanks for pointing it out! I've seen lots of suggestions for the Zotac motherboards. Would people here not recommend an intel board? I have to run to class now, will post more later. This feedback is incredible, thank you!
Just coax for audio? Forget the Xonar then - most motherboards have S/PDIF onboard. The Zotac board IS an Intel board Or you could go for an Asus/Gigabyte 785G and Athlon II 240e for cheaper HTPC lols
epic fail. Good to know Not to say that I am full of money, but if the Zotac board/i3 processor will ensure smooth blu-ray 1080p playback through a network, I'll stay the course with them. Anyone know if XBMC is capable of streaming ripped blu-rays though?
ION would suffice then, and standard def streaming would be ok anyway, it just can't handle HD flash. Depends on you ripping format. If you use the scene standard x264 mkv blah blah blah then it handles it all fine. If you're ripping "properly" without compression then you have to use the makemkv app. The XBMC forum community is almost as helpful as this one so take a look arounf there. Yeh I'm loving mine too, one quiet fan in the whole thing and I can barely feel any heat after 4 days on and fairly heavy use!! I have the wall brackets as well so its hidden behind the TV. For HTPC use only they really do everything you need. Personally I'd only use the all in one Atom\ION boards as they just work, and are pretty much designed for exactly this use. They are Intel though.
Ion does have advanced features that Core i3 CPUs do: dual stream and HDMI 1.3a etc, if you care. Also general PC use with Atom is SLOW. Atom products always annoy me, but other people don't care so much. Up to you. http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2009/12/03/building-an-ion-powered-linux-media-pc/1
My rips are uncompressed (non ISO) rips, which ideally I would want to be able to playback without having to compress them. I just can't imagine an ION CPU being capable of streaming 1080p uncompressed format. Then again, I could be very wrong. EDIT after going through the xbmc forums, looks like I'll be able to stream uncompressed blu rays, just going to have to be in mkv format and doing a bunch of other fancy work. I'll experiment with it tonight to see how doable that is.
also with regards to the intel board, I was wondering how the Zotec board compared to the Intel BOXDH57JG LGA 1156 Intel H57 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121401 Again, this is for the playback of uncompressed 1080p video files
