Other New build: Home theatre PC

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Lankuzo, 10 Dec 2010.

  1. Lankuzo

    Lankuzo CPC Refugee

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    Hello all

    Ive just started a new job and have a bit more money coming in so thought i would finally build a htpc. Still on a tight budget though.
    Ive had a look on ebuyer and this is what i have come up with.

    Crucial 64GB Real SSD C300 £89.99
    Antec NSK 2480 MATX & 380w Earthwatts psu £84.77
    Gigabyte GA-H55N-USB3 H55 £78.19
    Intel Core i3 540 3.06GHz £84.33
    Kingston 2GB DDR3 1600MHz HyperX Blu £24.46

    I will be adding 2 2Tb F4 Samsung drives which i'll be purchasing march time. Already own a blu-ray drive so thats not needed. I'll add another 2Gb ram if its needed. Will only be used for watching films and backing up my blu-ray/dvd collection and web browsing.

    will be using XBMC as a media player. Probably with windows 7 just because its easier and ive never used ubuntu.

    Any comments and suggestions would be great
     
  2. Marine-RX179

    Marine-RX179 What's a Dremel?

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    Last edited: 10 Dec 2010
  3. roosauce

    roosauce Looking for xmas projects??

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    I'm wondering why you want an SSD in a htpc? People would normally go for an ecogreen hard drive. You generally don't need the same snappiness in a htpc, so it seems a bit excessive.
     
  4. Lankuzo

    Lankuzo CPC Refugee

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    Ok I think I will drop the ssd and just use the f4's as boot drive. Was thinking of silent operation and instant loading of windows and apps but as you say the price prob doesn't make it worth it.

    Thanks for mb recommendation. Was initially looking for a mini case but couldn't find one I liked and that fitted my needs.
     
  5. Sloth

    Sloth #yolo #swag

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    With two mechanical drives in there your SSD becomes relatively moot whenever those drives spin up. So you'd only really be silent while not accessing anything outside the SSD.

    The i3 540 might also be better swapped for an i3 530. They're basically the same thing and you'll save a few bucks. Either one should be plenty powerful enough anyway (seen some people with single core Sempron HTPCs!).

    And consider getting a big, quiet CPU cooler. The stock ones are pretty noisy. A powerful cooler on a weak i3 should be very quiet and keep the system noise low. Mechnical hard drives will always make a sound and can only really be silenced by your case, so shoot for getting everything else as quiet or quieter than them.

    Been speccing up an HTPC myself and have been reading lots of articles, sharing what I've learned :D
     
  6. ShakeyJake

    ShakeyJake My name is actually 'Jack'.

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    For silence?

    EDIT - This was a reply to roosauce's post. But I opened the thread, walked away for a bit, came back and then typed. Meanwhile you two had nijad me. Move along, folks, nothing to see here. . . . . . . . :)
     
  7. Lankuzo

    Lankuzo CPC Refugee

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    i530 is more expensive on ebuyer for some reason. I think I'll do a bit more research.

    Will be changing the hsf for a large one but cant remember what one at the moment.
     
  8. Sloth

    Sloth #yolo #swag

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    Strange. Definitely check to see if the ebuyer 540 is low compared to other retailers, or if the 530 is just oddly higher. Sweet deal if it's actually cheaper than other 530s though!

    And the Gelid Tranquillo perhaps? It's supposed to be quiet if it can fit in your case.
     
  9. Nikols

    Nikols What's a Dremel?

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    IMO the SSD is worth it for fast startup and shutdown. A 40gb woulld be plenty tho (and cheaper)!
     
  10. Wicked_Sludge

    Wicked_Sludge My eyes! The goggles do nothing!

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    Im running an old 3.0Ghz P4 in my HTPC and it works dandy. not sure why you need a modern/multiple core CPU for watching movies?
     
  11. Marine-RX179

    Marine-RX179 What's a Dremel?

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    Because the i3 CPU has intergrated graphic that's decent enough for use as HTPC. So two birds for one stone...fast, and not need to get a graphic card separately.
     
  12. Lankuzo

    Lankuzo CPC Refugee

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    ripping Blu-rays on a p4 will take forever and i have quiet a few
     
  13. bdigital

    bdigital Is re-building his PC again

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    Will the i3 530 & 540 integrated GPU have enough grunt for playing Blu-rays & HD content on a 50" 720p plasma?

    Im thinking of a similar setup
     
  14. Lankuzo

    Lankuzo CPC Refugee

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    Yer should do it easily.

    I'm going to be playing blu-ray 1080p on a samsung LCD tv.

    I'm putting this on hold for now and going to get myself driving
     
  15. bdigital

    bdigital Is re-building his PC again

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    Cool thank you for that. Of course, i dont know if playing a blu-ray on a 720p TV is actually worthwhile? Im presuming it will still look better than standard DVDs?

    Also, does anyone know if the integrated GPU on the i3 will be enough for something like Audiosurf? & monkey island?. The system will have 2gb DDR3.
     
  16. Sloth

    Sloth #yolo #swag

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    720 will still be more than a DVD, yes. On such a large screen I imagine you'll be able to notice the difference.

    I'd be tempted to say it could since you'll be at pretty low resolution and they're pretty simple games.
     
  17. bdigital

    bdigital Is re-building his PC again

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    Thank you sloth. Im willing to give it a shot anyways :) Im going to revive a recent thread tonight, to ask some of you with help on the hardware choices.
     
  18. Sloth

    Sloth #yolo #swag

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    I've been waiting to build an HTPC myself (damn out of stock!) so I'll have to keep an eye out for that thread. Maybe get some last minute ideas.

    My opinion is that people are quick to over-react about graphical needs. No first hand experience with i3 GPU, but Audiosurf is an easy game to run. My own build will have a similarly weak Radeon 4250 for integrated graphics and I'm pretty confident in it for low end games. Might want to keep your eye on dedicated graphics card options downt he line, though. That's my plan.
     

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