Beginner’s Guide to Building a Home Theater PC

We often start with the motherboard first as it’s the central brain of any computer and is the most difficult to change in the future. The first big decision is Intel or AMD. There are pros and cons to each and they often trade places as the top contender every few generations. For our beginner build we chose AMD, but nobody will fault you if you go Intel (Editor’s Note: Several editors use Intel boards for their main HTPC, and if you can afford it, Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors [Core i5-2500K, Core i3-2100T, Core i5-2400S] reviewed by Andrew, are very capable). Given the current state of hardware acceleration and capabilities of recent integrated graphics processors (IGP), AMD offers good performance at an affordable price.

The ASRock 880GMH/USB3 was selected for the motherboard. It’s based on the AMD 880G chipset which supports a variety of processors with the AM3 socket and the integrated ATI Radeon HD 4250 GPU supporting D-Sub, DVI-D and HDMI outputs. In addition it has on-board 7.1 channel HD audio with optical S/PDIF output available. Please note you can either stream uncompressed 7.1 audio as LPCM using HDMI or send 7.1 channels of analog HD audio using the stereo 3.5mm jacks. This level of connectivity will allow the builder to connect to just about any HDTV and/or receiver on the market. The board also has five SATA connections, a variety of PCI slots, four available memory slots, and one USB 3.0 port! An impressive number of features in a relatively small MicroATX form factor. Why do we comment on the form factor? This will have an impact on how much room there is to work with inside the chassis as well as things like heat and expansion–usually the smaller you go, the less you have to work with. [Editor’s Note: if size is an issue, lots of good Mini-ITX chassis exist that are even smaller than Micro ATX and are fully capable of HTPC duties]

Coupled to this board we chose the AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz processor. Don’t be fooled by the low price tag on this chip; as the workhorse of this HTPC it is quite capable. Keep in mind much of the video decoding will be handled by the Radeon GPU, so you will find the processor easily keeps up with all your HTPC needs.

As your journey into the world of HTPC grows, you will find the Socket AM3 allows for a wide range of performance options with the ability to upgrade to a pretty serious Phenom II X6 down the road if you choose (Battlefield 3 on the big screen perhaps?!).

Memory is not really a big deal unless you are a serious gamer looking for extremely low CAS latency or overclocking capabilities. There’s no reason to go with less than 4GB especially at current prices. For this build, Mushkin Enhanced Essentials 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel memory was chosen as it is amazingly cheap and well reviewed. The ASRock motherboard also has room for two more sticks for future use.

Next up is the hard drive. To keep this build simple we chose a single large drive that will handle the operating system as well as provide adequate space for media content. The choice of hard drive manufacturer is often based on user experience; if someone loses all their data to a hard drive failure there is no way they will buy from that brand again! Conversely, if you have never had an issue with a particular manufacturer you might stick with them for life. Choose a drive you are comfortable buying, it is your system after all. For our beginner HTPC build a Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM drive was chosen. This particular drive supports the latest SATA 6.0 Gb/s interface and will prove a nice balance of speed and capacity while still keeping noise levels down. A logical upgrade path could be one of the following–either a smaller and silent SSD drive for the operating system with the 1TB drive dedicated to media content, or the addition of an even larger drive such as a 2TB or even 3TB drive when you get serious about backing up Blu-rays!
To power this build we chose the Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D 380W power supply. The Antec is an 80 Plus Bronze certified unit providing power efficiency of at least 82% and 380W is plenty of juice for our system especially given the 65W CPU. Often you will find a no-name budget power supply included with the case. This is tempting due to the lower combined cost. However you will rarely find a quality power supply with high efficiency or Active Power Factor Correction (PFC). Andrew explains the benefits of 80+ and PFC in his Basics Guide. 

All this stuff needs a home, right? When it comes to choosing an enclosure there are a host of options to consider. You may also find that your needs will change as you become more experienced and your system expands. The case we chose for this build exemplifies a typical HTPC case that would fit in your living room among other A/V equipment. Key features of an enclosure not hidden away in a closet or basement include the following: first, it needs to be quiet–some would argue it needs to be silent. Fans are typically the source of most noise, however some hard drives are noticeably audible when crunching data. 120mm fans have the benefit of moving lots of air while not turning too fast and making much noise. But they are not always feasible in smaller enclosures. Smaller fans will work fine but you may want to spend a little more money on quieter fans and utilize fan speed controls typically found in most modern motherboard BIOS. Secondly we don’t want too many flashy lights blinking away while settling in for a good romantic comedy, so stay away from gaming cases! Other desirable attributes include adequate room for components, proper ventilation, and good aesthetics!

The case pictured above is the NMedia 1080P, an affordable enclosure which encompasses most of the criteria described above. It comes with a pair of 80mm fans and has room for two more, and also has three 3.5” internal bays allowing for future storage options. The ability to fit a standard ATX power supply in such a low profile enclosure is appreciated due to cost and availability.
 
Remaining components necessary to start using this bad boy include a keyboard, mouse, and monitor or television. A remote control is also highly recommended for the 10-foot experience. For more on controlling your HTPC, refer to our Beginner’s Guide to Controlling Your HTPC. We also need to mention tuners. Many of us started out with a simple analog tuner. However PC based tuners have evolved to include ATSC, QAM, DVB-T/S, and even CableCARD such as the Ceton InfiniTV 4. Connection to your HTPC can be via PCIe, PCI, USB, or Network. One final comment on tuners is the option to have NO tuner. A growing number of people are happy receiving their content exclusively over the Internet. Companies such as Hulu, Boxee, Netflix, and Amazon are competing to be your primary source of entertainment, rather than a supplement to your existing cable or satellite subscription.
 
Although this guide is focused on hardware, we should quickly talk about software. The obvious operating system is Windows 7 since most people are comfortable with it and almost all versions include Media Center. SageTV is a popular alternative that offers similar functionality for a cost. For Linux users, a popular solution is Ubuntu or Mythbuntu coupled with Xbox Media Center (XBMC). We’ll save setting up WMC or XBMC for another day.
 
One other item worth noting is the availability of pre-assembled HTPC systems such as the Dell Zino. There are several companies such as Dell and ASRock that sell prebuilt HTPCs containing hardware specs similar to those above. Obviously these systems are designed for the user not interested in building their own and typically come complete with an operating system and remote control. What you will find is the cost quickly ramps up as you click the upgrade options and future upgrades are typically limited.
 
If you’ve made it through this beginner’s guide up to this point you are most likely a future enthusiast looking to get your hands dirty. However some people may prefer the simplicity of an OEM system. If you want to go for the build process, start adding parts to your wish list and keep an eye out for sales or combo deals. The system described above will provide you a great entry into the world of HTPC–powerful enough for 1080p content while flexible enough for future expansion. Once you’ve got your parts and are ready to assemble, follow our Beginner’s Guide to Assembling an HTPC which takes you through the build process.