HTPC Build – Feedback Requested

[scarpenter002]

I have built PC’s and a WHS, but this is my first pure HTPC.

This HTPC will be used for the following:

• Play movies from MyMovies (from WHS)
• Play movies from BD and SD DVD
• Watch TV via Media Center
• Play content from WHS (Movies, Music, Videos, Pictures)
• Will be hard wired to home network.  (gigabit)
• Will play a few video games, but that is secondary to movies.
• Will eventually be integrated to AV receiver via HDMI and/or Optical Audio 
• Will be initially attached to flat screen via HDMI and eventually a Digital projector for 2.35:1 projection.
• Content will not live on this machine, it will be migrated to the WHS.

I am looking for feedback good or bad on the following list of hardware to serve my needs listed above:

• SILVERSTONE GD05B
• GIGABYTE GA-880GM-USB3 AM3 AMD 880G USB 3.0 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
• Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 Media Center Kit Dual TV Tuner 1213 PCI-Express x1   
• SeaSonic SS-350ET Bronze 350W PFC Power Supply    
• AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor    
• Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CT040G310 2.5″ 40GB SATA II SSD  (or similar of another brand)
• G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM 1600 (PC3 12800)   
• Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARS 2TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5″ HD
• LITE-ON Black 4X Blu-ray Reader SATA Model iHOS104-06    
• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit
• SilenX IXP-74-09 120mm Case Fan (3 to replace core fans)

Please let me know if you have anything good or bad to say about any of the above items.  Also, if I missing anything.

Thanks,

Scott

[PAPutzback]

I’ve had issues with WD Green Drives when dealing with several streams. But my drives are a couple years older so perhaps the newer ones with the 64mb cache handle it better.

If you are going to be gaming on the HTPC you might check out AMD’s latest Fusion systems or expect to be adding a discrete card to your setup in the future. 1080P is a lot to ask for from integrated graphics when it comes to gaming. I have the 880G chipset and Dirt 2 ran well but I did have to dial the settings down a bit. 

[Mike Garcen]

you don’t mention what type of gaming you’re going to be doing, but yeah that system is pretty weak on that side of things.

Also, you mention that all your content will reside on the WHS, so why the 2TB drive at all? Why not save the money, maybe invest in a bigger SSD (40gb is really the bare minimum for a Windows install)

[PAPutzback]

I’m running the previous version of that board (without USB3) with a Kingston V series 60 SSD for the OS and apps and an old 250 Seagate drive and a 65 watt CPU.

The WHS addin pulls the recorded TV off the 250 and moves it to the server. 

I use the stock heatsink and fan and just the PSU fan to cool it and I only hear it when it is time to blow out the dust. 

[swoon]

At this point, I would recommend against an Athlon system. A better choice would be to go with a SB Pentium G620 and Intel Media Series board like DH67BL or DH67GD. Pricing is about the same, maybe slightly higher on the Intel side. You’ll get a better experience though. The Intel NIC, BIOS, utilities and overall better board are worth the negligible additional cost.

Also, get at least a 60GB SSD.

What type of games do you care about playing? Do you suspect you’ll want to use a discrete GPU for gaming?

[scarpenter002]

Thanks for all the feedback.  Please keep it coming!!!

Yes, I know the memory is overkill, but memory it cheap. 

I will take the Intel route into consideration.  Taking another look at the I3 Sandy. Not sure how the I3-2100 compares to the Pentium?.?.?  Both are rated at 65w, but the I3-2100 is rated 3.1 GHz vs. 2.6 for the G620.  Considering power usage, maybe I should consider the T variants that are rated at 35w, but GHz drops to 2.5 and 2.2 respectively…. 

On the SSD, yes I am reconsidering moving to 64gb and SATA3 rather than SATA2.

Thanks,
Scott

[swoon]

The few extra GHz are not that important. The main things you lose with Pentium vs. i3 are Quick Sync and Hyper Threading. G620 or i3-2100 will both be very good citizens with respect to power even if they are not T-variants. If money isn’t an issue, spring for the i3, otherwise, you can get by with the Pentium. If you are doing commercial skip analysis, at least get i3, if not i5.

Places to skimp will be in memory and SATA3 if budget is an issue. You’ll benefit from an i3 more than an extra 4GB or SATA3 SSD.

[scarpenter002]

Thanks Aaron.  Next question is around cooling the CPU.  Is there any difference in the heat produced by the I3-2100 vs I3-2100T?  If so that will also come into play.  I am also considering a heatsink only to replace the stock CPU fan/heatsink.  With the chosen case, there should be a fan right next to the CPU that could be used to push air across a vertical heatsink.  Just another option to keep the noise to a minimum.

[swoon]

You’re looking at a TDP of 65W on the i3-2100 and 35W for the T-variant. TDP is theoretically how much heat may need to be eliminated when the part is under heavy load.

Since you’re considering a bit of a non-standard heat dissipation, you’ll definitely want to consider the T-variant. There is 35W G620T as well you may want to look at.

[santanan]

I finished building my HTPC/NAS device to consolodate my 2 ReadyNAS and HTPC build.

Case:  Lian Li PC-P80N

Processor: (2) Xeon L5630 (runs at 40 watts to conserve energy)

Motherboard: EVGA Classified SR-2

Memory: 24mb (will increase to 48mb in the future)

Video: (2) EVGA GTX580 Hydrocopper (SLI)

Raid Card: ARC-1880-ix-12 (supports SAS/SATA and is 6Gb/s)

Raid 0 (OS): (2) Vertex 3 (120gb, MAX IOPS)

Raid 10 (Storage): (12) 2TB Seagate Barracuda XT (64mb cache, 6Gb/s, 7200rpm)

TV Tuner: (2) Ceton InfiniTV

[babgvant]

Either SNB CPU won’t tax the HSF enough to cause a noise problem so I’d run the retail cooler unless there was a problem. 

At idle and most use cases a 65W SNB based CPU is close enough to a 35W one in power usage that unless you are running in a constrained environment (or really don’t need the extra frequency) it may not be worth the additional cost for the lower wattage CPU.  There certainly are scenarios where the balance tips towards the “T”, but I don’t think that you’ll see it when opting for a case like the GD05B.

Other points:

1) Do you need the analog capture provided by the HVR-2250?  If not, the AverMedia Duet is a much better deal for the same feature set.

2) Get a bigger SSD (I know it’s already been said, but worth repeating)

3) With Lynx available, I think it is a better option than the older AMD IGPs.  But it’s important to keep in mind that they still have some driver issues to sort out on the platform.

[scarpenter002]

[quote=babgvant]

1) Do you need the analog capture provided by the HVR-2250?  If not, the AverMedia Duet is a much better deal for the same feature set.

[/quote]

The analog is not really required and yes AverMedia is less, but the HVR does provide me with a nice remote and IR receiver.  Of course it might be a good excuse to buy the IR receiver separate and put the savings toward a nice Logitech Harmony.

[babgvant]

I have both tuners so trust me when I say that while the Hauppauge eHome IR receiver is decent, you’d be much happier with a Harmony + Duet + other IR receiver. 

Also, if you end up with one of the Intel boards Aaron mentioned you could use the CIR (which I found out recently supports discrete On) to do an internal IR mount.

[scarpenter002]

Ok, so after lots of input, I have changed direction from AMD to Intel, here is my new build:

• SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum / 0.8mm SECC Grandia Series GD05B micro-ATX
• SILVERSTONE Strider Plus ST50F-P 500W ATX 12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Power Supply
• Silverstone Short Cable Set For Silverstone Strider Series Modular PSU
• Intel BOXDH67GDB3 LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
• Intel Core i3-2100T Sandy Bridge 2.5GHz LGA 1155 35W Dual-Core Desktop Processor
• Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5″ 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
• Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARS 2TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5″ Internal Hard Drive
• G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM 1600 (PC3 12800) F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
• LITE-ON Black 4X Blu-ray Reader SATA Model iHOS104-06
• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit
• SilenX IXP-74-09 120mm Case Fan  (3 of these)
• AVerMedia AVerTVHD Duet – PCTV Tuner MTVHDDUWB PCI-Express x1 Interface
• Internal IR Receiver w MCE Remote

I have switched over to a low power CPU with an Intel MOBO. (I like the intel NIC) 
I’ve increased my SDD capacity and performance. 
Switched to the AverMedia and separate IR Receiver.
Swithced to a modular PSU to minimize cable clutter.

So, Fire Away!!!  Let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Scott

[mikinho]

You may also want to consider the Intel CIR + Remote (see http://cgi.ebay.com/IR-Receiver-w-Cable-CIR-MB-MCE-Back-Lit-Remote-/330581178980?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cf82c7a64)

It offers some advantages over the generic USB IR Receivers as it doesn’t use a USB port and can power on from S5.

 

Edit: Ignore me…looks like Aaron and Andrew already recommened it

[Author]

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