HTPC Building Resource
So, I read this thread and felt sorry for that user. Although he might not see this thread but hopefully someone looking for that information might find this helpful. Since, it's 2 AM and I need to sleep and wake up in few hours for work. I will just draw an outline here and build this thread later.
For starters when it comes to HTPC you basically need storage,host of multimedia connectivity, a bit of power and most of all optimized energy usage along with a low noise level. In some cases yu can go fan less and thanks to the latest offering from Intel [Sandy Bridge] you can pretty much nail everything down. Hopefully later on I will cover these things in details and give you good pointers on what to look for. Like others I enjoy HD content and I have been trying to play HD content from my P3 system to now a more decent Core2Duo system.
So, I pretty much know what will work and what won't. Also, I will stress on using dedicated GPU's if required for more connectivity goodness but the current Intel offering is pretty sweet when it comes to Hardware Acceleration.
So, stick around for a while and feel free to request things here. And yes, I will include links to Softwares and converters etc.
For starters when it comes to HTPC you basically need storage,host of multimedia connectivity, a bit of power and most of all optimized energy usage along with a low noise level. In some cases yu can go fan less and thanks to the latest offering from Intel [Sandy Bridge] you can pretty much nail everything down. Hopefully later on I will cover these things in details and give you good pointers on what to look for. Like others I enjoy HD content and I have been trying to play HD content from my P3 system to now a more decent Core2Duo system.
So, I pretty much know what will work and what won't. Also, I will stress on using dedicated GPU's if required for more connectivity goodness but the current Intel offering is pretty sweet when it comes to Hardware Acceleration.
So, stick around for a while and feel free to request things here. And yes, I will include links to Softwares and converters etc.
Comments
Anyway, my setup here is an older PC as my desktop (Athlon 64 x2 5200, etc) with plenty of HD space. My laptop is pretty low powered, but toss XBMC on it and add an IR receiver, and it streams 720p all day to whatever TV I happen to be close to with no issues. Obviously not a whole lot of storage on it, but it also has Windows Media Center and Hulu Desktop installed.
The desktop is hooked up to my bedroom TV, and handles Windows Media Center (for Netflix and Hulu) and XBMC (everything else) just fine.
I'm pretty sure most of today's off the shelf PCs will work just fine for HTPC duty, with the exception of netbooks. Pretty much everything except the very cheapest machines have at least 2GB of ram, networking, and SATA.
My opinion is that XBMC is one of the best HTPC frontends you can get right now. The current version has native support for most Media Center remotes, and it'll play most formats out of the box. It also has a strong community. The current version for Windows is 10.0 - it can be finicky with how you name files if you're having it import movie and TV episode descriptions from imdb/tvdb, but it's a solid piece of software. It's also available for OSX, Linux, AppleTV, and even a bootable live image.
http://xbmc.org/
Boxee is another popular choice, and the guys behind Boxee have even released a set top box (or rather, a set-beside box?). It's available for multiple platforms and can be found at http://www.boxee.tv/ . I'm personally not a fan of Boxee, I happen to like the look and feel of XBMC better. Both both XBMC and Boxee are well respected and have active development. It's still considered beta, however.
http://www.boxee.tv/download
Windows Media Center - included with Windows Vista and Windows 7 (home and ultimate editions). I'll be honest, I didn't like WMC much at first, but it now includes built in support for Netflix, has its own set of streaming TV (mostly CBS, CW, and PBS shows), and you can get an add-on that will allow it to launch Hulu Desktop (and still work with your Windows Media Center IR remote). It still very much feels like you're inside of Windows, whereas the frontends mentioned above have their own user interfaces.
There's other HTPC frontends - Boxee and XBMC are pretty much the big guns right now, I don't know what else is still current.
Storage: The more the merrier here, unless you compress the shit out of your video files or mostly do streaming video. Hard drives are dirt cheap these days - 2 TB SATA drives are under $100 now. There's no excuse not to have plenty of storage. Just make sure you're able to back everything up, it sucks when a massive drive packed to the brim dies.
Network: Internet is obviously needed if you plan on streaming from Netflix or Hulu, or if you want your HTPC to have episode/movie information. If your primary storage is not directly attached to the HTPC, I would recommend either hardwired 100mbit, or 802.11n. 802.11g will work as long as all computers involved have a good strong signal. 802.11a/b will run away screaming in terror.
Video: Intel's current GMA HD integrated chipset does a surprisingly good job - my laptop with a P6000 Intel mobile cpu and the GMA HD video handles 720p just fine. I'm not sure what ATI/AMD's current offerings are; however, my desktop PC is fairly old, and the Geforce 8600 GT in it handles everything I can throw at it, video wise. HDMI, DVI, or VGA is up to you. VGA doesn't handle long cable runs very well, HDMI contains both audio and video signals. Also, most current nVidia offerings also have CUDA technology - in a nutshell, with the proper drivers and codecs, a good chunk of processing can be offloaded from the CPU to the GPU. This makes an especially noticeable difference if you're ripping your DVDs to a hard drive and the ripper supports CUDA (I know DVDFab does - enabling CUDA cuts my rip time by about 25-30%).
Processor: You might be able to get by with a single core if you're only doing standard definition video. I personally recommend at least a dual core - my AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200 (absolutely ancient these days) handles HTPC duty just fine.
RAM: Memory is pretty cheap these days. The more the better, but if you're still running a 32 bit OS you won't be able to actually use more than about 3GB of your RAM.
OS: Best to go with a 64 bit OS here, if you're using Windows that pretty much limits you to Vista or 7. While there is a 64 bit version of XP, driver support is nonexistent. I personally use 7 Home Premium - if you stick with Vista, make sure you have Service Pack 1 installed. Vista and 7 Home Premium both include Windows Media Center, so do the ultimate versions. Professional does not. 7 also seems, to me, to be quite a bit more efficient with resources.
An internal DVD-ROM will set you back less than half a tank of gas, Newegg currently has them starting at $15. Bluray ROMs have come way down in price, but the DRMs involved with Bluray usually requires an HDCP capable system - so you'll need DVI or HDMI to all of your displays, VGA cannot do HDCP. I don't know how well WMC or XBMC handle Bluray yet, but they handle DVDs just fine.
Sound: Most onboard sound is actually pretty decent these days, if you choose to go with an analog connection. If you're using HDMI, the audio is passed over the HDMI cable to your TV. Digital (coax and spdif) just send the audio data to your receiver or TV for processing, I believe.
Noise: the computer is going to make SOME noise. However, features such as AMD's Cool n Quiet will throttle the CPU when it's not under heavy load, which will enable it to run cooler. Cool n Quiet can also control 4 wire CPU fans - otherwise, a good QUIET cpu cooler is key, preferably one that can crank up the speed when it gets hot. Also remember, the larger the diameter of the fan, the more air it can move. Cases with 92mm or larger case fans will allow you to run quieter. You may choose to get a smaller case that can fit inside a cabinet - if you do this, just make sure air can flow through the cabinet.
Cables: Fuck Monster Cable. Seriously. You DO NOT need gold plated, titanium plated, mouth shaped, dildo equipped cables. HDMI cables in particular have some crazy markup. DO NOT BUY HDMI CABLES AT RETAIL STORES, YOU WILL GET RIPPED OFF. Go to monoprice.com for your cables. HDMI cables start under $2 and come with a lifetime warranty and even come in more than 1 color. Since HDMI is digital, it pretty much either works or doesn't - you will not see any difference in picture qualify if you compare the $1.83 Monoprice cable to the $50 Monster Cable.
Receivers and speakers are not my area - all I'm going to say is avoid the all-in-one systems. They typically don't sound much better than your TV speakers, and when one part breaks, you have to replace the whole set. Get a good name brand receiver - Pioneer is always a safe bet, Onkyo makes some great stuff and some not so great stuff. Also remember a 40 year old set of speakers may still blow away a brand new set of speakers - they don't really "age" like most electronics. If you get used speakers, make sure you can listen to them first, and make sure the cones and surrounds are in good shape. Personally, I have a 17 year old JVC ProLogic receiver with a low end set of Infinity speakers (with a powered sub), and for the small room everything is in, that works great.
Remotes: $25 will get you a Media Center remote and USB receiver. I personally have the Rosewill RRC-127 - the remote itself feels a little flimsy, but works fine. You can spend a bit more and get a higher quality remote, if you like. Or you can go to the other extreme and snag a Logitech Harmony - the Harmony line is pretty much the king of universal remotes today. The damn thing will almost cook breakfast for you.
Some pointers: (by Dfg)
When it comes to Processors go for a Core2duo processor or above. Avoid Pentium D or Single Core processors. As for Video Nvidia 200 or 400 Series and AMD 5450 or 5000 and 6000 series with UVD3 would be recommended. There are some formats that may require raw power and it's better t invest in a rig that can handle everything.
But yeh, would do good to PM him. But you're Dfg, so you probably already did
No, I didn't. I stop using that place ages ago.
Can you tell I don't like paying retail for cables? I'm not sure if I made that clear enough.
http://lifehacker.com/5745937/roll-a-powerful-media-htpc-for-less-than-500
Heat is the #1 enemy of electronics. Traditionally, the cooler you want your system to run, the louder it is - a traditional computer case fan is an 80mm with sleeve bearings, and most CPU heatsink fans are 60-70mm... which just can't move that much air unless they're spinning at a decent speed. But we want to avoid noise with a HTPC. What do you do?
Thankfully many cases today have options for larger fans - right now the sweet spot seems to be 120mm fans for your case. They can get away with lower rotational speeds and still move more air than smaller fans. Obviously, the cases that allow for larger fans are going to be a decent size - don't expect to find anything smaller than an ATX mid-tower.
Personally, I don't like most of the HTPC style cases currently on the market. They tend to have poor airflow, limited room for expansion, and many will use a compact, low wattage power supply. That's fine if you're using a low power machine that's dedicated to media - my PC is used for media, gaming, graphics, and general use. The more expensive cases will address all of these shortfalls, but I'm still a cheapskate that can't justify dropping $250+ on a HTPC style case when a $50 mid tower will perform the same job (just can't set the stereo on top of it).
I just switched over to the Cooler Master Elite 310 mid tower case. It has an attractive gloss black front bezel, includes one 120mm exhaust fan, and has places for a 120mm front and a 120mm side panel fan. Plus the front panel fan blows directly across the six (!) internal 3.5 bays, if you choose to add that fan. I will say the power supply it comes with is mediocre to terrible, I'm currently using a cheapish 500w 2 rail power supply that also has a 120mm temp controlled fan of its own. The case itself is very well designed while still remaining affordable (though it is made of thin stamped steel), and even has some nice touches such as having each type of screw in its own (labeled) bag and including a couple of zip ties for your cables.
I also just switched my CPU cooler over to the Cooler Master Hyper TX3. It's fairly cheap (under $30 online) and uses a 92mm PWM fan. The PWM function allows the motherboard to control the fan speed based on CPU temps. I have my system set to run the fan at 12.5% speed until it hits 45ºC, at which point it slowly speeds up. So far it's yet to even hit 45ºC - as an added bonus, this particular cooler can be used on pretty much any current socket/CPU. Right now it's on my oldish AM2+ motherboard, and as I write this, it's sitting right at 30ºC under moderate CPU load.
A good thermal interface material between the CPU and the heatsink is vital. Many heatsinks include some sort of pad or paste, but the majority of the included stuff isn't that great. Spend $10 and pick up a small tube of Arctic Silver 5. You need a paper thin layer between the CPU and heatsink, an easy way to achieve this is to put a small amount on the center of the cpu then install the heatsink.
Finally, FrozenCPU.com (and many other sites) will allow you to select fans based on their decibel rating. The quietest 120mm fan I can find on there is NoiseBlocker Ultra Silent - they couldn't even measure any noise from it and it moves about 34cfm. Not a ton of air, but we're after quiet. That fan is a bit pricey, a little under $25 - the next quietest fan I found was the Coolink SWiF2-1200 - 8.5dB, 35cfm, and $15. I have yet to add one of these fans, but I plan to order 2 of the Coolink fans and keep the exhaust fan that the case came with.
Newgg currently has the Cooler Master case for $59.99 with free shipping, and the Cooler Master Hyper TX3 for $29.99 with $2.99 shipping. Arctic Silver 5 will set you back another $9.99. These prices and URLs are current as of this writing (Feb 9 2011). FrozenCPU has the cooler a bit cheaper, but charges a bit more for shipping. I've ordered from both companies quite a bit and they both have excellent customer service.
I switched to this case and cooler combo yesterday - when I turn on the PC the CPU fan comes on at full speed, then slows down to about 800 rpm (pretty much silent) after the system POSTs. The only noise I can hear sitting next to it is the video card fan (barely audible) - and when sitting across the room I can't hear it at all.
The more astute may notice I have 3 HD's but only 2 SATA ports.. my PCI SATA card crapped out, need to pick up another one. Or maybe I'll actually get a motherboard newer than 4-5 years old someday.
And bravo lifeofbean for this awesome effort!