Your thoughts on my HTPC project

[thestrangebrew]

I posted a similar post in the networking section but didn't get any replies so I fig'd this might be a better spot. At any rate, I'm thinking of using the following for an HTPC build since it won't be in use after the holidays:

AMD 4400+ skt 939
Asus a8n 32 sli delux
2gb kingston value ram
antec 600w psu

Not sure about the following:
GPU
HDD

I've already got a receiver and 5.1 sound going to my tv, but I'd like to rip my older dvds to the htpc and also use it as a media server. Is this possible? Are my components too old? I'd like to add a blu-ray player/burner as well to it but if I'm better off getting all new parts then it'll be a bit. I don't have funds right now, I fig. it'll take me a few months to piece it together if I have to go with all new components. I guess a good budget would be around $350.

But if I use the htpc as a media server as well, I imagine I'll need other software. I'm also thinking about trying out a linux solution for the htpc/media server, but that's a completely different thread as I have no experience whatsoever with linux.

So what route would you guys go?

 

[Outlander_04]

mythbuntu . Ubuntu linux and myth tv . Free, easy set up as a media client or media server or both

 

[slhpss]

I just set mine up... well it's been up for a while but just recently changed it from a linux file/web/game server to more of an htpc... but here is the question do you want it to be a PVR? that is do you want to record TV shows to it? or is it going to be more of a storage for DVDs, music, etc? my setup is as follows

intel i5 650
4gb ddr3
500gb laptop hdd

i use the integrated intel hd graphics running windows at 1920x1080, but I don't do any recording with it. I just use it for XBMC which allows me to access hulu, netflix, "free cable tv", etc. I will also be ripping music/movies to the HDD... and it works great. If that's not the path then myth tv is definitely something to check... (more of a personal video recorder/ tv tuner deal)

 

[thestrangebrew]

I just set mine up... well it's been up for a while but just recently changed it from a linux file/web/game server to more of an htpc... but here is the question do you want it to be a PVR? that is do you want to record TV shows to it? or is it going to be more of a storage for DVDs, music, etc? my setup is as follows

intel i5 650
4gb ddr3
500gb laptop hdd

i use the integrated intel hd graphics running windows at 1920x1080, but I don't do any recording with it. I just use it for XBMC which allows me to access hulu, netflix, "free cable tv", etc. I will also be ripping music/movies to the HDD... and it works great. If that's not the path then myth tv is definitely something to check... (more of a personal video recorder/ tv tuner deal)

I'm not going to be recording anything to it from the tv. We have a cable box with dvr that my wife uses religiously. I'm more interested in blu-ray playback to the tv using my 5.1 receiver and speakers and also streaming/accessing media files from any pc. I also have a ps3 that I mainly use for blu ray playback, so I'll have to justify an htpc build to my wife lol.

 

[slhpss]

I feel you on the wife thing... took me a bit to get her on board, but I got rid of satellite and we just use hulu, netflix, etc now. If you're just going to use it for those purposes you could build a sweet little mini-itx box for the 350.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813153179 <-- mobo $130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136194 <-- slim blu ray drive $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129068 <-- case $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152291 <-- hdd $100

total: $400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130568 <--- could sub out this mobo and reuse ram it has built in APU that would be more powerful than your proc... $133

you could get it down with a 500gb hdd instead of 1TB, but I figured you would want the space for blue ray rips... You will be using on board video but should be able to route it through your audio system as long as it supports hdmi pass-thru... and the mobo comes with a low profile heat sink fan... and.... it uses laptop memory... so that would cost a little more as well...

 

[thestrangebrew]

So I take it my older stuff is too old lol. Since I'm going to piecemeal this thing together, what order would you suggest I purcahse components? I'm guessing the case & psu, and RAM for now and hope that the cpu/mobo prices drop? I'm also hoping hdd's drop in price too but that will most likely take months. Also, if I do decide to make this a media server as well, how does that change hardware recommendations. I'm leaning towards windows home server, but I think this would be a great opportunity to delve into the linux world.

 

[slhpss]

windows home server imo is crap... I would personally throw windows and xbmc on this sucker and use windows 7 home groups... if you feel up to linux as it is a great OS xbmc is available and you can setup samba shares... the reason my vote goes to windows though is netflix support. your old system would honestly work fine if you don't plan on gaming on it and it has onboard video on the mobo then rock it... my suggestions are based on my thoughts of if it's going to be in the living room it should be small and nearly unnoticeable... I will upload some shots of my htpc when I get home... I'm guessing based on the SLI mobo you already have it probably doesn't have onboard video... so for your purposes i would go with a low profile 4000 or 5000 series radeon see if you can get a compact case that is atx but options for a smaller case will be more limited.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100008308+600043623&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&IsNodeId=1&Subcategory=690&description=&hisInDesc=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&AdvancedSearch=1&srchInDesc= <-- compatible cases

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709+600038363&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&IsNodeId=1&Subcategory=48&description=&hisInDesc=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&AdvancedSearch=1&srchInDesc= <-- low profile vid cards

with those options you could get the price comfortably around 200 bucks or so then add HDD and optical drives as needed.

might also want to through in another 2gb of ram for good measure

 

[thestrangebrew]

windows home server imo is crap... I would personally throw windows and xbmc on this sucker and use windows 7 home groups... if you feel up to linux as it is a great OS xbmc is available and you can setup samba shares... the reason my vote goes to windows though is netflix support. your old system would honestly work fine if you don't plan on gaming on it and it has onboard video on the mobo then rock it... my suggestions are based on my thoughts of if it's going to be in the living room it should be small and nearly unnoticeable... I will upload some shots of my htpc when I get home... I'm guessing based on the SLI mobo you already have it probably doesn't have onboard video... so for your purposes i would go with a low profile 4000 or 5000 series radeon see if you can get a compact case that is atx but options for a smaller case will be more limited.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100008308+600043623&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&IsNodeId=1&Subcategory=690&description=&hisInDesc=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&AdvancedSearch=1&srchInDesc= <-- compatible cases

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709+600038363&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&IsNodeId=1&Subcategory=48&description=&hisInDesc=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&AdvancedSearch=1&srchInDesc= <-- low profile vid cards

with those options you could get the price comfortably around 200 bucks or so then add HDD and optical drives as needed.

might also want to through in another 2gb of ram for good measure

Sounds good. IF I can recycle my parts and successfully build it, maybe it'll convince the wife to let me get some new components and maybe ditch cable altogether lol

 

[slhpss]

Sounds good. IF I can recycle my parts and successfully build it, maybe it'll convince the wife to let me get some new components and maybe ditch cable altogether lol

I just did that... goodbye 70/Month Satellite bill hello $16 a month netflix + hulu bill (use the savings to justify the Investment in the new hardware ) you could build a nice little system for about 400 or build around what you have for 200-250 and come out on top in a couple of months of no cable bill...

 

[Wolfshadw]

As far as I can tell, the only problem with your current hardware is that there is no manufacturer supplied Windows 7 support for your motherboard. If you decided to go the Windows route, you're stuck using basic Windows 7 drivers. Aside from that, it should work fine.

The only other quip I might have would be the amount of RAM, but since you're not really doing all that much with the system, 2GB should be enough (use your new system for ripping your DVDs). If the 2GB of RAM you currently have is 2x1GB (and not 4x512MB), then yeah, you might want to consider adding another 2x1GB.

For the GPU, I'd agree with slhpss. You don't need a whole lot of card. An HD4350 should be enough. Concerning the cases though, most of the cases slhpss linked actually take full height graphics cards. There's no reason to go with a low-profile GPU.

-Wolf sends

 

[slhpss]

as promised here are some pics of my htpc

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/108227379284199907730/albums/5680617942523933889

wanted them inline but this will have to do

 

[thestrangebrew]

As far as I can tell, the only problem with your current hardware is that there is no manufacturer supplied Windows 7 support for your motherboard. If you decided to go the Windows route, you're stuck using basic Windows 7 drivers. Aside from that, it should work fine.

The only other quip I might have would be the amount of RAM, but since you're not really doing all that much with the system, 2GB should be enough (use your new system for ripping your DVDs). If the 2GB of RAM you currently have is 2x1GB (and not 4x512MB), then yeah, you might want to consider adding another 2x1GB.

For the GPU, I'd agree with slhpss. You don't need a whole lot of card. An HD4350 should be enough. Concerning the cases though, most of the cases slhpss linked actually take full height graphics cards. There's no reason to go with a low-profile GPU.

-Wolf sends

I was planning on using either xp or maybe trying my hand at Linux/ubuntu. Since this machine will be a project I fig'd it'd be a good one to learn linux on. My RAM is 2x1gb but the mobo's so old it only does ddr if I remember correctly. I made my first purchase for this build, an LG BD writer that was on sale yesterday on newegg for $64.99. I've been trying to read up on how to back up my blu rays to my pc. From what I gathered, programs like dvdfab and handbrake do the job, and vlc will playback blu ray (at least some discs). I'm also interested in some of the other stuff like mythbuntu pointed out above, and I'm considering maybe recording programs now as well.

 

[thestrangebrew]

As far as I can tell, the only problem with your current hardware is that there is no manufacturer supplied Windows 7 support for your motherboard. If you decided to go the Windows route, you're stuck using basic Windows 7 drivers. Aside from that, it should work fine.

The only other quip I might have would be the amount of RAM, but since you're not really doing all that much with the system, 2GB should be enough (use your new system for ripping your DVDs). If the 2GB of RAM you currently have is 2x1GB (and not 4x512MB), then yeah, you might want to consider adding another 2x1GB.

For the GPU, I'd agree with slhpss. You don't need a whole lot of card. An HD4350 should be enough. Concerning the cases though, most of the cases slhpss linked actually take full height graphics cards. There's no reason to go with a low-profile GPU.

-Wolf sends

I was planning on using either xp or maybe trying my hand at Linux/ubuntu. Since this machine will be a project I fig'd it'd be a good one to learn linux on. My RAM is 2x1gb but the mobo's so old it only does ddr if I remember correctly. I made my first purchase for this build, an LG BD writer that was on sale yesterday on newegg for $64.99. I've been trying to read up on how to back up my blu rays to my pc. From what I gathered, programs like dvdfab and handbrake do the job, and vlc will playback blu ray (at least some discs). I'm also interested in some of the other stuff like mythbuntu pointed out above, and I'm considering maybe recording programs now as well.

 

[slhpss]

with mythtv you're going to want to have a video capture card... then you will use hdmi to route it through the audio system to the tv... (assuming pass thru capability is there). I personally can't stand the new ubuntu look, but since you will be making initial steps towards linux it may work great for you as I see most people complaining about it (myself included) are probably just stuck in their ways and like the old gnome 2.x interface. if you wanna do the mythtv thing you should probably check out a custom distro built for it (mythbuntu) and fyi a mythtv plug-in is available for xbmc which would integrate your dvr (mythtv) with youtube and hulu (no netflix on linux). there are a lot of routes to go.. I did the linux thing first with it since I'm a self proclaimed linux nerd, but lack of netflix support without the use of windows running in a VM was a nogo for me.

 

[thestrangebrew]

Best answer selected by Thestrangebrew.