New HTPC build

corblimey

A few months ago (I think, I can't even find the thread now) I was planning on buying and building a HTPC. Plans went up in smoke, but I'm now back on track.

1. What is your budget? 500-600

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? HTPC - it also needs to hold my entire collection, unless a NAS is a better way to go?

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? Linux (XBMCbuntu)

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? No

5. Do you need a monitor? No, just hook it up straight to my TV (HD Ready)

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? I need a remote, and possibly a mouse?

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Not necessary

8. How can you pay? Any way that is necessary, credit, debit, body parts.

9. When are you purchasing? As soon as possible

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? Gonna try this one myself.

Item|Price
Intel Celeron G530 Box, LGA1155|€38.10
ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, Sockel 1155, mATX|€82.94
4GB Corsair XMS3 PC3-12800U CL9|€29.49
Crucial M4 64GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€67.27
WD Caviar Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s|€83.99
FRACTAL DESIGN Node 304|€83.10
be quiet! Shadow Rock Topflow SR1|€43.40
Seasonic X-Series Fanless X-400FL 400W passiv|€115.99
TP-Link TL-SG105|€24.77
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€588.04

Add in an MCE remote from Amazon, and a HDMI cable, and I think I'm sorted.

BloodBath

That's an mATX board. You need mITX for that case I think. This should do the trick.

The slightly faster 550 is actually cheaper.

Monotype

Board is too big for the case. PSU is kind of expensive... most PSUs will make very little noise at low draw; the CPU fan is usually noiser so it might not be really necessary to spend that much on it.

Enermax are usually very quiet, assuming that you keep it at low loads.
http://www.hardwareversand.de/300+-+400+Watts/73422/Enermax+Triathlor+385W.article
There's a few gold ~400W PSUs which are in the €60 range that also might make good alternatives.

U_Fig

I build a HTPC not so long ago with the following specs..

Intel g550!
Asrock b75 mitx
Thermaltake element q (itx case with Sfx power supply.. You may need a bigger case if you plan on adding more storage.. It holds 1x 3.5 or 2 x 2.5 only)
Be quiet Sfx 300w psu (swapped out the other one was too loud.. This is almost silent)
Samsung 830 64gb
4gb g skill ram
A silent low profile heatsink (although i have the fan to come on at 55C and hasn't happened yet so you might get away with stock cooler although if it does come on it would be loud..

I bought and air mouse

I already had a few 2.5" HDDs that I added..

So far have have no problems played everything grand really quiet and boot times are ridiculously quick thanks to the ssd.

Cost be ~€400 inc.. Delivery

corblimey

Thanks all, the PSU was my main budget breaker, although I thought going fanless would be a better idea for a HTPC. I literally have no idea what sort of draw/load this is going to take, though, so maybe go with the cheaper option and if it's making noise, go fanless in the future? However, since this box is probably going to be on 24x7, I think silver or gold is the way to go, really. What about the be quiet! STRAIGHT POWER BQT E9-400W 80+Gold?

That would give me this shopping list:
Item|Price
4GB Corsair XMS3 PC3-12800U CL9|€29.49
Crucial M4 64GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€67.27
WD Caviar Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s|€83.99
FRACTAL DESIGN Node 304|€83.10
be quiet! Shadow Rock Topflow SR1|€43.40
TP-Link TL-SG105|€24.77
ASRock B75M-ITX, Sockel 1155, ITX|€73.49
Intel Celeron Dual-Core G550 Box, LGA1155|€37.33
be quiet! STRAIGHT POWER BQT E9-400W 80+Gold|€63.68
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€525.51

U_Fig, where did you get your air mouse?

Serephucus

I'd be surprised if that system drew any more than about 100W, absolute peak. That said, no-one makes a 100W PSU, certainly not a good one, and certainly not fanless. I'd go with the 400W Seasonic if I were you.

How much storage are you thinking you'll want within the next, say, three to five years? Are you thinking of any sort of backup or redundancy? You might be better served by a NAS, and just hooking up a Raspberry Pi with XMBC to your TV instead.

I would go with a G1610 instead.

If you want to save money you might look at a smaller SSD, you don't need 64GB for XBMCBuntu. eg Sandisk 32GB for €37. Yes it is not anywhere near as good as the M4 but realistically its fine for a Linux HTPC and that's €30 to put towards something else in your build.

If you really want a fanless PSU then consider a PicoPSU or similar (DC-DC board inside the case and power brick outside). All my HTPCs use these type of PSU and something around 100W is fine for a low-end dual core and a couple of drives.

U_Fig

i got my air mouse off deal extreme (dx.com) but it took almost a month to deliver. There are similar ones on amazon that might get delivered faster..

corblimey

IKYS, why the 1610 over the 550? Just the bigger number?

Also, I may be mistaken but I can't find PicoPSU on the HWVS site. Where can I see them?

Serephecus, I did consider the raspberry, but I would need to do a whole lot more reading on it before deciding.

Serephucus

Well, what's the storage looking like? Depending on how much you need, when you need it, and what you'll have on it, a NAS might be a good investment anyway. A Pi is dirt cheap, so you could get one and try it out if nothing else.

corblimey

corblimey wrote: »

IKYS, why the 1610 over the 550? Just the bigger number?

Its a newer 22nm Ivy Bridge - it should have slightly lower power consumption and slightly better performance. There is very little reason not to go for it.

Also, I may be mistaken but I can't find PicoPSU on the HWVS site. Where can I see them?

You can get them on ebay and loads of other places. PicoPSU is just one brand name, there's plenty of other similar PSUs and many mITX cases include this type of power supply.

corblimey

Tks for the direction on Pico, but after extensive searching, I'm surprised to discover that I have no power bricks in this house at all, so that would pump up the cost (doubling it, according to some prices on eBay). Still an option, though.

I looked into NAS, and I have 2 old PCs sitting at my feet here that either one could probably function as one, but that's a long term plan as my DVD ripping comes to fruition.

Finally, I did some measuring last night, and the space where I want to put this is quite a bit more limited than I expected. I have some wiggle room, but basically it's 55cm wide x 15cm high. So no amount of pushing would get that Node 304 in there. Is there any mITX case that would fit those dimensions and still allow for the same amount of expansion as the 304? Or do I need to reorganise my entertainment centre? (and yes, I know the pi would fit in that space, actually be lost in that space )

corblimey

corblimey wrote: »

Finally, I did some measuring last night, and the space where I want to put this is quite a bit more limited than I expected. I have some wiggle room, but basically it's 55cm wide x 15cm high. So no amount of pushing would get that Node 304 in there. Is there any mITX case that would fit those dimensions and still allow for the same amount of expansion as the 304? Or do I need to reorganise my entertainment centre? (and yes, I know the pi would fit in that space, actually be lost in that space )

Silverstone Milo 3 is 440 mm x 105 mm. I don't know what kind of expansion room you need.. it'll take a few HDDs but not as many as the Node 304.

corblimey

As an update, I spent most of Sunday reading about the Pi, and just decided to go for it. I was able to get everything I need (apparently) for about 120 quid on Amazon, so just decided to pull the plug late last night. I might still go the full HTPC route if this doesn't work, but for 120 quid (about 80 of which I can reuse if it goes kaput), no harm if it doesn't work out.

Burgo

Serephucus wrote: »

I'd be surprised if that system drew any more than about 100W, absolute peak. That said, no-one makes a 100W PSU, certainly not a good one, and certainly not fanless. I'd go with the 400W Seasonic if I were you.

How much storage are you thinking you'll want within the next, say, three to five years? Are you thinking of any sort of backup or redundancy? You might be better served by a NAS, and just hooking up a Raspberry Pi with XMBC to your TV instead.

PicoPsu? I don't know first hand how good they are tbh, but ticks all the other boxes.

Scruff

corblimey wrote: »

As an update, I spent most of Sunday reading about the Pi, and just decided to go for it. I was able to get everything I need (apparently) for about 120 quid on Amazon, so just decided to pull the plug late last night.

So what is the part list for the Pi build as a matter of curiosity?

Serephucus

I'm curious on this too. How did you spend €120 on a €30 Pi?

@Burgo. I didn't think of PicoPSUs, my bad.

corblimey

Scruff wrote: »

So what is the part list for the Pi build as a matter of curiosity?

• Raspberry Pi Model B 512 MB RAM Latest VERSION
• Hama MCE Remote Control
• UK Micro USB Power Supply Charger For Raspberry Pi - 5V 1500mA
• AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI Cable 6.5 Feet / 2.0 m Supports Ethernet / 3D / Audio Return (Newest Standard)
• Belkin Cat6 Snagless UTP Patch Cable (Black) 2m
• TP-Link TL-SG1005D 5-Port Gigabit Unmanaged Desktop Switch
• Trust 10 Port Usb 2.0 Power Hub
• Stealth Black Case For The Raspberry Pi

Like I said, everything except the Pi and the case can be used for another HTPC build if I need to. The power hub is probably a nice to have, bit the switch is a necessity. Everything else seems to be basically what you need to run a HTPC off a Pi.

Rebel Rebel

how did this turn out?