HTPC Hardware information

[Dude]

I wanted to post my HTPC hardware, along with my current recommendation for a new Windows 7 HTPC build.  I know there are many cheaper HTPC options today (Raspberry Pi, Ouya, etc...), but in my experience nothing beats a Windows 7 HTPC.  Definitely also check out the forums at xbmc.org for other build recommendations.  Below is simply what I use, and my current recommendation for a very nice budget system.


My current HTPC:



Case: $60 SilverStone ML03B
CPU: $127 A10-5700 APU
CPU Cooler: $38 Cooler Master M4
Motherboard: $75 ASRock FM2A75 (Newer Version Available now: FM2A75M)
PSU: $25 (Currently on sale) Corsair CX430
RAM: $37 when I purchased. Kingston 8GB
SSD: $185 when I purchased. Samsung 830 256GB
Case Fans: $14 x2 Noctua NF-R8 x2

Total: $575


Mine is way overkill, and a new HTPC doesn't need to cost.  I wanted mine to be powerful enough to play current gen games, and it is at medium graphics at 720p.

Here is my recommended whisper quiet build today (December 2013) that is more than adequate for 1080p playback, and some light gaming.

Case: $60 SilverStone ML03B
CPU: $55 A4-5300
CPU Cooler: $38 Cooler Master M4
Motherboard: $50 MSI FM2-A55M-E33. Really any Micro ATX FM2 motherboard with HDMI will work perfectly.
PSU: $25 (Currently on sale) Corsair CX430
RAM: ~$40. 8GB (2 x 4GB) of whatever.  There are always deals.
SSD: ~$90 - It's easy to find one on sale. ~120GB is more than enough.
Case Fans: $8 x2 ARCTIC F8 PWM x2

Total: $374

[tp4tissue]

AMD? 

Rage.....................

[Dude]

AMD? 

Rage.....................

Show Image

The Trinity AMD proc's are extremely nice for the money, and perfect for an HTPC.  $55 for a decent proc with baked in GPU processing is very impressive in my opinion.  I know that lots of people making low budget systems also look into dual core celeron proc's.

The thing to keep in mind is that building an HTPC is all about trying to get the most efficiency out of your CPU and potentially APU.  The A4-5300 is only 65W, so it's nice and low powered.  You also don't care as much about overall performance.  A good HTPC will have enough horsepower to handle your media front-end (Most likely XBMC), and can easily handle 1080p AVC decoding.  Anything beyond that is gravy.

[IvanIvanovich]

I prefer tiny and dead silent HTPC with zero moving parts.
Foxconn AT-5570 AMD C70 1gHz $99.99
mushkin 991644 4GB 1066 CL7 $38.99
Toshiba HDTS312XZSTA 128GB SSD $94.99

If I wanted a gaming PC I would build for that for best experience, not something low end.

[Dude]

I prefer tiny and dead silent HTPC with zero moving parts.
Foxconn AT-5570 AMD C70 1gHz $99.99
mushkin 991644 4GB 1066 CL7 $38.99
Toshiba HDTS312XZSTA 128GB SSD $94.99

If I wanted a gaming PC I would build for that for best experience, not something low end.

That's a great idea. I might end up making a build like this for my bedroom. I still like the idea of a more powerful machine for my living room, but this could be perfect for my other TV's.

Have you built a system like this before? What is the performance of Windows 7 and the XBMC menus like? I use the Aeon Nox skin, which is rather cpu intensive.

[HoffmanMyster]

What does the rest of your system look like?  Do you have a master backend that you stream from to this HTPC you've detailed here?  Or do you mainly stream from internet sources?

[IvanIvanovich]

I built a similar system with different discontinued foxconn barebones with smaller 64GB SSD maybe over year ago. It's fairly snappy and useable considering it's not at all powerful. Best part is you can't tell it's on since it doesn't make any noise. I actually don't use xbmc so I can't comment on that. Had 7 on it initially but have been updating everything to 8.1. I use MPC-BE w/LAV for media playback.

I have server I store everything on.

[Dude]

What does the rest of your system look like?  Do you have a master backend that you stream from to this HTPC you've detailed here?  Or do you mainly stream from internet sources?

I use XBMC as my front end, and FexRAID with my NAS server where I store my media. I am thinking of doing some complete write-ups in separate posts at some point. Would that be helpful?

[Dude]

I built a similar system with different discontinued foxconn barebones with smaller 64GB SSD maybe over year ago. It's fairly snappy and useable considering it's not at all powerful. Best part is you can't tell it's on since it doesn't make any noise. I actually don't use xbmc so I can't comment on that. Had 7 on it initially but have been updating everything to 8.1. I use MPC-BE w/LAV for media playback.

I have server I store everything on.

Since my builds above use PWM fans, it's essentially silent. I have my NAS in a different room as well, but I've managed to make that system relatively quiet as well. The more I build systems, the more I've realized spending money on nice fans is extremely important

[HoffmanMyster]

What does the rest of your system look like?  Do you have a master backend that you stream from to this HTPC you've detailed here?  Or do you mainly stream from internet sources?

I use XBMC as my front end, and FexRAID with my NAS server where I store my media. I am thinking of doing some complete write-ups in separate posts at some point. Would that be helpful?

I think I could benefit from some sort of write-up.  My current setup (because it's really easy to implement) is to have a "server" with my media that I use to stream to my Roku running Plex.  It's not nearly as permanent or clean of a solution, but it works and the Roku is much cheaper than a full-blown HTPC.

[Dude]

I think I could benefit from some sort of write-up.  My current setup (because it's really easy to implement) is to have a "server" with my media that I use to stream to my Roku running Plex.  It's not nearly as permanent or clean of a solution, but it works and the Roku is much cheaper than a full-blown HTPC.

Yeah, I went through a series of solutions before I finally went with a dedicated HTPC. I started with a WD Live box, then also messed around with Plex/Roku. I loved the Roku box, but didn't like some of the limitations of DLNA streaming - mainly that DLNA doesn't have subtitle support which I really need with my child playing and crying in the same room

My HTPC is so much nicer than those other solutions. It's more work to initially set up, but I really enjoy getting it working exactly how I want it to.

I'll try to do some write-ups in the next few days.

[HoffmanMyster]

I think I could benefit from some sort of write-up.  My current setup (because it's really easy to implement) is to have a "server" with my media that I use to stream to my Roku running Plex.  It's not nearly as permanent or clean of a solution, but it works and the Roku is much cheaper than a full-blown HTPC.

Yeah, I went through a series of solutions before I finally went with a dedicated HTPC. I started with a WD Live box, then also messed around with Plex/Roku. I loved the Roku box, but didn't like some of the limitations of DLNA streaming - mainly that DLNA doesn't have subtitle support which I really need with my child playing and crying in the same room

My HTPC is so much nicer than those other solutions. It's more work to initially set up, but I really enjoy getting it working exactly how I want it to.

I'll try to do some write-ups in the next few days.

Yeah, the subtitles!  I wanted to watch a dubbed foreign film but quickly realized that limitation.    Usually it's not an issue, but then that happened.

I've got a couple extras computer lying around that I'd love to turn into some sort of better streaming solution.

[Malphas]

I'm looking for some sort of simple, cheap HTPC device I can plug into my televisions and then use to stream films, TV shows, and music to from my Drobo, to tide me over until SteamOS matures.

[IvanIvanovich]

Something like I suggested if you want to install a fullblown OS. If you are content with limitations of ARM distros something like Minix NeoX5 might be worth a look at. Much nicer than Rpi and not much more expensive if at all after core+case+addons+power supply.