HTPC... confusion, dilemma and availability....

YoGi-Sama

YoGi-Sama

Skilled
Now that I've gotten a nice 42" LCD to enjoy my movies and game on, a need to HTPC is raising it's head day by day. But as always, there is much confusion. So please help the brother out making proper selection.

  1. [FONT=&quot]Q: What is your budget?[/FONT]
    1. [FONT=&quot]20k without hard-drives[/FONT]
  2. [FONT=&quot]Q: What is your existing hardware configuration (component name - component brand and model)

    Irrelevant[/FONT]
  3. [FONT=&quot]Q: Which hardware will you be keeping (component name - component brand and model)

    Irrelevant[/FONT]
  4. [FONT=&quot]Q: Which hardware component are you looking to buy (component name). If you have already decided on a configuration then please mention the (component brand and model) as well, this will help us in fine tuning your requirement.[/FONT]
    1. [FONT=&quot]CPU (Core i3 / E5400 / Athlon X2 240)[/FONT]
    2. [FONT=&quot]Motherboard - any compatible motherboard, Micro ATX[/FONT]
    3. [FONT=&quot]GPU – optional (some low-end GPU, preferably nVidia)[/FONT]
    4. [FONT=&quot]HTPC cabinet (with at least two 3.5â€HDD slots, third one would be nice for future upgrade) and PSU (mostly CX400)[/FONT]
    5. [FONT=&quot]Two WD Green 2TB drives[/FONT]
  5. [FONT=&quot]Q: Is this going to be your final configuration or you would be adding/upgrading a component in near future. If yes then please mention when and which component[/FONT]
    1. [FONT=&quot]No[/FONT]
  6. [FONT=&quot]Q: Where will you buy this hardware? (Online/City/TE Dealer)[/FONT]
    1. [FONT=&quot]Mumbai[/FONT]
  7. [FONT=&quot]Q: Would you consider buying a second hand hardware from the TE market[/FONT]
    1. [FONT=&quot]No.[/FONT]
  8. [FONT=&quot]Q: What is your intended use for this PC/hardware[/FONT]
    1. [FONT=&quot]HTPC[/FONT]
    2. [FONT=&quot]Download rig (optional), 24x7 operation (near 24x7 operation)[/FONT]
    3. [FONT=&quot]Watching HD movies[/FONT]
  9. [FONT=&quot]Q: Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them and the reason for your preference/dislike.[/FONT]
    1. [FONT=&quot]Not really, but would prefer sticking to tried and tested brands. Don’t have much faith in Palit or Biostar stuff.[/FONT]
  10. [FONT=&quot]Q: If you will be playing games then which type of games will you be playing?[/FONT]
    1. [FONT=&quot]Absolutely no gaming[/FONT]
  11. [FONT=&quot]Q: What is your preferred monitor resolution for gaming and normal usage[/FONT]
    1. [FONT=&quot]Gaming – no gaming[/FONT]
    2. [FONT=&quot]Desktop – 1920x1080[/FONT]
  12. [FONT=&quot]Q: Are you looking to overclock?[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

    a. [/FONT]    [FONT=&quot]No[/FONT]
  13. [FONT=&quot]Q: Which operating system do you intend to use with this configuration?[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

    Windows 7 with XBMC[/FONT]

I don't wanna spend too much on it, but also want to be decently future proof as well. I'm still very much inclined towards Core i3, for the amazing power saving it offers with great performance for live encoding for occasional streaming videos (to iPad and iPhone for some lazy watching before dozing off to sleep :p).

Also, I want to move my media collection from my NAS to HTPC, so I can use the freed space on NAS for taking some actual backups (the original intention for that's poor NAS's existence). So I definitely wanna go for 2 x 2TB drives for my media needs. :D

If I go for Core-i3 then I don't need graphic card either... the on-die intel graphic is definitely good for video acceleration jobs... or maybe later I can upgrade with some low-end nVidia card for CUDA based stuff (encoding and stuff like that, but that's a BIG maybe).

One of the biggest problems, is finding a best VFM mobo and HTPC case (with min 2 x 3.5" hdd bays). So pleas suggest me motherboard primarily for Core-i3, then maybe LGA775 and if nothing else then AM3. As for case, the only worthy case I could see was SilverStone Sugo HTPC case for about 4.7k, which is still quite a bit money. So anything little less but with features I'm looking for would be appreciated. :)

Bumpity bump!!

Seriously guys? No replies?
 
I can't believe this, 94 views and NOT A SINGLE reply?

Where are all the H/W, HTPC affectionados from TE?

I'm shocked... admins/mods, please close this thread. :(
 
CPU - AthlonII X2 240 ~ 2.8k

Motherboard - Gigabyte 785GMT- USB3 ~ 5.8k

Ram: Corsair Value Select 1333MHz DDRIII ~ 2.9k

GPU – optional (some low-end GPU, preferably nVidia)

HTPC cabinet (with at least two 3.5”HDD slots, third one would be nice for future upgrade) --> Not much idea abt HTPC cabbies. Chk this though.CM Elite 360 ~ 2k

PSU (mostly CX400) --> 2.7k

Two WD Green 2TB drives --> Stay away from WD Green as they have firmware issues and there are lot of failures of 1TB and 1.5TB drives.
 
HTPC cabinet that can take 2 X 3.5 inch = Zebronics Cube

I bought one last month for Rs. 2150/- + tax in Bangalore

Saidu
 
@DarkAngel: Thanks mate... :)

But AMD is last on my list, because I think Intel HD graphics on i3-530 proccy is just perfect for HD decoding tasks (I'm not going to game on this machine). And you just can't ignore the power saving part. So even the graphic card is very-very-very optional (that too maybe in future).

So ideally, first thing that I would like to know which H55/H57 based boards are available in market and for how much?

Also, I read about the WD green issues... but do these issues occur on WD 2TB drives as well? Mostly I read the issues regarding 1TB and 1.5TB models.

@Saidu: Thanks mate, need to check that cabby out.

Anyone knows if Thermaltake Lanbox lite is available in Mumbai?
 
Shripad said:
As this is going to be HTPC card, dont think anything cheap will do if you are going to watch SD or interlaced SD/HD videos.

You will run into problems with HD5570 and lower (entire last gen cheap cards as well as HD5450and 5570 and Nvidia's GT210 as well ) if you demand the card to have good de-interlacing performance which honestly is very very important.

You need something like HD5670 or GT220 for this. And trust me, you are better off investing little money now than to watch the garbage on that big screen. ANd while you are spending some money, get 5670 over GT220. It will offer you lot more options to tweak from CCC and has better video performance.

Do not skimp now and settle for something less. This will last you for a while. so get 5670 and be done with it.

Likes of 8400GS, GT210, HD4350, HD5450, 5570 are simply not powerful enough to handle these tasks effectively. And yes, there is significant impact on image quality. You will notice it immediately.
Click to expand...

Shripad said:
Saw 5670 512MB here for 5600 last week. So it should be around that. Ask our resident dealers if they can arrange it for you as not many keep stock of this.

ANd yeah as said above it will run on your PSU just fine. Its not power hungry at all.

And if you still have doubts why you should invest in 5670 and not settle for cheaper 5450, read this : AnandTech: AMD?s Radeon HD 5450: The Next Step In HTPC Video Cards
Click to expand...

http://www.techenclave.com/graphic-cards/cheap-graphic-card-drive-my-htpc-162172.html

If u need a perfect HTPC it is better if u get a HD5670. Its the perfect HTPC card. Also u can undervolt the AtlonII X2 240 so that power consumption is on par with E5xxx.

Power Consumption

If intel u can go for the

E5400 ~ 2.9k

Gigabyte GA-G41MT-ES2L ~ 2.8k (DDRIII based)

Rest --> Same

Its better to avoid WD greens as it seems a issue with Head Parking issue of the green drives. More 1 and 1.5TB drives have been reported coz mostly there are the fast moving parts so more volume and more complaints. 2Tb drives prices have dipped recently(so not many ppl got them till now) and so u can start a thread in storage section regarding the user feedback. I am sure u will get 100% responses will ask u to avoid WD greens for now :p

But are u even willing to risk 4TB of data when there is lot of issues with the green drives.
 
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