help my first htpc build

hipburwig

Junior Member
Feb 19, 2013
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0
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PCU: Intel Core i3-3225 Ivy Bridge 3.3GHz LGA 1155 55W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I33225

MOBO: ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

OS: win7

MEM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL

GRAPHICS: HD4000 integrated GPU

HD Western Digital WD Green WD20EARX 2TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

WIRELESS: Rosewill RNX-N250PCe (RNWD-11005) Wireless Adapter IEEE 802.11b/g/n PCI Express 300/300Mbps Transfer/Receive Rate 2T2R 64-bit/128-bit WEP, TKIP, and AES WPA, WPA2

OPTICAL: LITE-ON Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM SATA 12X Blu-ray Burner with Blu Ray 3D Feature IHBS112-04 - OEM

SS: Intel 520 Series Cherryville SSDSC2CW120A3K5 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

TUNER: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 Media Center Kit Dual TV Tuner w/ IR Remote PCI-E x 1

hello all. i am concidering building a htpc since i have cut the cord. i want the htpc to do a few basic things.
play 1080p movies to tv and be able to do in 7.1 surround sound (thx) connect to my plasma with hdmi
Download movies, music, pictures
Surf the internet and play netflix, hulu, itunes, shows from the networks (nbc fox etc)
Play music
View pictures
copy my blurays to hard drive
Play 3D Movies
Use a TV tuner card and record ota TV channels
be wireless
i would like to build a decent htpc and only do it once and not have it be usless a year from now or atleast be able to add things to it with out having to build a new one.


how do you know how many watts powr supply you need?
are there any thx cetified mother boards? does is make a difference?
when i was looking for memory does timming matter any?
if i record a channel do i have to watch what is being recorded? how many different channels can be rcorded at once.
any case suggestions?
sorry for all the questions ive read so many things im starting to get confused. to many acronyms. although waf (wife acceptance factor) is pretty funny.
any help or critisism would be great.
 

Charlie98

Diamond Member
Nov 6, 2011
6,292
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A PSU rating is based on the components you plan to put in your build... with the parts you are spec'ing you could easily stick with a 400-430w PSU.

The i3 is a good choice, especially if you plan on ripping DVD's and BD's to your HDD. You will also need software to break the coding on the disks, and software to actually play BluRays if you want. I don't know if the HD4000 IGPU will play 3D... someone will clarify if it can't.

What kind of spot is this HTPC going into. Tradition says get a 'component-style' HTPC case that matches the rest of your stereo components, I went with a standard mATX tower... but that's what I needed.

Memory timing for RAM in an HTPC doesn't really make a difference... and I wouldn't even go for the Ripjaws... just get a set of 1.5v value RAM from a reliable maker. 4GB is adequate, 8GB is fine, too.

You could probably get by with a B75 or H77 mobo... you don't need the Z77.
 

SaurusX

Senior member
Nov 13, 2012
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I know SSD's are very popular now, but for what you're looking for in an HTPC it won't make enough of a difference in actual performance to make it worth the extra $$.

Also, according to the article below, the HD4000 graphics handle 3D blu-ray with no problems.

The HTPC Experience
 
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Charlie98

Diamond Member
Nov 6, 2011
6,292
62
91
I know SSD's are very popular now, but for what you're looking for in an HTPC it won't make enough of a difference in actual performance to make it worth the extra $$.

Also, according to the article below, the HD4000 graphics handle 3D blu-ray with no problems.

The HTPC Experience

I thought so on the 3D w/HD4000... but wanted to make sure.

I disagree on the SSD simply on the ease of use principle... what is an HTPC, anyway, but a convenience? It just makes sense to me to have a single small drive as the OS drive with additional non-system drives for data storage... why not make it an SSD? With 60GB'ish drives at the $50-60 range...
 

SaurusX

Senior member
Nov 13, 2012
993
0
41
I disagree on the SSD simply on the ease of use principle... what is an HTPC, anyway, but a convenience? It just makes sense to me to have a single small drive as the OS drive with additional non-system drives for data storage... why not make it an SSD? With 60GB'ish drives at the $50-60 range...

If it's accounted for in the budget, then definitely go for the SSD. I'll most likely put one in my next HTPC build, though my current one does pretty much what you're looking for and it's over four years old at this point.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+
Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H
Gigabyte Radeon HD4550 (Added later to get Vector Adaptive deinterlacing)
Corsair XMS2 2x1GB DDR2 800 (Crap, even at the time)
1TB Western Digital Green HDD
Avermedia Duet TV Tuner
nMediaPC case
Windows Vista 32-bit
 
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kalrith

Diamond Member
Aug 22, 2005
6,630
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Why such a large SSD? I would think that a 60GB would suffice for the OS and programs on an HTPC.
 

kalrith

Diamond Member
Aug 22, 2005
6,630
7
81
No special reason. I figured bigger is better

It is, except for the cost :). If all your data is on the 2TB drive, then I would think that you'll use about 35 GB for your OS and programs (I can check my Win7 HTPC tonight). A 60 GB drive would give you plenty of extra room to work with. IMO a 120 GB SSD would be overkill.

It would be different if you were going to game on it, but judging from the HD4000, I don't think that's the case here.
 

Charlie98

Diamond Member
Nov 6, 2011
6,292
62
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My 64GB SSD is at 37GB with W7 and what utilities I have loaded. Hey, if a 128GB is in the budget, why not?
 

hipburwig

Junior Member
Feb 19, 2013
3
0
0
What kind of spot is this HTPC going into. Tradition says get a 'component-style' HTPC case that matches the rest of your stereo components, I went with a standard mATX tower... but that's what I needed.

im still deciding on a case, i can use any style. i like the small ones, but any one willwork. just need to find one that all this stuff will fit in with a spot for the rf reciever.