Need help for my first HTPC build

[DaveAT]

Hi there,
I'm planning to build my first HTPC and I need you help/some advice.

My target is SILENCE and perfect 1080p/24fps and 576i TV signal reproduction.

My actual components list:
->Lian Li PC-C50B
it looks good to put inside normal size components
->PSU
I need your advice, is it worth going for Seasonic Xseries? Power?
->4 or 8GB RAM
1600 MHz CL9 is enough?
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7364/memory-scaling-on-haswell
Video reproduction performance is affective by RAM frequency?
->mobo
I need a good wi-fi connection, better with an external antenna/s
I like the ASUS Z87I-Pro, there is a C2 version, do you know what C2 means?
Is there something less expensive with same quality and good wifi?
->i3-4330
Is it ok for a very good 1080p/24 fps reproduction? Or it's always better go for a discrete GPU? Any bug?
->heatsink
I told you one of my target is SILENCE, the stock cooler is good enough? Or I have to buy a Noctua NH-L9i or a little bit old Noctua NH-U9B (I think the case can hold it, I found a picture, but now I lost it)
->SSD ???
recommended? mandatory?
->2TB Hard disk
no preference here, some advices? Caviar Green or Red?
->Blu ray?
I have no experience with Blu Ray, is there any company to avoid?
->2 or 3 very silent 120 mm fans
At around 10 bucks each some advice?

Windows 7 or Windows 8 (8.1 from today)?
XBMC software? Is it easy to use also for my parents?

In the end any advice about a good wifi or bluetooth keyboard? I looking at Logitech K400.

I know these messages annoy the majority of users, but I prefer to ask for an opinion on everything in this great community.
Greet

Dave

 

[Charlie98]

I can't answer all your points, but I'll roll with what I know...

I like W7, one reason is it comes with WMC, it's an add-on with W8. I use WMC with Media Browser add-on (free) and it works VERY well for me. I tried to like XBMC and did not care for it and didn't think it was as simple to navigate as WMC/MB... which was a prerequisite... my wife and daughter are using it and it has to be simple.

I think it would be worth the money on the Seasonic X PSU. I have a Corsair CX in mine, I lucked out and got a good, quiet unit.

4GB RAM is plenty for an HTPC, I don't think faster RAM will make any difference at all. I just used 2 x 2GB sticks of 1333 I swapped out of a Dell.

Unless you are planning to transcode, you don't need an i3... a Pentium or even a Celeron will do nicely. As far as GPU... the integrated Intel GPU is plenty for everything this side of 3D, if you are going 3D you will need a pretty substantial GPU card. You also don't need a Z87 board unless you need specific features on it... a B75/B85 board will suffice... just make sure it has the correct video output (HDMI, etc.)

I like my SSD, you can get one for less than $100 so... why not? A 60/64GB one is adequate. The bonus is it makes no noise and generates very little heat.

I have a 2TB Red in my HTPC as a backup disk, it is less than a year old and Crystal Disk has already detected an error. The main disk is a Seagate 2TB .12 and works fine. I chose the Red over the Green as an experiment and because I'm not yet sold on 'green' drives. The caveat is I have a WD Green running 24/7 in a video security recorder... meaning it writes constantly... and have never had a hiccup with it. Go figure. I will say the Green makes some serious write noise... it's in my closet and sometimes at night I can hear it writing.

I tried to work with Blu-Ray... and gave up on it. You need good software to handle BR disks...

 

[DaveAT]

Thx for your reply.
What do you use to control WMC?
Can you turn on your HTPC by remote control?

I will use an SSD, 60/64 GB will be the right choice.

For the mobo HDMI is obviously essential for this build, but I need an excellent wifi also, capable of 1080p streaming with no issue.
An alternative is represented by Netgear Powerline, anyone has some experience?

For i3 vs Celeron or Pentium I prefer spend a little bit more in order to have a "future proof" HTPC. Maybe I will use also a projector, so soon it can be use for 4K video reproduction.
Right now Intel is working on HD5000 for 4K, but it seems it will be only for i5 series (http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/13/intels-haswell-core-i5-nuc-overclocking-hd5000/), so I hope i3 with HD4600 will be enough also for this type of content.

 

[Alan G]

My builds use an i3 3225 with HD4000 graphics. This is just fine for an HTPC build. I use the Gigabyte H77N-WiFi m-ITX MoBo and have never had any issues with dropouts while using Netflix or other Internet streams. It has two HDMI ports on it.

I have a Hauppage 2650 cable card tuner for Verizon FIOS tv including HBO. This only can record two shows at one time but I don't need any more capability than that. A remote control is included with the tuner; it will turn your HTPC into sleep mode but will not wake it up. I use a Logitech K400 wireless keyboard to wake the PC up and Internet browsing. All Blu-
Ray drives are pretty much equivalent; I use LG and haven't had any issues.

I prefer WD Blue HDDs and they run quiet enough. If you are doing nothing more thand simple stuff 4GB RAM is all you need.

 

[velillen]

I have a basic htpc. I3 low end model from like 2 years ago...a sandy bridge. Does everything perfectly.

Blurays can be a bit tricky since you have to use an external program like tmt5. You can do it though just takes tinkering. I have a media server though and just rip a mkv copy and store it on the server.

To control wmc and mediabrowser I use a simple rosewill mce remote that was like 20 bucks. It's super basic and works just fine. Can put the htpc to sleep and also wake it up.

I use a SSD as the os and primary drive. But if you want live buffer or to record shows I would get a 1 or 2tb drive. I can't remember what 1tb I have but I think ota a 1tb wd blue.

As for silence I went with a big shiriken with a 900rpm fan. Two 120mm 900rpm fans as case fans. Works perfectly and I can barely hear it. And by barely I mean if its dead silent and I try to listen for it. Any noise and its silent. Temps stay fine too at around 30c.

Hope that helps

 

[Charlie98]

To control wmc and mediabrowser I use a simple rosewill mce remote that was like 20 bucks. It's super basic and works just fine. Can put the htpc to sleep and also wake it up.

That's what I have, too. It works well enough to navigate through WMC... but they could have made the tiny buttons a little bigger.

Thx for your reply.
What do you use to control WMC?
Can you turn on your HTPC by remote control?

I turn on my HTPC manually... I don't sleep it to save power.

Although I built my HTPC in a standard PC case, the same noise rules apply... I have 2x 120mm front fans, the single 120mm rear fan, and I use the Intel CPU fan from my i5. I control the fans with a manual knob set at 60% and let the mobo take care of the CPU fan... and it is as silent as could be. The 3 HDDs make the most noise of anything. It runs at 27-32C idle or loaded, so the CPU fan never ramps up... truly, there is very little demand on a HTPC CPU. The GPU is passively cooled (which is one of the reasons I stuck the extra front fan in.)

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

A couple of things:

1) When you mention 1080p/24fps are you looking for true 24fps or 23.976? If it's the latter the Haswell IGP is currently the only Intel chip that can do that accurately.

2) Regarding memory, the speed and timings really don't have an impact with an HTPC unless you plan on gaming. If you plan on doing any serious gaming you are better off getting a dedicated GPU.

 

[DaveAT]

Hi guys,
Alan how do you feel with K400 keyboard? With this are you able to turn on the PC or just wake up it?

To control wmc and mediabrowser I use a simple rosewill mce remote that was like 20 bucks. It's super basic and works just fine. Can put the htpc to sleep and also wake it up.

As for silence I went with a big shiriken with a 900rpm fan. Two 120mm 900rpm fans as case fans. Works perfectly and I can barely hear it. And by barely I mean if its dead silent and I try to listen for it. Any noise and its silent. Temps stay fine too at around 30c.

Hope that helps

Link of the remote control pls.
Big shuriken is very good, but with Noctua NH-U9B I can follow the air flow from the fans. I'm looking for find again the picture of it in a Lian Li PC-C50.

Although I built my HTPC in a standard PC case, the same noise rules apply... I have 2x 120mm front fans, the single 120mm rear fan, and I use the Intel CPU fan from my i5. I control the fans with a manual knob set at 60% and let the mobo take care of the CPU fan... and it is as silent as could be. The 3 HDDs make the most noise of anything. It runs at 27-32C idle or loaded, so the CPU fan never ramps up... truly, there is very little demand on a HTPC CPU. The GPU is passively cooled (which is one of the reasons I stuck the extra front fan in.)

Lower CPU with discrete passive cooled GPU (I have a EVGA GT520 passive) is the other option. Your HTPC with i5 and 3 HDDs is a little bit overkill

A couple of things:

1) When you mention 1080p/24fps are you looking for true 24fps or 23.976? If it's the latter the Haswell IGP is currently the only Intel chip that can do that accurately.

2) Regarding memory, the speed and timings really don't have an impact with an HTPC unless you plan on gaming. If you plan on doing any serious gaming you are better off getting a dedicated GPU.

Great technical info.

1) I looking for true 23.976 fps. I read in the past an article with this problem about SB (if i remember well, maybe here on AT), I didn't find any review right now that analyse Haswell for HTPC purpose. Can you gimme any source?

2) 1600 CL9 and 2400 CL11 are at the moment the same price spot. 1333 are cheaper, are these enough?. The RAM are more expensive that one year ago, almost twice. 4GB vs 8GB is now my doubt, I don't want spend much on RAM, but at the same time I want a future proof configuration, able to run 4k video.

Can I allocate by BIOS the RAM quantity that the iGPU can use? What is in your opinion the required quantity to run a 4k/60fps video?
My gopro camera is capable of recording on 4k/15fps, so very soon I can assume 4k/60fps will be possible at very affordable cost.

 

[Alan G]

@DaveAT - the K400 is a standard but smaller keyboard. It cannot start a PC and AFAIK there are no keyboards that can do this; it only wakes it up from sleep mode. The track pad on the keyboard is OK but not as good as a separate mouse. I should have noted that my HTPC is in a Lian Li PC-Q27 case and is passively cooled. I run the stock Intel cooler and there is barely any noise coming from the unit. OS is on a SSD and a 500GB WD Blue HDD is used for recording. I don't keep things around and don't need any larger storage capacity.

 

[Charlie98]

Lower CPU with discrete passive cooled GPU (I have a EVGA GT520 passive) is the other option. Your HTPC with i5 and 3 HDDs is a little bit overkill

My HTPC has a G620...

The 3 HDDs are a stop-gap... 1 2TB for video storage, 1 2TB for backup, 1 500GB add-on until I get the main storage drive culled down. I've even considered pulling the backup 2TB and getting a 3TB portable instead that I don't have to leave hooked up.

If you look at my original reply to the OP's post, I question the need for an i3/Z87 combo for HTPC duty unless he's transcoding.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Great technical info.

1) I looking for true 23.976 fps. I read in the past an article with this problem about SB (if i remember well, maybe here on AT), I didn't find any review right now that analyse Haswell for HTPC purpose. Can you gimme any source?

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7007/intels-haswell-an-htpc-perspective

2) 1600 CL9 and 2400 CL11 are at the moment the same price spot. 1333 are cheaper, are these enough?. The RAM are more expensive that one year ago, almost twice. 4GB vs 8GB is now my doubt, I don't want spend much on RAM, but at the same time I want a future proof configuration, able to run 4k video.

For purely HTPC purposes 1333 is just fine. So is 4GB.

Can I allocate by BIOS the RAM quantity that the iGPU can use? What is in your opinion the required quantity to run a 4k/60fps video?
My gopro camera is capable of recording on 4k/15fps, so very soon I can assume 4k/60fps will be possible at very affordable cost.

I don't know the answer to this. 4K video is off in the relatively distant future for me so I really haven't given it a look yet.

 

[DaveAT]

If you look at my original reply to the OP's post, I question the need for an i3/Z87 combo for HTPC duty unless he's transcoding.

You're right.
I need a miniITX or microATX mobo with good wi-fi. Z87 pro is the only ASUS that has it, none of H87 has it. Advice?

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7007/intels-haswell-an-htpc-perspective

Thx a lot.
I just read it. Haswell is pretty good...

 

[Charlie98]

If you look at my original reply to the OP's post, I question the need for an i3/Z87 combo for HTPC duty unless he's transcoding.... or needs wifi!

There... fixed that for me.

Oddly enough, NE's search doesn't have a 'wifi' parameter... Hmmm...