Post your HTPC builds!

Lonyo

Lifer
Aug 10, 2002
21,939
6
81
I'll start with mine:

Currently running on a new 42" 1080p LG TV:
Pentium G620T (underclocked to 1.8GHz)
4GB DDR3
3x2TB HDD
HD6450
Bluray drive
Some ASRock ITX motherboard

Powered by a PicoPSU for super low power (almost):
http://linitx.com/viewproduct.php?prodid=12383


Soon to be operational for a different TV:
Celeron G530 (underclocked to 1.8GHz)
Radeon HD6850 (for some gaming)
4GB DDR3
ASRock B75 Pro3 motherboard (8 SATA Ports!!!!!!)
1x250GB 2.5" HDD (OS)
2x3TB Seagate drives (NAS/storage)
Corsair CX400
Power use at idle with just 2.5" drive and no HD6850: 23w
Power use with 2x3TB HDD spun down (power saving mode): 28w
Power use with HD6850: ~40w idle.
 

vshah

Lifer
Sep 20, 2003
19,003
24
81
silverstone GD05B case
lga775 celeron (around 2.4ghz IIRC)
some asus motherboard
HD5450, passive
4 GB ram
old 500gb hdd, SSD is on the way!
seasonic x400 fanless psu
fan controller for the gd05b fans

running xbmc 11. media is stored on a WHS box and streamed over the lan.

everything (including pc power on/off thanks to a simerec PCS-2) is controlled via a harmony one remote.
 

cytoSiN

Platinum Member
Jul 11, 2002
2,262
7
81
Still a work in progress (many parts repurposed from old gaming rigs, but I had them laying around and they fit in my case, so I figured why not?):

Silverstone GD05B
i5 2500k w/ Big Shuriken
Asus P8Z68-MPro
8GB Samsung low profile 1.35v RAM
EVGA GTX 480 (probably swapping this into a new gaming PC for my nephew, at which point I'll switch back to the HD3000 graphics for now)
Currently using a 46" Sony Bravia (hopefully replacing on BF2012)
Samsung 830 256GB
Corsair HX650
Wireless network via Asus 5N usb stick
Running Win7 Media Center and XBMC.
Media is streamed from a 3TB Buffalo NAS.
Controlling everything via wireless Logitech keyboard/mouse -- looking for a better solution!
 

el-Capitan

Senior member
Apr 24, 2012
572
2
81
HTPC 'Apollo'

Moneual Moncaso 312S (http://moneualusa.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=157&Itemid=158)
Core i3 2105, cooled by a Shuriken 100mm (stock was waaay too loud)
Biostar TH67+ (do not recommend!)
2x 4GB Mushkin
128GB M3 SSD
2TB WDC
Samsung BD-Drive
OCZ 500W Modular, passive.
Avermedia HD Duet
2x 360 controllers.

Runs well. Absolutely inaudible, even without sound on. Case temps around 45-50C.

Win HP x64 and WMC, watching TV ClearQAM from TWC. Media stored locally.

All controlled via the remote that came with the case. For text inout I use the that Lenovo thing.
 
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Krazy4Real

Lifer
Oct 3, 2003
12,222
55
91
AMD Athlon II X4 630
4 GB DDR2
MSI 785GTM-E45
2 x 1TB Samsung drives in Raid 1
Lite-on dvd-rw
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
 

cytoSiN

Platinum Member
Jul 11, 2002
2,262
7
81
HTPC 'Apollo'

Moneual Moncaso 312S (http://moneualusa.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=157&Itemid=158)
Core i3 2105, cooled by a Shuriken 100mm (stock was waaay too loud)
Biostar TH67+ (do not recommend!)
2x 4GB Mushkin
128GB M3 SSD
2TB WDC
Samsung BD-Drive
OCZ 500W Modular, passive.
Avermedia HD Duet
2x 360 controllers.

Runs well. Absolutely inaudible, even without sound on. Case temps around 45-50C.

Win HP x64 and WMC, watching TV ClearQAM from TWC. Media stored locally.

All controlled via the remote that came with the case. For text inout I use the that Lenovo thing.

Wow that's a gorgeous case.../want.
 

Charlie98

Diamond Member
Nov 6, 2011
6,292
62
91
HTPC build: in progress
Intel G620
2x 2GB RAM
Seagate .12 1TB
Corsair CX430v2

...it's not very functional right now... but we are working on that!
 

el-Capitan

Senior member
Apr 24, 2012
572
2
81
Wow that's a gorgeous case.../want.

Thanks.

I had that in my wishlist for many weeks until it finally came on sale. Worth the money, very well made and looks beautiful. It is a very tight build though (prob the most challenging I've ever had - fun!), be prepared to look at the dimensions of every component in detail.

There is an excellent build thread on the AVS Forums.
 

OVerLoRDI

Diamond Member
Jan 22, 2006
5,494
4
81
This thread should be stickied, similar to the anandtech member case thread in cases and cooling forum. Also people should embed pictures too!
 
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cytoSiN

Platinum Member
Jul 11, 2002
2,262
7
81
Thanks.

I had that in my wishlist for many weeks until it finally came on sale. Worth the money, very well made and looks beautiful. It is a very tight build though (prob the most challenging I've ever had - fun!), be prepared to look at the dimensions of every component in detail.

There is an excellent build thread on the AVS Forums.

There are a few bigger cases on their website that might be easier builds, but they're way more expensive. How much did they charge you for shipping?
 

el-Capitan

Senior member
Apr 24, 2012
572
2
81
There are a few bigger cases on their website that might be easier builds, but they're way more expensive. How much did they charge you for shipping?

Just looked it up, got it through Newegg. Free 3-day with most of the above components. :thumbsup:
 

piasabird

Lifer
Feb 6, 2002
17,168
60
91
I built this computer for myself, but after we hooked it up to the TV to test it, the picture was so good for streaming Video HULU, etc, that my wife really liked it. So I lost it for that purpose? It is overkill, but it works well. I used an ATX tower Case because it was on sale. I also noticed that ATX motherboard sometimes are cheaper.
Cost about $700 with the OS.

1. Case: ANTEC 300 with Antec Basiq 480w Power Supply. Listed at $70 on sale. I have never seen this case at this price since. It was one of those promotional sales that comes and disappears quickly at newegg. (Get the newsletter)
2. Motherboard: Intel DZ68DB motherboard.
3. CPU= Intel 2500K (Went High quality for Intel HD3000 Video)
4. RAM= 8 GIG of Crucial RAM. (Use update website for compatability)
5. DVD= Lite-On DVD
6. HD= Seagate 500Gig 6.0 HD
7. HDMI Cable
8. Plug into Network and HDTV.
9. WIN7 64 BIT Home Prem w/updates.

I may be working on building another one with low-end Celeron.

I use this to watch Korean Movie series with Engl Subtitles.

www.dramafever.com
www.viki.com
www.crunchroll.com ?
 
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Kadarin

Lifer
Nov 23, 2001
44,303
15
81
I'm running a current generation non-server Mac Mini. 2.7Ghz, 8GB RAM, 750GB HDD. This is mainly used for Netflix/iTunes duty, and is the media storage for the entire house.
 

BurnItDwn

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
26,066
1,550
126
My HTPC is really not a proper HTPC.... (I used to have a box with a PVR150 and MythTV, but, these days I usually use my HTPC for games, and streaming media since I'm not very happy with the netflix app on my Panasonic bluray player.)

It's in the back of the room, in my little AV cubby area.
Case is Antec P180B
Power Supply is PC Power & Cooling 650 Watt
CPU is a phenom 2, around 3ghz, forget which model
Video is Radeon 4870
Running windows 7 home.
It's got a 300GB Raptor drive.

Hooked up via HDMI to my Onkyo Reciever which then connects via 25 foot HDMI cable to my Mitsubishi projector.

I use an IBM Model M keyboard with a 15 foot PS2 extension cable. I have a cheapo optical mouse with a 15 foot USB extension cable.

One of these days I plan to go wireless... but I haven't found any wireless buckling spring keyboards, and I'm not sure if I'm willing to switch to Cherry switches. And I don't like dealing with batteries and recharging things when I can simply just leave them plugged in all the time instead.

Anyhow, this is really just my "old" PC. I always keep my 2nd fastes PC around as another gaming box, and, rather than plugging it into a CRT and using it once every few months, it gets used a lot more when connected to the projector in my dedicated theater room.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,226
9,990
126
Mine has no tuner card, I have a seperate HD box that I rent from Verizon monthly, both HTPC and HD box hooked up via HDMI.

32" 720P Westinghouse (older one, built probably better than current models, was def. more expensive, has a DVD player built in but I don't use it.)

Foxconn 7GM-S or something like that, it's an early 780G mobo, that used to be "the thing" for HTPC enthusiasts.
BE-2400 (I think, or maybe 2350). AM2 dual-core, 45W.
1GB DDR2 RAM (Edit: Might be a 2GB stick, don't remember.)
1TB WD Caviar Green HD (before Advanced Format drives, and the incessant auto-head-parking.)
DVD burner
In some GlobalWin micro-ATX case w/PSU, that basically barely fits into the space allotted on my shelf.
Win7 HP.

I use it to listen to internet radio, mostly, although I used to use it for Hulu. Never tried Netflix on it.

Will play 1080P MKVs with the 780G HW accel in Win7. (Couldn't get it to work in XP at all.)
Planet Earth series looks gorgeous.

Thinking about upgrading it possibly, but why fix what isn't broke?

I tried throwing in a 95W 6-core 1045T CPU, even without overclocking or running full load, it overheated in the case. The case only has two 60mm fans in the back for cooling.
 
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cybrsage

Lifer
Nov 17, 2011
13,021
0
0
Mine is getting a little long in the tooth, but I am waiting to see if the Ceton Q is a good replacement before a rebuild.

ASUS P5Q Mobo
Intel 7200 Dual Core CPU
BR/HD-DVD dual media player
(1) 60GB SSD - OS Drive
(1) 1.5 TB HDD - Recorded TV Drive
(1) 2TB HDD - Parity Drive
(3) 2 TB HDD and (2) 1.5TB HDD for DVD and BluRay Movie Storage.
ATI 6750
Centon InfiniTV 4 Tuner Cable Card Tuner
Win7 64 Bit
 

Maximilian

Lifer
Feb 8, 2004
12,603
9
81
I went for an unconventional HTPC approach as it acts as a storage server as well. So big bulky ATX case, just the way i like it :) Its absolutely inaudible too as long as noone is accessing any of the hard drives.

This is whats currently in it:

i5 2400s with Noctua NH U12P SE2
GA-H77-D3H
4GB DDR3
4x1.5TB Samsung F2
128GB Crucial M4 SSD
Seasonic X460 FL
Antec 300

euQtA.jpg


A more recent shot, species 8472 wrecking up some borg cubes
KIXv4.jpg


Seven of nine is not amused
m8xuP.jpg
 
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boomhower

Diamond Member
Sep 13, 2007
7,228
19
81
Case: Silverstone ML03B
MB: ASRock H67M-GE/HT
CPU: Intel G530
RAM: 2x2GB's Mushkin 1333
HDs: 60GB OCZ Vertex 2, WD 2TB and 1TB Greed
Tuner: Ceton InfiniTV PCI
PSU: Seasonic SS-350ET
HSF: Scythe Shuriken
Keyboard: lighted Lenovo HTPC
Remote: Logitech One
OS: Win 7 using just Media Center
TV: 55" Panny Plasma

Overall I love it. TWC can be a pain the rear to deal with, so much so I am now looking at going satellite. But I love the system and I love Windows Media Center. I use an Xbox 360 in the bedroom as a media center and other than slowish channel changes no issues there. I have no regrets going this route even with the difficulties with TWC and it has even attained wife approval.
 

ecosmartpc

Member
Aug 15, 2012
67
0
66
www.ecosmartpc.com
My bedroom HTPC

$(KGrHqZ,!i!E9hHWvJp0BPl45UjL4!~~60_35.JPG


Realan E-i5 mini-itx case
Intel G620
ASUS P8H61-I mini-itx motherboard
Gelid Slim Silence i-Plus CPU cooler
Crucial m4 128GB SSD
2 x 2GB Kingston DDR-1333 low profile RAM
picoPSU 120-WI-25 with 18.5V 72W AC adapter (from old IBM T30)
Microsoft MCE remote (the original one)
Some no-name IR receiver

This is hooked up to a Panasonic 50" plasma and it runs W7MC. It idles around 25W, runs around 35W and maxes out around 60W running Prime95 large FFT. Temperature-wise it's usually around 40C-45C. You can't hear it from 3' away.

Some pictures (sorry they are kinda dark):
wwd6cz.jpg

o9eqkg.jpg
 
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Sep 12, 2004
16,852
59
86
black hec SECC (no idea what that stands for) case w/ 300w psu
ASRock H61M-GE
G530 with stock heatsink
4GB Kingston DDR3 low-profile ram (forgot the specifics on this, but it works w/o issue)
500GB Seagate Momentus XT
ASUS Blu-ray optical drive
Ceton InfiniTV4
USB MCE IR receiver
Harmony One
IOGear keyboard
LinkSys DMA-2100
Win7-64 Home Premium
TMT 5.xxx.xxx.xxxx.xxxx.xxx.3

Most of the above I've had for over 2 years. Just upgraded the CPU and motherboard a few months ago. I was using an E3400 along with a 6570 but the AMD drivers had so many issues I finally gave up and went with the Intel iGPU. Now I have an HTPC that just works and has a very high WAF.

The Momentus XT is great for an HTPC. imo, it's a nice tradeoff for someone who doesn't use an HTPC to store their media files other than recorded TV because you don't need an SSD and a separate mechanical drive when using one. I've thought about upgrading to the newer 750GB version but I'm going to wait for now. A 1TB version with 16GB or even 32GB of NAND would definitely cause me to upgrade though.

The Ceton? What can I say. It was the greatest product introduction since hydro-bud and is the holy grail for HTPCs, imo. It has allowed the HTPC to become a truly central, sole device and it has payed for itself and the extender in the time I've had it. Its only flaw is the lack of on-demand/ppv and hopefully Ceton will be addressing that in the future.
 

Raduque

Lifer
Aug 22, 2004
13,141
138
106
My HTPCs are probably the lowest-spec ones on the forum.

Living room HTPC:
AMD X2 3800+ s939
DFI nForce 4 SLI
3gb DDR
nVidia 6800u 256mb
Onboard SP/DIF toslink optical
Hauppage WinTV PVR
WD Raptor 74gb boot drive
Seagate 500gb recording storage/cache drive
Microsoft Xbox360 HDDVD drive
Seasonic S12II 380W PSU
Windows Vista Ultimate 32bit/Media Center
Microsoft MCE remote/Logitech Harmony
It's connected to an LG 65" 1080p Plasma using DVI, and the audio is fed to a Sony DD/DTS surround receiver.

My HTPC:
AMD X2 4400+ S939
Asus A8NLE
4gb DDR
Sapphire HD3870 512mb
Onboard COAX digital out
Western Digital 200gb 2.5" boot drive
LG Blu-ray/HDDVD combo drive
Seasonic S12II 430W PSU
Windows 7 x64/Media Center
Microsoft MCE remote
This one's connected in my bedroom to a Samsung 55" 1080p OLED SmartTV and cheap RCA DD/DTS surround receiver, and streams content from my server


I built one for my sister:
Intel Pentium D 805
Intel DG965-WH
2gb DDR2-800
MSI Radeon HD2400 256mb passive low-profile
Random 500gb boot drive
LG Blu-Ray drive
Seasonic S12II 380W PSU
Windows 7 32bit/Media Center w/TMT3 integrated for BD and DVD playback
Microsoft MCE remote
It's connected it to her Westinghouse 42" 1080p using aDVIi>HDMI adapter, and sound works. It used to have a tuner card, but she broke the cable COAX connector off.

The living room HTPC and my sister's are both in normal ATX mini-tower cases, and my bedroom HTPC is in a Compaq mATX case and the infrared receiver is internalized because the Compaq case has smoked drive bay doors. Oh, can you tell I like Seasonic PSUs? I have their S12II 500w in my gaming PC and an S12II 620w in my server.
 
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thestrangebrew1

Diamond Member
Dec 7, 2011
3,430
382
126
Some great builds here. Been thinking of throwing together an htpc using an old 4400+ and an Asus a8n 32 sli deluxe but don't have funds for psu case & os right now. I've got my server streaming movies via ps3 flawlessly now & the wife won't understand the purpose of an htpc so I've got some explaining to do anyways.
 

Schmide

Diamond Member
Mar 7, 2002
5,581
712
126
Built 3 HTPC for the families

Current for my sister.

Athlon II 620
ECS A780GM-M3
4gb ram
APEVIA X-QPACK
Kingston SSD/now 64gb
2gb HD
HD 6770
Seasonic 460W Fanless
VC and CPU watercooled for silence

For me
AMD Athlon II X2 255
ECS IC780M-A
2tb drive
ATI R4350


ehh. I'm tired. I'll finish tomorrow.
 

PrincessFrosty

Platinum Member
Feb 13, 2008
2,301
68
91
www.frostyhacks.blogspot.com
I use my main gaming rig in my living room so it's not a dedicated HTPC per se, it's wired up to a 120Hz 1080p panel for gaming, a 30" 2560x1600 panel for work and for home theatre stuff I have a 1080p 3LCD projector which gives me a sweet 122" screen on my wall.

Specs are in Sig but it comes with a sweet 10Tb of storage for blurays and HDTV :)

This was the projector last Xmas with the lights up and some Skyrim in max settings

332ms6u.jpg