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Relatively inexpensive HTPC build?

E

Excelsior

Lifer
Hey guys,

Since I moved out my main display is a 50" Plasma in the living room while my computer is upstairs in the bedroom. I used to be able to watch movies/shows in HD on my projector because my computer was in the same room. Suffice to say, I am in need of a HTPC because the Xbox 360 isn't cutting it with PS3 Media Server.

I really just need something that has space (1TB drives being so cheap), can play hi def files (MKV) (up to 1080p) and handle DD/DTS ok. From what I understand, this isn't hard to do. It would be nice if it was quiet. I don't mind if it isn't tiny, as long as it is smaller than your average desktop. Gaming capability is irrelevent for me. If it could do multichannel over HDMI, that would be nice.

What would be a good option for the money?

Thanks.
 
Could you get by with a media player/streamer like the WD Live for around $100?

I have built a cheap HTPC from left over / 2nd gen. parts but I may still give the Dell Zino a chance as well.
 
Well unfortunately with HTPC's: quite, small, HD, cheap... pick 3.

Best I can say is:

Intel i3 530 CPU
ASUS P7H55-M PRO
4GB RAM DDR3-1600
ATI HD 5670 (anything less and you suffer image quality due to de-interlacer, upscaler, etc.)
Antec Fusion Remote Black

The above won't really be quiet, but it is small, HD, and cheap...
 
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RKS said:
Could you get by with a media player/streamer like the WD Live for around $100?

I have built a cheap HTPC from left over / 2nd gen. parts but I may still give the Dell Zino a chance as well.
Click to expand...

I could, but then I might as well keep using a 360.

I've seen the Zino..don't know much about them.

The above won't really be quiet, but it is small, HD, and cheap...
Click to expand...

So onboard graphics, no matter the implementation are a no-no?
 
Personally, I've been running everything through mkv2vob and simply streaming files directly off NAS over a gigabit link. It works pretty well, though mainly for the PS3 and it can only handle up to DTS. Doesn't matter to me because I use an older setup that can't handle the higher codecs.

I don't know what your problem is with the 360. If it's simply PS3 Media Server transcoding speed or transfer rate, you can probably solve that cheaply by using a low-end dual-bay NAS for around $100 or less and loading it with preconfigured files.
If you're having a problem with the 360's rendering ability, then you'll probably have to go with a complete htpc build for 1080 playback. From what I hear, the WD Live has problems keeping up with 1080 content, especially at high bitrates when subtitles are involved. Apparently it has something to do with the file parser, not the unit's render ability.
 
I got myself an Asus O!play while i figure out just what i want to do HTPC wise. it plays everything i throw at it. 1080p over 100mbps ethernet works just fine, but it sometimes gets stuck fast-forwarding faster than 4x.
 
The above won't really be quiet, but it is small, HD, and cheap...
Click to expand...
So onboard graphics, no matter the implementation are a no-no?
Click to expand...

No, that's not true. The Intel i530 with an H55 motherboard works great. See my sig for what I built. It plays everything I throw at it.

If you spend a little more on a case (around $100) then it can be quiet. My rig with a fan speed controller is so quiet I can't hear it from 2 feet away in a quiet room.
I went with this case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811163166
I went with this fan speed controller:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811995038
 
Sahakiel said:
Personally, I've been running everything through mkv2vob and simply streaming files directly off NAS over a gigabit link. It works pretty well, though mainly for the PS3 and it can only handle up to DTS. Doesn't matter to me because I use an older setup that can't handle the higher codecs.

I don't know what your problem is with the 360. If it's simply PS3 Media Server transcoding speed or transfer rate, you can probably solve that cheaply by using a low-end dual-bay NAS for around $100 or less and loading it with preconfigured files.
If you're having a problem with the 360's rendering ability, then you'll probably have to go with a complete htpc build for 1080 playback. From what I hear, the WD Live has problems keeping up with 1080 content, especially at high bitrates when subtitles are involved. Apparently it has something to do with the file parser, not the unit's render ability.
Click to expand...

My problem isn't with the 360 itself (except for its lack of DD with MKV files) but with it being downstairs running off the wireless.
 
You don't need much for a decent HTPC/media player per your stated requirements:

AMD Athlon II 250 + free Biostar mATX board = $65 (Microcenter)
2 gigs DDR2 - $40 (newegg)
Mini ATX tower or small desktop case w/ PSU - $50 (Apex / Powerspec, etc..)
ATI Radeon 4350 low profile PCIe card - $20 AR
Samsung 1 TB 5400 RPM HDD - $50
LG SATA DVD burner or similar - $20-$25 (Micro Center, Newegg, etc..)

Figure you are at $225 ish but still need to get an operating system (Linux = Free, Windows 7 Premium = $100 ). Obviously you can deduct anything you already own.

You'll also probably need a remote control, the Rosewill version is fine for $25.

The above system is cheap, will take care of your DTS/DD bistream over HDMI, can easily handle 1080p content of any sort and should be nice and quiet (might have to replace a fan or two depending on your case solution - I usually dump OEM case fans for Panaflo or something similar in HTPC builds versus messing with fan controllers).
 
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jdjbuffalo said:
No, that's not true. The Intel i530 with an H55 motherboard works great. See my sig for what I built. It plays everything I throw at it.

If you spend a little more on a case (around $100) then it can be quiet. My rig with a fan speed controller is so quiet I can't hear it from 2 feet away in a quiet room.
I went with this case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811163166
I went with this fan speed controller:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811995038
Click to expand...

I agree. My HTPC has a Gigabyte GA-H55M-S2H micro H55 ATX MB and an Intel i3-530 CPU. Picture quality is great with every format.

Before you decide on what components you are going to use for your HTPC read the section "Graphics and Sound Devices" in renethx's thread in the AVS forum: Guide to Building a HD HPLC

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18333748#post18333748
 
Last edited:
Excelsior said:
So onboard graphics, no matter the implementation are a no-no?
Click to expand...

For HD material, you can get away with ION, and maybe the newer Intel chipsets. You get smooth playback of HD, but you won't get good de-interlacing, so if you are watching interlaced captured HD video, you really need a discrete graphics card. The added bonus of the ATI is that it will also do your surround sound over the HDMI link if you are connecting to a audio/video receiver/pre-processor which has HDMI v1.3 capabilities. You can even do blu-ray bitstreaming of the full audio.
 
Last edited:
Fallen Kell said:
Well unfortunately with HTPC's: quite, small, HD, cheap... pick 3.

Best I can say is:

Intel i3 530 CPU
ASUS P7H55-M PRO
4GB RAM DDR3-1600
ATI HD 5670 (anything less and you suffer image quality due to de-interlacer, upscaler, etc.)
Antec Fusion Remote Black

The above won't really be quiet, but it is small, HD, and cheap...
Click to expand...

With due respect I would argue the "cheap" part as well, just the components listed above put you over $550 and you still haven't picked up a hard drive ($50), optical drive ($20-25), Media Center Remote ($25), operating system, etc... Total damage for this solution is $650+. I won't argue that the i3 + P55 chipset in a mini-ITX case is a nice HTPC solution but it is probably overkill given the criteria provided.

I'm thinking he should just buy a PS3 slim for $300 and use one of the various methods to run MKV files and get the multi-channel audio he's looking for PLUS blu-ray support, streaming netflix, etc...
 
If you want to go dirt cheap then get an Asus O!play HDP-R1 or Air (with wifi); or a WD TV Live Plus and an external hard drive.

HDP-R1 $79.16 AR shipped
http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Play-Medi.../dp/B002MCZJ3C

Air $109.99 AR shipped
http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Play-Air-.../dp/B002YK1FFI

Asus O!play Air specs:
Supported Formats Video: MPEG1/2/4,RM/RMVB,VC-1,H.264
Video File Extension: .trp,.mp4,.mov,.xvid,.avi,.divx,.asf,.wmv,.mkv,.rm,.rmvb,.flv,.ts,.m2ts,.dat,.mpg,.vob,.mts,.iso,.ifo
Audio: MP3,WAV,AAC,OGG,FLAC,AIFF,Dolby Digital AC3,Dolby Digital Plus,DTS Digital Surround,Tag ID3
Image: JPEG,BMP,PNG,GIF,TIFF
Subtitle: SRT,SUB,SMI,SSA,TXT(SRT)
I/O Port Input:
DC Power In
1xUSB 2.0 Port
1xUSB 2.0 / eSATA Combo Port
RJ-45 LAN Port
Card readers CF, SD+MMC, MS+MS Duo
802.11n Wireless Networking
Output:
Composite Video
Composite Audio L/R
S/PDIF Out
HDMI 1.3

WD TV Live Plus $119. shipped
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...Live_Plus.html

WD TV Live Plus specs:
File Formats Supported
Video - AVI (Xvid, AVC, MPEG1/2/4), MPG/MPEG, VOB, MKV (h.264, x.264, AVC, MPEG1/2/4, VC-1), TS/TP/M2T (MPEG1/2/4, AVC, VC-1), MP4/MOV (MPEG4, h.264), M2TS, WMV9
Photo - JPEG, GIF, TIF/TIFF, BMP, PNG
Audio - MP3, WAV/PCM/LPCM, WMA, AAC, FLAC, MKA, AIF/AIFF, OGG, Dolby Digital, DTS
Playlist - PLS, M3U, WPL
Subtitle - SRT, ASS, SSA, SUB, SMI
Note:
- MPEG2 MP@HL up to 1920x1080p24, 1920x1080i30 or 1280x720p60 resolution.
- MPEG4.2 ASP@L5 up to 1280x720p30 resolution and no support for global motion compensation.
- WMV9/VC-1 MP@HL up to 1280x720p60 or 1920x1080p24 resolution. VC-1 AP@L3 up to 1920x1080i30, 1920x1080p24 or 1280x720p60 resolution.
- H.264 BP@L3 up to 720x480p30 or 720x576p25 resolution.
- H.264 MP@L4.1 and HP@4.1 up to 1920x1080p24, 1920x1080i30, or 1280x720p60 resolution.
- An audio receiver is required for multi-channel surround sound digital output.
- Compressed RGB JPEG formats only and progressive JPEG up to 2048x2048.
- Single layer TIFF files only.
- Uncompressed BMP only.
Physical Specifications
Capacity N/A
Interface Ethernet, HDMI, Composite A/V, Component video, USB 2.0
 
There's no such thing as a cheap HTPC, unless you think "cheap" is $1,000 or less.

Sure, you may start out with a $200 machine from a random collection of used and new (after-rebate!) parts, but over the next two years you will absolutely add part after part and end up with a $500-$1,000 machine! Trust me, i've done it and I keep doing it.

The third post in this thread is a very good start, minus the video card and maybe on a different H55 motherboard. The video card isn't needed. The board is a corporate-type board but I honestly haven't looked at it much.
 
One could buy those small HP PCs that retail for about 400ish. Add a low profile 5650 and your golden. I still use 4670s in three of my htpcs and they do fine for bedroom use. In the main htpc I use the i7 in sig...

If you live near a microcenter or a frys you could put something good together for 400-500 including case excluding OS.
 
Binky said:
There's no such thing as a cheap HTPC, unless you think "cheap" is $1,000 or less.

Sure, you may start out with a $200 machine from a random collection of used and new (after-rebate!) parts, but over the next two years you will absolutely add part after part and end up with a $500-$1,000 machine! Trust me, i've done it and I keep doing it.

The third post in this thread is a very good start, minus the video card and maybe on a different H55 motherboard. The video card isn't needed. The board is a corporate-type board but I honestly haven't looked at it much.
Click to expand...

Cheap is relative. When I say cheap, I mean $300-400. From glancing at parts it seemed like that ballpark was easy to hit while still having a decent functioning HTPC. What parts did you keep adding to make yours so much more expensive?
 
Excelsior said:
Cheap is relative. When I say cheap, I mean $300-400. From glancing at parts it seemed like that ballpark was easy to hit while still having a decent functioning HTPC. What parts did you keep adding to make yours so much more expensive?
Click to expand...

I built my HTPC for $400 and that included an $80 keyboard and $100 ATSC tuner. However, I already had a case, psu, and Windows. Prices were higher back then (i.e. $100 for a 1TB hdd), so you should have no problem hitting your $400 goal.

yuppiejr's build looks pretty good, but I wouldn't go with a lower video card than the 4550.

Also, what parts are you looking at getting? I don't feel like building a system-parts list right now, but I'd be happy to critique yours 🙂
 
I was thinking:

~$55 HEC case/PSU
~$60-70 1TB Drive
~$25 for DVD Burner
~$60-70 for $4GB RAM
Then whatever CPU/Mobo combo that will do what I need.
So that is ~$210 before CPU/MOBO...and I don't need an ATSC tuner or an $80 KB.

So it would seem that $350 is doable, easily.

I like the idea of the WD Live if an external drive can be set up with it farily easily though.

And I probably didn't explain the quiet part well enough. As long as it isn't LOUD, I dont mind. I have a 2400W power amp sitting 6ft away and it will be louder than most computers out there, even with it having a resistor mod.

But the system that yuppie described is close to what I was going for.
 
Last edited:
Excelsior said:
Will the $30 windows 7 for students work?
Click to expand...

Yep. I would recommend installing the 64-bit version to make full use out of the 4GB of RAM.

For me the loudest parts of my build were the video card and power supply. I had a 9500GT with an annoying sound from it's tiny fan. I've since replaced it with a silent 4550. I'm about to replace my psu with a fanless one as well (Pico PSU). I bought some quieter case fans as well.

I just use a case that I got for free after rebate with an 80mm and 120mm fan. I'll eventually replace my case, but it's behind my TV stand right now, so aesthetics are a non-issue.
 
Well now it is between:

HTPC Build
-XBOX 360
-PS3
-WD Live + External Drive/NAS

Cheapest is really a toss up between 360/WD Live. The Live would work better with more types of video, is purpose built, smaller, uses less power, and is quieter?

The 360 I would need if I wanted to play the games I have or get future games for it but I could technically sell them and just play on my comptuer as I already do. I have a 120GB that I can use with it already with all of my save game data. I also have a Live account which is good for another 9 months I think. And I could play with my roommate over the net if we wanted to. I would want the newer xbox which is black, uses less power, and is slightly smaller though. Hm.

The PS3 would be the most expensive but has blu ray (neat) and works much better with PS3 media server. One can upgrade the HD on it easily and for cheap. Offers a new catalog of games to play.

My birthday is coming up (June 30th) so this can be my present to me. I have the money, I am just trying to be frugal.
 
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What about the XBOX 360 with PS3 Media Server isn't cutting it? Also, I don't see how the XBOX 360 is a solution if you already don't like how it works with PS3 Media Server.
 
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