HTPC Build for $400? Is it possible?

[boomerx01]

Hi Guys,

 

I just completed my i5, Gigabyte P55-M UD2 build with TonyMac's method and it is working flawlessly.

 

What are my options for a sub $400 machine to play 720p videos off my TV (using Plex App)?

 

I know a Mac Mini would work, but was hoping to be a little lower with better performace.

 

Any build suggestions?

[Zaap]

Easily possible, if you go with a microATX sized machine and stick with socket 775. There's no need to go with an i5 for an HTPC and you can save a significant amount of $.

 

If you want something as tiny as the Mac Mini, then it's best just to get a Mac Mini- small form factor PCs end up costing just about as much as a used Mini and generally don't have very good stats for an HTPC.

 

Basically start with:

 

Gigabyte G31M-ES2L

Dual Core Pentium E6300

2GB DDR2 800

GeForce 9400GT/512 (fanless)

160GB Seagate hard drive

LG 22x DVD-R

Antec Fusion mATX HTPC case w 350W 80+ PSU

 

Total is $373.00

 

This setup will play 720p easily, even 1080p. Possibly bite the bullet and put in the full 4GB of RAM to add both dual channel performance and max RAM.

[Messenger01]

Zaap, what specs would you recommend for perfect 1080p playback, as well as a blu ray drive?

[boomerx01]

Is that build Hackintosh ready? I was hoping to run PlexApp as the front end.

 

Thanks Zapp!

[Zaap]

Of course, that setup runs OSX perfectly, even Snow Leopard. It's one of the most common Hackintosh types. It's more 'old school' as it's 775-based, but as I said, for a cheap, task-built HTPC it'll get the job done great as an i5 is actually overkill for that task.

 

Messenger, of course as we all know OSX doesn't currently support bluray drive playback, but as for 1080p content or bluray under Windows, that setup as spec'ed would play it, but for best results I would add the full 4GB of RAM and maybe a better video card just to be sure.

 

For example: I use a very similar system myself as an HTPC with 4GB of RAM an 8600GTS/512 video card and it handles 1080p content perfectly. (On my 56" Samsung DLP).

 

Oh, and one more thing. If you want to use a receiver for digital audio with the G31M-ES2L, the board has a digital S/PDIF header, you just need the bracket from ebay or similar.

[boomerx01]

Thanks for the help. What is your front end interface? Plex, FrontRow, WMC?

[Zaap]

I use Plex in OSX (simply the best!) and EyeTV for digital and NTSC TV. (Somewhat costly to set up for the Mac compared to Windows, but worth it).

 

 

I use Xlobby in Windows. (Old, but still the best I've seen). Occasionally I'll use Media Center in the new Windows 7 Ultimate as it's actually pretty good for music and movies. Beyond TV to record both digital and NTSC, so no matter which OS I'm booted in, the same 'Tivo' schedule applies.

 

I also will fire up Boxee (either platform) from time to time as I like the interface and online features, though it's still a little buggy.

 

Also Hulu desktop (either platform) now and then for online TV.

 

Definitely there's so much great software that to me, in this day and age it's almost nutty NOT to have an HTPC, and then NOT to have one that's OSX and Windows compatible. Perfect use for a cheap PC.

 

That reminds me, get yourself a decent wireless HTPC keyboard (with built in point device), and possibly a remote to control it all.

 

Sheesh- one thing I forgot to mention with the G31M-ES2L motherboard- I believe the more recent versions of it changed the LAN chip to one that is not OSX compatible. So you'll probably also need a compatible PCI LAN card.

[boomerx01]

Yeah, Plex is awesome but for some reason my movies are playing back at like 3x speed (not sure why).

 

What about that Boxee remote? Or maybe the Griffin USB - http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-4023-ACUSB-A...s/dp/B0007NWM1K

 

They are on eBay for about $10. I could always have Plex open, refreshing off my NAS library, and then use that remote.

 

That is my plan. Unless I can figure out how to run an HDMI cord from my office to my living room and vice versa. With an office, a bedroom and a living room all needing HTPC, this is turning into an expensive setup!

[Zaap]

No idea about the 3x playback issue. Never seen that. I'd guess a codec issue? Is it all video, or just a certain file type?

 

Outfitting the entire house with HTPCs can be a challenge- for me I've done it mostly with hand-me down PCs that bit by bit have been upgraded to better machines. A very low-stat machine can handle the basic HTPC duties. I have my two main HTPCs in the den and bedroom, and also a kitchen PC (atom based, also a Hack) and my office computer doubles as one- I just kick back in my easy chair in there and watch TV on one of my 22" monitors, which isn't bad since the distance isn't too far. In fact, if you already have a computer in your office, why bother with a dedicated HTPC there?

 

I store very little content locally on any of the HTPCs- all movies and music are on my media server and NAS. Gigabit Ethernet is more than enough to stream content over.

 

 

I once did a diagram of my home network showing the madness:

 

 

The boxee remote looks slick- I wonder what it will cost. I actually use my iPod Touch with the boxee remote app as a remote- it works amazingly well. There are several good apps to turn an iPod or iPhone into a decent remote. Also, the Apple remote is a good option. (At least the older ones work fine on a Hackintosh, I don't know about the newer ones).

 

My favorite remote is the Gyration remote- it is the most logical I've seen and makes navigating very easy. In my home office, I use an old ATI remote wonder (RF) which ironically works great on the Mac side (perfectly in Plex) but doesn't work at all in Windows 7.

[boomerx01]

Thanks for the tips.

 

I should clarify. I have my hackintosh in the office, an appletv that gets moved between bedroom and front room.

 

So I need at least 1 HTPC, probably 2, if I want one in each room (bed / front).

 

I will be setting us a NAS to store the files which Plex can then access easily and I was leaning towards the Griffin Remote.

 

I am trying to think of any creative ways to get my HTPC from my office to my HDTV which is about 30 feet down the hallway, but there is no network built in (in Condo).

 

Wireless HDMI is not an option, due to cost. Any creative ideas?

[Zaap]

Thanks for the tips.

 

I should clarify. I have my hackintosh in the office, an appletv that gets moved between bedroom and front room.

 

So I need at least 1 HTPC, probably 2, if I want one in each room (bed / front).

 

I will be setting us a NAS to store the files which Plex can then access easily and I was leaning towards the Griffin Remote.

 

I am trying to think of any creative ways to get my HTPC from my office to my HDTV which is about 30 feet down the hallway, but there is no network built in (in Condo).

 

Wireless HDMI is not an option, due to cost. Any creative ideas?

There's no way to locate the HTPC near the TV, not your office? That's what I'm not getting, why the need for it in your office, especially since you have a hackintosh there that can do the same things anyway.

 

You can run DVI cables over 50ft- even up to 75ft and not lose any signal quality, if that's an option. DVI of course adapts to HDMI and audio for a Mac setup needs to travel a different path than HDMI anyway. (As far as I know, no Apple support for audio over HDMI). Of course the cables are generally pretty bulky assuming you can't put them in the walls of your condo.

 

Also, if it's possible, you can run flat ethernet cables under carpet. For my kitchen computer I had to run a length of flat ethernet under a hallway carpet (easily done by using a wire to snake it under) and at one point super-glued to a baseboard. It's so small it's practically invisible glued at the bottom of the baseboard, so it's easily possible to run it down a hallway like that. For most of the run, I actually just lifted up the edge of the carpet, ran it under the edge beside the wall, and then tacked the carpet edge back down. A run of over 50 feet in my house is 100% invisible. I refuse to mess with wireless connections for an HTPC- playback is just skippy {censored} on even the best systems using wireless. With wired, it's flawless.

[boomerx01]

Yeah, let me clarify. I have the hackintosh in my office, and it is too far to get connected to my front TV setup.

 

I cannot think of a way of running the cables out to the front with my limits of my condo.

 

I guess I could build a cheap HTPC for the front room and then have an AppleTV for the bedroom for streaming movies.

 

Thanks for tip on flat ethernet cables. That could work in some areas.

[JBLanteigne]

Wow nice diagram!

 

and on a quite small budget too... (for what it does and what you have...) Nice

[boomerx01]

Hey Zapp,

 

One question - would the $599 Mac Mini be more powerful than the HTPC setup you posted? I think the size and built in wireless are pretty attractive, but its 35% more expensive.

[Zaap]

Hey Zapp,

 

One question - would the $599 Mac Mini be more powerful than the HTPC setup you posted? I think the size and built in wireless are pretty attractive, but its 35% more expensive.

The $600 entry-level Mac Mini can certainly make for a nice HTPC. Like I've said, HTPC duties actually don't require the beefiest PC in the world. Clearly from looking at my diagram, my Athlon X2 4200+ HTPC is a lesser stat than the current entry level Mac Mini, and yet it performs fine, even for 1080p playback. (Of course it also has more RAM and a beefier graphics card).

 

Now, will the Mac Mini be 'more powerful' than the $373 build I outlined above? No. Mainly because it has onboard graphics compared to a dedicated graphics card which is better suited to video playback and of course is also upgradeable. Also of course if you spent as much on a desktop Hack as a Mac Mini, you can easily build one that's approaching MacPro levels of performance, rather than closer to a laptop level of performance.

 

If one needs the tiny size of the Mini in thier entertainment setup, and is willing to shell out the extra dollars, and doesn't want to worry about any 'hacking' at all, just plug in and go, then the Mini wins hands down.

 

If one wants a bit more power for less $, doesn't mind the size of a mATX case, wants easy expansion options for internal storage, RAM, CPU and GPU, and of course doesn't mind a little 'hacking' to make it work with OSX, then the Hackintosh wins hands down.

 

It's all a matter of need and preference.

 

 

EDIT: I should point out too, that my spec above at $373 includes a somewhat expensive HTPC-style case and PSU that adds $90 to the price. One can easily shave that down quite a bit. For example, if you're going to just shove the thing in a closet and run long video cables out to the TV (the way I like mine set up) then you can get away with almost any cheap case and cut the price down at least another $50, even more.

[PunkHop]

Zapp -

 

I run a base-model Mac Mini HTPC running Plex and it kicks ass in 1080p. Plex is definitely the way to go - the best media center software I've ever used, and very friendly with my Harmony remote (another huge recommendation from me).

 

I'd find a previous-generation Mac Mini on Craigslist/ebay/etc and use that - native Plex, built-in IR, and tiny. I did some research before splurging on my new one and found that the older (1.83 GHz) Mac Minis do 1080p just fine.

[Zaap]

Zapp -

 

I run a base-model Mac Mini HTPC running Plex and it kicks ass in 1080p. Plex is definitely the way to go - the best media center software I've ever used, and very friendly with my Harmony remote (another huge recommendation from me).

 

I'd find a previous-generation Mac Mini on Craigslist/ebay/etc and use that - native Plex, built-in IR, and tiny. I did some research before splurging on my new one and found that the older (1.83 GHz) Mac Minis do 1080p just fine.

 

Yeah, Plex is indeed awesome! It's hands down my favorite HTPC application. I love that you can also launch any other needed apps, and Plex quietly dims itself and fires up the other app. (Like say, eyeTV). Then when you quit that app, Plex fades back up. It's just so polished and slick and really makes you forget you're using a computer rather than a dedicated media appliance.

 

Good idea to look for a used older Mini for a HTPC.

[boomerx01]

Zapp,

 

What do you use/do for tagging your movies? I was looking at Subler.

[Zaap]

Zapp,

 

What do you use/do for tagging your movies? I was looking at Subler.

 

I have all my movies just as ripped DVDs- IE: vob and video_TS files. I know it's a waste of space, but I usually just rip them quickly, burn what we want to DVD discs, watch what we want, and then delete. I almost always have a rotating collection of about 400 ripped DVDs on on media server.

 

Anyway, Plex does a fantastic job of adding info to everything- when setting up a source, you simply tell Plex what type of source it is, and then to provide the info based on what it is, IE: for movies, I just tell it to use IMDB to fetch all the relevant info. When it scans the source folders, it usually finds everything just fine. Another thing I really like about Plex.

[boomerx01]

I have all my movies just as ripped DVDs- IE: vob and video_TS files. I know it's a waste of space, but I usually just rip them quickly, burn what we want to DVD discs, watch what we want, and then delete. I almost always have a rotating collection of about 400 ripped DVDs on on media server.

 

Anyway, Plex does a fantastic job of adding info to everything- when setting up a source, you simply tell Plex what type of source it is, and then to provide the info based on what it is, IE: for movies, I just tell it to use IMDB to fetch all the relevant info. When it scans the source folders, it usually finds everything just fine. Another thing I really like about Plex.

 

Yeah I

just found that out about Plex. Awesome system.

 

Also, I just bought those exact components you recommend minus the case (got a cheaper one). Also put 4GB of ram in it.

 

I will let everyone know how it turns out. Thanks!

[funkyfly]

so awesome

[boomerx01]

I built this system and it is working great. I had a lot of issues with the audio working, but finally got that.

 

Also, the HDMI port cannot be used because it is too close to the top of the case. Kind of a bummer.

[alltoorobot]

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWi...Number=14047366

 

so this set up is almost identical to the current base model mac mini. I'm thinking it could kick out high def video like .mkv files with a lot to process in them. My duo core 1.6 mini just can't do it.

 

The rig is

 

Intel Celeron E3200 Wolfdale 2.4GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E3200 - Retail

Model #:BX80571E3200

Item #:N82E16819116265

Return Policy:CPU Replacement Only Return Policy

In Stock

$50.99 $50.99

1

A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1A16K - Retail

Model #:ADQVE1A16K

Item #:N82E16820211066

Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy

In Stock

$40.99 $40.99

1

SPARKLE SFPX94GT1024U2 GeForce 9400 GT 1GB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail

Model #:SFPX94GT1024U2

Item #:N82E16814187037

Return Policy:VGA Standard Return Policy

In Stock

$49.99 $49.99

1

GIGABYTE GA-G31M-ES2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Model #:GA-G31M-ES2L

Item #:N82E16813128357

Return Policy:Standard Return Policy

In Stock

$52.99 -$5.00 Instant $47.99

Subtotal: $189.96

 

Base Mac mini is

 

NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory

2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor

2GB (two 1GB SO-DIMMs) ddr3

 

I havent added hard drive or case yet but im thinking that if this mac mini can do 1080 videos then so should this set up on new egg. Anyone?

 

btw I already have a eg31m w/ e5200 + 9800 gt (1gram) now which does everything I need with videos. I just want a unit in the bed room. I think my current set up is a tad over killl, if i can get away with building this one I'd like to and for the price :-P

 

thanks guys nice thread

 

but im thinking that if

[Zaap]

Yeah, that will work.

 

About the only thing I would say is once again- the RAM, and mainly as a practical concern.

 

If your slots are used up with 2 sticks of 1GB, then if you ever want to max the memory, you're forced to waste 2GB in order to get 2 more. Personally, I'd rather forgo dual-channel and just get 1 stick of 2GB and leave the other slot open, if I had to go with only 2GB. Better, just bit the bullet and put the full 4GB max in. Yes, it'll cost around twice as much, but as DDR2 seems to only be getting more expensive as it's phased out, it seems a worthwhile investment.

[alltoorobot]

Yeah, that will work.

 

About the only thing I would say is once again- the RAM, and mainly as a practical concern.

 

If your slots are used up with 2 sticks of 1GB, then if you ever want to max the memory, you're forced to waste 2GB in order to get 2 more. Personally, I'd rather forgo dual-channel and just get 1 stick of 2GB and leave the other slot open, if I had to go with only 2GB. Better, just bit the bullet and put the full 4GB max in. Yes, it'll cost around twice as much, but as DDR2 seems to only be getting more expensive as it's phased out, it seems a worthwhile investment.

 

 

Also wondering about the psu. I read the eg31 manual and they recommend a 400watt psu. you think they are just covering they're bases? What is the least amount of watts I could do from a psu in your educated guess?And one more time, just wondering if this will handle my 1080p or 720p tv shows :-) I think it should. I really gotta cut corners here (paying for a wedding 0_o later this year ) or I would bump upto the same setup I have now.

 

Thanks Zaap I get what your saying about the ram I switched it to a single 2 gig :-) good thinking