Building an ITX/mini DTX HTPC

raoul_1101 · Jan 16, 2011

Greetings, Computer Forum!

I am looking into building my first HTPC! I would like to go with a small (very small) form factor. If everyone seems opposed, maybe I'll get something bigger (micro or mini ATX).
First off, looking at what was available from newegg for ITX and mini DTX- this is the motherboard I was looking into:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128457
I do like Gigabyte as a brand, but if anyone would like to suggest something better, I'm open to ideas.
Paired with this, I had an i3 picked out to go along (a little overkill, probably?).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115221
I would probably put in 2GB of Ram:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104182
For a video card, I decided for an GeForce 9800:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133308

I would add a TV Tuner card as well, with these two in mind:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116015
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116037

The first one comes with a remote- however, my case also come with a remote. I was wondering- would I be able to use my windows remote that comes with the case and not use the TV tuner remote at all? I would like to consolidate remotes, I already have too many. Also, between those cards, what are the big differences?

In addition to everything above, I would put in a single 1TB HDD, and this wireless card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16839121008

What are your guys' thoughts on this build?
(This build comes out to $668)

Aastii · Jan 16, 2011

daisymtc · Jan 16, 2011

I would probably wait for sandy bridge i3 or get amd althon IIx 4 instead

jevery · Jan 16, 2011

I'd be interested to know what case and PSU you're considering. I've been looking at building a HTPC as well, and want it as small as practical, though, for the size case I'd like, (no larger than this Antec), it looks that it will be challenging to fit everything with any decent wire management whatsoever.
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Looking at the two cards on the Hauppauge website, The differences that I can discern are that the 2250 has dual digital tuners and dual MPEG-2 encoders while the 1850 has a single analog tuner, a single digital tuner, and a single MPEG-2 encoder. The 2250 also has a built-in antenna splitter. Both tuners are available with and without remotes.
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Be careful of your GPU selection if you want TrueHD and DTS-HD Audio Bitstreaming Support. As far as I can tell only GeForce GTX 460/GTS 450/GT 440/GT 430, Radeon HD 5xxx, or the integrated video of the Intel Core i3/i5 (Clarkdale) Processors, (paired with an H55 chipset), are capable. I'm looking at the GTS450, but I think the GT 430 would work fine for less money.

diduknowthat · Jan 16, 2011

The parts you listed are for mATX, not ITX. Which form factor are you looking to follow?

I would recommend ITX, it is A LOT smaller than mATX.

Motherboard + CPU (Mini ITX Atom D 525 dual core 1.8ghz, nvidia ion):
http://www.mini-box.com/ASUS-AT5IONT-I-Atom-D525-ION

Case + Power supply (Antec ISK 300 case, 150 watt PSU)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129080

Memory (2GB DDR3 laptop memory)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148316

TV Tuner (PCI-express x1)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116037

Everything else you can pick.

Notes:

-The case takes slim optical drive
-There's no use to get a graphics card seeing that nvidia ion can handle 1080p output
-The motherboard also has built in wireless N
-You have to use half height bracket for the TV tuner

Unless you're planning to run some heavy duty things on the HTPC, which you shouldn't as it's not designed for doing so, the above system should serve you well. It's small, quiet and barely uses any power.

raoul_1101 · Jan 16, 2011

diduknowthat said:
The parts you listed are for mATX, not ITX. Which form factor are you looking to follow?

Sorry, about halfway through my post I changed my mind and started looking at mATX- guess I forgot to edit that out (sorry

).

However, I have serious reserves against the Atom processor and it's capabilities. I guess with an nVidia Ion the CPU won't be doing much anyhow, though. One big drawback, though, is the Ion doesn't support TrueHD or DTS-HD- and if I want to do blue-rays, it would be nice to have loss-less sound.

I guess my main goals are to be able to:
1) Netflix
2) Hulu
3) Blu-ray
4) Streaming TV
5) I wouldn't mind some added computing power, but that is not my main goal.

None of which are really that demanding, I know, but I don't mind having some overkill, as long as it doesn't bankrupt me (college is doing that for me).

In addition, I would like remote support built in, which I only found in the mATX cases.

As for wireless, built in is very convenient, for sure, and I wouldn't mind a board that included it.

Edit: Added more information

raoul_1101 · Jan 16, 2011

Aastii said:
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157211

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115221

Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211364

Video card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814187098

Power supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151074

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119195

Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

DVDRW: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136216

Wireless Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320036

TV Tuner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116015

Total - £637

You get more memory
A better video card
An awesome PSU
Cheaper system

I do like this build (At this rate I'll just have a second fully functioning computer, though). I would do a Blu-Ray drive instead of DVD, however. As for TV Tuner remotes- do they work like standard windows remotes (ie. Can I use them for WMC playing movies/Hulu Desktop)?

diduknowthat · Jan 16, 2011

raoul_1101 said:
Sorry, about halfway through my post I changed my mind and started looking at mATX- guess I forgot to edit that out (sorry ).

However, I have serious reserves against the Atom processor and it's capabilities. I guess with an nVidia Ion the CPU won't be doing much anyhow, though. One big drawback, though, is the Ion doesn't support TrueHD or DTS-HD- and if I want to do blue-rays, it would be nice to have loss-less sound.

I guess my main goals are to be able to:
1) Netflix
2) Hulu
3) Blu-ray
4) Streaming TV
5) I wouldn't mind some added computing power, but that is not my main goal.

None of which are really that demanding, I know, but I don't mind having some overkill, as long as it doesn't bankrupt me (college is doing that for me).

In addition, I would like remote support built in, which I only found in the mATX cases.

As for wireless, built in is very convenient, for sure, and I wouldn't mind a board that included it.

I see, I didn't actually know that. In that case, you can either go ITX or mATX. However if you want an i3 processor you won't be able to use that case, seeing 150 watts isn't enough to power a full power draw computer. As for having built in remote control, do you really need that? Why not just use one of those little USB infrared dongles? Even most HTPC cases dont have built in infrared ports.

raoul_1101 said:
I do like this build (At this rate I'll just have a second fully functioning computer, though). I would do a Blu-Ray drive instead of DVD, however. As for TV Tuner remotes- do they work like standard windows remotes (ie. Can I use them for WMC playing movies/Hulu Desktop)?

TV tuner remotes are regular windows remotes. They can control all functions of your PC.

raoul_1101 · Jan 16, 2011

diduknowthat said:
I see, I didn't actually know that. In that case, you can either go ITX or mATX. However if you want an i3 processor you won't be able to use that case, seeing 150 watts isn't enough to power a full power draw computer. As for having built in remote control, do you really need that? Why not just use one of those little USB infrared dongles? Even most HTPC cases dont have built in infrared ports.

TV tuner remotes are regular windows remotes. They can control all functions of your PC.

In which case, I won't bother with that case- I might as well just get a tuner card with a remote, and use a better case.
Whats the minimum wattage I should be using for an i3 CPU? If I do go for a GeForce 250GTS, it's rated for a minimum of a 450 watt PSU, with 24 Amps on the 12V rails. If I were to spring for a 500W, that should cover a 250GTS, and an i3 I think.

Aastii · Jan 16, 2011

raoul_1101 said:
In which case, I won't bother with that case- I might as well just get a tuner card with a remote, and use a better case.
Whats the minimum wattage I should be using for an i3 CPU? If I do go for a GeForce 250GTS, it's rated for a minimum of a 450 watt PSU, with 24 Amps on the 12V rails. If I were to spring for a 500W, that should cover a 250GTS, and an i3 I think.

450 + 24 amps is for the whole system, not just the card. The 430W Seasonic I posted should be plenty.

I would say though, look into dropping the video card and going for an i5 sandy bridge CPU instead. They have an integrated GPU that is more than able to playback HD video, and will offer much greater power than your i3 will:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115076

+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157220

for instance

raoul_1101 · Jan 17, 2011

I've never worked with a CPU that had integrated graphics before. Could you enlighten me how that works? Do I have to disable the graphics on the mobo via BIOS? Or is one of the ports on the board dedicated to the CPU's graphics capabilities.

I would say though, look into dropping the video card and going for an i5 sandy bridge CPU instead. They have an integrated GPU that is more than able to playback HD video, and will offer much greater power than your i3 will:

Can the i5 decode the lossless audio (LPCM, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD)? That is a big part I'd be getting a nice card.

Aastii · Jan 17, 2011

The board doesn't have integrated graphics, it is all on the same die as the CPU.

Think of a motherboard that has integrated graphics. It has the chip on the board itself. The Intel chips however have the GPU on the processor chip itself. It has 2 dies onboard, one with the CPU and its 4 cores, one with the GPU.

The GPU on the sandy bridge processors are better than the vast majority of low-mid range video cards, meaning it is plenty enough for HD video streaming. The CPU is also plenty to decode lossless audio

raoul_1101 · Jan 17, 2011

In which case, I might as well go with Sandy Bridge then. I think I'll be ordering today

.

On the motherboard, it says "Intel HD Graphics 2000/3000". Is that referring to the GPU on the processor itself, then?

WhiteTree · Jan 17, 2011

Yes. The 3000 currently only comes on the "K" series processors. You would get the 2000.

raoul_1101 · Jan 17, 2011

One last note, I will be using this case instead, I think. It includes a second 3.5" drive bay. Just in case I ever want to add another drive, I'd like the option open to me:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147112

Yes. The 3000 currently only comes on the "K" series processors. You would get the 2000.

Thanks, and I don't see the need of going for a 'k' series

.
Curious though, is there a huge performance difference between the 2000 and 3000? I mean, they're both integrated, neither can be that powerful.

WhiteTree · Jan 17, 2011

I've been linking to this page a lot lately... http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/...core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/11

Should show the difference between the 3000/2000. Basically, the 3000 has 12 execution units (EUs) and the 2000 has 6. The 3000 generally has a higher max turbo also. However, you have to buy a $200+ processor to get the 3000. It most likely is not going to be worth it to you. (You could always throw in an ATI 5670 later if needed. They are supposed to be efficient, quiet, are much more powerful than the 3000 IGP. They run about $70-100 and will only be going down in price I think.)

raoul_1101 · Jan 17, 2011

WhiteTree said:
I've been linking to this page a lot lately... http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/...core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/11

Should show the difference between the 3000/2000. Basically, the 3000 has 12 execution units (EUs) and the 2000 has 6. The 3000 generally has a higher max turbo also. However, you have to buy a $200+ processor to get the 3000. It most likely is not going to be worth it to you. (You could always throw in an ATI 5670 later if needed. They are supposed to be efficient, quiet, are much more powerful than the 3000 IGP. They run about $70-100 and will only be going down in price I think.)

Thanks for the link! I doubt I'll ever need to get a better GPU for this thing, though.

raoul_1101 · Jan 17, 2011

Oh s***, forgot to get an OS!

For now, I'll probably just use Linux.. are there any specific flavors of Linux that are excellent for HTPCs?

WhiteTree · Jan 17, 2011

I would probably just stick with Ubuntu since it's reasonably well supported, although I'm sure there are some Linux distributions that cater to HTPCs if you were to look.

Aastii · Jan 17, 2011

raoul_1101 said:
Oh s***, forgot to get an OS!

For now, I'll probably just use Linux.. are there any specific flavors of Linux that are excellent for HTPCs?

I'd have to +1 ubuntu. You install it and you are ready to go so far as playing films and music is concerned. If you want to use it as a home server/storage also, you can easily get it into the network, so I don't see any point in getting Windows for it, everything Windows can do on a HTPC, Ubuntu can do, arguably better and certainly more securely.

Download it/get a free CD sent to you (2-10 weeks) from here:

http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/get-ubuntu/download

Building an ITX/mini DTX HTPC

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