Choosing parts for a HTPC. Help please.

[noiseredux]

yeah probably no reason to go with Mac then. I'm not an Apple guy by any means. Was just curious, price-wise. Really my main concerns will be Price as I want this to be a project I get done spending as close to $0 as possible and then Function as add-ons like emulators, etc would just be frosting on the cake.

[Hateshinai]

if you wanted to pony up a bit more money, you could get this version of the CPU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819113280

Looks more than good enough for what I have in mind. I definitely will have to look into the CPUs you suggested.

Regarding the PSU, 400W should be enough for the setup I have in mind, right?

I ordered this case:

[pvt_awol]

That's a nice case. I'll bet it wasn't cheap though? LOL.

400W should be plenty for what you're doing. You could probably get away with 300 or 350 even. (80+ bronze is a good place to start).

The power supply doesn't have to be huge, if you aren't using a discrete graphics card. If you plan to use one later, you might get a bigger supply now. (450w +)


One thing I don't think I mentioned about those AMD APU's is that you can crossfire with another ATI Radeon graphics card. So if you decide to pick one up later on and add it in, you can essentially run with 2 GPU's at once for way less money. BONUS!

[Hateshinai]

One thing I don't think I mentioned about those AMD APU's is that you can crossfire with another ATI Radeon graphics card. So if you decide to pick one up later on and add it in, you can essentially run with 2 GPU's at once for way less money. BONUS!

And with that you just convinced me 100% to go for the AMD APU.

The case I bought was actually the cheapest one I could find that suits my needs. 75 euro with shipping.

[Zing]

As I said, I haven't messed with Windows for years, but it was most certainly not easy to get a consistently working setup a few years ago. I professionally supported Windows for 15 years and had MCSE, etc, and it was frustrating as hell. It's the primary reason I went with a Mac. The software support on Windows was clumsy at best. The ability to install literally one single stand-alone piece of software (Plex) and have everything I needed, along with the native infrared sensor on the computer made it a non-decision.

I'm sure PC hardware and software has matured since then. I wish you luck.

[gtmtnbiker]

The big advantage of the Mac mini is the form factor. You can't beat what it packs in the small, sexy form factor.

I didn't have any trouble installing/configuring Windows 7 & Media Center. Microsoft did a nice job with the media center interface. It's really well designed for the 10' viewing factor. But I'm not sure how well supported it will be in the future as they really haven't done any updates to it in a while.

[isiolia]

The big advantage of the Mac mini is the form factor. You can't beat what it packs in the small, sexy form factor.

There are other options for similar sized machines, and even more if you go a bit larger.

I've considered using a Mini, but I like having the option for discrete graphics, plus they get expensive, fast, for what the hardware is.

[gtmtnbiker]

The big advantage of the Mac mini is the form factor. You can't beat what it packs in the small, sexy form factor.

There are other options for similar sized machines, and even more if you go a bit larger.

I've considered using a Mini, but I like having the option for discrete graphics, plus they get expensive, fast, for what the hardware is.

Thanks for sharing those options. Those ASRock Netops look nice but they're still not as small as a Mac Mini. It's hard to beat the Mac for the design & form factor.

[noiseredux]

as I keep thinking about this project in my head, the idea is actually a combo deal of wanting a PC that will have:

A. a HDD full of DVD's so we can stop fumbling thru binders looking for movies we've run out of shelf-space for

B. the ability to stream vidoes (including our Netflix acct)

C. the ability to play some PC games (including my Steam acct) and emulators

...

I feel like I'm going to do a "test" setup using things I have around the house first. And if it seems to work out fairly well then I'd want to upgrade the hardware later. Meaning, I want to feel like the interface and all works well for us before I sink any money into the project.

With this all in mind, I have a few questions.

1. I have a spare PC in the attic I believe, though it needs a new HDD. This means I have no OS on it right now. How would using a Linux distro prevent me from accomplishing any of A, B or C?

2. I'll most likely use a 360 controller with official wireless receiver as the 360 controller is easily one of most comfortable controllers out there. BUT, just out of curiosity, is there a cheaper wireless gamepad solution?

3. If I did go the Linux route, does the 360 pad play nice with Linux?

[RyaNtheSlayA]

as I keep thinking about this project in my head, the idea is actually a combo deal of wanting a PC that will have:

A. a HDD full of DVD's so we can stop fumbling thru binders looking for movies we've run out of shelf-space for

B. the ability to stream vidoes (including our Netflix acct)

C. the ability to play some PC games (including my Steam acct) and emulators

...

I feel like I'm going to do a "test" setup using things I have around the house first. And if it seems to work out fairly well then I'd want to upgrade the hardware later. Meaning, I want to feel like the interface and all works well for us before I sink any money into the project.

With this all in mind, I have a few questions.

1. I have a spare PC in the attic I believe, though it needs a new HDD. This means I have no OS on it right now. How would using a Linux distro prevent me from accomplishing any of A, B or C?

2. I'll most likely use a 360 controller with official wireless receiver as the 360 controller is easily one of most comfortable controllers out there. BUT, just out of curiosity, is there a cheaper wireless gamepad solution?

3. If I did go the Linux route, does the 360 pad play nice with Linux?

1. Now that Steam is on Ubuntu, there's not really anything stopping you.

2. Not to my knowledge.

3. I'm not sure, but, I'm sure they've gotten it to work. Everything works on Linux with a little patience.