The Official HTPC thread

fatcat

alright boys and girls, show me those swank HTPC's you've built, along with the specs etc. I'm really interested to see how creative you got, and what peripherals you used for remote/keyboard/tuner etc.

I'll post mine once I actually get the stupid thing built

Thrax

Intel Core i3 530
Gigabyte H55N-USB3
AMD Radeon HD 6670
4GB DDR3-1066 (1.3V)
2TB Western Digital Green
Sugo SG05-B chassis
Logitech diNovo Mini keyboard

Software:
XBMC w/ Aeon Nox skin
XBMC Remote for Android

mertesn

The current HTPC:

• SAPPHIRE PURE Fusion E-350
• 4GB DDR3-1333 (runs at 1066)
• Vertex 2 60GB
• Thermaltake Element Q case w/250W PSU

XBMC is my interface. Right now it's using the default skin which works well, but I'll start playing with others soon. The whole setup (TV, receiver, and HTPC) are controlled by a Logitech Harmony 880 remote and an iPad app (I'll update with the name later). Works very well.

The storage server holding all the media:

• ECS P55H-AK
• Intel Core i7 870
• 4GB DDR3-1600
• Areca ARC-1230 PCIe x8 RAID card
• 320GB 7200RPM Primary HD
• 6x2TB 7200RPM drives in RAID-5
• 5x1TB 7200RPM drives in RAID-5
• NZXT Phantom case

The storage server actually sits in the living room because my wife loves the case.

Pics soon.

fatcat

Holy 17 terabytes

mertesn

fatcat wrote:

Holy 17 terabytes

Yep. I need that much space for converting my BD/HD-DVD collection and storing system backups, software install sources, and my Steam folder backup. The TV folder is currently around 2.3TB by itself.

Snarkasm

Mine:

Tiny M350 enclosure
GA-E350N-USB3 motherboard/chip
8GB RAM
Vertex 2 60GB SSD
diNovo mini for control
Logitech Z5500s for sound
Samsung 46" 8-series TV

NAS: QNAP TS-809 Pro, 8x2TB RAID6 for 12TB effective

XBMC as the media center, Aeon Nox skin, lots of media massaging for pretty pictures and descriptions. No TV tuner, my TV comes from the interwebs.

fatcat

I wanna see pictures men. I know you all have cameras

fatcat

pros and cons of having a seperate media server? I imagine your network is all gigabit.

I was thinking of just shoving as many hard drives I could into a HTPC case, but making a seperate file server and having the htpc barebones seems interesting also

something about streaming movies just seems, i dunno, less than optimal

Thrax

If you have 802.11n or Gigabit, both networks are considerably faster than even your highest bitrate 1080p MKV demand, so NAS makes plenty of sense.

Snarkasm

I have the NAS hidden away and this tiny little HTPC enclosure (smaller than my 360) sitting by my TV. That's why I went the two-machine route.

Tushon

I stream 1080p content over GigE regularly without a hiccup, as Thrax stated.

fatcat

fatcat wrote:

pros and cons of having a seperate media server? I imagine your network is all gigabit.

something about streaming movies just seems, i dunno, less than optimal

I was more or less going along the lines of "you have to have two machines running just to watch a movie". where as, just having an AMD E350 htpc, would use less than 50 watts to watch a movie

I imagine you guys with a NAS leave it running 24/7


also. MOAR HTPC's!!!

mertesn

fatcat wrote:

I was more or less going along the lines of "you have to have two machines running just to watch a movie". where as, just having an AMD E350 htpc, would use less than 50 watts to watch a movie

I imagine you guys with a NAS leave it running 24/7

Yes, it means two systems to watch video (and the NAS is running 24/7), but the flexibility of that setup allows incredibly small systems to access libraries too large for its case to hold. My TV Show folder is 2.2TB, the movie folder is 318GB (still have a lot of HD movies to transcode, plus all my DVDs), and then there are photos and music which each take several gigs. A small HTPC case just can't hold the drives that requires. Of course that server also handles all the other devices in the house too... two laptops, three PCs, a couple cell phones, and an iPad (soon to be two). The E-350 probably couldn't handle the load required to serve up files that quickly.

Mt_Goat

mertesn, after seeing your setup, I am going to tun my current Q-9400 HTPC into a server and re-drive it, along with a good controller card. and build a new HTPC very close to what you are running as well. How do you like the ARC1230 card? Would you have opted for something else if available?

McBain

Living Room:

MSI H67MA-E35
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3
Intel Core i3-2100T
SAPPHIRE 100293L Radeon HD 5570 1GB
hec Black Micro ATX Media Center

HDHomerun and Hauppage built in for SD programming
Win7 MCE for DVR
Netflix/Hulu+

Server: Windows Home Server running SABNZB and Sickbeard

Bedroom: XBMC on ATV2

fatcat

HTPCs

Thrax's
Intel Core i3 530
Gigabyte H55N-USB3
AMD Radeon HD 6670
4GB DDR3-1066 (1.3V)
2TB Western Digital Green
Sugo SG05-B chassis
Logitech diNovo Mini keyboard
XBMC w/ Aeon Nox skin
XBMC Remote for Android

mertesn's
SAPPHIRE PURE Fusion E-350
4GB DDR3-1333 (runs at 1066)
Vertex 2 60GB
Thermaltake Element Q case w/250W PSU
XBMC
Logitech Harmony 880
iPad app
*External NAS*

Snarkasm's
Tiny M350 enclosure
GA-E350N-USB3 motherboard/chip
8GB RAM
Vertex 2 60GB SSD
diNovo mini for control
Logitech Z5500s for sound
Samsung 46" 8-series TV
XBMC
*External NAS*

McBain's
Living Room:
MSI H67MA-E35
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3
Intel Core i3-2100T
SAPPHIRE 100293L Radeon HD 5570 1GB
hec Black Micro ATX Media Center
HDHomerun and Hauppage built in for SD programming
Win7 MCE for DVR
Netflix/Hulu+
Bedroom:
XBMC on AppleTV2
*External NAS*

NAS = Network Access Storage|Server for anyone who didn't know or can't google

Snarkasm

The benefit in my case is that my NAS and E350N setup cost less power combined than a desktop that could do both. A well-optimized NAS is in the 20-30W range when active, .5W when not. The HTPC is an 18W TDP, and has a 90W power supply. When I decided to go this route, the power required to house all 8 drives plus the machine that could decode content at the same time was around 150W, I believe.

fatcat

Snarkasm wrote:

The benefit in my case is that my NAS and E350N setup cost less power combined than a desktop that could do both. A well-optimized NAS is in the 20-30W range when active, .5W when not. The HTPC is an 18W TDP, and has a 90W power supply. When I decided to go this route, the power required to house all 8 drives plus the machine that could decode content at the same time was around 150W, I believe.

nice, but that NAS came with a price yes? like $1700 price tag?

so $1700 for 20-30w

or $500 htpc at 150w

(my math might be fuzzy)

Snarkasm

That's about right. I got the NAS before I decided on doing anything HTPC-related, though, so mine's amortized.

mertesn

Snarkasm wrote:

That's about right. I got the NAS before I decided on doing anything HTPC-related, though, so mine's amortized.

Pretty much the same here. I was using a PS3 for my media player, so a NAS was required at the time.

Basil

I've not got a dedicated HTPC at the moment but I did use an Asus Pundit for a few years (2GHz c2d/2GB/500GB/FX5200) and then a mATX build (790GX board/2.9GHz Athlon II/2GB/1TB).

Ran Mythbuntu/MythDora for a while on both (including some playing around with frontend/backend setups) then moved to LinuxMCE (using a nokia 770 tablet as an orbiter).

Currently I just gmote control my desktop or use a laptop streaming from my server (little HP microserver that cost me £130).

fatcat

HTPC
Asus P5Q Pro
Intel E8400
OCZ 2GB DDR2-1066
Sapphire HD 5570 1GB
WD Raptor 150GB OS
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4EG 2x1.5TB
Antec 300
D-Link DSM-22 Boxee Remote
XBMC PM3.HD
LG 40" 1080p
Pioneer SX-315 5.1 HT

NAS
Asus P5N32-E SLI
Intel E7200
G.Skill 4GB DDR2-1066
MSI Radeon 5450 512MB
HITACHI 120GB 2.5" HDD OS
WD Green 4x1.5TB Raid5
Antec 900v2

It might not be flashy new, but with parts lying around the house and about $200 spent on newegg, I was able to build a HTPC and a NAS.

first thing I need to do is increase the NAS capacity. I was also able to team the two NIC's on the 680i board, so "in theory" the NAS has more bandwidth to push to the PC's in the house. The NAS right now is pretty much for backups, and doesn't do any streaming at this point (the HTPC handles that). Down the road I may just have the NAS handle all streaming

PirateNinja

<img src="http://i.imgur.com/NClL6.jpg&quot; />

Not very creative, and I don't have any peripherals...yet. Someday mayhaps.
You can see my wnr2000, a wii, surfboard modem, and a bluray play hanging around.

I use it to show pictures and home video to guests, otherwise the "htpc" is really just a workstation and the IC Terraria server.

Snarkasm

Nice cock.

If your NAS can handle content decoding without letting other things suffer, there's no reason to have two boxes. Looks like you had fun, though.

ardichoke

HTPC
AMD Athlon X2 5200+
Radeon 5450
Ubuntu 10.04 LTE
w/ updated XBMC, ATI drivers and Miro from respective PPAs using a Logitech wireless kb/mouse I had laying around (as well as the XBMC remote for Android)


Home Server (Used for media, backups, shared documents as well as VPN, DNS and DHCP for my network)
Old Lenovo 3000 C100 lapop (lololol built in battery backup anyone?)
200GB, 700GB and 1T external hard drives used for storage
Amahi home server running on it using Greyhole for redundant storage pooling

Yes, my whole system is a total fscking hodge-podge, but damnit it works for now!

PirateNinja

Snarkasm wrote:

Nice cock.

If your NAS can handle content decoding without letting other things suffer, there's no reason to have two boxes. Looks like you had fun, though.

I my cock, it is my favorite home decoration. Thank you Target clearance section and all the crazy people who didn't buy it.

My NAS is extremely slow, but reliable and redundant. It's strictly a backup device for my everything.

Mt_Goat

Just got mine finished!

New HTPC
Sugo SG05-B
Gigabyte GA-E350N-USB3
4GB DDR3-1066
Vertex 2 60GB
LG combp HD DVD/ BD
Happague Tuner Card


NAS
Antec 300
Corsair TX650
Asus P5Q Pro
Intel Q9400
6 GB DDR2
Powercolor HD4830
Vertex 2 60GB (for OS and apps)
areca ARC-1222
8x2TB RAID6 (for 12TB of pure storage)

PirateNinja

Mt_Goat wrote:

Just got mine finished!

New HTPC
Sugo SG05-B
Gigabyte GA-E350N-USB3
4GB DDR3-1066
Vertex 2 60GB
LG combp HD DVD/ BD
Happague Tuner Card


NAS
Antec 300
Corsair TX650
Asus P5Q Pro
Intel Q9400
6 GB DDR2
Powercolor HD4830
Vertex 2 60GB (for OS and apps)
areca ARC-1222
8x2TB RAID6 (for 12TB of pure storage)

That's a ton of storage

Mt_Goat

PirateNinja wrote:

That's a ton of storage

I thank this thread for the last minute brainstorm that steered my course for configuring my setup.

fatcat

NAS was being a bitch (I blame nVidia 680i motherboard) so I just made a HTPC/NAS instead

Living Room
ASUS P5Q Pro
Intel E8400
OCZ 8GB DDR2-1066
Sapphire Radeon HD5570
WD Velociraptor 150GB OS
WD 4x1.5TB
WD 2TB
SAMSUNG 2x1.5TB
D-Link DSM-22 Boxee Remote
XBMC PM3.HD
LG 40" 1080p
Pioneer SX-315 5.1 HT

Bedroom
WD TV Live Plus
LG 32" 1080p

Mt_Goat

fatcat wrote:

NAS was being a bitch (I blame nVidia 680i motherboard) so I just made a HTPC/NAS instead

Living Room
ASUS P5Q Pro
Intel E8400

My P5Q Pro is proving to be an excellent choice for the NAS.