HTPC better than Laptop?

M

motolube

Gawd
Joined
Dec 18, 2006
Messages
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First a little bit of background is in order I guess.

My computer is in my room (see specs below) and so is my Samsung HDTV, I have it connected to my TV via Component Cables (Red/Blue/Green) and std 3.5mm audio but, sometimes my wife wants to use the PC so I can't stream my motorcycle races and I have to find the time to watch them... usually press for time.

I had an old IBM T42 laptop that I installed Win 7 Home Premium 32bit in order to see if I could use it to browse the internet and stream those races so I wouldn't be bother by the wife but it seems that because the lappy is fairly old, the stream is poor and it stutters alot... even though I am on a 12 to 20 Mbit Comcast broadband. When I stream the races from my PC I have no such problems.

Also, I have a 2TB Seagate goflex that I use to watch my TV shows but, my laptop is not capable to initialize so that is another pain in the butt I have.

I was thinking on investing on a new Laptop but then I figure that I could be better off with an HTPC... the problem is, I am late to the game and I know nothing about them.

I have built a few rigs before with the help of a few guys here telling me which components are best so I was hoping to get some answers as well.

Main uses for it are:

1.- Light Internet browsing

2.- Streaming Races from motogp.com... Main Priority.

3.- Capability of plugging in a 2TB seagate goflex external drive.

This is pretty much it, room is not a problem but I will like it as small as possible.

I have an old Office PC that I could take some components from (Case, CD-Rom, Card reader) if HTPC is the way to go or just invest on something totally new... I am thinking no more than 300 to 400 bucks?

Sorry for the long rant... I'm getting old :D
 
If you have the space, and don't care about mobility you can never go wrong with a HTPC. I don't think there has ever been a time where a pc component was more expensive than it's mobile equal. Your best bet is to monitor the [H]ardforum For Sale threads, your money will go even further, and now with people changing HPTC components for Ivy-Bridge, there should be an abundance to choose from.
 
ok, that makes bundles of sense... now for the part as to what components to buy! :D

And, are you saying that buying second hand should be ok? I have purchased a few used components from hardforum members and I have had NO problems what so ever so... I'm game!

Thanks a lot... guess I just needed to be pushed slightly huh! :d
 
Although it may not matter as much since you're watching motorcycle races, but if you're careful you can build an HTPC that's very quiet - a very high priority for a lot of us.

Ideally the HTPC should be inaudible from your sitting/lying position while you're watching something with the sound muted. If it's inaudible when you're right near it that's a bonus.
 
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Quiet is good but not a deal breaker since I usually connect my logitech 5.1 speaker system or I use my headsets.
 
motolube said:
ok, that makes bundles of sense... now for the part as to what components to buy! :D
Click to expand...

Don't know if you are being sarcastic or not.
You have to make the first decision, to buy (1) new or (2) used.
If you go with (2) New, you must decide on (1a) current generation (Ivy Bridge/AMD variant) or (2a) legacy (Sandy Bridge/AMD variant)
Then you must decide on the cpu brand (1b) Intel or (2b) AMD, and (1c) integrated GPU or (2c) discrete GPU.
If you go (2c) discrete GPU, you must decide on (1d) Nvidia or (2d) AMD
With the money left over you can better gauge yourself on your Motherboard, RAM, PSU, SSD/HDD.......
 
Well, therein lies the problem and the reason why I stated the Primary uses for this HTPC.

Of course I would like to buy new but I am not opposed to buying second hand or even refurbished if I am going to save some $$$. I have always been partial to Intel and Nvidia but, since this is not going to be a Gaming Rig, I am also not opposed to go AMD/ATI if I am going to be saving a bundle of money.

I know that you guys require some information when building a new PC but I don't know if its needed when buying an HTPC as well. I am willing to give as much info as possible in order to get my money's worth.

I have a budget of 300 to 400 in mind... including shipping and Taxes if need be.

If Hard drives speed do not help or hinder with Streaming Speeds and Browsing Speeds, then I could use some of the drives I have that are not being used at the moment.

I have never been one to go with Top Shelf or Creme of the crop, I am more than happy to get the best from last year and save tons of money for not having the latest and the greatest or just bragging rights. I don't really know what Legacy is so I can't honestly answer that.

I rather get a CPU/GPU Combo if it will save me money and the performance is almost similar than having a CPU and having to buy a separate video card. Again, keeping in mind what my Primary uses are.

I have a small case, CD-Rom and HDDS that I could use, those were left over when I did my new Office Build a few months ago. If an HTPC case is super small and not that expensive, I may consider going all out and buy the HTPC case as well but, space not being an issue at my house, I don't really care.

The PSU I have in that case still works but I rather buy something that will work best with the Mobo/Ram/CPU combo than risk having issues with it later.

So, in short, I am thinking that I would need to buy the following only... unless of course, you guys tell me that I must buy something else:

1.- Mobo
2.- CPU or CPU/GPU Combo ... depending on what you guys think is best for me.
3.- RAM
4.- PSU

Thanks again.

Edit: A friend told me that I would do Ok with the following but, I am not sure of that ECS board, I have never heard of it... not that it matters because I am not savy enough.

This is all from Newegg... N82E16813135301 + N82E16820178333 + N82E16819103943
 
That build will work, and I have heard no problems come from people that have used ECS boards, so there is no worry there. You still need a PSU, and I can only recommend Corsair for quality. I have had an Antec and Thermaltake and I found that they do die slow deaths, they start with a humming, then it turns to a buzzing and finally a long beep, when the compactors die, but that was after about 4 years of ~24/7 run-time. Corsairs use Compactors that far exceed those of its' requirements, and I believe OCZ do as well.
When shopping don't just go for newegg, price everything everywhere: amazon tigerdirect pricespider.
The internet is your friend.
Just know that most PC's only give you 4 years of satisfaction, and the only problem I can really see with your current build is for 4K content, should things work out that way.
 
Tactical_Strike said:
That build will work, and I have heard no problems come from people that have used ECS boards, so there is no worry there. You still need a PSU, and I can only recommend Corsair for quality. I have had an Antec and Thermaltake and I found that they do die slow deaths, they start with a humming, then it turns to a buzzing and finally a long beep, when the compactors die, but that was after about 4 years of ~24/7 run-time. Corsairs use Compactors that far exceed those of its' requirements, and I believe OCZ do as well.
When shopping don't just go for newegg, price everything everywhere: amazon tigerdirect pricespider.
The internet is your friend.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the recommendations... I will follow those then!

Yes, I usually use Google Products and check around other online stores for pricing, free shipping or what have you.

Tactical_Strike said:
Just know that most PC's only give you 4 years of satisfaction, and the only problem I can really see with your current build is for 4K content, should things work out that way.
Click to expand...

Excuse my Noobness but... care to explain this again?


Which one is best between these choices? And not just because one is cheaper than the others.

N82E16813135301 + N82E16820178333 + N82E16819103943 = $ 227.95

or

N82E16820231426 + N82E16819115093 + N82E16813157236 = $ 258.97

or

N82E16820231277 + N82E16819103962 + N82E16813128458 = $ 248.97

OH and here's a Corsair PSU I found cheap and if I am patient enough, even cheaper than what it is stated here... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...139027&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-17-139-027-_-Product
 
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motolube said:
First a little bit of background is in order I guess.

My computer is in my room (see specs below) and so is my Samsung HDTV, I have it connected to my TV via Component Cables (Red/Blue/Green) and std 3.5mm audio but, sometimes my wife wants to use the PC so I can't stream my motorcycle races and I have to find the time to watch them... usually press for time.

I had an old IBM T42 laptop that I installed Win 7 Home Premium 32bit in order to see if I could use it to browse the internet and stream those races so I wouldn't be bother by the wife but it seems that because the lappy is fairly old, the stream is poor and it stutters alot... even though I am on a 12 to 20 Mbit Comcast broadband. When I stream the races from my PC I have no such problems.

Also, I have a 2TB Seagate goflex that I use to watch my TV shows but, my laptop is not capable to initialize so that is another pain in the butt I have.

I was thinking on investing on a new Laptop but then I figure that I could be better off with an HTPC... the problem is, I am late to the game and I know nothing about them.

I have built a few rigs before with the help of a few guys here telling me which components are best so I was hoping to get some answers as well.

Main uses for it are:

1.- Light Internet browsing

2.- Streaming Races from motogp.com... Main Priority.

3.- Capability of plugging in a 2TB seagate goflex external drive.

This is pretty much it, room is not a problem but I will like it as small as possible.

I have an old Office PC that I could take some components from (Case, CD-Rom, Card reader) if HTPC is the way to go or just invest on something totally new... I am thinking no more than 300 to 400 bucks?

Sorry for the long rant... I'm getting old :D
Click to expand...



https://www.racingfor.me//index.rfm?cls=32



Forza Ducati
 
Verge, I fail to see how that helps me but Thanks.

I want to see my races, live or with some time delay not the next day or two days later... somethings are worth paying for! ;)
 
motolube said:
Verge, I fail to see how that helps me but Thanks.

I want to see my races, live or with some time delay not the next day or two days later... somethings are worth paying for! ;)
Click to expand...

Oh and i encourage you paying for them.




Just saying, a 480p xvid will probably play fine on your old laptop.
 
I am sure it will but, the whole reason for using the laptop as an htpc was to be able to stream those races, I have paid for the yearly membership ;).

I can still use the laptop for office needs, that is why I bought it anyways so I haven't spend money in a wrong way... Thank God! :D
 
Considering BBC just not switched to HD for the motogp stuff, 4k is long in the future.
 
Emphasis was on "should things work out that way." I guess I should be restated to "When." It's just that most people think their systems will be fine for the next 10 years, but the probability is that it will only be about 5 years before wide-spread adoption.
 
Tactical_Strike said:
Emphasis was on "should things work out that way." I guess I should be restated to "When." It's just that most people think their systems will be fine for the next 10 years, but the probability is that it will only be about 5 years before wide-spread adoption.
Click to expand...

Not a chance, tv's can't even broadcast 1080p. You think they are going to invest billions in their infrastructure for 4k?


It will last for 10 years unless you want to game.
 
Well, I pulled the pin on the following components, I figure if I can spend 300 bucks and it can give me 4 years of pleasure... its WAY cheaper than a wife :D

Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model KHX1600C9D3K2/8GX
Item #: N82E16820104173
$52.99

CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 (CMPSU-430CXV2) 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817139026
$44.99
(*) Although, final price will be 24.99 after MiR

ECS A75F-M FM1 AMD A75 (Hudson D3) SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813135301
$79.99

AMD A6-3650 Llano 2.6GHz Socket FM1 100W Quad-Core Desktop APU (CPU + GPU) with DirectX 11 Graphic AMD Radeon HD 6530D AD3650WNGXBOX
Item #: N82E16819103943
$ 99.99


I switched the PNY RAM that was recommended for the HyperX, I am hoping and I didn't choose the wrong one or that it will be incompatible with the board but, after checking out the Reviews of the PNY, there were too many people complaining of Bad Ram or Bad customer service from PNY and even though Newegg is super sharp when it comes to RMA's I did not want to spend time in RMA transit ;)

Thanks again guys, I appreciate everything you taught me here.
 
Perfect build. It's all about timing u got lucky on the corsair psu. If you have time and build a pc over time little by little getting in on key sales Like u did on the psu. Congrats. We need pix or it didn't happed.
 
Not the parts I would have bought for that budget but should do the job at least. Good luck with it.

Also, don't ever reuse that RAM in an Intel system as it's rated at 1.65V. Intel CPUs have a max recommended RAM voltage of 1.5V.
 
Danny Bui said:
Not the parts I would have bought for that budget but should do the job at least. Good luck with it.
Click to expand...
It pains me to even consider asking but... :eek: :( what would you have gone with? :D

Danny Bui said:
Also, don't ever reuse that RAM in an Intel system as it's rated at 1.65V. Intel CPUs have a max recommended RAM voltage of 1.5V.
Click to expand...
Good to know. I am usually more patient than this but, somehow, I couldn't see straight this time around and I rushed into it sooner than I normally do... I blame the super duper price I found on the PSU :p
 
$70 - Intel Pentium G620 CPU
$77 - Biostar B75MU3+ Intel B75 mATX Intel Motherboard
$39 - G.Skill Value Series F3-10600CL9D-8GBNT 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$40 - Antec Earthwatts Green EA-430D 430W PSU
---
Total: $226 shipped

Roughly $59 cheaper than what you bought but would satisfy your needs just fine. The Antec Earthwatts EA-430D is of higher quality than the CX430 and has better efficiency. Intel platforms don't benefit that much from higher speed RAM so DDR3 1333 will be fine. While ECS mobos can be of good quality, I would rank Biostar above ECS in terms of quality.

And if you want more GPU, power, still room to fit one:
$57 - Powercolor AX6570 1GBK3-H Radeon HD 6570 1GB PCI-E Video Card

Combined, the Pentium G620 and HD 6570 will outperform the AMD A6-3650 in games.
 
I will not be doing games with that rig but, again... I appreciate your input, I always have and I guess saving money is never a bad thing. At some point, I would have been happier with the Intel instead of the AMD.

I'll seek you out next time.
 
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