Value-Laden HTPC: Yours for under $700

So after reading about HTPCs (part one), you figure you like them.  Based on what they can do, you might think they’d cost you an arm, a leg and a portion of your left butt cheek, but gladly, no.  We’ve priced out high-value configurations for both our American friends (from Newegg) as well as us Canucks (from our local chain, Canada Computers). Note the difference between the terms high-value and budget.  Budget usually means cheap, no matter what.  In the context of this little price-out, high-value means bang for your buck!

THE CASE:  Starting with the case… HTPC cases can and do go beyond a thousand dollars, but even crossing four or five hundred dollars is no big deal.  The vast majority of the money goes towards touchscreen LCD screens, motorized and huge in some cases.  The way we look at things is, an HTPC is supposed to be part of your home theater.  So, while a touchscreen LCD looks cool and is nice for showing your system off, it does little to no good when you’re sitting on your couch, and your HTPC is not.  You’d either need to constantly approach the box, or have it beside you, both of which are just awkward.

“It can control my sprinkler system, entire house’s lighting and HVAC, stream a thousand movies and archive all my home videos and pictures.  What’s that?  No, I have to keep getting up and going to the box to change stuff.”

In all likelihood, you’re going to use a remote to control your HTPC, so I’ve excluded the choice of those ultra-lavish cases.  Being a high-value choice, I haven’t left out aesthetics.  The model I have selected is the Antec Fusion V2 case in your choice of silver or black.

It has a very appealing brushed aluminum front (real), and an LCD display.  Most people will think its a reciever or high-end video player of some kind, which is the goal!

It also has an integrated IR receiver which you’ll probably use for your Media Center remote or Harmony remote, which means a cleaner look (not having recievers hanging out the wazoo, ya know?).

THE POWER SUPPLY:  The Antec Fusion V2 case comes with a more-than-acceptable power supply, one that many people buy as a standalone.  Its not loud, and with 430 true watts, it provides more than enough juice for everything an HTPC needs.  While you can go quieter, that would add quite a bit to the bottom line, so if you’re on a budget, we recommend sticking with the included PSU.

THE MOTHERBOARD:  The Asus P5E-VM is like few other mATX boards.  It is actually robust enough to be good at overclocking and stability (hence, gaming) and has tons and tons of features packed into its small size.  It employs a modern chipset, decent onboard sound, firewire, has multiple options for configuring storage and best of all offers an integrated HDMI port.

This is one of the most important parts of a computer, even though it might not seem like it.  This motherboard checks off everything we need:  speed, stability, firewire, lots of memory control options, decent integrated sound with digital outputs and of course, that HDMI port.

THE CPU (cheaper):  We were going to recommend the E1200, a Celeron with dual cores, essentially a detuned Core 2 Duo.  But when we saw that you only had to add twenty bucks to double your cache and have an extra 400 MHz out of the gate, we had to give the value cake to the Intel Dual-Core E2180 CPU.  Being an excellent overclocker means that the E2180 can easily attain speeds of 3.0 GHz, sometimes even with the stock cooler.  For our application, I’d recommend running it at 2.4-2.6 GHz or so, which is easily doable with the stock cooler, and plenty for full 1080p playback.

The CPU (cheap):  And for those of you who don’t want to bother overclocking, we’d like to recommend the Intel Core 2 Duo E8400.  With a generous cache of 6 MB and a high multiplier, this is a highly sought-after CPU for overclocking and performance.  We have one here running at… are you ready for this?  4.3 GHz.  The E8500 is rumoured to be an even better overclocker, as these are the same CPUs but binned differently, but in some cases it costs a lot more than the E8400.  For our application, and in this group, you won’t need to overclock the E8400 even a little bit.  Running out of the box at 3.0 GHz, this is more than enough to tackle anything an HTPC can throw at it.

THE VIDEO CARD:  We won’t need one!  There is one integrated with the motherboard, and it does a good job for everything we’re going to have it serve up.  If you plan on gaming, you’ll need to add a better video card, but then, you probably shouldn’t be looking at a budget computer to serve your needs.  An added benefit to using the integrated card here is that there is no wiring to do to have sound+video through your HDMI connection.  If you have a separate video card, you’ll either need to use a DVI-HDMI cable/converter, or if the card has an HDMI port, you’ll need to have a connection from your motherboard or discrete sound card going to your video card.  I see that as being complicated for newbies, and the discrete video card will not improve picture quality in any noticeable way.  Some might argue that use of Purevideo or something might be a benefit, but with the CPUs we have chosen, that is a non-issue as each of the three CPUs in the recommended configuration will easily be able to handle 1080p video decoding.

THE SOUND CARD:  None.  Since we’re going to be passing sound through the HDMI connection, or through coaxial digital or optical digital connection to the receiver, there won’t be much noticeable benefit to using a discrete sound card.  The motherboard I’ve recommended has a sound card integrated, and it’s everything we need!

THE OPTICAL DRIVE:  You might think I’m going to recommend a Blu-Ray drive here.  You’d be wrong.  In my opinion, a Blu-Ray drive in an HTPC is more trouble than it’s worth.  Instead, I’d recommend going with a nice DVD-RW drive, and if you must have the Blu-Ray playback, get a 40 GB PS3 for little, if anything more than the BD-RW drive for your PC.

THE RAM:  We’re not going for anything over-the-top here, just something that is fast and stable.  Our choice is the G.Skill DDR2 PC2-8000 speed 2×2GB kit.  It gives us enough headroom for overclocking, with a very good track record for stability.  We’ve chosen 4 GB here because in our use, it makes a noticeable difference in a Vista Media Center PC with lots of media stored on it.  The price delta from 2GB -> 4 GB is small enough that we can stretch this category!

THE HARD DRIVE:

For our American friends, I’m going to recommend the Samsung Spinpoint F1 500 GB hard drive.  It’s one of the fastest 7200 rpm drives you can get, and it is also very quiet, both attributes that are desirable in the HTPC context.  It doesn’t hurt that it is one of the two cheapest 500 GB drives Newegg has either!

For the Canadians, we’re getting a really good deal on the Hitachi P7K500 500 GB 7200 rpm hard drive.  It’s known for good performance, if at a slightly higher temperature with moderate noise levels.  We get this a lot cheaper than the States thanks to a MIR, so this is definitely a go if you’re buying soon!

I recommend two of each drive to get you guys started in the HTPC world.  Believe me, 1 TB might sound like a lot, but it isn’t when you transfer your DVD collection bit-for-bit, then all your pictures (and all your scanned pictures), and your music… and the list will indefinitely continue.

THE ACCESSORIES:  I don’t recommend you waste money purchasing a keyboard and mouse.  Just use something you have lying around, or just borrow your existing set for a day to set the HTPC up.  After you set it up, it’ll boot right into MCE and the rest you can control from the MCE remote.  You can also use a more fancy remote, like one of the Harmony remotes, but extravagance in home theater computing is best left for another such post, the “unbudget HTPC.”

So how does it all stack up?  Let’s have a look-see.

For America:

Antec Fusion V2 Case                                          $189.99

Asus P5E-VM HDMI                                             $129.99

Lite-On LH-20A4P                                                 $22.99

2 x Hitachi Deskstar 500GB                                 $139.98

G.Skill PC2-8000 4 GB RAM (2×2GB)                      $84.99

(Now, pick ONE of the below)

Intel E2180                                                             $69.99

Intel E8400                                                           $169.99

___________________________________________________________________________

Total w/ E2180                                                   $637.93

Total w/ E8400                                                     $737.93

For Canada:

Antec Fusion V2 Case                                           $189.99

Asus P5E-VM HDMI                                              $147.99

Lite-On LH-20A4P                                                 $29.99

2 x Hitachi Deskstar 500GB                                 $103.98

G.Skill PC2-8000 4 GB RAM (2×2GB)                      $86.00

(Now, pick ONE of the below)

Intel E2180                                                            $76.99

Intel E8400                                                          $192.99

___________________________________________________________________________

Total w/ E2180                                                    $634.94

Total w/ E8400                                                    $750.94

So there you have it!  I haven’t included shipping or taxes, so make sure you account for those if applicable.  Either of the two configurations are superb, and the only difference here is the CPU.  Both CPUs are capable of full 1080p playback, so that is not a concern.  The HTPC in its use will not go obsolete very fast, since what we’re doing on it will not change much, also nice to know.  These, however, are entirely meant to be media machines, and if you’d like your HTPC to be a HTGPC (home theater gaming PC), many of the component choices would be quite different.  We’ve tested these configurations and found that they work together very well.  When set up well with Vista Media Center and corresponding must-have HTPC software like FFDshow and AC3Filter, it will function brilliantly.  We’ll put a guide up soon showing you the software configuration of an HTPC. And if you want Blu-Ray playback, we’d recommend you pick up a PS3, or if you just hate them, another standalone player.  The price difference from a BD-RW drive to a PS3 is minimal if present.  In Canada, you can get a 40 GB PS3 these days on sale for $299!!

Please feel free to leave comments, we’d love to hear from ya!

Getting Started With An HTPC: Part One

So you’ve heard or read about HTPCs, or perhaps seen one at someone’s house, but haven’t really considered getting one because of the cost, lack of mainstream availability or maybe because you don’t see the need for one. Whatever the reason for not getting one might be, there has never been a better time to jump into this category. Big-box retailers are carrying them, cost has never been lower and performance has never been better. You might be asking yourself what an HTPC can do for you then.

HTPCs can provide you the following features:

• DVD playback. HTPCs can upscale DVD playback to the resolution of the TV. This used to be one of the biggest draws for HTPC use until upscaling DVD players made their way around. In many ways, HTPC upscaling is superior to that of upscaling players, but it sometimes involves configuration steps that can be daunting for new users. However, it is something that only needs to be done once, and when configured properly, can look absolutely fantastic! Newer video cards include built-in video scaling/upconversion as well, and while configuration is easier than the manual method, it still involves steps that may be alien to most users. On the plus side, it offloads a lot of the heavy duty processing to the video card (from the CPU).

• Blu-Ray Disc playback (if equipped with a Blu-Ray Disc drive). This is quite a CPU-intensive task, but as long as you have a modern CPU, it shouldn’t be a problem. With the latest round of video cards, they include a feature where the task of decoding the Blu-Ray video is offloaded to the graphics card (from the CPU). A Blu-Ray disc drive will add $150-$300 to the price of your HTPC.

• PVR & Timeshifting Capabilities. Call it a DVR or PVR, doesn’t really matter. What does is that it will record your favourite shows for you at the correct times. You’ll also have access to some sort of interactive program guide where you can confirm shows, times and descriptions. If you add an extra tuner, you can record one program, and watch another at the same time. If you add two extra tuners, you can record two programs on different channels, and watch a third. If you add three extra tuners, well, you get the idea. Currently, this works only for standard definition channels. You won’t be able to do this with HD channels over cable, or satellite, but you can with OTA (over-the-air) channels. I’d recommend you check what’s available in your area before you go for the OTA HD option.

• Music, Pictures and Video Jukebox. You can store all of your music, pictures and videos on your HTPC for easy access. This is actually more useful a feature than people might understand initially. If you have friends or family over, and want to torture them digitally, all you have to do is hit the green button on your HTPC remote and go to a pictures slideshow or a repeating home video! It’s also a great way to listen to music through your surround system, and will allow you to index your music and have album art. If you have ripped your DVDs or downloaded videos (I won’t ask where), you can have them on your HTPC as well for easy viewing on your HDTV.

• DVD Jukebox. A really great way to have on-tap access to your DVDs and not ever harm the discs is using your HTPC as a DVD jukebox. You can rip all your DVDs to a hard drive, and have them present in full-size with all the menus and features present. When you’d select the DVD (complete with box art) from the menu, you’d see the same menus and would be just as if you popped the actual DVD in. This takes quite a bit of space, with DVDs ranging from 4 to 9 GB in size, but hard drives are so cheap now it shouldn’t matter. I saw one of the fastest currently available drives, the Samsung F1 in the 750 GB size for $90 (CDN), which could contain between 100-150 DVD movies by itself. Double that, and for $180, you’ve got 200-300 DVD movies stored, indexed and ready to go. There are even plugins for Windows Media Center to rip DVDs right from the menu, and MythTV has that functionality built in out of the box (I’ll tell you about WMC and MythTV in the second part of this series).

All of the above are typical features that the average user would use an HTPC for. Being a computer though, an HTPC is open to any number of uses and many people use the following features as well:

• Emulator for classic games (Nintendo, Super Nintendo etc.)

• Download machine (You can set your downloads in the background)

• Browsing/Internet use, other standard computer uses

• Home Automation. You can use your HTPC to monitor security cameras, record footage from motion-sensing cameras, control blinds and motorized window coverings, manipulate your home’s lights and HVAC and more. This is a fairly new area and is growing in popularity every day.

You may also be wondering how you control and interact with your HTPC.  There are a number of methods to choose from, but your main tool will be the HTPC remote.  Interacting with your HTPC will not feel or look like you are doing so with a standard computer.  

There will be a TV-friendly interface that you can read comfortably from afar, and is designed to look attractive and fit in with the general home theater idea.

You can use the Microsoft remote, one of its derivatives, or a product such as a Logitech Harmony remote that is designed to replace all of your other remotes with one.  We’ll look into this a little later on.

Now that you know what an HTPC can do for you, where do you get one? You can always buy from a custom manufacturer, but then you’d pay exorbitant prices. You could buy one from a big manufacturer at a typical big-box retailer, but then you might have to live with design mediocrity or poor cost-benefit ratios. Your best bet would be to build one yourself.

If you’ve never done something like that before, the task might seem Herculean, but don’t worry, Geekliness is here to help with that! In part two of this series, I’m going to show you where to shop, what to buy, how to put it together and finally, how to make it all work flawlessly! Stay tuned!

New Pioneer Kuro TVs Have Built-In Streaming

Pioneer’s 9th generation plasmas have a built-in streaming feature, as many new TVs are starting to.  Pioneer is often quick to market with many features, such as the inclusion of 4 HDMI ports on the 8th generation Kuro, so it’s not too much of a surprise to see a feature like this.  However, it’s a little half-baked in our opinions.  

According to the review, the functionality is decent, but other manufacturers are including better features.  It’s good that the TV is certified as a DLNA client, because that allows the TV to connect to whatever software you want (so long as it’s DLNA certified as well).  That’s where the goodness stops I’m afraid.  The interface is far too basic for such a feature, but more importantly, where’s the WiFi?  This should have N-grade wireless networking built in, considering the price, but all you get is a measly ethernet port.  That’s right, everyone has a router in their TV room, so all you have to do is plug it in.  And it’s another wire that you have to fish through your wall if you have it wall-mounted.  Sony is using wireless connectivity, and Panasonic is even including Youtube functionality, possibly eliminating the need for an HTPC for some.  Others and I expected more of Pioneer, not only because of their reputation in home theater, but also because of the price.

Via CNET’s Crave