Building a media centre

IvorBiggun

Hi

I want to build a media centre PC for playback of downloaded files.

It will be mini ITX, probably using this case (cheap with 200w PSU), a small SSD, a large internal or external disk for media storage, 4GB or 8GB or RAM, windows 7 and maybe a blue ray drive.

My main choice comes down to CPU and motherboard: AMD AM1 CPU and motherboard vs Intels new 20th anniversary Pentium and motherboard

CPUs are similar price the intel board is about £80 more. Pentium seems a lot better on the benchmarks, is highly overclockable, higher power consumption (but I could undervolt if not overclocking).

Opinions?

matty2767

Hi Ivor
I have a revo rl80 and it just (some stuttering) isn't powerful enough to playback 1080p through windows 7. I understand that windows 8 is better and utilises the onboard gpu whereas windows 7 doesn't. have a search on google and see if win7 is the right choice for you.

IvorBiggun

Is the rl80 atom powered? These processors are both much more powerful. Also try something like xbmc which supports hardware acceleration even under xp.

Mobeer

Overclocking a processor in a HTPC makes little sense to me - it means more power use and hence more heat, which in turn means more noise. Also that Pentium CPU doesn't have Intel's best graphics.

Maybe also ask some questions on the forums on avforums - they have some knowledgeable HTPC builders on there.

S0litaire

For me it depends on the TV you're plugging the HTPC into!

If it's a SmartTV, then the TV can do most of the grunt work for playback of items on the SSD and HDD, and for Blu-Ray a good Graphics card will be required.

My HTPC is not that powerful (AMD dual core E350 2Ghz / 8Gb ram.) no DVD/Blu-Ray drive as I've already got a blu-ray player and i'm running Ubuntu with Plex Media Server. (My LG TV has built in support for Plex server si it's easy to setup.)

It's totally silent (No fans), only needs a 40w PSU (to power the 60Gb SSD and 1Tb 2.5HDD, integrated graphics) and it is just powerful enough for full screen YouTube playback.

Cycrow

For a media center, its best to use the GPU for the media decoding rather than a cpu.

not sure if the AM1 cpus would be the best, the AMD A6 would be a better choice, as the cpu is powerful enough, and has a better GPU.
The a6 is also a simliar price to that AM1

i currently use the A6 for my media center, i originally used an atom-ion, which was good enough for watching videos, but was abit sluggish in menus due to the weak cpu.

womble12345

I use a Raspberry Pi with raspbmc installed on it for this exact purpose, although I store all my media on a NAS so dont need storage.

jaydeeuk1

If its just for playing media, a £99 intel nuc with 4gb ram and an msata ssd will do fine. Can always get a £30 external usb blueray drive.


Ive just built a htpc with a pentium g3258 (was on offer for £43 inc delivery)a cheapo gigabyte b85, geforce 750ti, a dual dvb-s2 tuner card, 128gb evo ssd and using my old blu ray / hd-dvd drive in a low profile silverstone case.


Its !!!!in good and near silent too. Xbmc is a must, and media portal is good for live tv.


Was going to get an amd a8 7600 that was announced in feb but theyve not bothered releasing it yet. Shame as it was a perfect apu for a media center.

StuC75

Snap,, much quieter than having a pc and cheap to add to all TV's around the house for sharing media..

womble12345 wrote: »

I use a Raspberry Pi with raspbmc installed on it for this exact purpose, although I store all my media on a NAS so dont need storage.

jaydeeuk1

StuC75 wrote: »

Snap,, much quieter than having a pc and cheap to add to all TV's around the house for sharing media..

The pi is a good little device, although once you add in costs of accessories you'll need the price is nearer £50. However if the OP wants to play blu ray titles without encoding, that may rule it out.
Is netflix / sky go / now tv available on linux platforms yet? The £40 android devices are better than the pi at running XBMC ime (will play all files, you'll need to buy a decoder for certain types on a pi) plus you can get mobdro for all your sky sports needs, still have netflix, nowtv etc. Only downside is quite often the audio is limited if you want proper 7.1 surround sound. I have a cheapo £25 dual core rockwell rikomagic mkiiis with an air mouse and its spot on.

kwikbreaks

IMO if you just want an HD media player the simplest and cheapest option is to get a purpose build android one which will cost well less than £100.

https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#hl=en&newwindow=1&q=1080p+android+media+player&tbm=shop

Be aware that some don't handle multiple language streams or subtitles well. Some won't convert DTS to stereo either. Check reviews of potential buys and ask the seller any specific questions.