Need help for HTPC build

Hi Guys, I've i3 2100 and a gigabyte H61 mobo lying around me since sometime now and have been thinking about building an HTPC around them to station it in my living room. So please help.

1. What is the purpose of the computer? What all applications and games are you going to run? (Stupid answers like 'gaming' or 'office work' will not work. Be exact. Which games? Which applications? Avoid the word 'et cetera.')
Ans: HTPC - Need this rig to be in living room capable of playing HD movies and in future when I add blu-ray drive it should be capable of running BD movies
2. What is your overall budget? If you can extend a bit for a more balanced configuration, then mention this too.
Ans: 15K - flexible a bit.
3. Planning to overclock?
Ans: Nope
4. Which Operating System are you planning to use?
Ans: Win 7
5. How much hard drive space is needed?
Ans: 250GB.... Even less would do as I have USB HDD with me for playing movies. Cheapest will do for me.
6. Do you want to buy a monitor? If yes, please mention which screen size and resolution do you want. If you already have a monitor and want to reuse it, again mention the size and resolution of monitor you have.
Ans: No.. would be connecting this rig through HDMI to my LCD TV
7. Which components you DON'T want to buy or which components you already have and plan on reusing?
Ans: Already have Motherboard, CPU, DVD Writer
8. When are you planning to buy the system?
Ans: Next 2 weeks
9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
Ans: Building it myself
10. Where do you live? Are you buying locally? Are you open to buying stuff from online shops if you don't get locally?
Ans: Will be buying mostly online.
11. Anything else which you would like to say?
Ans: I already do have following lying around me.
Core i3 2100
Gigabyte GA-H61M-D2-B3
LG DVD Writer

So the config which I was thinking of was
GFX - Sapphire HD6570 - 4.5k
Keyborad/Mouse Wireless - Logitech MK220 - 1.4K
HDD - Seagate Momentus 250GB - 3k
RAM - Corsair VS 4GB - 1.3k
PSU - Corsair VS450 - 2.5k
Cabinet - CM Elite 361 - 2.2K (Please suggest cabinets which can be stationed horizontally only... and would look decent in living room

)

Please suggest everything apart from processor and mobo as I already do have them.
I'll be buying online only so please give me the links of componenst from primeabgb/flipkart/mdcomputers/theitdepot only.

Get a WDTV .

Jokes apart. get this :

what you have selected is pretty good. just save some on the GFX

GPU : PowerColor AMD/ATI Radeon HD6450 1 GB DDR3 Graphics Card @ 3k

^^ Thx

Can you also suggest HDD please ? (Saving money point of veiw

)

IAF you cant go lower than that. get a second hand HDD for 1k ? Why do you wanna use a HDD at ALL ? Just boot from your drive. Put a bootable live linux disc on your external HDD and put vlc player. run it. No hdd . saved you 3k .

Now.... thats an gr8 idea too.
But won't running my OS (say ubuntu) from USB reduce the performance ? like boot/shutdown times ?

he he jokes aprt... I'll stick with the 250gb I've chosen as of now.

Then better get WDC Blue 500GB for 3.8k. It has 2yrs warranty compared to 1yr of seagate and for 800 bucks more you get double storage.

Also see if you can find HD 5670 1GB DDR5 for around 4.8k.

ok... what are the advantages i'll get if i use 5670 ?

A

heres a link for 5670
SAPPHIRE 5670 DDR5 PCIE 1GB

the only adv. is that it has high core clock @775MHz

But is it worth extra 2k I'll put compared to HD6450 in my case ? I wont be playing any games on this HTPC nor will be doing heavy photo editing.
Main purpose of this rig would be
1. Watching DVDs, HD videos, playing videos from youtube
2. Downloading torrents
3. Watching downloaded BD movies & Bluray Discs once I get BD drive in future.

I mean if I'm getting significant perfromance boost with 5670 like I would be able to play games like FIFA13, NFS series... then I'll go for it.

A

IMO go for 6450
you really don't need to spend that much cause if you are only going to use it for blue ray movies then
6450 will be sufficient, using a better card will only help if you are going to watch blue ray 3D but then also performance gain won't be too huge..

And BTW... that 5670 is out of stock everywhere... even the mdcomputers.in is stating it "out of stock"

For blu-ray 3d... first I'll need to buy a compatible LED TV which would cost a bomb

W

radeon 6670/5670 or equivalent/more powerful graphics card is recommended for HTPC only if you consider yourself a very picture quality conscious person(here is a hint,if you can spot the differences between rendering of EVR/directx9/madvr/hali,notice jitters due to fps mismatch,can spot difference between full rgb[0-255] & limited RGB[16-256] & configure your pc & tv settings accordingly then you are one & if you have no idea what i am talking about then you are not

)

P

i dont think you need a gfx card for a htpc
here is what i suggest-
i3 2100-free

gigabyte h61-free
lg dvd writer -free
cm elite 361-2.2k
seagate 2tb -8k
1x4gb corsair value ram -1.2k
vs 450-2k
i ball premium combo-0.7k
total-14.1k

@whitestar_999 & panwala95 - I'll get 6450 only... I need GFX so that I can output sound through HDMi to TV and then to my HT system.

i ball premium combo - is it wireless ?

And guys isn't their any Cabinet I can look out for at 2k price point which will look decent and has small footprint ? Apart from CM 361 ofcourse.

P

iball premium combo is wired

hmm.. I need a wireless module so that I can control stuff from my couch.

Here is my final list (prices taken from flipkart). Still looking for alternative to CM 361 though

Component	Name	Price
CPU	Core i3 2100	Free
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-H61M-D2-B3	Free
Optical Drive	LG DVD Writer	Free
Monitor	Samsung LCD TV	Free
RAM	Corsair VS 4GB 1333	1,299
Graphics Card	Powercolor HD6450	2,940
PSU	Corsair VS450	2,530
Cabinet	CM Elite 361	2,221
HDD	WD Caviar Blue 500GB	3,902
Keyboard / Mouse	Logitech MK220	1,425
Fans for cabinet	CM 80MM Red LED x 2	546
	Total	14,863

P

most htpc cabbies i found were more than 5k-
*www.flipkart.com/antec-isk-310-150...THSV&ref=3bb0c3e3-dd02-4602-a94d-a9a29fa93778
Lancool PC-V351B | Cabinet | Flipkart.com
LIAN LI PC-V351B Black Aluminum MicroATX Desktop Computer Case

mandarpalshikar said:
hmm.. I need a wireless module so that I can control stuff from my couch.

Here is my final list (prices taken from flipkart). Still looking for alternative to CM 361 though

Component
Name
Price

CPU
Core i3 2100
Free

Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-H61M-D2-B3
Free

Optical Drive
LG DVD Writer
Free

Monitor
Samsung LCD TV
Free

RAM
Corsair VS 4GB 1333
1,299

Graphics Card
Powercolor HD6450
2,940

PSU
Corsair VS450
2,530

Cabinet
CM Elite 361
2,221

HDD
WD Caviar Blue 500GB
3,902

Keyboard / Mouse
Logitech MK220
1,425

Fans for cabinet
CM 80MM Red LED x 2
546

Total
14,863

Why do you want cabinet fans? lol. get a cm 361 plz

A

you really don't need fans do you ??

That CM361 doesn't come with even an exhaust fan !!!! It has a lot of fan slots though. Plus the Powecolor HD6450 is passively cooled... not that it needs air cooling but ambient temp inside the case should be bearable for all components so will attach 1 fan at front and 1 at rear. It'll at least help in keeping the HDD at normal temps.

Found the cheapest deal for a 160GB HDD
*mdcomputers.in/index.php?route=product/product&path=74_88&product_id=501

and is this true? or some mistake from theitdepot.com ? 64GB Kingstone SSD @3240 ?
*www.theitdepot.com/details-Kingsto...ATA+Internal+Solid+State+Drive_C12P15410.html

mandarpalshikar said:
That CM361 doesn't come with even an exhaust fan !!!! It has a lot of fan slots though. Plus the Powecolor HD6450 is passively cooled... not that it needs air cooling but ambient temp inside the case should be bearable for all components so will attach 1 fan at front and 1 at rear. It'll at least help in keeping the HDD at normal temps.

Found the cheapest deal for a 160GB HDD
SEAGATE 160GB

and is this true? or some mistake from theitdepot.com ? 64GB Kingstone SSD @3240 ?
Theitdepot - Kingston V 200 Series 64GB SATA Internal Solid State Drive

call them up and confirm the price.

Also you will have

The Elite 361 comes with a 120mm cooling fan .....

A

mandarpalshikar said:
That CM361 doesn't come with even an exhaust fan !!!! It has a lot of fan slots though. Plus the Powecolor HD6450 is passively cooled... not that it needs air cooling but ambient temp inside the case should be bearable for all components so will attach 1 fan at front and 1 at rear. It'll at least help in keeping the HDD at normal temps.

Found the cheapest deal for a 160GB HDD
SEAGATE 160GB

you can buy this hdd also cause you don't need bigger ones.. but the price diff is not that great so its up to you now...

mandarpalshikar said:
and is this true? or some mistake from theitdepot.com ? 64GB Kingstone SSD @3240 ?
Theitdepot - Kingston V 200 Series 64GB SATA Internal Solid State Drive

and it looks like a dream ... so grab it before it's over...

W

I need GFX so that I can output sound through HDMi to TV and then to my HT system.

so both your TV & HT system has HDMI v1.4 ARC then.

Do check out the Cooler Master Elite 343! And why dont you try getting the Components from local stores? I bet you can get them at a cheaper price!

As per specs those CM 80mm LED fans dont have good airflow.
So, get Deepcool 120mm LED fans for Rs.350 instead. Have better airflow.

Yes, getting components locally will save some bucks more too.

See... CM361 has these fan slots

Top: 120mm fan x 1, 80/90mm (optional)
Front: 80mm fan x 1 (optional)
Rear: 80mm fan x 2 (optional)
[FONT=Tahoma, Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Side: 80/90/120mm fan x 1 (optional)[/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]So I'll have to get at least one 80MM for rear vent and one for front. Or do you think one 120MM fan at top will be enough ? I've a spare CM Excalibur 120MM with me, but it creates noise at high speeds when I connect it directly without PWM function.
And BTW CM361 does not come with any fan, all are listed as optional.[/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I'm from Pune... what I've seen here till date that famous retailers here viz, Sujata, Baba, DataCare... all of them charge more than what even theitdepot charges

So I prefer flipkart. In fact last week my friend purchase MK220 for 1800 Rs. from one of these retailers.[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]If I order something from say mdcomputers.in or theitdepot.com instead of flipkart, then the cost difference would be 200 to 300 rs.... but remember flipkart does not charge any extra taxes (even octroi and shipping charges) which itself would be around 200 rs more.

CM343 looks to be a good option too plus it comes with one 120MM fan preinstalled... I'll check where its available at lowest rate.[/FONT]

A

mandarpalshikar said:
See... CM361 has these fan slots

Top: 120mm fan x 1, 80/90mm (optional)
Front: 80mm fan x 1 (optional)
Rear: 80mm fan x 2 (optional)
[FONT=Tahoma, Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Side: 80/90/120mm fan x 1 (optional)[/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]So I'll have to get at least one 80MM for rear vent and one for front. Or do you think one 120MM fan at top will be enough ? I've a spare CM Excalibur 120MM with me, but it creates noise at high speeds when I connect it directly without PWM function.
And BTW CM361 does not come with any fan, all are listed as optional.[/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I'm from Pune... what I've seen here till date that famous retailers here viz, Sujata, Baba, DataCare... all of them charge more than what even theitdepot charges So I prefer flipkart. In fact last week my friend purchase MK220 for 1800 Rs. from one of these retailers.[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]If I order something from say mdcomputers.in or theitdepot.com instead of flipkart, then the cost difference would be 200 to 300 rs.... but remember flipkart does not charge any extra taxes (even octroi and shipping charges) which itself would be around 200 rs more.

CM343 looks to be a good option too plus it comes with one 120MM fan preinstalled... I'll check where its available at lowest rate.[/FONT]

i guess you'll be better with two 80mm fans cause you can have intake and exhaust setup with it which will IMO cool better then one 120mm..

J

mandarpalshikar said:
See... CM361 has these fan slots

Top: 120mm fan x 1, 80/90mm (optional)

[FONT=Tahoma, Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
And BTW CM361 does not come with any fan, all are listed as optional.[/FONT]

CM Elite 361 does come with a 120mm fan on top. I think "optional" means you can install 80/90mm instead of the stock 120.

^^ Nope... if a fan comes with cabinet then CM will write it in description as below -

This is for Elite 343
Front: 120 x 25mm fan x 1 / 1200 RPM / 17 dBA (pre-install) ; 80mm / 90mm (optional)
Rear: 80 / 90 mm fan x 1 (optional)

This is for Elite 361
Top: 120mm fan x 1, 80/90mm (optional)
Front: 80mm fan x 1 (optional)
Rear: 80mm fan x 2 (optional)
Side: 80/90/120mm fan x 1 (optional)

Thats why I'm not sure.

P

if you are desperate for a choice of cabinet you can check out
1.zebronics tambi @ 1k
2.iball baby 306-1.5k
cheers!

I'll stick with 361 ... I'm an anti Zebronics/iball person.

J

I am almost sure that it has a 120mm fan on top.

Check the reviews and flipkart page.
eg:
Cooler Master Elite 361 | Cabinet | Flipkart.com
Cooler Master Releases Elite 361 PC Case | Hardware Secrets

^^ Thx
Then its good... I'll get those 80MM fans anyways... will need one at front for intake.

A

mandarpalshikar said:
^^ Thx
Then its good... I'll get those 80MM fans anyways... will need one at front for intake.

best of luck dude...

P

yup best of luck , sir!

Go for elite 361 I am having the same for my htpc ....