Home entertainment PC build?

I want to build a Home Theater PC. I've asked before and gotten good advice. I'm finally ready to do it.

I have a basic plan and need to figure out all the details.




Motherboard: Intel BOXDH67BLB3 - LGA 1155 Intel H67 Chipset Micro ATX Intel Desktop Motherboard

Case: Something small, I see there are many choices.

Power supply: What size for this small set up? I use to think bigger is better but it seems like this system will not need much.

CPU: Intel HD graphics capable i52400 3.1g or i32100 3.1g?  Do I need the i5 just to watch HD 1080P?

Drives: 1-system drive and 1-huge media drive.

CD/DVD: I want to rip CDs and assemble a centrally located music library, but I think it's unlikely I'd use this machine to do it. In any event it seems like you still need one to install the OS.

BlueRay: Not really interested.

Monitor: existing SONY LCD 1080P TV with HDMI hookup.

OS: Windows Home Premium 64bit OEM

Memory: 8GB Crucial brand available as bundle with MB.

HID: Wireless Keyboard and Mouse:

Networking: I may add a wireless adapter just so I don't have to run a cable.





I want this system exclusively for online streaming video playback and music library storage and playback.

I don't want collect videos on the hard drive or add a TV tuner or a cable box.

I don't expect to ever process video conversions on this system or anything like that.

We've been using a cheap i5 laptop to stream the movies and I have only recently gotten interested in a hard drive music library.

We want to use the laptop for more than it is doing now. :-)






I picked the motherboard because it has on board HDMI and I am like buying Intel boards because I am not trying to overclock etc.

I'm wondering if, considering my intended use, I can even make use of the i5.

I can go dirt cheap with the i3 and that is attractive. I have the budget but I would like to feel clever and not waste money on something I'll never use. Should I get the i5 for $70 more? YouTube has experimental 4k streaming. :-)



How about a power supply? It doesn't seem like I need the 550watt I am used to thinking about. What would you do? Quiet would be a feature I'd pay a bit more for.



Thanks very much for any ideas or tips, it has been a while and it was hard to get back up to speed on the choices.


best regards,
mike

  Great find Houndawg! I have an HTPC at home running Windows 7 MCE with 1.5TB of storage in a RAID1 config. I store DVDs and BluRay movies, a backup of my Music Library, and some videos. For TV, I have a SiliconDust HD HomeRunPrime with a Time Warner Cable Card which allows me to stream 3 independent stations from any computer with Windows 7 MCE on the network. It even works over WiFi, 802.11n required for HD. The main HTPC is wired to the Gigabit router. I use the main HTPC as my main DVR, though any computer on the network can be a DVR. I like the flexibility provided by my setup over the WD option because it's one central location for TV, Video, DVD, BluRay, Music, etc, and both TV and media can be accessed from any PC or Mac on the network. The things I see lacking in the WD box compared to Windows 7 MCE are: TV, DVR, and the ability to tweak it. Aside from that, the WD looks like a nice entertainment appliance. My two cents.

Hi and thanks for the info. That looks like a lot of features for $199.

I have considered dedicated web tv appliances and I think I will prefer having a standard Win 7 system so that I explore the evolving world of online content.

I just signed up for the spring season of European Road Bicycle racing and I'm looking forward to more and more content coming from a wider and wider variety of sources.

I figure my budget may end up at $650, but I think I can also squeak by at $450.

I really wanted to know if anyone thought much about the potential for the cheaper package

best regards,
mike

Yes Mike, absolutely the HDMI to the TV will be the only monitor.

As it is now, the laptop we are using for this task is simply overkill and when we want to type in something we either get up and walk to the laptop or stretch the HDMI cable and bring the laptop over to the couch.

I want to try to to cross grade to a dedicated mini box that has an even bigger hard drive and less extra features and use the wireless keyboard and mouse so we never leave the couch. :-).


The real question for me is, will I ever appreciate the 6GB/s SATA on the motherboard or the extra i5 cores or is it just silly for my intended use.


I acknowledge that it will be cheaper to get something like the WD or GoogleTV appliance, but I want a regular old fashioned OS like Win7 and choice of any web browser and my favorite FOOBAR2000 music player and a big 2TB hard drive for music so I'm willing to pay extra for those  preferences.


best regards,
mike

Yes, I'm not playing video games.

We're using a laptop right now... I want to make it even simpler than that.

Thanks.


best regards,
mike