First HTPC build

rl249 · November 19, 2014

Hi guys,

I'm building my first HTPC in the next few months and I want to make sure I do it right, I don't want to be 3 months down the line wishing I had got this or that.

I'm on a bit of a budget so it wont be an insane build..

I'm going to list off some parts I had in mind and if you all could make suggestions that'd be great.

case: Silverstone LC13B-E
APU: AMD A6 6400k
MoBo: MSI FM2-A75MA-E35
RAM: 4gb G.Skill F3-14900CL9S-4GBXL
HDD - I have 3 1tb hdds sitting there, am i better off using the 3 i have or buying 1 4tb hdd and setting up partitions? I dont want the drive to fail and for me to lose everything, at least if one drive fails if i used 3 hdds I'll have the other 2 so I wont have lost everything.
fans, I need a recommendation on the best.
I want to get Logitech Z506 speakers, I have a small room so they'll work perfectly.

I know its all a bit of a mess, but any help is greatly appreciated.

RedSphyxis · November 19, 2014

I'd suggest a raid 1 on 2 of you're 1TB drives; keep the other one as backup in case one drive fails. You can just clone it again and have another raid 1 config

then if you have more money buy a green WD drive maybe 2TB or higher. I have a similar htpc build but i only have 128GB for storage since i use a 4-bay NAS for my media.

hope this helps .btw I'm not a fan of logitech(crappy service here in ph) but if you're going to buy speakers i'd suggest to buy ones specifically for media rooms (even if it's a small one). Specially if they can do virtual surround like what some Creative speakers do.

Potalien · November 19, 2014

Any of the grey noctua line (can't remember there name) are very good when it comes to sound and cooling but they do come at a premium. Also as I'm sure you're aware your apu gaming performance is influenced heavily by the speed of the ram you're using. But I'm guessing that's not very important to you. I've got my HTPC setup with the media on one pair of raid 1 HDD and another pair acting as NAS. This gives me the security that if one drive fails the other will still have the data. Also depending on your media (bluray / DVD) and the amount of it, you may need more than 1 tb of storage. For every dvd expect to use up 1.5gb for bluray around 4gb or more. The only other thing I'd recommend is a custom cooler for the apu as they get HOT. I use an a10 5800k with a hyper 212 evo and my APU never goes over 50° C but I've heard horror stories of peoples APU's dyeing from overheating with the stock cooler.

rl249 · November 19, 2014

So what do you guys recommend?

what about a Pentium g3220 & a MSI B85-G41 PC Mate or something like that? something simple i guess.

also, what about graphics & sound cards etc. I was thinking about a Be Quiet L8 500w psu

Stagea · November 19, 2014

Any of the grey noctua line (can't remember there name) are very good when it comes to sound and cooling but they do come at a premium. Also as I'm sure you're aware your apu gaming performance is influenced heavily by the speed of the ram you're using. But I'm guessing that's not very important to you. I've got my HTPC setup with the media on one pair of raid 1 HDD and another pair acting as NAS. This gives me the security that if one drive fails the other will still have the data. Also depending on your media (bluray / DVD) and the amount of it, you may need more than 1 tb of storage. For every dvd expect to use up 1.5gb for bluray around 4gb or more. The only other thing I'd recommend is a custom cooler for the apu as they get HOT. I use an a10 5800k with a hyper 212 evo and my APU never goes over 50° C but I've heard horror stories of peoples APU's dyeing from overheating with the stock cooler.

I run a Scythe Kozuti on a A8-3870K in a loaded stock Thermaltake Element Q case (Bluray drive, 2 HDDs and 1 SSD), with the built-in GPU overclocked. This is not a recommended configuration as this slim cooler is actually weaker than the supplied one, but it works fine for me after I managed voltages (undervolted as much as I could while keeping stability). It has been rock stable so far for years now, and I'm extremely happy with the result. It's been good for its purpose (HTPC) as it can do quite some postprocessing and can handle frame interpolation.

So what do you guys recommend?

what about a Pentium g3220 & a MSI B85-G41 PC Mate or something like that? something simple i guess.

also, what about graphics & sound cards etc. I was thinking about a Be Quiet L8 500w psu

I'd go with a Haswell i3 and an H81 for a budget Intel build. I find Quick Sync to be worth the extra cost. Skip the graphics and sound card unless you have other intentions (aside from playing videos/movies).

For AMD, I'd look at the A8-7600 and the A10-7800.

RedSphyxis · November 20, 2014

Skip the graphics and sound card unless you have other intentions (aside from playing videos/movies).

yeah totally agree on that, you should skip on the gpu or rather use an old used one. it's always good to play fighting games on a big screen with your friends