# HTPC Build



## Aj12 (Aug 28, 2011)

1. What is the purpose of the computer? (Note: If you are planning to say multimedia, you will have to be more specific as all types of systems are capable of doing that)
A: WiLL primarily be used to watch movies, SD & Full Hd content(1080p).

2. Are you open to alternate ideas/products giving similar better performance but offering more VFM/ sellers? If not- why?
A: Yes

3. What is your MAX budget?
A: 15k, may flex a little if deemed worthy.

4. Planning to overclock?
A: No

5. Which OS are you planning to use?
A: Win 7 Ultimate

6. How much hard drive space is needed?
A: 2 TB

7. What resolution will the screen run at & whats the size of the screen you want? If you already want have one and want to use it, mention its resolution and size.
A: Will be connected to the already existing Samsung 32" LCD TV (32" HD Ready TV that is pure perfection - LA32A330J1N - LCD TV - television | SAMSUNG with resolution 1366 x 768 via HDMI

8. How would you rate your hardware knowledge from the count of 1-10? (1 being the lowest, 5 being you are somewhat in sync with the current performers and 10 being the highest)
A: 8

9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
A:  will be done by an assembler

10. When are you planning to buy the system?
A:  ASAP

11. Are you one of the types looking out for "future proof" configurations?
A:   yes

12. Are there going to be any components that you don't want to include in this new rig? If yes, do mention.
A:  Already have Tv and speakers

13. Which city do you live in and are you open to buying from shops from other city/states?
A:  Kerala. Yes

14. Mention any other points if deemed necessary
A:  Small form factor is a priority 

Here's what i had in mind...

Mobo/APU     -   Asrock E350M1 Hudson M1 Mini-ITX mobo w/AMD E-350 APU (1.6GHz, dual-core) 

Cooler          -  Stock

Ram             -  Corsair Vengence 4GB (2x2) 

Hdd             -  Seagate Barracuda LP 2Tb

Gpu             -  integrated Radeon HD 6310 

Cabinet        -  Cooler master Elite 100 or Antec ISK 300-65 case 

suggestions are welcome

and should invest in a media centre remote or wireless keyboard & mouse combo??? (i will be using xbmc)

and if a remote please suggest one,cause i do not own a phone running ios or android hence ruling out remote apps.

 i will use this rig just for watching movies.

Thats all for now.


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## Tenida (Aug 28, 2011)

Refer to this *thread *by Sam9S


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## d6bmg (Aug 28, 2011)

Or, you can even PM Sam9S for any help if you need any.


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## Aj12 (Aug 28, 2011)

@Tenida & d6bmg
Thanx


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## sam9s (Aug 29, 2011)

Well 15K is a modest budget, but if you can stretch it a bit I can suggest a better config both in terms of GPU and processing power.

Following is what I suggest.

*ZOTAC H55ITX-A-E Mini ITX WiFi Intel Motherboard*

Price :: 7000 Approx might be even less as the last time was around 6-8 months when I checked the price. I am quoting the same.

*2. Intel Core i3 530 CPU*

Price :: 5000 Approx

*3. Case Antec ISK 300-150 CPU Mini-ITX*

Price :: 5000 Approx

4. No need for fan as the case has a high quality 80mm fan

*5. 1TB WD Cavier Green*

Price :: 2200 again might be even less.

*6. RAM 2GB enough. DDR3 Corsair/G.Skill.*

Price :: 1000

*7. Windows 7 Home premium*. or if you want you can opt for *XBMC Live*. *OpenELEC (XBMC fine tuned for USB) *is the best out there. XBMC Live and Open ELEC does not need windows to run. They are installed on USB and boots via USB itself.

*TOTAL ::20200* . as I said might be even less. 

The above hardware will do HD audio and play almost all formats. The form factor will be the smallest, And because its ITX based PC the power consumption would not cross 150W.

Coming to remote, no need to go for a media centre remote or wireless keyboard & mouse combo, If you have any android phone just download *Android Official XBMC Remote* Does every thing that a physical conventional remote does, infact more. 

If you have iPhone...... apple also has the official XBMC remote. If you have Symbian then bad luck, I dont think we have XBMC remote under symbian ... . Then you might lookout for a physical remote.


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## Aj12 (Aug 29, 2011)

Nice setup!!!

I will definitely increase my budget to get what u suggest

But which would be better

Running windows 7 home premium and running xbmc on startup By either changing the Shell or using the MMC to change the user interface as u described in ur thread 

(wont this be better with respect to installation of drives codecs and even support for a discrete media centre remote as opposed to running on OpenELEC)

or running OpenELEC off a 2gb flashdrive.

keep in mind that i plan to store all my media files locally on the internal hdd
and not stream them from a desktop hdd or media server.

and could you also specify a physical remote for use with this setup as i have symbian...

just a suggestion...

why not use an intel core i3 2100/2100T @ 5500 & Zotac H67 mini ITX @ 6000
again this is just a suggestion..


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## sam9s (Aug 30, 2011)

Aj12 said:


> Nice setup!!!
> 
> I will definitely increase my budget to get what u suggest
> 
> ...



I have not used Open ELEC extensively, but its been said that what ever you can do with XBMC 10.1 you can do with open ELEC as well. See its not a huge thing to try our, its free as well. Just install and try it by yourself, if it works per your satisfactions continue using it and further configure it. If you are unsatisfied due to any reason dump it and go for XBMC over windows simple.

And yes you can use Core i3 2100 as well its definately better then i3 530 as its second gen proc and mobo, but I guess it would land more expensive. With i3 2100 and H67 its might shoot further (keeping the rest same), while there would not be a huge jump over the performance. The only main difference between H55 and H67 is H67 supports 2nd gen CPU, supports more ram (16gb) and also has USB 3.0 rest everything is same. 
So it only boils down if you can afford and stretch your budget go for H67 else H55 will also do the job.

For remote you can go with something like ...

Microsoft MCE Remote Control USB IR Receiver win7 Vista | eBay

NEW HP MCE /REMOTE CONTROL /USB IR RECEIVER /IR Emitter | eBay


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## Krow (Aug 30, 2011)

Just an general query, how is the AMD Fusion platform for an HTPC? Review here: AMD Fusion A8 3850 Review : The IGP Reinvented


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## sam9s (Aug 30, 2011)

^^ Mixed experiences/reviews, some I have seen raving about the performance, and some were crying out loud for drivers and codes mixup. Personally I am not a fan of Fusion and would like to keep things separate.


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## Cilus (Aug 30, 2011)

Krow said:


> Just an general query, how is the AMD Fusion platform for an HTPC? Review here: AMD Fusion A8 3850 Review : The IGP Reinvented



They are the best in HTPC solution, provide processing power slightly better than an Athlon II X4 3 GHz processor and GPU performance slightly better than HD 5570. So in GPU aided HD playback with different post processing filters, they provide better performance + you will get decent enough performance for casual gaming.


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## Krow (Aug 30, 2011)

^That's what I thought. Only problem might be driver related though. Not sure about that.


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## Aj12 (Sep 1, 2011)

sam9s said:


> I have not used Open ELEC extensively, but its been said that what ever you can do with XBMC 10.1 you can do with open ELEC as well. See its not a huge thing to try our, its free as well. Just install and try it by yourself, if it works per your satisfactions continue using it and further configure it. If you are unsatisfied due to any reason dump it and go for XBMC over windows simple.
> 
> And yes you can use Core i3 2100 as well its definately better then i3 530 as its second gen proc and mobo, but I guess it would land more expensive. With i3 2100 and H67 its might shoot further (keeping the rest same), while there would not be a huge jump over the performance. The only main difference between H55 and H67 is H67 supports 2nd gen CPU, supports more ram (16gb) and also has USB 3.0 rest everything is same.
> So it only boils down if you can afford and stretch your budget go for H67 else H55 will also do the job.
> ...




So for a budget of 20K what would you recommend???

The i3 2100 & H67  or  the i3 530 & H55

cause i am not familiar with the prices & could you also provide the total cost excluding the price of the remote...


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## sam9s (Sep 1, 2011)

^^ ofcourse i2100 would be better even if that exceeds little over 20K . Board *Zotac H67 ITX*, I checked, its *11000*.* i3 2100 is 5500*, so it comes to *16500 for Mobo, Proc*. *Ram is 1200 for 4GB stick.* *HDD is 2500 for 1TB*. This equates to *20200*. The cheapest decent ITX cabinet is* CM Elite 100* which is 3000 (with PSU) so you end up with *23200*. Add 1000 for misc and you should be able to assemble the pc for *24200*, which is good I would say. Or you can cut down to 2GB ram which should bring down the cost to *23600*

I think you should go with this.


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## jagdish (Sep 2, 2011)

AJ12, if you are only going to watch movies go with AMD liano A8 3850 it will serve your purpose better it has a powerful GPU built in with CPU so less heat generation, low power consumption and its a  quad core CPU hence better perfomance.it will have better post processing so it can improve video quality so it will save money because you need not have to purchase Powerdvd for its post processing  Now my MB has a integrated 4250 GPU and video quality is impressive it takes very less CPU to play HD movies just about 2-5% and I am happy with itSo go for liano


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## sam9s (Sep 2, 2011)

Yes, APU will cost you much less than a separate built, but then there are trade offs, but I guess jagdish is right in a way that if only movies is what you want APU will suffice. How ever if you also wanna do some processing (like ripping and encoding DVDs or BDs) or decent gaming, the i3 combination will do far better.


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## Krow (Sep 2, 2011)

Llano makes sense if one is on a tight budget. Anyway, I never understood why people would spend a lot on their HTPC and not so much on the display and the audio setup. I think the audio setup needs more investment with a sound card and a good 5.1 system along with the display.


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## Aj12 (Sep 2, 2011)

sam9s said:


> Yes, APU will cost you much less than a separate built, but then there are trade offs, but I guess jagdish is right in a way that if only movies is what you want APU will suffice. How ever if you also wanna do some processing (like ripping and encoding DVDs or BDs) or decent gaming, the i3 combination will do far better.




As mentioned earlier i will use thing rig ONLY to watch movies(it should full hd content without any playback issues)
and i plan to use it for about a year or two or even more.

 i will make use of my main rig for all encoding,ripping & gaming.

but as you mentioned earlier wont there be a problem with drivers and or are the solved with an update.



Krow said:


> Llano makes sense if one is on a tight budget. Anyway, I never understood why people would spend a lot on their HTPC and not so much on the display and the audio setup. I think the audio setup needs more investment with a sound card and a good 5.1 system along with the display.



i am on a tight budget right now

so unfortunately cannot afford a better audio setup right now.

and i plan to use this HTPC with the display that i already own..

But i will upgrade i 6 months time(even then this rig will be used only to watch movies as mentioned previously) and it also should have the provision to add a sound card for a better audio setup if the on board audio does not cut it...


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## jagdish (Sep 2, 2011)

Aj12 go for APU, HD encoding require hardware decoding so AMD A8 3850 will serve you better.


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## sam9s (Sep 2, 2011)

Aj12 said:


> As mentioned earlier i will use thing rig ONLY to watch movies(it should full hd content without any playback issues)
> and i plan to use it for about a year or two or even more.
> 
> i will make use of my main rig for all encoding,ripping & gaming.
> ...



I somewhere mentioned that I am not a fan of APUs reason is these uncertainties, like drives issues and streaming full BD ISOs. When I had to assemble my HTPC, and was reading reviews and suggestions all across internet I did not get a very positive impression of APUs. I mean most of them were positive and were raving about the same, but there were instances where everything was not perfect. My choice was I need perfect performance even if I had to spend 5,6 K etc so opted for custom build. Plus I also wanted to future proof my HTPC with 3D support which APUs are not good at.

*@AJ12* weigh your options and make a choice, up to you.


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## Krow (Sep 2, 2011)

You are likely to encounter driver issues with any AMD setup in case you use a non-Windows setup. Bear that in mind before you make your purchase. For the hassle free setup, I guess Intel takes the cake. You should look at a good sound card and HT setup later though. Best of luck for your purchase.


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## Aj12 (Sep 2, 2011)

Every Watt Counts: AMD E-350 vs. Intel Core i3-2100T - X-bit labs


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## jagdish (Sep 2, 2011)

I don't understand why people are so Intel centric  Aj12 has mention he will use  windows 7 and he strictly mention that he will use this one for watching movies which it will run in its full glory come on guys as far as i know intel based rig too will not natively support 3D 
so my suggestion are :
AMD A8 3850-7000
Gigabyte A75M-UD2H -4300 
G-skill F3-10600CL9S-2GBNT-700
Seagate Barracuda 1 TB –2800
DVD Writer LG 22X SATA DVD writter-675
Microsoft wireless 800 desktop mouse and keyboard combo-1000
total-16475
you can buy any case you like
if budget is issue then buy 500 GB HDD  latter go for 2TB
dude amd e350 will be too weak


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## Aj12 (Sep 3, 2011)

i have decided to go for the i3 & h67 combo over the E350 Apu

i still need help with my chosen config

CPU        - Intel Core i3-2100/2100T ???

Mobo       - Zotac H67-ITX WiFi
                ( sam9s could u tell me where u got the price of this board as i could not find it on an Indian website offering it for sale & i found its price to be less than 7k, by referring to amazon and newegg and do correct me if i am wrong) 

RAM        - 2/4GB ??? Corsair/Gskill DDR 1333

Hdd        - 1 Tb wd or segate ???
                2 Tb if build does no exceed buget(20k)

Case       - Antec ISK 300-150 CPU Mini-ITX

DVD writer - Have one lying about

Remote      - any one of the two that sam9s specified in his earlier post
                (i would prefer not to look at a wireless keyboard&mouse combo)

but the problem is that jagdish mentioned another amd config and i a now confused as to whether i should go with his config or the one that i have decided upon....


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## sam9s (Sep 3, 2011)

jagdish said:


> intel based rig too will not natively support 3D



Intel based HTPC will use i3 2100, which would use Intel HD 2000 graphics, which fully supports 3D, and plays it well as well.



Aj12 said:


> i have decided to go for the i3 & h67 combo over the E350 Apu
> 
> i still need help with my chosen config
> 
> ...



2100T is a downclocked version of 2100, 2100 is better in terms of clock speed, cache and HD Graphics (GPU) frequency. But down side is 2100 has a higher TDP. 65W as compared to 35W for 2100T. So if you are too power conscious then opt 2100T else 2100. Personally 30W extra does not much mean to me, so I would opt for 2100, you might differ

AFA price of the Board is concerned I got it from Np Delhi and confirmed it with ebay.in

RAM does not make much of a difference. How ever i would choose a faster ram rather than more ram. In other words I would go for 2GB 1333 Mhz rather then 4GB 800 Mhz. You can go with 4GB 1333 as well if  your budget permits, its just 1300 bucks for a 4GB G.Skill or Corsair stick. (Both are good choose any. I'd go for G.Skill if do you want my opinion)

HDD - 1 TB WD green best n inexpensive

Case you already decided, but I wonder if that would suit your budget it 5K+

Finally go with what your heart says ...... if you want quality, that should last long, no nonsense issues, just works ... and ofcourse you can afford as well... I'd say go for ... i3 2100 and H67 combo ......


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## Cilus (Sep 3, 2011)

Aj12, we have never suggested you E-350 which is just a nettop processor, not a desktop one. So obviously i3 2100 wins. We were talking about A8 3800 processors.
Kro, AMD driver has driver instability problems when you Crossfire a dedicated GPU with the Llano's integrated GPU, but the problem is only some of the games, not in wathcing movies.
2ndly AMD driver's has also improved a lot in non-Windows based OS like Linux.

Here is one quote from wikipeia:-


> Linux version has been criticized for its perceived stability and performance issues as well as lack of options. The state of the driver has improved over time with AMD trying to work in concert with application developers, although for most instances the drivers are considered to be solid enough for most tasks and functional for most users.[13]



Also the problems are mainly in some gaming and for developer's point of view, not for movie watching in any days.


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## jagdish (Sep 3, 2011)

Aj12,As cilus has mentioned driver problem is with crossfire configuration again AMD is now releasing new driver update every month so that issue will probably solved. its all finally depends on you in my opinion AMD liano is the way to go.


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## Piyush (Sep 3, 2011)

Aj12 said:


> i have decided to go for the i3 & h67 combo over the E350 Apu


Why are you comparing i3 2xxx with E350?
if you want to compare i3 with something, then it should be E3850


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## Aj12 (Sep 3, 2011)

i am still at a loss on what to choose

i3 2100 or amd a8 3850

There seems to be some confusion on here over which one has better multimedia playback. The reviews I have seen have always favored Llano

AMD A6-3650 Llano APU Performance Review - HotHardware

A8-3850 vs. Core i3-2100 CPU Review | Hardware Secrets

Llano vs. Sandy Bridge: HTPC Performance - Bjorn3D.com

AnandTech - AMD A8-3850 : An HTPC Perspective



Piyush said:


> Why are you comparing i3 2xxx with E350?
> if you want to compare i3 with something, then it should be E3850



@ Cilus & Piyush

you got me all wrong or rather its my fault but what i meant to say is that
i chose to go with the i3 over the E350 mainly due to an increase in my budget..
and not by comparing its performance with the i3.


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## Cilus (Sep 4, 2011)

If you take my suggestion to build a HTPC, then I would suggest you to drop the idea of both Llano due to its price (it is not at all cheap) and i3 2100 because it is simply not required. I will suggest you to go with a normal Athlon Ii quad core within 4K, a standard and cheap AM3 board and a low end graphics card. They will offer you more control over your hardware. It will enable to you to control CPU speed, GPU speed more efficiently.

My suggestion will be:-
Athlon II X4 635 @ 4K
Gigabyte GA-MA78LMT-S2 @ 2.5K
Corsair 4 GB 1333 MHz Value DDR3 @ 1.2K
Asus GT 520 1 GB GDDR3 @ 3K/Sapphire HD 5670 512 MB GDDR5 @ 4.2K

Total: 10.7K. This config is well balanced and GT 520 is more than enough to play all HD content with GPU acceleration. In case of Llano or Sandybridge, probably the CPU + motherboard will cross 10K.


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## Piyush (Sep 4, 2011)

^^this looks promising


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## Tenida (Sep 4, 2011)

*@Cilus*-Perfect rig for HTPC.IMO


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## sam9s (Sep 4, 2011)

Cilus said:


> If you take my suggestion to build a HTPC, then I would suggest you to drop the idea of both Llano due to its price (it is not at all cheap) and i3 2100 because it is simply not required. I will suggest you to go with a normal Athlon Ii quad core within 4K, a standard and cheap AM3 board and a low end graphics card. They will offer you more control over your hardware. It will enable to you to control CPU speed, GPU speed more efficiently.
> 
> My suggestion will be:-
> Athlon II X4 635 @ 4K
> ...



Nothing wrong with this suggestion as well, still better than the APU thing ..  The only thing I can add is to go for *GT 440* instead of 520, this would further bring down the price and would absolutely have no impact on the performance......


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## Cilus (Sep 4, 2011)

^^GT 440 is not cheaper than GT 520, it is costlier. The minimum price AFAIK is more than 4K.


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## Aj12 (Sep 4, 2011)

Cilus said:


> If you take my suggestion to build a HTPC, then I would suggest you to drop the idea of both Llano due to its price (it is not at all cheap) and i3 2100 because it is simply not required. I will suggest you to go with a normal Athlon Ii quad core within 4K, a standard and cheap AM3 board and a low end graphics card. They will offer you more control over your hardware. It will enable to you to control CPU speed, GPU speed more efficiently.
> 
> My suggestion will be:-
> Athlon II X4 635 @ 4K
> ...




i will go with this build as what you suggest makes perfect sense & is also well within my budget.

could you also specify a cabinet (Small form factor is a priority).
and do i need a separate psu or use the one that comes with the cabinet

don't need a DVD writer as i already have one unless the case requires a slim drive and for the HDD i plan on using the 1 TB WD green 

Remote - any one of the two that sam9s specified in his earlier post



Cilus said:


> ^^GT 440 is not cheaper than GT 520, it is costlier. The minimum price AFAIK is more than 4K.



so which one will it be ?

the 5670 or the GT 520 or the GT 440....


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## SlashDK (Sep 4, 2011)

I'd suggest the HD5670 512MB. It performs better than both GT 520 and 440 and costs just 4k. The difference between GT520 and HD5670 is just 1k and there is a huge performance difference.


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## sam9s (Sep 4, 2011)

Cilus said:


> ^^GT 440 is not cheaper than GT 520, it is costlier. The minimum price AFAIK is more than 4K.



is that so, 440 is 4K yes.



Cybertonic said:


> I'd suggest the HD5670 512MB. It performs better than both GT 520 and 440 and costs just 4k. The difference between GT520 and HD5670 is just 1k and there is a huge performance difference.



I would not suggest an ATI card for A/V needs as quite a few have landed with drive and video issues, which includes me as well (though rare, its there). For A/V opt anything from nVidia, like 440, 520 ... what ever suits your budget ....


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## Cilus (Sep 4, 2011)

In Video decoding and Post processing AMD cards perform better than all the nVidia cards...Check out the Tomshardware article. In that article it is clearly proven that AMD cards provides better noise reduction, Deinterlacing and up scaling performance than their nvidia counterparts. Also there is no such driver issues with AMD drivers with A/V playback. I'm using both Nvidia and AMD cards for long and can tell you there is no such issue. Also you can check the reviews in all the reputed sites. With the introduction of 11.X drivers, actually performance and stability have been improved a lot and it can challenge Nvidia drivers.

HD 5670 is better choice because it is far powerful than both GT 520 and GT 430. So it can provide decent gaming experience too.


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## jagdish (Sep 4, 2011)

Then I guess it is going to be full fledged low budget gaming PC not HTPC


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## Aj12 (Sep 4, 2011)

jagdish said:


> Then I guess it is going to be full fledged low budget gaming PC not HTPC



i don't need a gaming pc as mentioned earlier, just a no frills HTPC

and guys could you also specify a cabinet
 (Small form factor is a priority).
and do i need a separate psu or use the one that comes with the cabinet.


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## sam9s (Sep 4, 2011)

Cilus said:


> In Video decoding and Post processing AMD cards perform better than all the nVidia cards...Check out the Tomshardware article. In that article it is clearly proven that AMD cards provides better noise reduction, Deinterlacing and up scaling performance than their nvidia counterparts. Also there is no such driver issues with AMD drivers with A/V playback. I'm using both Nvidia and AMD cards for long and can tell you there is no such issue. Also you can check the reviews in all the reputed sites. With the introduction of 11.X drivers, actually performance and stability have been improved a lot and it can challenge Nvidia drivers.
> 
> HD 5670 is better choice because it is far powerful than both GT 520 and GT 430. So it can provide decent gaming experience too.



nope, as I mentioned I myself landed up with trouble, with my HD5850 when I tried to play a particular 3D SBS file of "how to train your dragon" when I got the BSOD. I googled and it was clearly mentioned a bug with AMD cards pertaining to video acceleration. That is the main reason I opted for 440GT for my HTPC else I could easily have gone for HD6XXX series. 
 My friend also had problems playing few video files encoded with h.264 @High Level 5.   

I have been a fan of ATI for their HD series cards (been using HD5850 for ages for all games and it rocks) and was dead sure to get one, but these few experiences caught my eye. Me and my friend both opted for GT440 and its a smooth sailing since then. As I said its rare but it is there.

I dont merely recommend on benchmarks and articles, I also see what experience practically people have which they share via forums ........ In this case I myself is an example.


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## Aj12 (Sep 4, 2011)

sam9s said:


> nope, as I mentioned I myself landed up with trouble, with my HD5850 when I tried to play a particular 3D SBS file of "how to train your dragon" when I got the BSOD. I googled and it was clearly mentioned a bug with AMD cards pertaining to video acceleration. That is the main reason I opted for 440GT for my HTPC else I could easily have gone for HD6XXX series.
> My friend also had problems playing few video files encoded with h.264 @High Level 5.
> 
> I have been a fan of ATI for their HD series cards (been using HD5850 for ages for all games and it rocks) and was dead sure to get one, but these few experiences caught my eye. Me and my friend both opted for GT440 and its a smooth sailing since then. As I said its rare but it is there.
> ...



Then i think i should opt for the 440 GT just to be on the safe side...

and do u think that the gt 440 would fit in an Antec ISK 300-150 CPU Mini-ITX
case or should i look for another case since the price of this case is on the higher side 5k plus as sam9s pointed out. 

if it fits in the antec should i use a different psu or the one provided with the case.


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## Piyush (Sep 4, 2011)

sam9s said:


> nope, as I mentioned I myself landed up with trouble, with my HD5850 when I tried to play a particular 3D SBS file of "how to train your dragon" when I got the BSOD. I googled and it was clearly mentioned a bug with AMD cards pertaining to video acceleration. That is the main reason I opted for 440GT for my HTPC else I could easily have gone for HD6XXX series.



yea..I saw a sample video of this BSOD on youtube too
but it(and other crashes) were fixed by the driver updates from AMD
the last 2 updates were quite fruitful as mentioned online widely


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## Cilus (Sep 4, 2011)

Then I have couple of suggestion. Actually 5000 series have some problems regarding the driver as well as hardware issues. But from BART onwards those kind of problems are fixed. Any cards from Northern Island architecture like HD 6870, HD 6850, HD 6790, HD 6670, HD 6450, HD 65970 don't have these kind of problem. Get the GD 6570 istead, which is based on Norther Island architecture and with 11.4 and higher driver, it shouldn't have these kind of problems.


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## Aj12 (Sep 4, 2011)

cost of the 6570 compared to the 440GT..

better still could u provide a link..

and can you look into my case query..


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## Cilus (Sep 4, 2011)

GT 440 and HD 6750 are low profile card and they can be fitted inside even the local cabinets. Perform wise HD 6570 performs better than GT 440 almost all the times in higher resolution. If both are on the same range, then go for any of them.
Personally I would pick up HD 5670 512 MB GDDR5 version as there is no pointer regarding issue of HD playback with HD 5670.


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## sam9s (Sep 5, 2011)

Piyush said:


> yea..I saw a sample video of this BSOD on youtube too
> but it(and other crashes) were fixed by the driver updates from AMD
> the last 2 updates were quite fruitful as mentioned online widely



well you might be right, but I sure was not able to rectify the issue, tried all kind and versions of drivers and all sorts of solutions floating online. Nothing helped, finally just gave up. (which I usually dont do easily). Luckily the PC with 5850 (the i7 one in sig) I do not use it for movie viewing, its used for my Gaming and rest of PC activities. For movies n videos I built a separate HTPC with nVidia card, which easily played the same file.



Aj12 said:


> Then i think i should opt for the 440 GT just to be on the safe side...
> 
> and do u think that the gt 440 would fit in an Antec ISK 300-150 CPU Mini-ITX
> case or should i look for another case since the price of this case is on the higher side 5k plus as sam9s pointed out.
> ...



Mini ITX case is not meant for external GPUs, please check before ordering one. 
I'd say go for a mid tower.


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## Aj12 (Sep 5, 2011)

Is this case available in India

Newegg.com - SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum / 0.8mm SECC Grandia Series GD05B micro-ATX / Mini-DTX / Mini-ITX MB, 1x5.25", 2x3.5"+1x2.5"HDD or 1x3.5"+2x2.5"HDD, 3x120mm golf bladed fan, 11" expansion card capab

The config so far..

and for the gpu i decided to go with the 440 GT

Processor          -   Athlon II X4 635

Motherboard      -   Gigabyte GA-MA78LMT-S2 

Gpu                  -  Nvida  440 GT 
                          (Asus,Msi,Zotac GDDR 3 ,GDDR5 ???)
                           Please specify a make and model from the above

Ram                  -  Corsair 4 GB (2x2) CMV4GX3M2A1333C9 1333 MHz Value DDR3 

Psu                   -  ???

Case                 -   Silverstone GD05B If available ,if not a similar one 
                            Like the Silverstone LC10 or the LC10-E


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## asingh (Sep 5, 2011)

You can check the Elite 100. But it has limited drive connectivity (type) when using boards.


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## Cilus (Sep 5, 2011)

In smcinternational, the 1 GB GDDR3 version of MSI GT 440 is available @ 4.3K and the Zotac 1 GB GDDR5 version is available @ 4.8K. Here is the MSI Link.
On the price of the GDDR5 version, you can easily get Sapphire HD 6670 1GB GDDR3 version, almost twice powerful than GT 440. You can get MSI and Sapphire HD 6570 1 GB GDDR3 version @ 3.8K.

Here is Lynx-india HD 5670 512 MB GDDR5 Price @ 3.7K.

Here is Sapphire HD 6570 1 GB GDDR3, priced @ 3.9K.

Here is Sapphire HD 6670 1 GB GDDR3 version priced @ 4.57K

All the above AMD cards are more powerful than GT 440 GDDR3 version. The reason is GT 440 is just a GT 430 with higher clock speed, nothing else.


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## jagdish (Sep 5, 2011)

plus one for cilus


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## Aj12 (Sep 5, 2011)

guys now help me find a case and a psu...


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## Cilus (Sep 5, 2011)

I think NZXT Gamma will serve the purpose well.


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## sam9s (Sep 5, 2011)

Aj12 said:


> guys now help me find a case and a psu...



The AMD configuration you have finished is not for a Mini ITX. The Gigabyte board you have chosen is an ATX board, so forget about Mini ITX case now. Go for something like CM Elite Series .

something like below ...

*Elite 430 Black - Cooler Master - Leading Provider of Computer Case | Cooler | Power Supply*


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## Aj12 (Sep 6, 2011)

the GA-MA78LMT-S2 is a micro atx board
the SILVERSTONE GD05B
supports  micro-ATX / Mini-DTX / Mini-ITX  MBs
so it should fit...

but i have a hard time finding a silverstone case!!!


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## sam9s (Sep 6, 2011)

Aj12 said:


> the GA-MA78LMT-S2 is a micro atx board
> the SILVERSTONE GD05B
> supports  micro-ATX / Mini-DTX / Mini-ITX  MBs
> so it should fit...
> ...



Ofcourse an ATX cabinet board will support/fit ITX board. What I meant was ITX cabinet, any ITX cabinet like CM E100 or that of Antec will not support ATX board like the one you plan to buy GA-MA78LMT-S2 .


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## SlashDK (Sep 6, 2011)

Check out the local market for zebronics anna/tambi or iball baby and see if you like them.


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## Aj12 (Sep 6, 2011)

Cybertonic said:


> Check out the local market for zebronics anna/tambi or iball baby and see if you like them.



i will surely have a look..


and guys what are your respective opinions on buying The Silverstone GD05B from amazon???

Amazon.com: SilverStone Aluminum/Steel Micro ATX HTPC Computer Case GD05B (Black): Electronics


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## d6bmg (Sep 6, 2011)

Aj12 said:


> i will surely have a look..
> 
> 
> and guys what are your respective opinions on buying The Silverstone GD05B from amazon???
> ...



^^ It looks good. But if you are from India, then you will have tough time time receiving materials from amazon.


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## Aj12 (Sep 7, 2011)

d6bmg said:


> ^^ It looks good. But if you are from India, then you will have tough time time receiving materials from amazon.



why
any specific reason???


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## Cilus (Sep 7, 2011)

Amazon doesn't ship directly to India.


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## Aj12 (Sep 7, 2011)

Cilus said:


> Amazon doesn't ship directly to India.



i just had a chat with a customer care executive at amazon...

"
:May I have the exact item name?

Me:SilverStone Aluminum/Steel Micro ATX HTPC Computer Case GD05B (Black)

:Thanks for waiting,  I have researched and found that 'SilverStone Aluminum/Steel Micro ATX HTPC Computer Case GD05B (Black)' can be shipped to India at $10.00 shipping cost.
That is for bulky media. The total shipping cost would be $35.98 for this item.

Me:so the total cost would be ???

:The total order cost would be $129.98.

Me:does amazon ship to every state in india ?

:Yes.

Me:so after placing a order how long will it take the product to reach me(at the above cost) , and can its progress be tracked

:It will take 3-5 business days to be delivered to you. Since it is an international package, no tracking information is available.
We realize that Priority shipping can be expensive, and we're sorry for this inconvenience. However, we felt it was in the best interest of our international customers to ensure that the items they ordered reached them safely and on time.
Because packages shipped by non-trackable methods frequently didn't arrive in a reasonable time-frame, we now offer only Priority International Shipping.

Me:also would i have a warranty period for this product , and does it cover shipping costs in case of defects

:I'm sorry the information regarding guarantee is available with the manufacturer. You can contact them via phone at 1-909-465-9596, 1-909-465-9569.
Office Hour: 08:30 to 17:30 PST (GMT-08:00)

Me: so what shipping speed did you include in the price?
(option while finalizing purchase)

 : Priority Shipping Method.(3-4 days)

Me: ok so is it guaranteed that there will be no damage to the product during delivery

: Yes
You have to contact the manufacturer for the details regarding warranty. Amazon.com ships this order.
We can guarantee only the shipment and payment issues to your satisfaction.

                                                                                                      ''

This is the cheapest way to get the silverstone GD05 in india.. the ones listed in ebay cost more than 10k , while $129.98 works out to be about 5978.46 rs or 6k give or take.
but i have to find out whether i would be offered warranty...

what do you guys think should i go for this or start looking for alternatives to the silverstone case ?


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## Cilus (Sep 7, 2011)

^^ Bro, that's a great piece of info. Even I was not aware of it and international shipping of a such a big item @ $36 is also very much resonable. It will enable us to get Cabinet, CPU, high end cards or laptops in far less price even considering the Shipping charge.
Could you please let us know wht is the procedure to chat with care executive at amazon?


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## sam9s (Sep 7, 2011)

*Aj12*, did you check if the final price include, Customs ... ????? Who would take care of the customs, Amazon or the customer.


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## Aj12 (Sep 7, 2011)

Cilus said:


> ^^ Bro, that's a great piece of info. Even I was not aware of it and international shipping of a such a big item @ $36 is also very much resonable. It will enable us to get Cabinet, CPU, high end cards or laptops in far less price even considering the Shipping charge.
> Could you please let us know wht is the procedure to chat with care executive at amazon?



Help page

*www.amazon.com/gp/help/contact-us/general-questions.html?ie=UTF8&nodeId=468520&type=email&mode=&skip=true



sam9s said:


> *Aj12*, did you check if the final price include, Customs ... ????? Who would take care of the customs, Amazon or the customer.



no
the thought never occurred to me..
i will check it out
thanks anyway..


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## d6bmg (Sep 7, 2011)

@Aj12: great piece of information. Thanks for posting it here.


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## Aj12 (Sep 7, 2011)

Could some one help me out here

like sam9s said i forgot to check the customs & tax tariff
but ever since my chat gets interrupted because i keep losing connection and i am not able complete my requests

so could someone please find out the cheapest way to ship the Silverstone GD05 from amazon(inclusive of customs taxes etc) to Kerala. i will provide my billing address if needed to find exact costs taxes etc
(and no i don't have a credit card at the moment, so i cannot check the final price be placing the order  which includes all the information that i need, but i am only in the process of acquiring one, hence i cannot check price using this method)

remember that there are two ways of shipping 

Expedited International Shipping (averages 8-16 business days)
Priority International Courier (averages 2-4 days)

any way is fine by me as i am looking for the CHEAPEST solution, as long as the case does not get lost in transit or any other such situation

so could someone please confirm the total cost of shipping???

my previous quote was $129.98 which i think included the price of the case and shipping charges, but i don't know if it included customs & taxes and ever since i got cut off in the middle of a chat with the executive. 

and this is where i need your help.
so guys please help me with this one.

here's the link for the case

Amazon.com: SilverStone Aluminum/Steel Micro ATX HTPC Computer Case GD05B (Black): Electronics



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Since i got cut off abruptly while chatting with their customer care executives I  sent a e-mail Detailing my queries and they seem to have  responded within a few hours.

anyway here's their response

''
Hello,

I've verified "SilverStone Aluminum/Steel Micro ATX HTPC Computer Case GD05B (Black)" on our website and I can confirm that this item can be shipped to your billing address.

We two international shipping methods are available for you.

1. Expedited Shipping
2. Priority  Shipping

From your message I understand that you would like to use the most economical way, so I would like to suggest, you choose Expedited Shipping for this item.

I've calculated the shipping charges for this item with Expedited Shipping and I can confirm that you'll be charged $51.34 for shipping charges, excluding Duties and Taxes.

Duties and taxes may be levied once the package reaches the destination country. We aren’t able to control these charges nor predict when they will be required. For many destination countries, Amazon can determine an import fees deposit you pay when placing the order. As noted during the purchase process, these additional charges must be paid by the recipient to take delivery of the package unless they were pre-paid via the import fees deposit.

You can find out more on our Help pages (*www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=468632)

Here is some more customs information to keep in mind:

— Generally, customs forms for international packages will list the value of your order's contents by product type.
— We are required to declare the actual value of the items in your shipment.
— Cross-border shipments are subject to opening and inspection by customs authorities.
— We may provide certain order, shipment, and product information to our international carriers, and that information may be communicated by the carriers to customs authorities in order to facilitate customs clearance and comply with local laws.
— If the order is a gift, the cost of the items is still stated on the customs form. Customs authorities require us to state the value of gift items directly on the package.

The total cost of your order--including shipping, gift wrap, and any discounts you took advantage of--appears on the final page of the order form before you submit your order.

I hope this helps. We look forward to seeing you again soon.

                                                                                 ''


oh and i forgot to mention Priority Courier Shipping the SilverStone GD05B 
Costs 119.84$

But with shipping costs at 51.34$ thus bringing total cost to about 135.34$
which translates to about 6.2k  which is on the expensive side for a case buts it is still a better deal compared to its price in India which is more than 10k.

But i am still not sure when it comes to customs and taxes.
Could someone with prior knowledge of a similar purchase give an explanation of the procedures such a product has to go through  customs and whether or not my case will be held up at customs....


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## Aj12 (Sep 9, 2011)

My build so far...

Processor     - Athlon II X4 635

Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-MA78LMT-S2 

Ram            - Corsair 4 GB (2x2) CMV4GX3M2A1333C9 1333 MHz Value DDR3 

Gpu             - ZOTAC GT 440 1GB 128-bit GDDR3

Hdd             - Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EARS 1TB

Case            - SILVERSTONE GD05B 

Psu              - CORSAIR CX500 V2

Remote         - HP MCE Remote

NEW HP MCE /REMOTE CONTROL /USB IR RECEIVER /IR Emitter | eBay

Any suggestions are welcome...


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## Cilus (Sep 9, 2011)

Are all those components have been purchased or you have opted for them?
If the purchase is not made then I would recommend the following changes:-

1. Your mobo is having two DIMM slots. So don't occupy them with only 4 GB ram by going for 2X2 GB modules. Get a single 4 GB 1333 MHz Corsair DDR3 @ 1.2K.
2. For Gfx card, get HD 6570. All the AMD cards provide better post processing effects than their Nvidia Counterpart like in De-Interlacing, Mosquito Noise reduction, Image Sharpening and Upscaling. There is a very good article in Toms hardware.


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## sam9s (Sep 9, 2011)

Aj12 said:


> My build so far...
> 
> Processor     - Athlon II X4 635
> 
> ...



Good final config, specially the GPU, go for it. Also get a single 4GB stick rather than 2x2 ...


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## Aj12 (Sep 9, 2011)

Cilus said:


> Are all those components have been purchased or you have opted for them?
> If the purchase is not made then I would recommend the following changes:-
> 
> 1. Your mobo is having two DIMM slots. So don't occupy them with only 4 GB ram by going for 2X2 GB modules. Get a single 4 GB 1333 MHz Corsair DDR3 @ 1.2K.
> 2. For Gfx card, get HD 6570. All the AMD cards provide better post processing effects than their Nvidia Counterpart like in De-Interlacing, Mosquito Noise reduction, Image Sharpening and Upscaling. There is a very good article in Toms hardware.



No i have not purchased these component...
This merely the config in my mind at the moment...
And i will Get a single 4gb stick instead of 2x2 gb modules as you and sam9s have suggested.

But Could you also give me the link to the article regarding the HD 6570 as i am getting mixed opinions on whether to use the HD 6570 or the 440GT for this build.


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## Ayuclack (Sep 30, 2012)

For The I Would Say If You Want To Invenst then get The Sony PS3 BD remote ( got one for MY HTPC Setup xbmc )(will be posting a how to Guide) ... If You Want a free solution try xbmc officiall app..

And the ps3 one is bluetooth so no Line of site or range problems ....

OP you can also wait for some time as I am For My NEXT NEW HTPC for the AMD Trinity APUS!!!!

Any Further Software help for XBMC Then PM Me

I am USING the Following to control XBMC(HTPC)
Logithech K400
PS3 BD Remote
MS Xbox 360 Gamepad(both Wired and Wireless)
XBMC App For iPhone
XBMC App For ANDROID

For The Case You Can Also See A Cheaper Option Of Coolermaster elite 360 and 361


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## tomys24 (Sep 30, 2012)

Ayuclack said:


> For The I Would Say If You Want To Invenst then get The Sony PS3 BD remote ( got one for MY HTPC Setup xbmc )(will be posting a how to Guide) ... If You Want a free solution try xbmc officiall app..
> 
> And the ps3 one is bluetooth so no Line of site or range problems ....
> 
> ...



i don't think op can wait for more than *1 year*


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## Ayuclack (Sep 30, 2012)

When Did I Said He Should Wait ...I am just telling My Thought ....


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## tomys24 (Sep 30, 2012)

Ayuclack said:


> When Did I Said He Should Wait ...I am just telling My Thought ....



i meant, this is an year old thread. op might have already bought the components.


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## Ayuclack (Sep 30, 2012)

Didnt See That Just Saw The Month ... Thanks For That The Thread Should Be Locked By Mods


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## rockfella (Nov 4, 2013)

This HTPC case one of the best out there! Any info on buying it in India. Sorry, didnot read the complete thread, looking for latest info about these.


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