# Considering HTPC



## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

Hey guys, I'm going to build a HTPC like the one in this video and would like some help so I'm going to make a thread for it. 

3D HTPC Setup with XBMC 12 & AEON NOX 4 - YouTube​


> Software: XBMC 12 "Frodo"
> Skin: AEON NOX 4
> IPad: XBMC Commander
> TV: LG 65" Plasma 3DTV
> ...


The HTPC will only be running Windows 8 and XBMC. This video author left this description. I find that it may be a bit overkill since I only have a bit more than 3TB of content at the moment (although it's always smart to plan ahead), but for the mean time, I'd like to see what you guys can do for me: that being said, do what you do best and please pick through the details and tell me what components can be either dropped completed or swapped for better quality ones.

I plan to have the content downloaded from this main computer and then somehow sent to the HTPC's hard drives (either by making the HTPC's internal storage available over the network, since I have a CAT5E cable that I can use to bridge the HTPC to the router... or by any other means that you guys can suggest me). I don't want to have any media content stored on this desktop PC; the moment it's downloaded, I will move it to the HTPC. And with that being said, would it be wise to have the internal drives that will be in the HTPC setup in a RAID array for fault tolerance?

I already have 2 x 3TB HDs for the content and the TV I have is fine.


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

So with the help from users on the XBMC forum, I put together this HTPC. While building, I tried to keep dear to me what I learned here at TSF about what RAM modules and PSUs are considered reliable and high quality. This compilation is a reflection of those considerations.

What do you think?

I will be running XBMC on Windows 8.1 64-bit.

CPU: Newegg.ca - AMD A6-6400K Richland 3.9GHz Socket FM2 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor - Black Edition AMD Radeon HD AD640KOKHLBOX

Motherboard: Newegg.ca - ASUS F2A85-M PRO FM2 AMD A85X (Hudson D4) HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

RAM: http://www.ncix.com/detail/g-skill-ripjaws-x-f3-12800cl9d-4gbxl-4gb-55-57952.htm

Hard Drive: Newegg.ca - Kingston SSDNow V300 Series SV300S37A/60G 2.5" 60GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Case: Newegg.ca - SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum skin reinforced plastic front panel, 0.8mm SECC body MILO Series ML03B Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case

PSU: Newegg.ca - SeaSonic S12II 430B 430W ATX12V V2.3/EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply


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## jengelhart (Mar 22, 2013)

I think that build is pretty solid, but I might get a FM2+ mobo so you can upgrade in the future


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

I already bought everything and I had already gone way over my budget haha


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

Too late now, but take a look at AVS forums here: Home Theater Computers

and Assassins guide here: Assassin HTPC Blog | Custom Entertainment from www.assassinhtpcblog.com

Everything you want/need to know, and then some.


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

Yeah too late but thanks for the links. XBMC forum helped picked the motherboard and CPU; I picked the rest without any help. Hope everything works fine. this is the equivalent of me ridding my bike without training wheels or swimming without floaties haha because usually I have you guys triple-check everything I'm considering buying for compatibility and reliability. But so far, I've confirmed that the PSU is small enough to fit in the case with an optical drive and the RAM is on the motherboard's QVL.


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

If this HDD is going to be a secondary storage drive for the HTPC (as well as another new 3TB), is it OK to fill it up 'till the rim? I know it is often discouraged to have a drive full to its maximum without a quota if that's the OS drive but seeing as this is just for storage and retrieving media for XBMC (OS will be on SSD), would I experience any delay or performance degradation if, say, I filled it up to where there's 1GB left, for example, if it would even let me?


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

I'm having a problem turning on the motherboard for a test boot. I tried shorting the two pins but it doesn't start the board. It turns the CPU fan for a split second then gives up, almost as if there's not enough power. I tried connecting the Power Switch to an old case and using the case power switch to turn on the board but it's the same result. I tried booting with and without the RAM. Same results. 

Do I have a bad board?


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

Damn, did some troubleshooting and my PSU is DOA. Just got it today, what a bummer.


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Are there any teeth-marks in the carpet yet? :grin:


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

You can fill a storage drive as full as you like.


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

Werebo i dont understand the reference

The MB light was on when the PSU was connected but the CPU fan didnt spin up. So I tried ahorting the mb pins and that didnt work which led me to assume it could be the psu. So then i tested the psu by shorting the green and black pins and the psu didnt turn on at all. I already sent it back to newegg. Theyre covered return shipping so that was nice.


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

i dont have another psu and didnt wanna dissemble the one in my current desktop. Besides, i tested the psu by trying to short the pins and it didnt turn on so im fairly certain it was the psu that was bad. And i know i shorted the pins correctly bc ive shorted other psu's in the past that have turned on.

As a side note, i started assembling the htpc without the psu... Jesus!! What a job and a half to fit everything in there! This is way harder than building a desktop pc case. I managed to get 2 x 3.5" drives and one ssd (2.5") in there. I just hope the psu and case fans wont be a problem when they arrive. And i should have gone with an mini ATX mb because this is crazy tight, but i think ill manage. And also, now that i think abt it, all these sata ports are pointless since the case cant fit 7 drives (unless it was suggested for when i upgrade case.. )


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Solidify said:


> Werebo i dont understand the reference
> 
> ...........


Sorry Solidify, it's just my 'weird' humour :lol: I found that when things break-down/don't work, it's nearly always just after the shops have closed, weekend/holidays etc. I absolutely hate waiting for things to be returned and replacements posted back again - I'm seriously considering asking my Dr about getting a 'patience-transplant' :grin:


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## Basementgeek (Feb 7, 2005)

I thought you really wanted a snow blower? 

I guess we all have our priorities.

BG


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

Werebo, I'm like that too. But Newegg was extremely professional. The rep suggested me to buy another PSU that same day to minimize the downtime since I wouldn't get a replacement until they received mine. He sent me a prepaid return label and said they'd even cover the full shipping and tax charges on the new PSU I bought since it would cost more to send alone (as opposed to when I got reduced S&H for ordering in a bundle with the other parts).

BG, you're absolutely right. But I just couldnt resist the temptation. I'm still planning to buy the blower, even if it sets me back; it's more important than this HTPC. My back is already getting worse because I can't bend down properly because I can't put weight on my toes because off my pending operation.

I feel like a walking tin-can.

I keep putting of the operation because I'm terrified of the surgery. I keep telling myself that I can wait it out and my toes will grow back normally but that's proving to be untrue. At some level, I know that I will need to get it done, sk that's what's the most unsettling. It's gonna be a day that I just cant suppress the pain anymore and I'll rather do the surgery than live with the pain.


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

I was almost terrified of my last op (mostly from experiencing waking up during a vasectomy in the late 80's) but, although it's a slow recovery (still slight bleeding after nearly 2 months, when going to the loo) it is healing and I'm glad it's over and done with.

Do get your foot sorted mate before it's too late, the longer it's left, the more complications can set in and the slower the healing :wink:


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

I'm not afraid of waking up during the operation since I won't be put to sleep. I'm afraid of the pain. I read online of people that did the same operation and despite being anesthetized locally, they said there were instances where the nail was either clipped or yanked off that they felt sharp pains. Just talking about it is making me shrug because I know I'll have done the operation within the coming months, by the looks of how I can't go on like this.

The ideal would be to put to sleep but general anesthesia, I've been told, is completely unnecessary and I don't want to look like a fool.


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## Basementgeek (Feb 7, 2005)

Put under for a vasectomy, really? I was back at work that afternoon.

Get the surgery done before it gets worse. I am living prof what happens when you wait to long.

BG


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

BG, I'm not undermining the nature your health problems by not taking care of myself, I'm just very afraid of the surgery.


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

There's little to be afraid of really, OK the media splatters the news around when something does go wrong, but you never hear of the hundreds/thousands of ops that are done successfully every day :wink:

@ BG - When I went for the pre-op consultation, the doc asked if I had any allergies. After listing the few I do have, I jokingly mentioned I'm allergic to pain, it can make me a bit nasty - The result was they knocked me out for the surgery..... :lol:


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## Basementgeek (Feb 7, 2005)

As with any surgery there are some risk involved. I am sure everyone is afraid.

BG


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

I'm not worried about the risk or of it not going well, I'm scared that the procedure will hurt, that's why I thought about general anesthesia.


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

After a while, the pain will either become tolerable or pass entirely - Some painkillers work fine, other are a waste of time & money. Sadly, it's a matter of trial-&-error as to which works with your specific physiology, for me paracetamols do nothing, the ibuprofen ranges work a bit better though they work in different ways.


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

Thanks for the advice. I'll consider that.

To get back on topic...
My HTPC's motherboard has a TPU and EPU switch on it. I know what they do, from reading up on it. But should I be concerned with using these features?

Motherboard: Newegg.ca - ASUS F2A85-M PRO FM2 AMD A85X (Hudson D4) HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

Obviously there must be some setbacks or risks to enabling these features, otherwise ASUS would have simply built them into the board.


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

WereBo, the teeth have officially entered the carpet! Getting impatient now haha


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Hehehehe... Whatever you do though, DON'T CHEW THE FLUFF!!! :grin:


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

I'm tracking the package through my phone all day haha


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

These are the temps on my HTPC after being on for only an hour. If it were just the CPU, I'd get an aftermarket HSF, but I see that the drives and motherboard are heating up as well. It's like a snake pit down there with all the wires. 

I'm not sure if I should just remove the two 3.5" drives and make a separate server/NAS build to alleviate some of the room in the HTPC... but that would cost me another build 

What do you guys think?

Does it make sense that the CPU is getting that hot? I just put the HTPc together an hour ago. I didn't use my own arctic thermal paste because the stock HSF already had some pre-applied. Could that be it? I really doubt it tbh...

Edit: CPU went as high as 83C in the red.


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

How can I share a single HDD with my HTPC? All of the content for my XBMC HTPC is stored on the HDD that is installed in my desktop PC. I would like to continue storing the content on this drive but give my HTPC access to the drive content through my LAN.

I've Homegroup but I can't find a way to share a single HDD.


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

Nevermind, figured it out:

How to share your hard drive over your network in Windows 7,8 and 8.1 - YouTube


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

Whenever I turn the fan on in my washroom, the Ethernet feed coming from the router going to the HTPC drops (basically streaming the video files).

It's not very inconvenient but still worth addressing:

Ethernet Feed Drops - YouTube


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)




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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

I just found out that the interference is a result of using un-shielded CAT5E cable. Oh well, I'll know for next time. You learn every day.


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

See, you're getting good at this diagnostics and fault-finding lark :lol: - Sadly, it looks like an expensive error, from the length of that cable-run :sigh:


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

Expensive? Really? That's about 30 feet of cable. And I'm looking online and some sources sell 1000ft of shielded CAT5E cable for 50$. If my proportions are correct, a 30ft cable shouldn't be very expensive.


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

CAT6 RJ45 S FTP Shielded Ethernet Network LAN Cable 1M 3M 5M 10M 15M 20M NEW | eBay


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Aahh it's only approx 30' inc. the extra length at both ends, I guessed about 30' just for that run in the pic. :lol: - I see the cable-prices has dropped though, a 30' (10m) length is approx. £17 here (C$31.50) inc. fitted plugs at each end. When I last looked, some years ago, the prices were about 50% more.


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

No worries. I won't make the change unless it really gets annoying or if I find out that the interference can cause damage to my components (can it?). Otherwise, this will do for now since it's already stapled to the wall.


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

The 2 signals running parallel to each other shouldn't do any physical damage, except possibly to your nerves if the interference gets too bad :grin: - Both cables are low voltage and aren't twisted around each other, which it would need for for induction-currents to work.


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

lol my nerves are fine for now. I'm actually glad I discovered it now, with such a short cable run, so I will know for the future to use shielded cable when and if I want to build a home or make renovations to include a wired network.


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## Vegassparky (Nov 24, 2013)

Basementgeek said:


> I thought you really wanted a snow blower?
> 
> I guess we all have our priorities.
> 
> BG


Who wants a snow blower in the spring? LOL

How close is that CAT 5 to the EF power, Solidify?


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

Lmao BG was right, I do want one but I will still get it, don't you worry haha

And the CAT 5 is sitting on the same wall as the EF power. If you check the video, it will show it better. Switch-box for the fan and bathroom light,then the cable is right behind that wall going around the door frame.


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

If you have access to the switch-box and can get it off the wall easily, it might be worth sticking a 1' to 2'-square sheet of tin/aluminium-foil on the wall then remounting the switch-box on top, making sure the foil is earthed (grounded). That might well shield the signal from the mains-interference :wink:


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

Hm, I'm not curious to get that far into the work. The past year's electrical fiasco has left me scared of fiddling with electrical current so I'd much rather live with the interference or settle on a shielded wire. 

I appreciate the innovative suggestion though.


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

No problem :wink: - No guarantee it would work either, just an idea that flew too close :grin:


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## Solidify (May 12, 2011)

Damn you WereBo, trying to make me fiddle without certainty! :nono:


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

But.... But.... But.... It should work, in theory...... :grin:


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