Buyer`s Guide to Building a Home Theater PC

Transcription

Buyer’s Guide to Building a Home Theater PC
April 2011
by Renethx @AVS Forum
Contents
Introduction
Organization of the Contents . . . . . . .
Classification of HTPC Systems . . . . . .
1. Form Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2. Performance and Cost . . . . . . .
3. CPU-Chipset-GPU Manufacturers
Component Selection . . . . . . . . . . . .
CPU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chipset and Motherboard . . . . . .
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Graphics and Sound Devices . . . .
My Pick of HTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Peripheral Components and OS
Input Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
MCE Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Universal Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Keyboard and Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
So what do you need? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Optical Disc Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
BD Writer/Reader / DVD Writer/Reader . . . . . . . . .
BD Writer/Reader / DVD Writer - Slim Type, Tray Load
TV Tuner Card for ATSC/Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Digital+Analog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Digital Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Digital Cable Tuner Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
HD Video Capturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sound Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Analog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S/PDIF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
OS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Mini-ITX System
General Consideration . . .
Price Range . . . . . .
Feature Comparison .
Mini-ITX Cases . . . .
Budget System . . . . . . . .
AMD (APU) . . . . . .
Standard System . . . . . . .
Intel (iGPU) . . . . . .
AMD (iGPU) . . . . . .
Mid-Range Gaming System
Intel . . . . . . . . . . .
AMD . . . . . . . . . .
High-End Gaming System .
Intel . . . . . . . . . . .
AMD . . . . . . . . . .
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MicroATX System
General Consideration . .
Price Range . . . . .
Feature Comparison
MicroATX Cases . . .
Budget System . . . . . . .
Intel (iGPU) . . . . .
AMD (iGPU) . . . . .
Low-End System . . . . .
Intel . . . . . . . . . .
AMD (iGPU) . . . . .
AMD . . . . . . . . .
Mid-Range System . . . .
Intel . . . . . . . . . .
AMD . . . . . . . . .
High-End System . . . . .
Intel . . . . . . . . . .
AMD . . . . . . . . .
Premium System . . . . .
Intel (LGA 1155) . . .
Intel (LGA 1366) . . .
AMD . . . . . . . . .
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ATX System
General Consideration . .
Price Range . . . . .
Feature Comparison
ATX Cases . . . . . .
Low-End System . . . . .
AMD (iGPU) . . . . .
AMD . . . . . . . . .
Mid-Range System . . . .
Intel . . . . . . . . . .
AMD . . . . . . . . .
High-End System . . . . .
Intel . . . . . . . . . .
AMD . . . . . . . . .
Premium System . . . . .
Intel (LGA 1155) . . .
Intel (LGA 1366) . . .
AMD . . . . . . . . .
Ultimate System . . . . . .
Intel (LGA 1155) . . .
Intel (LGA 1366) . . .
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44
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DAS (Direct Attached Storage)
4/5/8-Bay SATA to eSATA Port Multiplier Enclosure with a SATA 6Gb/s RAID Host Adapter . . . .
59
59
2
4/5-Bay SATA to eSATA/USB 3.0 Hardware RAID Enclosure with or without a
Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8-Bay SATA/SAS to Mini-SAS Enclosure with a SAS 6Gb/s RAID Host Adapter
Other DAS Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Workstation
General Consideration . . . .
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Intel (LGA 1155) . . . . .
Intel (LGA 1155) - Xeon .
Intel (LGA 1366) . . . . .
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Media Storage Server
General Consideration . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Purpose of a Media Storage Server . . . .
Component Selection . . . . . . . . . . . .
Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Feature Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . .
Server I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Basic design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12-Bay Tower Server . . . . . . . . . . . .
15-Bay Tower Server 1 . . . . . . . . . . .
15-Bay Tower Server with Hot Swap . . .
15-Bay Tower Server 2 . . . . . . . . . . .
15-Bay Rackmount Server . . . . . . . . .
Server II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Basic design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20-Bay Tower Server . . . . . . . . . . . .
20-Bay Tower Server with Hot Swap . . .
20-Bay Rackmount Server with Hot Swap
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SATA 6Gb/s
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Host
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Introduction
Organization of the Contents
Here is a brief summary of the contents.
• Introduction: This section includes a brief summary of HTPC systems and hardware components.
• Peripheral Components and OS: I collected common hardware components used in each system here.
OS (Windows only) is also mentioned.
• Recommended HTPC systems: This longest part is classified into several categories as stated below for
convenience.
• DAS (Direct Attached Storage): If you need more storage space, a quick solution is here.
• Workstation: A system for (serious) video editing tasks.
• Server: HD video files occupy lots of storage spaces. So you may need a dedicated media storage server.
Classification of HTPC Systems
HTPC systems here are classified into several categories for convenience, according to the following three
criteria.
1. Form Factor
A form factor specifies the physical dimensions of a system. Basically it is the motherboard form factor that
defines the overall size of a system. There are dozens of standardized form factors. Among them we will be
concerned with the following three most popular form factors.
• Mini-ITX: 170mm x 170mm (6.700 x 6.700 )
• MicroATX: 244mm x 244mm (9.600 x 9.600 )
• ATX: 305mm x 244mm (1200 x 9.600 )
Because of the size, Mini-ITX provides the least expandability (0 or 1 expansion slot), usually 2 memory slots
and CPU support is often limited by the cooling performance of a small Mini-ITX system. MicroATX supports
up to 4 expansion slots, while ATX supports up to 7 expansion slots. Usually a Mini-ITX/microATX motherboard supports an integrated graphics so that you may not need a discrete graphic card. An ATX case can
usually hold more storage drives than an microATX case, and a microATX case can hold more storage drives
than an Mini-ITX case.
Here is a physical comparison of actual Mini-ITX motherboard/case, microATX motherboard/case and ATX
motherboard/case, along with an AV receiver.
4
Figure 1: Mini-ITX, microATX and ATX motherboard/case from left to right, AV receiver (ONKYO TX-NA708)
in the bottom.
Figure 2: Motherboard, case and case size in the above figure.
Form Factor
Mini-ITX
MicroATX
ATX
Motherboard
Case
Antec ISK 310-150
GIGABYTE GA-H67MA-UD2H SilverStone GD06
GIGABYTE GA-H67A-UD3H
SilverStone LC20
GIGABYTE GA-H67N-USB3
Case Size: W x H x D mm
222 x 96 x 328
440 x 150 x 340
430 x 170 x 430
You may wonder why the width of the microATX case is almost the same as that of the ATX case. The reason
is simple: the PSU is usually laid flat in a microATX case, while it is laid vertically in an ATX case. As a
consequence, a microATX case is usually shorter in height than an ATX case.
2. Performance and Cost
Typical tasks done by a HTPC are
• Playing back (or watching) media contents including:
– Non-streamed media such as DVD movies, Blu-ray Disc movies, CDs.
– Streamed media such as TV and radio (terrestrial, satellite, cable, Internet).
– Media files stored locally.
• Creating media files from various sources, non-streaming or streaming (usually called “ripping” or
“recording”), and storing them for later use.
• Editing, including re-encoding, media files.
Hardware components that are important for each task is:
• Playing back video: This includes decoding and various post-processing (deinterlacing, rescaling etc.).
GPU is the most important for this task (unless you resort to a software playback solution such as ffdshow). A couple of GPUs integrated in motherboard are good. If you want to get the best picture quality,
a good mid-range discrete GPU is recommended, however. A high-end card is good for better gaming
experience of course, but it rarely improves video playback performance.
• Ripping: The speed of ripping DVD/BD discs is often limited by the reading speed of the optical disc
drive used.
5
• Recording: HDTV contents are already encoded in either MPEG-2 or H.264. So this is very easy for any
system.
• Editing and re-encoding video (except for simple cut and join): This is one of the most CPU-intensive
tasks. A good quad-core (or more) processor is recommended. A trend is that GPU (stream processors)
offloads CPU, and several video editing applications already support it (keywords: GPGPU, OpenCL,
Microsoft DirectCompute, NVIDIA CUDA, AMD APP).
In general better performance means more cost.
Performance and cost is the secondary category of the list.
3. CPU-Chipset-GPU Manufacturers
CPU, chipset (in motherboard; controlling various I/O devices and connecting them to CPU/memory) and
GPU are the three main hardware components of a system. Intel and AMD are the main suppliers of CPU for
PC. Intel and AMD are producing chipsets for its own CPUs. Intel (integrated GPU only), AMD and NVIDIA
are the top three GPU manufacturers.
CPU/chipset/GPU manufacturers is the third category of the list.
Component Selection
A HTPC is a PC. Hence it consists of the following core components:
• Processor, a.k.a. CPU (Central Processing Unit): The brain of the PC. Actual computation takes place
here.
• CPU Cooler: A cooling device for CPU.
• Motherboard: A large PCB (Print Circuit Board) physically and electrically connecting CPU, memory
and various I/O (input/output) devices via chipset (an IC containing I/O controllers, soldered on the
motherboard).
• Memory, a.k.a. RAM (Random Access Memory): Short-term storage used by CPU.
• Graphics Card: A device rendering video output to a display. In HTPC, this also does video decoding
and processing.
• HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive): Long-term storage for the operating system, applications and data.
• PSU (Power Supply Unit): A unit converting AC to DC and supplying DC currents for the other internal
components.
• Case: An enclosure that houses the above components (and more).
from top left to bottom right in the figure.
6
Figure 3: Core Components of PC
In addition, you may need several peripheral components such as keyboard/mouse and an optical disc drive.
Peripherals are explained in the next section.
CPU
• Below $60: Intel Celeron E3400 (dual-core) is a nice, cheap processor.
• $60 to $150: Intel Core i3 2100 (LGA 1155; dual-core, quad-thread) is an excellent processor with integrated graphics and low power consumption. AMD Athlon II X3 (triple-core) / Phenom II X4 (quadcore) is more powerful in some applications (e.g. video encoding).
• Over $150: Intel Core i5 and i7 (LGA 1155; quad-core/quad-thread in i5 and octo-thread in i7) are excellent general purpose processors. Phenom II X6 (hexa-core) is good for multi-threaded applications.
Chipset and Motherboard
Intel produces chipsets for its own chips and AMD for its own chips. ASUS, ASRock, GIGABYTE and MSI are
the top four motherboard manufacturers and their motherboards are in general very reliable. The performance
of a motherboard is mostly determined by the chipset and there is little difference between the manufacturers.
So the main selection factor is the features of the motherboard, e.g. the number of PCI Express slots, USB 3.0,
IEEE 1394.
Memory
Capacity, frequency, timings, voltage A pair of 2GB memory modules, 4GB in total, is standard right now.
Currently both Intel and AMD desktop processors support up to DDR3-1333. Considering slight overclocking
capability, DDR3-1600 is a good choice. CAS latency (CL) and timings are important for memory-intensive
applications, in particular some games. However these have little effect on the majority of HTPC-related
tasks. So just ignore them. Even in games, memory affects the performance the least among CPU, memory and
GPU. You’d better spend money on better CPU/GPU instead of spending money on expensive “performance”
memory modules. The standard operating voltage of DDR3 SDRAM is 1.5V. Some memory modules require
higher voltage than that for better stability. Adjust the memory voltage in BIOS according to the specifications
of your memory modules.
7
Brand Basically the brand does not matter in performance as the standards are established by JEDEC rigorously. It’s not like Intel vs. AMD in CPU. Reliability and overclockability may vary from brand to brand,
however.
Graphics and Sound Devices
With the advent of Blu-ray Disc (and HD DVD), HDMI became the standard specifications for transmitting
video and audio signals from a player/PC to an AV receiver/display. Right now there are basically three
HDMI solutions in PC:
• Intel Core i3/i5 Clarkdale processors and its successor, Core i3/i5/i7 Sandy Bridge processors. CPU and
GPU are on the same die.
• AMD A-Series (Llano; available in July 2011) and E-Series (Zacate) Fusion APU. CPU and GPU are on the
same die.
• AMD Radeon HD 5xxx and its successor HD 6xxx Series discrete graphics cards.
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 430/440, GTS 450, GTX 4xx, GTX 5xx discrete graphics cards.
Intel Core processors, AMD Fusion APUs and AMD discrete graphics cards support HD video playback
and HD audio bitstreaming. Intel Core processors lack the proper 23.976Hz playback, however. Higher-end
NVIDIA’s solutions (GTX 465 and higher, GTX 570 and higher) do not support HD audio bitstreaming.
Here is a summary of audio formats supported by various PC video/audio solutions.
• Dolby Digital and DTS bitstreams, and stereo LPCM
– Every motherboard’s onboard audio codec (via optical or coaxial S/PDIF connector)
– Every AMD 760G/780G/785G/790GX/880G/890GX chipset motherboard (via onboard HDMI)
– All the solutions mentioned below
• Multichannel LPCM over HDMI
– Every ION/GeForce 8200/8300/GeForce 9300/9400 chipset motherboard (via onboard HDMI)
– Every GeForce 210/GT 220/GT 240/GT 430/440/GTS 450/GTX 4xx/GTX 5xx graphics card
– Every Radeon HD 4xxx/5xxx/6xxx graphics card
– Every Intel G41/G43/G45 chipset motherboard (via onboard HDMI)
– Every Intel Core i3/i5 (Clarkdale) processor via an H55/H57 chipset motherboard with onboard
HDMI
– Every Intel Core i3/i5/i7 (Sandy Bridge) processor via an H61/H67/Z68 chipset motherboard with
onboard HDMI
– Every AMD A-Series and E-Series Fusion APUs via onboard HDMI
• Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio/Master Audio bitstreams
– Every Radeon HD 5xxx/6xxx graphics card
– Every GeForce GT 430/440/GTS 450/GTX 550 Ti/GTX 460/GTX 560 Ti graphics card
– Every Intel Core i3/i5-6xx (Clarkdale) processor via an H55/H57 chipset motherboard with onboard
HDMI
– Every Intel Core i3/i5/i7 (Sandy Bridge) processor via an H61/H67/Z68 chipset motherboard with
onboard HDMI
– Every AMD A-Series and E-Series Fusion APUs via onboard HDMI
8
Figure 4: HDMI Audio Solutions
Solution
Onboard audio codec
AMD 760G/780G/785G/790GX/880G/890GX (iGPU)
AMD E-350 ((iGPU))
Radeon HD 4xxx (dGPU)
Radeon HD 5xxx/6xxx (dGPU)
GeForce 8200/8300 mGPU (iGPU)
ION/GeForce 9300/9400 mGPU (iGPU)
(
)
GeForce GT 210/220/240 / GTX 465/470/480/570/580 (dGPU)
GeForce GT 430/440/GTS 450/GTX 550 Ti/GTX 460/GTX 560 Ti (dGPU)
Intel G41/G43/G45 (iGPU)
Intel Core i3/i5-6xx (LGA1156) (iGPU) + H55/H57
Intel Core i3/i5/i7 (LAG1155) (iGPU) + H61/H67/Z68
Interface
S/PDIF
HDMI
HDMI
HDMI
HDMI
HDMI
HDMI
HDMI
HDMI
HDMI
HDMI
HDMI
DD/DTS/2Ch PCM
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
MCh PCM
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes (no 5.1)
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
TrueHD/DTS-HD
No
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
My Pick of HTPC
In case you have no idea what to choose (and no time to dig), here are my pick. The system provides the
best video/audio playback performance, as well as reasonably good performance/low power consumption in
various CPU intensive tasks.
MicroATX Mid-Range Intel System
• CPU: Core i3-2100 3.1GHz 65W LGA 1155, $125.
• CPU Cooler: Stock cooler, $0.
• Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-H67MA-UD2H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel H67 chipset microATX, $123. An
alternative is ASUS P8H67-M EVO LGA 1155 Intel H67 chipset microATX, $135, which supports legacy
peripherals such as PCI, IDE and IEEE 1394. Another choice is ASUS P8P67-M PRO LGA 1155 Intel P67
chipset microATX, $150, with which onboard graphics will be disabled.
• Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL8D-4GBXM Ripjaws-X DDR3-1600 CL8 2 x 2GB Kit, $55.
• Graphics Card (AMD): Sapphire 100326L HD 6670 GDDR5 1GB, $97.
• Graphics Card (NVIDIA): SPARKLE SXT440512D5NM GeForce GT 440 GDDR5 512MB, $70.
• HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB SATA 3.0Gb/s, $60.
• PSU: Seasonic S12II-430 Bronze, $60.
• Case: Antec Fusion Remote Black microATX, with a LCD/IR receiver/remote, $140.
• Total Cost: $660 for AMD, $633 for NVIDIA
9
Figure 5: MicroATX Mid-Range Intel System
10
Peripheral Components and OS
A HTPC needs peripheral components (input devices, optical drive, TV tuner, sound card etc.) to be functional
besides the core components (CPU, motherboard, memory, graphics card, HDD, PSU and case). The following
is a quick list of recommended peripheral components and OS. In the subsequent sections, I will give only core
components.
Input Device
MCE Remote
A MCE remote is a (usually IR) remote control and a receiver to be attached to the HTPC (internally or externally via USB) that controls Windows Media Center and other front ends/media players at a distant place.
Some HTPC cases and TV tuner cards come with a MCE remote. If not, you can buy one.
• GP-IR01BK Windows Vista MCE Remote Control External IR Receiver and Remote, $24, or GP-IR02BK
Windows Vista MCE 2 Channel Remote Control External IR Receiver and Remote, $24.
• Antec Multimedia Station Basic Internal IR Receiver and Remote, $24.
• Antec Multimedia Station Elite Internal IR Receiver with a VFD and Remote, $54.
Figure 6: MCE Remote
Universal Remote
If you want to control all entertainment equipments at your home theater room, a universal remote is a must.
Your HTPC needs to have an IR receiver (so you first need to have a MCE remote).
•
•
•
•
Logitech Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote, $165.
Logitech Harmony 700 (A stripped version of Harmony One: up to six devices, non-touch screen), $115.
Logitech Harmony 900 (Harmony One + RF capabilities), $278.
Logitech Harmony 1100 (3.500 touch screen; RF capabilities), $300.
11
Figure 7: Universal Remote
Keyboard and Mouse
•
•
•
•
•
Adesso WKB-3200UB 2.4 GHz RF Wireless Multimedia/MCE Keyboard with Optical Trackball, $50.
Adesso WKB-3000UB 2.4 GHz RF Wireless Mini Keyboard with Optical Trackball, $61.
IOGEAR GKM561R 2.4 GHz Multimedia Keyboard with Laser Trackball and Scroll Wheel, $35.
Logitech diNovo Edge, $130.
Logitech diNovo Mini, $90.
Figure 8: Keyboard and Mouse
There are plenty of other options. Please check, for example,
• AVS Forum: Best Keyboard and Mouse/Trackball - Whatcha got???
• AVS Forum: Can anyone recommend a wireless keyboard with built in mouse for htpc? (a bit outdated, started in 2004)
So what do you need?
So what do you need (besides a keyboard and a mouse when installing OS/software)? There is no simple
answer.
• If you just want to control a front end remotely, a cheap MCE remote may be enough. But you still need
to a keyboard/mouse, for example, to surf the web.
• Logitech Harmony is good to control lots of CE devices as well as HTPC. But you still need to a keyboard/mouse, for example, to surf the web.
• If you want to use your HTPC more like a normal PC (e.g. web browsing) without using a keyboard/mouse,
Gyration is a good choice. This can also control three other CE devices.
12
Optical Disc Drive
BD Writer/Reader / DVD Writer/Reader
•
•
•
•
•
Pioneer BDR-205 BD Writer / DVD Writer (BD-ROM DL: 8x), $130.
LG WH10LS30 BD Writer / DVD Writer with LightScribe (BD-ROM DL: 8x), $80.
Samsung SH-B123L BD Reader / DVD Writer with LightScribe (BD-ROM DL: 8x), $70.
LG UH10LS20 Blue BD Reader / DVD Writer with LightScribe (BD-ROM DL: 8x), $70.
LITE-ON iHOS104 BD Reader / DVD Reader (BD-ROM DL: 4x), $50.
BD Writer/Reader / DVD Writer - Slim Type, Tray Load
• Panasonic UJ-240 Slim Type BD Writer / DVD Writer (BD-ROM: 6x), $110.
• LG CT21N Slim Type BD Reader / DVD Writer (BD-ROM DL: 6x), $132.
• Sony Optiarc BD-5730S Slim Type BD Writer / DVD Writer (BD-ROM DL: 4x), $159.
TV Tuner Card for ATSC/Cable
Digital+Analog
• AVerMedia AVerTV Combo G2 PCIe x1 Card, low-profile (White Box or Media Center Upgrade Kit),
$75. A dual tuner, one for analog cable, one for ATSC/clear digital cable).
• Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 PCIe x1 Card, low-profile (White Box or MC Kit), $103. A dual hybrid
tuner. Each tuner individually acts as analog cable or ATSC/clear digital cable.
Figure 9: TV Tuner - Digital+Analog
Digital Only
• AVerMedia AVerTVHD Duet PCIe x1 Card, low-profile (White Box), $58. A dual digital tuner.
• Silicondust HDHomeRun Networked Device, $131. A dual digital tuner.
13
Figure 10: TV Tuner - Digital Only
Digital Cable Tuner Card
• Ceton InfiniTV 4 Digital Cable Quad-Tuner PCIe x1 Card, low-profile, $399. A quad digital tuner.
• Silicondust HDHomeRun PRIME Networked Device, $249. A triple digital tuner. Available soon.
• Hauppauge WinTV USB Device
Figure 11: Digital Cable Tuner Card
These cards enable any PC running Windows 7 Media Center on your local network to watch or record up
to four (Ceton; the max number of CableCARD tuners Windows 7 allows)/three (HDHomeRun) live cable
channels at once, including premium channels. You just need:
• Digital cable subscription from a US cable provider
• Multi-Stream CableCARD (M-Card) available from your cable provider
A limitation on recordings is:
• A content marked as Copy Freely has no DRM in your recording. It is basically the same as clear QAM
contents once decrypted by the M-Card.
• A content marked as Copy Once can be watched only on the PC where it was recorded and Media Center
Extenders like the Xbox 360.
It is up to each cable provider which content is marked as Copy Freely/Copy Once.
References
• The Green Button - Ceton MOCUR Q&A
• Silicondust Forum - HDHomeRun Prime
HD Video Capturing
• Hauppauge HD PVR model 01212 USB Device, $176.
• Hauppauge Colossus PCIe x1 Device, $159. Available by the end of January.
14
Figure 12: HD Video Capturing
HD PVR captures HD video contents, encrypted or unencrypted, via component video (i.e. analog) from a
cable or satellite TV set top box in H.264 video with DD or AAC audio. Recordings are naturally DRM-free.
You can watch/record one channel at a time with a HD PVR unit and a STB. You will need multiple HD PVR
units and multiple STBs to watch/record multiple channels simultaneously.
Colossus is similar to HD PVR, but it is a PCIe x1 card and supports unencrypted digital video up to 1080i via
HDMI.
Sound Card
If you are going to use an AV receiver, you are unlikely to use a discrete sound card because necessary hardware for HD digital audio is provided by either the motherboard’s onboard audio codec or the HDMI on
a graphics card (read Introduction: Component Selection: Graphics and Sound Devices). Here are some
exceptions.
Analog
Some people prefer an analog sound card + amplifier to an AV receiver. Possible reasons are:
• You spent more than $1,000 on an AV receiver several years ago, but it lacks HDMI support. Instead
of spending another $1,000 on a new AV receiver, you many want to go with an analog sound card +
amplifier of the existing AV receiver.
• You can replace operational amplifiers with better ones easily in many sound cards, hence you may be
able to get better sounds than a very expensive AV receiver at a fraction of costs.
• You are a music lover and don’t need surround sounds. In this case a stereo sound card with stereo
amplifier is a good choice.
If you fall into one of these categories, here is a list of a couple of good sound cards:
7.1 Sound Card
• Auzentech Auzen X-Fi Bravura 7.1 PCI Express x1 Sound Card, $130.
• HT|OMEGA eCLARO 7.1 PCI Express x1 Sound Card, $185.
• HT|OMEGA CLARO plus+ 7.1 PCI Sound Card, $175.
Note that if you use a commercial BD software player, HD audio will be downsampled with these cards.
Ripping BD movies into another format such as MKV and playing them with appropriate audio decoders is a
way around. For example, please read this post.
Stereo Sound Card
15
• ASUS Xonar Essence STX Stereo PCI Express x1 Sound Card, $175.
• Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD Stereo PCI Express x1 Sound Card, $150.
Figure 13: Analog Sound Card
S/PDIF
If you want to use S/PDIF out and your motherboard has only an internal S/PDIF connector, then you can
build your own coaxial S/PDIF bracket for external connection. Buy
• RCA COMPOSITE VIDEO - PANEL F TO 1X3 F, $6.30
from FRONTX and attach it to an empty PCI bracket by drilling a hole.
Figure 14: S/PDIF Bracket
If you want to use S/PDIF out, but your motherboard does not have an internal/external SPDIF connector,
here are cheap S/PDIF solutions:
• Turtle Beach Audio Advantage Micro II USB Sound Card (S/PDIF and stereo analog), $25.
• PPA International PPA 1431V PCI Sound Card 6 Channel, $10.
• DIAMOND XtremeSound XS71 7.1/24 bit PCI Card, $27.
16
Figure 15: S/PDIF Sound Card
Unlike analog sound cards, any cheap S/PDIF sound card is enough for this purpose. Its only role is transmit
the Dolby Digital/DTS compressed audio format over S/PDIF.
OS
Microsoft Windows is the dominating OS in HTPC for good reasons. The latest Windows is recommended.
• Windows 7, Home Premium or higher, 32-bit or 64-bit, Retail or OEM or TechNet/MSDN Subscription.
Figure 16: TechNet Subscription
Remarks
• Windows 7 Editions: Home Premium is enough for normal HTPC tasks. 7 Home Premium supports
full-system backup and restore unlike Vista Home Premium. You can find comparison of Windows 7
editions in this Microsoft web page and Wikipedia.
• 32 bit vs. 64 bit: There are lots of discussions on this topic. Personally I recommend Windows 32-bit at
this time unless you are going to use more than 4GB memory and or you are going to boot from a 3TB
HDD (with a proper motherboard). All video playback applications are still 32-bit so that using 64-bit
OS for them is not only pointless but sometimes may give inconvenience.
• TechNet Subscription: You may want to subscribe TechNet Standard, $199 per year, or TechNet Professional, $349 per year, if you want to install Windows (including Windows Home Server), Microsoft
Office, and/or other Microsoft applications on several (non-productive) machines. The license is valid
indefinitely. You can activate a product with the supplied product key even after your subscription expires, up to 10 times per product key. You can obtain 2 retail keys for each product in Standard and 5
17
retail keys for each product in Professional, so that 2 x 10 = 20 times or 5 x 10 = 50 times activation is allowed in several machines for each product. Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate are
counted as different products, but the 32-bit version and the 64-bit version of each edition are counted
as the same product. You can’t download products or obtain product keys after the expiration of your
subscription, of course.
18
Mini-ITX System
General Consideration
Mini-ITX form factor has become popular because of its small footprint. However there are a couple of limitations. It supports at most one expansion slot. So if you decide to add a discrete graphics card, for example,
you can’t use an internal TV tuner card. A Mini-ITX case is usually very small, hence there is often a space
limitation for the CPU cooler, storage drives and PSU. In many cases you can use only a slim-type optical drive
and/or a 2.500 HDD, that are often expensive. If you agree with these limitations, a Mini-ITX system can be
not only a good HTPC but also a gaming machine or a video encoding machine by placing a powerful discrete
graphics card and/or CPU.
Price Range
I will give a standard system, a mid-range gaming system and a high-end gaming system, for each of Intel
chip-Intel chipset and AMD chip-AMD chipset.
Feature Comparison
Legend
• In general
– : Supported.
– 4: Partially supported.
– ×: Not supported.
• Video (GPU)
– MPEG-2: Full hardware acceleration of MPEG-2 decoding.
– VC-1: Full hardware acceleration of VC-1 decoding.
– H.264: Full hardware acceleration of H.264/MPEG-4 AVC decoding.
– 23.976Hz: Support for the 23.976Hz refresh rate.
– VA Deinterlacing: Vector Adaptive Deinterlacing or an equivalent for HD and SD interlaced video
contents.
• 3D Video (CPU/GPU)
– MVC (GPU): Full hardware acceleration of MPEG-4 MVC (the Blu-ray 3D video codec) decoding.
– MVC (CPU): MPEG-4 MVC decoding by CPU when MVC decoding by GPU is not supported. 4
means that BR 3D is playable, but the CPU usage is very high (66% to 99%).
– 2D→3D (CPU): Conversion of 2D video to 3D by CPU. Converting 2D SD video is easy, but converting 2D HD video is CPU intensive.
– Frame Packing: One of the primary 3D video format structures by HDMI 1.4a, used for full-quality
3D movie playback.
– SBS(H)/TAB/CB: Side-by-Side (Half), Top-and-Bottom, and Checkerboard 3D formats respectively.
The first two are primary 3D video format structures by HDMI 1.4a, used for broadcast contents.
19
Figure 17: Mini-ITX Systems Feature Comparison
Price Range
Platform
CPU
Chipset
GPU
Price
Video (GPU)
MPEG-2
VC-1
H.264
23.976Hz
VA Deinterlacing
3D Video
(CPU/GPU)
MVC (GPU)
MVC (CPU)
2D→3D (CPU)
Frame Packing
SBS(H)/TAB/CB
720p 120Hz AFS
HDMI Audio
(GPU)
Stereo LPCM
DD/DTS
Multi LPCM
TrueHD/DTS-HD
S/PDIF Audio
(MB)
Analog Audio
(MB)
Optical or Coax
DDL or DTSI
Channel Count
PAP
SATA/eSATA 2.0
Other
SATA/eSATA 3.0
Features (MB) USB 3.0 e / i
IEEE 1394
Video Encoding Frame per Sec.
(CPU)
Power per Frame
Power
Consumption
(DC)
Idle
BD Playback
CPU Load
GPU Load
CPU+GPU Load
Budget
AMD
E-350
A50M
HD 6310
$256
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×
×
×
×
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×
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×
7.1
○
0/0
4/1
×
×
2.98 fps
11.92 J/f
14 W
19 W
24 W
27 W
30 W
Standard
Mid-Range Gaming
High-End Gaming
Intel
Intel
AMD
AMD
Intel
AMD
Phenom II X6 1090T
Core i5-2500K
Phenom II X4 840
Core i3-2100
i3-2100 AthII X2 255
880G/SB710
880G/SB710
H67
H67
880G/SB710
H67
Intel HD HD 4250 HD 6850 GTX 460 HD 6850 GTX 460 HD 6970 GTX 570 HD 6970 GTX 570
$393
$360
$687
$703
$723
$739
$1,300
$1,288
$1,257
$1,245
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7.1
5.1
7.1
7.1
5.1
5.1
7.1
7.1
5.1
5.1
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2/1
3/1
2/1
2/1
3/1
3/1
2/1
2/1
3/1
3/1
×
×
×
×
×
2/0
2/0
2/0
2/0
2/0
2/0
2/0
2/0
2/0
2/0
2/0
2/0
2/0
2/0
2/0
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
16.30 fps 9.71 fps 16.30 fps 16.30 fps 20.51 fps 20.51 fps 28.49 fps 28.49 fps 30.41 fps 30.41 fps
3.66 J/f 9.65 J/f 4.84 J/f 5.03 J/f 7.09 J/f 7.32 J/f 3.90 J/f 4.08 J/f 5.71 J/f 5.77 J/f
20 W
29 W
37 W
40 W
56 W
60 W
38 W
42 W
65 W
67 W
24 W
40 W
43 W
45 W
65 W
69 W
44 W
48 W
77 W
79 W
49 W
82 W
66 W
68 W
137 W
141 W
96 W
101 W
167 W
169 W
34 W
67 W
141 W
169 W
171 W
201 W
244 W
252 W
288 W
292 W
59 W
88 W
159 W
187 W
229 W
259 W
289 W
297 W
348 W
352 W
Side-by-Side (Half) is also used by some Blu-ray 3D. The last format is used by DLP 3D HDTVs
from Mitsubishi and Samsung.
– 720p 120Hz AFS: 720p 120Hz Alternate-Frame Sequencing 3D video format, used by several 720p
DLP 3D projectors such as Acer H5360.
• HDMI Audio (GPU): This indicates supported audio formats over HDMI from the GPU.
– Stereo LPCM: Support for stereo LPCM.
– DD/DTS: Support for bitstreaming Dolby Digital and DTS.
– Multi LPCM: Support for multichannel (5.1 and 7.1) LPCM.
– TrueHD/DTS-HD: Support for bitstreaming Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio/High Resolution Audio.
• S/PDIF Audio (MB)
– Optical or Coax: This indicates the existence of an S/PDIF connector (optical or coaxial) on the rear
panel of the motherboard.
– DDL or DTSI: DDL is Dolby Digital Live, DTSI is DTS Interactive. These technologies encode
multichannel LPCM sent to the audio codec of the motherboard into Dolby Digital or DTS in real
time. A convenient tool to get surround sounds from games over S/PDIF.
• Analog Audio (MB)
– Channel Count: The supported number of channels of analog audio from the audio codec of the
motherboard.
– PAP: Support for Protected Audio Path. If this exists, you may be able to get full quality lossless
20
analog audio from Blu-ray Disc movies when you use a (not necessarily every) commercial Blu-ray
Disc software player.
• Other Features (MB)
– SATA/eSATA 2.0: The number of SATA 2.0 (3Gb/s) internal / external connectors.
– USB 3.0 e / i: The number of external (i.e. on the rear panel) / internal USB 3.0 connectors.
– IEEE 1394: Support for IEEE 1394 (aka FireWire).
• Video Encoding (CPU)
– Frame per Sec.: x264 HD Benchmark 3.0 Render Speed (Pass 2).
– Power per Frame: The AC power draw of the total system to encode a frame in the above benchmark. The value depends on PSU’s efficiency, which depends on various factors. So take it as a
rough estimate.
• Power Consumption (DC): The DC power draw of the total system excluding PSU. The AC power draw
from the wall is (DC power draw)/(Efficiency of the PSU).
– Idle: At idle.
– BD Playback: At BD movie (an ISO stored in the internal HDD) playback by PowerDVD 10 Ultra.
– CPU Load: At Prime95 (Small FFTs).
– GPU Load: At FurMark (Stress Test).
– CPU+GPU Load: At Prime95 (Small FFTs) and FurMark (Stress Test) simultaneously.
Mini-ITX Cases
There are several nice Mini-ITX cases. For example,
Cases with No Optical Drive Bay and No Expansion Slot
• Antec ISK-100, 2 x 2.500 , W70 x H248 x D212 mm (3.7L), 90W PSU, $75.
• Mini-Box.com M350, 2 x 2.500 , W192 x H62 x D210 mm (2.5L), $40, with Mini-Box.com picoPSU-120 +
102W Adapter Power Kit, $55.
from left to right in the figure.
Figure 18: Mini-ITX Cases
Cases with Optical Drive Bay but No Expansion Slot
• IN WIN BQ656, 1 x 2.500 /1 x 5.2500 slim, W76 x H225 x D193 mm (3.3L), 80W PSU, $50.
• IN WIN BQ660, 1 x 2.500 /1 x 5.2500 slim, W76 x H225 x D193 mm (3.3L), 80W PSU (not available in US).
• Lian Li PC-Q09F, 1 x 2.500 /1 x 5.2500 slim, W265 x H124 x D200 mm (6.6L), 150W PSU, $90.
from left to right in the figure.
21
Figure 19: Mini-ITX Cases with Optical Drive Bay
Cases with Optical Drive Bay and Expansion Slot (LP = low profile, FH = full height)
Antec ISK 300-150, 2 x 2.500 /1 x 5.2500 slim/1 x LP slot, W222 x H96 x D328 mm (7.0L), 150W PSU, $71.
Antec ISK 310-150, 2 x 2.500 /1 x 5.2500 slim/1 x LP slot, W222 x H96 x D328 mm (7.0L), 150W PSU, $71.
Apex MI-008, 2 x 3.500 /1 x 5.2500 /1 x FH slot, W220 x H129 x D300 mm (8.5L), 250W PSU, $40.
Rosewill RC-CIX-01, 1 x 3.500 /1 x 5.2500 /1 x FH slot, W200 x H166 x D303 mm (10.1L), 150W PSU, $40.
SilverStone Sugo SG05-450 SST-SG05BB-450 Mini-ITX/Mini-DTX, 1 x 2.500 /1 x 3.500 /1 x 5.2500 slim/2 x
FH slot, W222 x H176 x D276 mm (10.8L), 450W PSU, $120.
• SilverStone Sugo SG07 SST-SG07B Mini-ITX/Mini-DTX, 2 x 2.500 /1 x 3.500 /1 x 5.2500 slim/2 x FH slot,
W222 x H190 x D350 mm (14.8L), 600W PSU, $200.
•
•
•
•
•
Figure 20: Mini-ITX Cases with Optical Drive Bay and Expansion Slot
I will use Antec ISK-100 in the budget system, Antec ISK 310-150 in the standard systems, SilverStone Sugo
SG05-450 in the mid-range gaming systems, and SilverStone Sugo SG07 in the high-end gaming systems.
Budget System
AMD (APU)
Summary AMD’s first APU (Accelerated Processing Unit; CPU and GPU are on the same die) was released
in January 2011. This is a good choice for a secondary HTPC, say, for a bedroom theater because it is low-cost
and low-power, hence you can build a compact system relatively cheap. The system can play every video
22
format you throw in just fine (Blu-ray Disc, MKV, YouTube HD, Netflix etc.), except for 3D videos and 1080p
60 fps videos (shot by recent camcorders). I recommend a different, more powerful system for your main home
theater, however, because CPU and memory performance of AMD E-350 is significantly inferior to a normal
desktop system.
System
• APU: AMD E-350 Fusion APU 1.60GHz 1MB L2 18W FT1 (soldered on the motherboard), $0.
• APU Cooler: Stock cooler, $0.
• Motherboard: ASRock E350M1 AMD E-350 APU and AMD A50M chipset Mini-ITX, $110. An alternative is ASRock E350M1/USB3 AMD E-350 APU and AMD A50M chipset Mini-ITX, $130, if you want
USB 3.0.
• Memory: Kingston ValueRAM KVR1333D3N9K2/2G DDR3-1333 CL9 2 x 1GB Kit, $26.
• Graphics Card: Radeon HD 6310 (integrated in the APU), $0.
• HDD: Seagate Momentus 7200.4 ST9250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s mobile, $45.
• PSU: 90W DC-DC PCB / 90W AC-DC Adapter (included in the case), $0.
• Case: Antec ISK-100 Mini-ITX, $75.
• Total Cost: $256
Figure 21: Mini-ITX Budget AMD (APU) System
Standard System
Intel (iGPU)
Summary The current Intel processor/GPU are packed in a mini-ITX case.
System
• Motherboard: ASRock H67M-ITX LGA 1155 Intel H67 chipset Mini-ITX, $90. An alternative is GIGABYTE GA-H67N-USB3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel H67 chipset Mini-ITX, $110 (this motherboard comes with
3-year warranty, while the ASRock with 1-year).
• Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBXL Ripjaws-X DDR3-1600 CL9 2 x 2GB Kit, $50.
• Graphics Card: Intel HD Graphics (integrated in the chipset), $0.
• HDD: Seagate Momentus 7200.4 ST9500420AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s mobile, $60.
• PSU: Antec FP-150-8 FlexATX 150W PSU (included in the case), $0.
23
• Case: Antec ISK 310-150 Mini-ITX, $68.
Figure 22: Mini-ITX Standard Intel (iGPU) System
AMD (iGPU)
Summary The current AMD processor/iGPU are packed in a mini-ITX case.
System
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
CPU: Athlon II X2 255 ADX255OCGQBOX/ADX255OCGMBOX 3.1GHz 65W AM3, $63.
CPU Cooler: Stock cooler, $0.
Motherboard: ASUS M4A88T-I Deluxe AM3 AMD 880G/SB710 chipsets Mini-ITX, $125.
Memory: G.SKILL F3-10666CL9D-4GBSQ DDR3-1333 CL9 SO-DIMM 2 x 2GB Kit, $44.
Graphics Card: Radeon HD 4250 (integrated in the chipset), $0.
HDD: Seagate Momentus 7200.4 ST9500420AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s mobile, $60.
PSU: Antec FP-150-8 FlexATX 150W PSU (included in the case), $0.
Case: Antec ISK 310-150 Mini-ITX, $68.
Total Cost: $360
Figure 23: Mini-ITX Standard AMD (iGPU) System
24
Remark
• You can add a discrete graphics card to these systems for better video playback performance. For example,
– SAPPHIRE 100322L Radeon HD 6450 DDR3 1GB, $53.
– EVGA 01G-P3-1430-LR GeForce GT 430 DDR3 1GB low-profile, $64.
– Sapphire 100323L HD 6570 DDR3 1GB, $75, for even better video post-processing.
These cards do not come with a low-profile bracket. One of the following should fit:
– Low Profile Bracket for Video Cards, w/ DVI and HDMI Ports, ∼$9 shipped.
– EVGA Low Profile Bracket M020-00-000134, $5 shipped.
• The 150W PSU integrated in the case is enough even if you add one of these cards.
Mid-Range Gaming System
The systems here are based on SilverStone SG05-450 Mini-DTX/Mini-ITX case. The case supports a 2-slot
graphics card of up to 900 length and has a 450W PSU.
Intel
System
• Motherboard: ASRock H67M-ITX LGA 1155 Intel H67 chipset Mini-ITX, $90. An alternative is GIGABYTE GA-H67N-USB3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel H67 chipset Mini-ITX, $110.
• Graphics Card (NVIDIA): GIGABYTE GV-N460OC-1GI GeForce GTX 460 1GB, $186.
• SSD: Crucial RealSSD C300 64GB CTFDDAC064MAG 64GB SATA 6.0Gb/s SSD, $127.
• PSU: SFX12V 450W 80 PLUS Bronze PSU (included in the case), $0.
• Case: SilverStone Sugo SG05-450 SST-SG05BB-450 Mini-ITX/Mini-DTX, $120.
Figure 24: Mini-ITX Mid-Range Gaming Intel System
25
AMD
System
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
CPU: Phenom II X4 840 HDX840WFGMBOX 3.2GHz 95W AM3, $108.
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Vortex Plus RR-VTPS-28PK-R1, $29. The fan should be oriented reversely.
Motherboard: ASUS M4A88T-I Deluxe AM3 AMD 880G/SB710 chipsets Mini-ITX, $125.
Memory: G.SKILL F3-10666CL9D-4GBSQ DDR3-1333 CL9 SO-DIMM 2 x 2GB Kit, $44.
Graphics Card (AMD): Sapphire 100315L HD 6850 GDDR5 1GB, $170.
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): GIGABYTE GV-N460OC-1GI GeForce GTX 460 1GB, $186.
SSD: Crucial RealSSD C300 64GB CTFDDAC064MAG 64GB SATA 6.0Gb/s SSD, $127.
PSU: SFX12V 450W 80 PLUS Bronze PSU (included in the case), $0.
Case: SilverStone Sugo SG05-450 SST-SG05BB-450 Mini-ITX/Mini-DTX, $120.
Total Cost: $723 for AMD, $739 for NVIDIA
Figure 25: Mini-ITX Mid-Range Gaming AMD System
High-End Gaming System
The systems here are based on SilverStone SG07 Mini-DTX/Mini-ITX case. The case supports a 2-slot graphics
card of up to 12.200 length and has a 600W PSU.
Intel
System
• CPU: Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz 95W LGA 1155, $222.
• CPU Cooler: Thermalright AXP-140 RT, $65. An alternative is Cooler Master Vortex Plus RR-VTPS28PK-R1, $29.
• Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-H67N-USB3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel H67 chipset Mini-ITX, $110. A cheaper
alternative is ASRock H67M-ITX LGA 1155 Intel H67 chipset Mini-ITX, $90.
• Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ DDR3-1600 CL9 2 x 2GB Kit, $48.
• Graphics Card (AMD): Sapphire 100311SR HD 6970 GDDR5 2GB, $358.
26
• Graphics Card (NVIDIA): EVGA 012-P3-1570-AR GeForce GTX 570 1280MB, $346. A better (and more
expensive) alternative is EVGA 015-P3-1580-AR GeForce GTX 580 1536MB, $497.
• SSD: OCZ Vertex 3 120GB VTX3-25SAT3-120G 120GB SATA 6.0Gb/s SSD, $290.
• PSU: Custom 600W 80 PLUS Bronze PSU (included in the case), $0.
• Case: SilverStone Sugo SG07 SST-SG07B Mini-ITX/Mini-DTX, $207.
Figure 26: Mini-ITX High-End Gaming Intel System
AMD
System
• CPU: Phenom II X6 1090T ‘Black Edition’ HDT90ZFBGRBOX 3.2GHz 125W AM3, $200.
• CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Geminii S RR-CCH-PBJ1-GP / RR-CCH-PBU1-GP, $33.
• Motherboard: ASUS M4A88T-I Deluxe AM3 AMD 880G/SB710 chipsets Mini-ITX, $125. The motherboard supports a 125W processor, although it does not support it officially.
• Memory: G.SKILL F3-10666CL9D-4GBSQ DDR3-1333 CL9 SO-DIMM 2 x 2GB Kit, $44.
• Graphics Card (AMD): Sapphire 100311SR HD 6970 GDDR5 2GB, $358.
• Graphics Card (NVIDIA): EVGA 012-P3-1570-AR GeForce GTX 570 1280MB, $346. A better (and more
expensive) alternative is EVGA 015-P3-1580-AR GeForce GTX 580 1536MB, $497.
• PSU: Custom 600W 80 PLUS Bronze PSU (included in the case), $0.
• Case: SilverStone Sugo SG07 SST-SG07B Mini-ITX/Mini-DTX, $207.
27
Figure 27: Mini-ITX High-End Gaming AMD System
28
MicroATX System
A microATX system is perhaps the most popular form factor in HTPC because it generally costs less and is
smaller than ATX, yet has enough number of expansion slots of 4.
Price Range
I will give a pure budget system, a low-end system, a mid-range system, a high-end system and a premium
system for each of Intel chip-Intel chipset and AMD chip-AMD chipset. Basic distinctions are:
•
•
•
•
Budget System: provides reasonably good video playback performance at as low cost as possible.
Low-End System: provides reasonably good video playback performance at a low cost.
Mid-Range System: provides the best video playback performance without compromise.
High-End System: should be able to handle other HTPC-related tasks such as video re-encoding and
games with reasonably good performance.
• Premium System: is intended to be the best (but not too expensive) overall system available today.
I set the following criteria for expansion slots:
• Budget and Low-End:
– 1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 for a 2-slot graphics card
– 1 x PCIe x1 for a sound card or a TV tuner
• Mid-Range and High-End:
– 1 x PCIe 2.0 x8 (or higher) for a 2-slot graphics card
– 1 x PCIe x4 (or higher) for HBA
– 1 x PCIe x1 for a sound card or a TV tuner
• Premium:
– 2 x PCIe 2.0 x8 (or higher) for dual 2-slot graphics (CrossFireX and/or SLI)
Feature Comparison
29
Figure 28: MicroATX Systems Feature Comparison
Price Range
Platform
CPU
Chipset
GPU
Price
Video (GPU)
MPEG-2
VC-1
H.264
23.976Hz
VA Deinterlacing
3D Video
(CPU/GPU)
MVC (GPU)
MVC (CPU)
2D→3D (CPU)
Frame Packing
SBS(H)/TAB/CB
720p 120Hz AFS
HDMI Audio
(GPU)
Stereo LPCM
DD/DTS
Multi LPCM
TrueHD/DTS-HD
S/PDIF Audio
(MB)
Analog Audio
(MB)
Optical or Coax
DDL or DTSI
Channel Count
PAP
SATA/eSATA 3.0
Other
USB 3.0 e / i
Features (MB)
IEEE 1394
(CPU)
Power per Frame
Power
Consumption
(DC)
Idle
BD Playback
CPU Load
GPU Load
CPU+GPU Load
Price Range
Platform
CPU
Chipset
GPU
Price
Video (GPU)
MPEG-2
VC-1
H.264
23.976Hz
VA Deinterlacing
3D Video
(CPU/GPU)
MVC (GPU)
MVC (CPU)
2D→3D (CPU)
Frame Packing
SBS(H)/TAB/CB
720p 120Hz AFS
HDMI Audio
(GPU)
Stereo LPCM
DD/DTS
Multi LPCM
TrueHD/DTS-HD
S/PDIF Audio
(MB)
Analog Audio
(MB)
Optical or Coax
DDL or DTSI
Channel Count
PAP
SATA/eSATA 3.0
Other
USB 3.0 e / i
Features (MB)
IEEE 1394
(CPU)
Power per Frame
Power
Consumption
(DC)
Idle
BD Playback
CPU Load
GPU Load
CPU+GPU Load
Budget
Low-End
Mid-Range
Intel
Intel
AMD
AMD
Intel
AMD
AthII X2 255
Core i3-2100
E3400
Athlon II X3 450
Phenom II X4 840
E3400 AthII X2 255 i3-2100
880G/SB850
H67
G41/ICH7
880G/SB850
760G/SB710
G41/ICH7 880G/SB710
H67
X4500 HD 4250 Intel HD 2k HD 6450 GT 430 HD 4250 HD 6450 GT 430 HD 6670 GT 440 HD 6670 GT 440
$221
$250
$455
$392
$403
$403
$467
$478
$660
$633
$654
$627
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DDL
DDL
DDL
DDL
5.1
7.1
7.1
5.1
5.1
7.1
7.1
7.1
7.1
7.1
7.1
7.1
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2/0
6/0
2/0
2/0
6/0
6/0
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2/0
2/0
2/0
2/0
2/0
2/0
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7.74 fps 9.71 fps 16.30 fps 7.74 fps 7.74 fps 9.71 fps 13.46 fps 13.46 fps 16.30 fps 16.30 fps 20.51 fps 20.51 fps
8.35 J/f 10.26 J/f 4.03 J/f 8.76 J/f 8.90 J/f 10.58 J/f 8.98 J/f 9.06 J/f 4.62 J/f 4.68 J/f 7.04 J/f 7.13 J/f
28 W
33 W
25 W
32 W
33 W
35 W
49 W
50 W
33 W
33 W
50 W
50 W
44 W
45 W
29 W
38 W
39 W
47 W
59 W
60 W
40 W
40 W
60 W
60 W
56 W
87 W
54 W
58 W
59 W
89 W
116 W
117 W
61 W
62 W
137 W
138 W
34 W
70 W
39 W
61 W
87 W
72 W
70 W
95 W
88 W
106 W
108 W
125 W
59 W
93 W
65 W
76 W
101 W
95 W
123 W
148 W
106 W
123 W
170 W
187 W
High-End
Premium
Intel
AMD
Intel (LGA 1155)
Intel (LGA 1366)
AMD
Phenom II X6 1090T
Phenom II X6 1100T
Core i5-2500K
Core i7-2600K
Core i7-960
P67
890GX/SB850
P67
X58/ICH10R
890GX/SB850
HD 6850 GTX460 HD 6850 GTX460 HD 6870 GTX 560 Ti HD 6870 GTX 560 Ti HD 6870 GTX 560 Ti
$930
$946
$878
$894
$1,841
$1,883
$1,896
$1,938
$1,726
$1,768
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7.1
7.1
7.1
7.1
7.1
7.1
7.1
7.1
7.1
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3/0
5/1
5/1
3/1
3/1
2/0
2/0
5/1
5/1
2/0
2/0
2/0
2/0
2/0
2/0
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2/0
2/0
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41 W
42 W
64 W
69 W
42 W
42 W
92 W
92 W
72 W
72 W
48 W
49 W
72 W
71 W
48 W
48 W
100 W
100 W
81 W
81 W
101 W
102 W
163 W
243 W
118 W
118 W
197 W
197 W
199 W
199 W
140 W
182 W
187 W
228 W
160 W
200 W
224 W
262 W
225 W
263 W
187 W
228 W
249 W
290 W
231 W
269 W
305 W
341 W
307 W
343 W
Legend
• In general
– : Supported.
• Video (GPU)
contents.
3D movie playback.
motherboard.
31
rough estimate.
– Idle: At idle.
MicroATX Cases
There are many good microATX cases. For example,
Low-Profile Cases
•
•
•
•
•
APEX DM-387, $50. Includes a 270W PSU.
hec 7KJ9BBA30FNRX, $50. Includes a 300W PSU.
hec 7K09BBA30FNRX, $50. Includes a 300W PSU.
nMEDIAPC HTPC 1080P, with a card reader, $70.
SilverStone Milo ML03 SST-ML03B, $60, perhaps with an SFX PSU such as Seasonic SS-300SFD 300W
SFX, $51, with SFX TO PS2 PSU BRACKET, $5, or SilverStone ST45SF SST-ST45SF 450W SFX PSU
(a SFX to PS2 bracket included), $79, instead of an standard ATX (i.e. PS2) PSU to avoid conflict with a
longer Blu-ray drive.
• Antec MicroFusion Remote 350, with a LCD/IR receiver/remote, $100. Includes a 350W PSU.
• Lian Li PC-C37B MUSE, $139.
• Moneual MonCaso312, with an IR receiver/remote, $240.
Figure 29: MicroATX Cases - Low Profile
Full-Height Cases
32
• nMEDIAPC HTPC 1000B, with a card reader, $70.
• nMEDIAPC HTPC 5000B, with a card reader, $65.
• SilverStone Grandia GD04 SST-GD04B, $100. Supports 1100 long graphics cards and a 70mm tall CPU
cooler.
• SilverStone Grandia GD06 SST-GD06B, $116. Supports 1100 long graphics cards and a 70mm tall CPU
cooler, 2 front USB 3.0 ports, and 2 hot-swappable 3.500 bays.
• Antec Fusion Remote Black, with a LCD/IR receiver/remote, $150.
• Lian Li PC-C50, $179. Supports a 250mm (9.800 ) long graphics card and a 120mm tall CPU cooler.
• LUXA2 LM200, with a VFD/IR receiver/remote, $350.
• LUXA2 LM200 Touch, with a 700 touch screen/IR receiver/remote, $558.
Figure 30: MicroATX Cases - Full Height
I will use APEX DM-387 in the budget systems, nMEDIAPC HTPC 5000B in the low-end systems, Antec Fusion
Remote Black in the mid-range systems, Lian Li PC-C50 in the high-end systems and LUXA2 LM200 Touch in
the premium systems.
Budget System
Here are systems at as low cost as possible, but with good performance of HD and SD video playback.
Intel (iGPU)
Summary The system uses the older chipset G41/ICH7 with integrated graphics. The integrated graphics
GMA X4500 does not support hardware decode acceleration for HD video codecs, hence you may see high
CPU usage, 60%–70%. Otherwise it is the same as GMA X4500 HD (the GPU integrated in G45) in video and
audio performance. In particular video post-processing is very good and HDMI audio supports multichannel
LPCM.
System
• CPU: Celeron E3400 2.60GHz 1MB L2 65W LGA 775, $42.
33
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Motherboard: ASUS P5G41T-M LGA 775 Intel G41/ICH7 chipsets microATX, $60.
Memory: Kingston ValueRAM KVR1333D3N9K2/2G DDR3-1333 CL9 2 x 1GB Kit, $26.
Graphics Card: Intel GMA X4500 (integrated in the chipset), $0.
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB SATA 3.0Gb/s, $48.
PSU: FlexATX 275W PSU (included in the case), $0.
Case: APEX DM-387 microATX, low-profile, $43.
Total Cost: $221
Figure 31: MicroATX Budget Intel (iGPU) System
AMD (iGPU)
Summary A system as cheap as possible with the current AMD iGPU HD 4250 is here. Hardware video
decode acceleration is supported. But HDMI audio is limited to stereo LPCM, Dolby Digital and DTS.
System
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
CPU: Athlon II X2 255 ADX255OCGQBOX/ADX255OCGMBOX 3.1GHz 65W AM3, $63.
Motherboard: Foxconn A88GMV AM3 AMD 880G/SB710 chipsets ATX, $70.
Memory: Kingston ValueRAM KVR1333D3N9K2/2G DDR3-1333 CL9 2 x 1GB Kit, $26.
Graphics Card: Radeon HD 4250 (integrated in the chipset), $0.
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB SATA 3.0Gb/s, $48.
PSU: FlexATX 275W PSU (included in the case), $0.
Case: APEX DM-387 microATX, low-profile, $43.
Total Cost: $250
34
Figure 32: MicroATX Budget AMD (iGPU) System
Remark
• You can add a discrete graphics card to these systems for better video playback performance. For example,
– SAPPHIRE 100322L Radeon HD 6450 DDR3 1GB, $53.
–
– EVGA 01G-P3-1430-LR GeForce GT 430 DDR3 1GB low-profile, $64, with EVGA Low Profile
Bracket M020-00-000134, $5.
Low-End System
Intel (iGPU)
Summary A low-end system with the second generation Intel Core i3 processor is here. The integrated GPU
is overall very good, with a few issues such as non-support for 23.976Hz refresh rate and poor support by free
and open-source video codecs.
System
• Motherboard: ASRock H67M LGA 1155 Intel H67 chipset microATX, $95. A cheaper alternative is
ASRock H61M/U3S3 LGA 1155 Intel H61 chipset microATX, $80 (lacks an S/PDIF connector; supports
only 5.1 analog sounds).
• Graphics Card: Intel HD Graphics 2000 (integrated in the CPU), $0.
• Case: nMEDIAPC HTPC 1000B microATX, with a card reader, $70.
35
Figure 33: MicroATX Low-End Intel (iGPU) System
Intel
Summary Instead of a pricey Core i3 processor and a H61/H67 motherboard, you can use a much cheaper
Intel Celeron processor based on the first generation Core microarchitecture and a motherboard with older
chipsets, but add a better discrete graphics card for overall better video playback performance at a lower cost.
System
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
CPU: Celeron E3400 2.60GHz 1MB L2 65W LGA 775, $44.
Motherboard: ASUS P5G41T-M LGA 775 Intel G41/ICH7 chipsets microATX, $60.
Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBXL Ripjaws-X DDR3-1600 CL9 2 x 2GB Kit, $50.
Graphics Card (AMD): SAPPHIRE 100322L Radeon HD 6450 DDR3 1GB, $53.
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): EVGA 01G-P3-1430-LR GeForce GT 430 DDR3 1GB low-profile, $64.
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB SATA 3.0Gb/s, $60.
PSU: Seasonic S12II-380 Bronze, $55.
Case: nMEDIAPC HTPC 1000B microATX, with a card reader, $70.
Figure 34: MicroATX Low-End Intel System
36
AMD (iGPU)
Summary If you want the current AMD iGPU, here is such a system.
System
• CPU: Athlon II X3 450 ADX450WFGMBOX 3.2GHz 95W AM3, $80.
• Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-USB3 AM3+ AMD 880G/SB850 chipsets microATX, $105. An
alternative is ASRock 880GMH/U3S3 AM3+ AMD 880G/SB710 chipsets microATX, $80.
• Graphics Card: Radeon HD 4250 (integrated in the chipset), $0.
Figure 35: MicroATX Low-End AMD (iGPU) System
AMD
Summary AMD iGPU is somewhat limited in today’s standard. If you are going to use a discrete graphics
card for better performance and features, then you could choose a cheaper motherboard whose onboard video
is inferior but you won’t use anyway.
System
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
CPU: Athlon II X3 450 ADX450WFGMBOX 3.2GHz 95W AM3, $80.
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Vortex Plus RR-VTPS-28PK-R1, $29.
Motherboard: ASUS M4A78LT-M AM3 AMD 760G/SB710 chipsets microATX, $70.
37
Figure 36: MicroATX Low-End AMD System
Mid-Range System
Intel
Summary In this mid-range system, you can use either onboard graphics or a discrete graphics card. Onboard graphics does not support the 23.976Hz refresh rate and does not work well with free and open software
video decoders, however.
System
• Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-H67MA-UD2H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel H67 chipset microATX, $123. An
alternative is ASUS P8H67-M EVO LGA 1155 Intel H67 chipset microATX, $135, which supports legacy
peripherals such as PCI, IDE and IEEE 1394. Another choice is ASUS P8P67-M PRO LGA 1155 Intel P67
chipset microATX, $150, with which onboard graphics will be disabled.
• Case: Antec Fusion Remote Black microATX, with a LCD/IR receiver/remote, $140.
38
Figure 37: MicroATX Mid-Range Intel System
AMD
Summary In this mid-range system, you can use either onboard graphics or a discrete graphics card. Onboard graphics does not support multichannel LPCM and HD audio bitstreaming and does not support 3D
video, however.
System
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
CPU: Phenom II X4 840 HDX840WFGMBOX 3.2GHz 95W AM3, $108.
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-USB3 AM3+ AMD 880G/SB850 chipsets microATX, $105.
Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL8D-4GBXM Ripjaws-X DDR3-1600 CL8 2 x 2GB Kit, $55.
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): SPARKLE SXT440512D5NM GeForce GT 440 GDDR5 512MB, $70.
Case: Antec Fusion Remote Black microATX, with a LCD/IR receiver/remote, $140.
Figure 38: MicroATX Mid-Range AMD System
39
High-End System
Intel
Summary This system is a multi-purpose machine with very powerful CPU and GPU.
System
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
CPU: Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz 95W LGA 1155, $222.
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Geminii S RR-CCH-PBJ1-GP / RR-CCH-PBU1-GP, $33.
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67-M PRO LGA 1155 Intel P67 chipset microATX, $150.
Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL6D-4GBXH Ripjaws-X DDR3-1600 CL6 2 x 2GB Kit, $75.
Case: Lian Li PC-C50 microATX, $150.
Figure 39: MicroATX High-End Intel System
AMD
Summary This system is a multi-purpose machine with very powerful CPU and GPU.
System
•
•
•
•
•
CPU: Phenom II X6 1090T ‘Black Edition’ HDT90ZFBGRBOX 3.2GHz 125W AM3, $200.
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Geminii S RR-CCH-PBJ1-GP / RR-CCH-PBU1-GP, $33.
Motherboard: MSI 890GXM-G65 AM3 AMD 890GX/SB850 chipsets microATX, $120.
Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL6D-4GBXH Ripjaws-X DDR3-1600 CL6 2 x 2GB Kit, $75.
40
•
•
•
•
•
Case: Lian Li PC-C50 microATX, $150.
Figure 40: MicroATX High-End AMD System
Premium System
Intel (LGA 1155)
Summary The greatest, fastest and expensive Intel LGA 1155 system in a microATX HTPC case is here.
System
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-C12P SE14, $60.
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67-M PRO LGA 1155 Intel P67 chipset microATX, $150.
Graphics Card (AMD): Sapphire 100314-2SR HD 6870 GDDR5 1GB, $200.
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB, $242.
SSD: OCZ Vertex 3 120GB VTX3-25SAT3-120G 120GB SATA 6.0Gb/s SSD, $290.
PSU: Seasonic X-660 SS-660KM, $141.
Case: LUXA2 LM200 Touch microATX, with a 700 touch screen/IR receiver/remote, $600. If you don’t
need or don’t like a touch screen, choose LUXA2 LM200 microATX, with a VFD/IR receiver/remote,
$350.
41
Figure 41: MicroATX Premium Intel (LGA 1155) System
Intel (LGA 1366)
Summary The greatest, fastest and expensive LGA 1366 system in a microATX HTPC case is here.
System
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Core i7-960 3.20GHz 130W LGA 1366, $285.
Noctua NH-C12P SE14, $60.
Motherboard: ASUS Rampage III GENE LGA 1366 Intel X58/ICH10R chipsets microATX, $230.
Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL8T-6GBRM Ripjaws DDR3-1600 CL8 3 x 2GB Kit, $90.
$350.
Figure 42: MicroATX Premium Intel (LGA 1366) System
42
AMD
Summary The greatest, fastest and expensive AMD system in a microATX HTPC case is here.
System
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
CPU: Phenom II X6 1100T ‘Black Edition’ HDE00ZFBGRBOX 3.3GHz 125W AM3, $230.
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-C12P SE14, $60.
Motherboard: MSI 890GXM-G65 AM3 AMD 890GX/SB850 chipsets microATX, $120.
$350.
Figure 43: MicroATX Premium AMD System
43
ATX System
The ATX form factor supports up to seven expansion slots (vs. four in microATX) and a larger ATX case can
usually hold more storage drives. Moreover motherboard manufacturers tend to implement better CPU power
circuitry and cooling solution for MOSFET/chipset in ATX motherboards than microATX motherboards.
Price Range
I will give a low-end system, a mid-range system, a high-end system and a premium system for each of Intel
chip-Intel chipset, AMD chip-AMD chipset. Basic distinctions are:
• Low-End System: provides reasonably good video playback performance at a low cost.
• Mid-Range System: provides the best video playback performance without compromise.
• High-End System: should be able to handle other HTPC-related tasks such as video re-encoding and
games with reasonably good performance.
• Premium System: is intended to be the best, but not too expensive, system available today.
• Ultimate System: is intended to be the best system available today.
As the expandability is an distinguishing feature of the ATX form factor, I set the following criteria: the motherboard should have
• Low-End:
– 3 x PCIe x1 for HBA, a sound card and a TV tuner
• Mid-Range and High-End:
– 1 x PCIe x8 for HBA
– 2 x PCIe x1 for a sound card and a TV tuner
• Premium and Ultimate:
– 2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (or x8) for dual 2-slot graphics (CrossFireX and/or SLI)
– 1 x PCIe x1 for a sound card/TV tuner
– 1 x PCIe x4 for a sound card/TV tuner/HBA
But a few systems do not meet this criteria (simply because there is no good motherboard). In addition, fully
usable 6 or more internal SATA ports is a norm.
Feature Comparison
44
Figure 44: ATX Systems Feature Comparison
Price Range
Platform
CPU
Chipset
GPU
Price
Video (GPU)
Intel
i3-2100
H61
Intel HD 2k
MPEG-2
VC-1
H.264
23.976Hz
VA Deinterlacing
3D Video
(CPU/GPU)
MVC (GPU)
MVC (CPU)
2D→3D (CPU)
Frame Packing
SBS(H)/TAB/CB
720p 120Hz AFS
HDMI Audio
(GPU)
Stereo LPCM
DD/DTS
Multi LPCM
TrueHD/DTS-HD
S/PDIF Audio
(MB)
Analog Audio
(MB)
Optical or Coax
DDL or DTSI
Channel Count
PAP
SATA/eSATA 3.0
Other
USB 3.0 e / i
Features (MB)
IEEE 1394
Video Encoding Frame per Sec
Sec.
(CPU)
Power per Frame
Power
Consumption
(DC)
Idle
BD Playback
CPU Load
GPU Load
CPU+GPU Load
Price Range
Platform
CPU
Chipset
GPU
Price
Video (GPU)
MPEG-2
VC-1
H.264
23 976Hz
23.976Hz
VA Deinterlacing
3D Video
(CPU/GPU)
MVC (GPU)
MVC (CPU)
2D→3D (CPU)
Frame Packing
SBS(H)/TAB/CB
720p 120Hz AFS
HDMI Audio
(GPU)
Stereo LPCM
DD/DTS
Multi LPCM
TrueHD/DTS-HD
TrueHD/DTS
HD
S/PDIF Audio
(MB)
Analog Audio
(MB)
Optical or Coax
DDL or DTSI
Channel Count
PAP
SATA/eSATA 3.0
Other
USB 3
3.0
0e/i
Features (MB)
IEEE 1394
(CPU)
Power per Frame
Power
C
Consumption
ti
(DC)
Idle
BD Playback
CPU LLoad
d
GPU Load
CPU+GPU Load
$465
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16 30 fps
16.30
4.03 J/f
25 W
29 W
54 W
39 W
65 W
Low-End
Mid-Range
High-End
AMD
Intel
AMD
AMD
Intel
AthlII X2 255
Core i3-2100
Athlon II X3 450
Phenom II X4 840
Core i5-2500K
Phenom II X6 1090T
880G/SB850
P67
890GX/SB850
P67
890GX/SB850
870/SB850
HD 4250 HD 6450 GT 430 HD 6670 GT 440 HD 6670 GT 440 HD 6850 GTX 460 HD 6850 GTX 460
$418
$507
$518
$697
$670
$689
$662
$989
$1,005
$947
$963
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3/1
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9 71 fps 9.71
9.71
9 71 fps 13.46
13 46 fps 16.30
16 30 fps 16.30
16 30 fps 20.51
20 51 fps 20.51
20 51 fps 28.49
28 49 fps 28.49
28 49 fps 30.50
30 50 fps 30.50
30 50 fps
10.58 J/f 8.98 J/f 9.06 J/f 4.62 J/f 4.68 J/f 7.04 J/f 7.13 J/f 4.07 J/f 4.14 J/f 5.78 J/f 5.97 J/f
35 W
49 W
50 W
33 W
33 W
50 W
50 W
41 W
42 W
64 W
69 W
47 W
59 W
60 W
40 W
40 W
60 W
60 W
48 W
49 W
72 W
71 W
89 W
116 W
117 W
61 W
62 W
137 W
138 W
101 W
102 W
163 W
243 W
72 W
70 W
95 W
88 W
106 W
108 W
125 W
140 W
182 W
187 W
228 W
95 W
123 W
148 W
106 W
123 W
170 W
187 W
187 W
228 W
249 W
290 W
Premium
Ultimate
Intel (LGA 1155)
Intel (LGA 1366)
AMD
Intel (LGA 1155)
Intel (LGA 1366)
Core i7-2600K
Core i7-960
Phenom II X6 1100T
Core i7-2600K
Core i7-990X
P67
X58/ICH10R
890FX/SB850
P67
X58/ICH10R
HD 6870 GTX 560 Ti HD 6870 GTX 560 Ti HD 6870 GTX 560 Ti HD 6970 GTX 570 HD 6970 GTX 570
$1,911
$1,953
$1,912
$1,954
$1,732
$1,774
$2,509
$2,497
$3,235
$3,223
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42 W
42 W
92 W
92 W
72 W
72 W
38 W
42 W
69 W
73 W
48 W
48 W
100 W
100 W
81 W
81 W
44 W
48 W
78 W
82 W
118 W
118 W
197 W
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199 W
199 W
114 W
118 W
207 W
212 W
160 W
200 W
224 W
262 W
225 W
263 W
244 W
251 W
308 W
315 W
231 W
269 W
305 W
341 W
307 W
343 W
306 W
312 W
385 W
392 W
Legend
• In general
– : Supported.
• Video (GPU)
contents.
3D movie playback.
motherboard.
46
rough estimate.
– Idle: At idle.
ATX Cases
There are many good ATX cases. Here is a list of well-built ATX cases. All SilverStone cases except for
LC16M/LC20(M)/GD01(MX), Antec Fusion Remote Max, and Thermaltake DH103 and DH104 can hold a
graphics card of any length, possibly by removing a HDD cage.
Without LCD/VFD/IR Receiver/Remote
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
nMEDIAPC HTPC 2000B ATX, with a card reader, $92.
nMEDIAPC HTPC 6000B ATX, with a card reader, $80.
SilverStone Lascala LC10-E SST-LC10B-E ATX, $109.
SilverStone Lascala LC13-E SST-LC13B-E ATX, $120.
SilverStone Lascala LC17 SST-LC17B ATX, $120.
SilverStone Lascala LC20 SST-LC20B ATX, $129.
SilverStone Lascala GD01 SST-GD01B-R ATX, with a card reader, $135.
Zalman HD501 ATX, with a LCD/IR receiver/remote, $145.
Figure 45: ATX Cases without LCD
With LCD/VFD/IR Receiver/Remote
• Antec Fusion Remote Max ATX, with a LCD/IR receiver/remote, $174.
47
• SilverStone Lascala LC16M-R SST-LC16B-MR ATX, with a VFD/IR receiver/remote and card reader,
$236.
• SilverStone Lascala LC20M SST-LC20B-M ATX, with a VFD/IR receiver/remote, $179.
• SilverStone Lascala GD01MX SST-GD01B-MXR ATX, with a LCD/IR receiver/remote and card reader,
$236.
• SilverStone Crown CW02 SST-CW02B-MXR ATX, with a LCD/IR receiver/remote and card reader,
$359.
• Thermaltake DH101 VF7001BNS ATX, with a LCD/IR receiver/remote, $198.
• Thermaltake DH202 VJ80011N2Z ATX, with a LCD/IR receiver/remote and card reader, $240.
• Zalman HD503 ATX, with a LCD/IR receiver/remote, $225.
Figure 46: ATX Cases with LCD
Note that the cases used in the recommendation list are just examples. You should choose a case that suits
your needs.
Low-End System
Intel (iGPU)
Summary A low-end system with the second generation Intel Core i3 processor is here. The integrated GPU
is overall very good, with a few issues such as non-support for 23.976Hz refresh rate and poor support by free
and open-source video codecs.
System
• Motherboard: ASRock H61iCAFE LGA 1155 Intel H61 chipset ATX, $85. An alternative is Intel DH67CL
LGA 1155 Intel H67 chipset ATX, $110.
• Graphics Card: Intel HD Graphics 2000 (integrated in the CPU), $0.
48
• Case: nMEDIAPC HTPC 2000B ATX, with a card reader, $85.
Figure 47: ATX Low-End Intel (iGPU) System
AMD (iGPU)
Summary If you want the current AMD iGPU, here is such a system.
System
• CPU: Athlon II X2 255 ADX255OCGQBOX/ADX255OCGMBOX 3.1GHz 65W AM3, $63.
• Motherboard: ASRock 880G Pro3 AM3+ AMD 880G/SB850 chipsets ATX, $100. A better alternative is
GIGABYTE GA-880GA-UD3H AM3 AMD 880G/SB850 chipsets ATX, $110.
• Graphics Card: Radeon HD 4250 (integrated in the chipset), $0.
• Case: nMEDIAPC HTPC 2000B ATX, with a card reader, $85.
49
Figure 48: ATX Low-End AMD (iGPU) System
AMD
Summary AMD iGPU is somewhat limited in today’s standard. By adding a discrete graphics card, you can
build a powerful video playback system at a low cost.
System
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
CPU: Athlon II X3 450 ADX450WFGMBOX 3.2GHz 95W AM3, $80.
Motherboard: ASRock 870 Extreme3 AM3 AMD 870G/SB850 chipsets ATX, $90.
Case: nMEDIAPC HTPC 2000B ATX, with card reader, $85.
Figure 49: ATX Low-End AMD System
50
Mid-Range System
Intel
Summary This Intel system is very well-balanced in CPU and GPU performance and has plenty of storage
space with up to 8 internal 3.500 bays.
System
• Motherboard: ASRock P67 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel P67 chipset ATX, $160. An alternative is GIGABYTE GA-H67A-UD3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel H67 chipset ATX, $133, in case you want to use onboard
video.
• Case: SilverStone Lascala LC20 SST-LC20B ATX, $130.
Figure 50: ATX Mid-Range Intel System
AMD
Summary This Intel system is very well-balanced in CPU and GPU performance and has plenty of storage
space with up to 8 internal 3.500 bays.
System
• CPU: Phenom II X4 840 HDX840WFGMBOX 3.2GHz 95W AM3, $108.
51
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H AM3 AMD 890GX/SB850 chipsets ATX, $140.
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): SPARKLE SXT440512D5NM GeForce GT 440 GDDR5 512MB, $70.
Case: SilverStone Lascala LC20 SST-LC20B ATX, $130.
Total Cost: $689 for AMD, $662 for NVIDIA.
Figure 51: ATX Mid-Range AMD System
High-End System
Intel
Summary This Intel system is a multi-purpose machine with very powerful CPU and GPU. By removing the
divider section of the central HDD chamber, the case supports any graphics card(s) available today (you don’t
have to do so for the graphics card below).
System
• Motherboard: ASRock P67 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel P67 chipset ATX, $160. An alternative is ASUS
P8P67 PRO LGA 1155 Intel P67 chipset ATX, $181, or MSI P67A-GD65 LGA 1155 Intel P67 chipset ATX,
$179.
• Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL6D-4GBXH Ripjaws-X DDR3-1600 CL6 2 x 2GB Kit, $75.
• PSU: Seasonic M12II-620 Bronze, $90.
• Case: Antec Fusion Remote Max ATX, with a LCD/IR receiver/remote, $179.
52
Figure 52: ATX High-End Intel System
AMD
Summary This AMD system is a multi-purpose machine with very powerful CPU and GPU. By removing
the divider section of the central HDD chamber, the case supports any graphics card(s) available today (you
don’t have to do so for the graphics card below).
System
• CPU: Phenom II X6 1090T ‘Black Edition’ HDT90ZFBGRBOX 3.2GHz 125W AM3, $200.
• Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H AM3 AMD 890GX/SB850 chipsets ATX, $140. An alternative is ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890GX/SB850 chipsets ATX, $140.
• Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL6D-4GBXH Ripjaws-X DDR3-1600 CL6 2 x 2GB Kit, $75.
• PSU: Seasonic M12II-620 Bronze, $90.
• Case: Antec Fusion Remote Max ATX, with a LCD/IR receiver/remote, $179.
53
Figure 53: ATX High-End AMD System
Premium System
Intel (LGA 1155)
System
• CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-C12P SE14, $60.
• Motherboard: ASRock P67 Extreme6 LGA 1155 Intel P67 chipset ATX, $210. An alternative is ASRock
P67 Professional LGA 1155 Intel P67 chipset ATX, $240 (for a gamer), or ASUS P8P67 DELUXE LGA
1155 Intel P67 chipset ATX, $230.
• Graphics Card (AMD): Sapphire 100314-2SR HD 6870 GDDR5 1GB, $200.
• Graphics Card (NVIDIA): MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB, $242.
• PSU: Seasonic X-660 SS-660KM, $141.
• Case: LUXA2 LM300 Touch Pro LVA30052N1Z ATX, with a 700 touch screen/IR receiver/remote, $610.
If you don’t need or don’t like a touch screen, choose LUXA2 LM300 Pro LVA30012N1Z ATX, with a
LCD/IR receiver/remote, $400.
54
Figure 54: ATX Premium Intel (LGA 1155) System
Intel (LGA 1366)
System
• Motherboard: ASRock X58 Extreme6 LGA 1366 Intel X58/ICH10R chipsets ATX, $236. An alternative is
GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58/ICH10R chipsets ATX, $205.
• Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL8T-6GBRM Ripjaws DDR3-1600 CL8 3 x 2GB Kit, $90.
Figure 55: ATX Premium Intel (LGA 1366) System
55
AMD
System
• CPU: Phenom II X6 1100T ‘Black Edition’ HDE00ZFBGRBOX 3.3GHz 125W AM3, $230.
• Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-890FXA-UD5 AM3 AMD 890FX/SB850 chipsets ATX, $180. An alternative is MSI 890FXA-GD70 AM3 AMD 890FX/SB850 chipsets ATX, $197.
Figure 56: ATX Premium AMD System
Ultimate System
Intel (LGA 1155)
System
• CPU Cooler: Thermalright Venomous X - RT, $63.
• Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD7-B3 LGA 1155 nForce 200/Intel P67 chipset ATX, $303. An
alternative is ASUS Maximus IV Extreme LGA 1155 nForce 200/Intel P67 chipset ATX, $345.
• Memory: G.SKILL F3-17000CL7D-4GBXHD Ripjaws-X DDR3-2133 CL7 2 x 2GB Kit, $140.
• Graphics Card (AMD): Sapphire 100311SR HD 6970 GDDR5 2GB, $358; two of this card for CrossFireX,
$716.
56
• Graphics Card (NVIDIA): EVGA 012-P3-1570-AR GeForce GTX 570 1280MB, $346; two of this card for
SLI, $692. A better (and more expensive) alternative is EVGA 015-P3-1580-AR GeForce GTX 580 1536MB,
$497.
• PSU: Corsair AX1200 CMPSU-1200AX 1200W, $280.
• Case: Thermaltake DH104 VH4001BNS ATX, with a 700 touch screen/IR receiver/remote, $500. If you
don’t need or don’t like a touch screen, choose Thermaltake DH103 VH3001BNS ATX, with a LCD/IR
receiver/remote, $257.
• Total Cost: $2509 for non-CrossFireX, $2867 for CrossFireX; $2497 for non-SLI, $2843 for SLI
Figure 57: ATX Ultimate Intel (LGA 1155) System
Intel (LGA 1366)
System
• CPU: Core i7-990X 3.46GHz 130W LGA 1366, $1,000.
• Motherboard: ASUS Rampage III Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58/ICH10R chipsets ATX, $359. An alternative is MSI Big Bang-XPower LGA 1366 Intel X58/ICH10R chipsets ATX, $295.
• Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL6T-6GBPI Pi DDR3-1600 CL6 3 x 2GB Kit, $125.
• Graphics Card (AMD): Sapphire 100311SR HD 6970 GDDR5 2GB, $358; two of this card for CrossFireX,
$716.
• Graphics Card (NVIDIA): EVGA 012-P3-1570-AR GeForce GTX 570 1280MB, $346; two of this card for
SLI, $692. A better (and more expensive) alternative is EVGA 015-P3-1580-AR GeForce GTX 580 1536MB,
$497.
• Case: Thermaltake DH104 VH4001BNS ATX, with a 700 touch screen/IR receiver/remote, $500. If you
don’t need or don’t like a touch screen, choose Thermaltake DH103 VH3001BNS ATX, with a LCD/IR
receiver/remote, $257.
• Total Cost: $3235 for non-CrossFireX, $3593 for CrossFireX; $3223 for non-SLI, $3569 for SLI
57
Figure 58: ATX Ultimate Intel (LGA 1366) System
58
DAS (Direct Attached Storage)
If you need more storage space than the ones provided by the motherboard and the case, a quick solution is
attach an external HDD enclosure. If you need lots of drives, you may want to consider a dedicated file server
(see Media Storage Server). If you need higher I/O throughput, e.g. for video editing, there are many SATA
RAID controller cards. Here are a couple of examples.
4/5/8-Bay SATA to eSATA Port Multiplier Enclosure with a SATA 6Gb/s RAID Host Adapter
First a couple of port multiplier enclosures are given. The bundled port multiplier-aware RAID 5 host adapter
uses a newer SATA 3.0 (6Gb/s) PCIe 2.0 x1 controller that supports broader bandwidth.
• SANS DIGITAL TowerRAID Plus TR4M-BP 4 Bay eSATA RAID 0/1/10/5/JBOD Performance Tower
with 6Gb/s PCIe 2.0 x1 Card, $150. The enclosure has a port multiplier and comes with the RocketRAID
622 SATA 6Gb/s RAID 5 PCIe 2.0 x1 host adapter.
with 6Gb/s PCIe 2.0 x1 Card, $200. The enclosure has a port multiplier and comes with the RocketRAID
622 SATA 6Gb/s RAID 5 PCIe 2.0 x1 host adapter.
with 6Gb/s PCIe 2.0 x1 Card, $330. The enclosure has two port multipliers and comes with the RocketRAID 622 SATA 6Gb/s RAID 5 PCIe 2.0 x1 host adapter.
Figure 59: DAS - eSATA Port Multiplier Enclosures
59
4/5-Bay SATA to eSATA/USB 3.0 Hardware RAID Enclosure with or without a SATA 6Gb/s Host
Adapter
The next class of enclosures uses JMicron JMB393/JMB394 5-port SATA 2.0 port multiplier with RAID function,
along with a USB 3.0 to SATA 2.0 bridge. Some of them come with a (SATA 3.0 PCIe 2.0 x1) host adapter, but
this is unnecessary if your motherboard has an eSATA 6Gb/s connector or a USB 3.0 connector.
• SANS DIGITAL TowerRAID Plus TR4UTBPN 4 Bay USB 3.0 / eSATA Hardware RAID 5 Tower, $190.
The enclosure has the JMB394 5-port SATA II RAID 5 controller chip and a SuperSpeed USB to SATA II
bridge.
• SANS DIGITAL TowerRAID Plus TR4UT-BP 4 Bay USB 3.0 / eSATA Hardware RAID 5 Tower with
6Gb/s PCIe 2.0 x1 HBA, $270. The enclosure has the JMB394 5-port SATA II RAID 5 controller chip and
a SuperSpeed USB to SATA II bridge, and comes with the RocketRAID 622 SATA 6Gb/s PCIe 2.0 x1 host
adapter.
• SANS DIGITAL TowerRAID Plus TR5UT-BP 5 Bay USB 3.0 / eSATA Hardware RAID 5 Tower with
6Gb/s PCIe 2.0 x1 HBA, $330. The enclosure has the JMB394 5-port SATA II RAID 5 controller chip and
a SuperSpeed USB to SATA II bridge, and comes with the RocketRAID 622 SATA 6Gb/s PCIe 2.0 x1 host
adapter.
• AMS VENUS T5C DS-2350C 5-Bay SATA RAID Enclosure, $230. The enclosure has the JMB393 5-port
SATA II RAID 5 controller chip and a SuperSpeed USB to SATA II bridge.
Figure 60: DAS - eSATA/USB 3.0 Hardware RAID Enclosures
JMicron JMB393/394 supports PM or non-PM aware host. Thus you can connect it to any eSATA port of your
system in hardware-accelerated RAID mode. Sans Digital claims that when connected to a SATA 6Gb/s port,
you can expect in RAID 5
• 180MB/s in write
• 200MB/s in read
60
Figure 61: DAS - JMB393/394
8-Bay SATA/SAS to Mini-SAS Enclosure with a SAS 6Gb/s RAID Host Adapter
If you want some performance (e.g. for video editing), here is such an enclosure.
• SANS DIGITAL TowerRAID Plus TR8X-BP 8 Bay 6Gb/s SAS / SATA RAID 5 Storage Enclosure with
6Gb/s PCIe 2.0 x8 Card, $640. The enclosure comes with the HighPoint RocketRAID 2722 8-port external 6Gb/s SAS/SATA RAID Controller PCI Express 2.0 x8 Card, connected with two SFF-8088 connectors.
Figure 62: DAS - Mini-SAS Enclosure
Other DAS Solutions
Please check:
61
• Newegg.com > Servers > Server RAID Systems.
62
Workstation
Workstation here is a PC intended for various HTPC-related tasks other than video/audio playback. The
systems below are consumer-grade high-performance video editing machines. The selection of the (single or
multiple) graphics card and HBA depends on the tasks you are going to do.
Systems
Intel (LGA 1155)
Summary The first system uses a second generation of Intel Core processor and a motherboard with P67
and NVIDIA nForce 200 chipsets. This is good enough for the most demanding tasks and future upgrades (4
cores/8 threads, supporting PCI Express 2.0 x16, x16 / x16, x8, x8 / x8, x8, x8, x8 links).
System
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Venomous X - RT, $63.
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 WS Revolution LGA 1155 nForce 200/Intel P67 chipset ATX, $260.
Graphics Card: GIGABYTE GV-N460OC-1GI GeForce GTX 460 1GB, $186.
HBA: LSI MegaRAID SAS 9260-16i 16-port internal 6Gb/s SATA and SAS RAID Controller PCI Express
2.0 x8 Card, $746.
PSU: Corsair AX1200 CMPSU-1200AX 1200W, $280.
Case: Antec Twelve Hundred V3 ATX (12 x 5.25 bay), $168.
HDD Cage (optional): NORCO SS-500 5 Bay SATA(I or II)/SAS Hot Swap Module, $80, or SuperMicro
CSE-M35T-1B Mobile Rack, $96. The case supports up to 20 HDDs (besides the OS drive) with 4 cages.
Total Cost: $2693 (optional HDD cages and drives for data storage are not included)
63
Figure 63: Intel (LGA 1155) Workstation
Intel (LGA 1155) - Xeon
Summary The second system uses an Intel Xeon E3-1200 Family processor and a motherboard with C206
chipset. The main differences from the above system are
• Support for ECC memory (although the memory modules chosen here are non-ECC).
• Support for Intel HD Graphics 3000 via a DVI-I connector. This means that Quick Sync works in the dual
GPU mode. Note that not every Xeon E3-1200 SKU supports graphics.
• Supported PCI Express 2.0 links are x16, x4, x4 / x8, x8, x4, x4. One of the two x4 links comes from the
Xeon processor.
• Overclocking is not allowed.
System
• CPU: Xeon E3-1275 3.4GHz 95W LGA 1155, $348. This SKU is almost identical with Core i7-2600K,
except that it supports ECC memory, an extra PCI Express 2.0 x4 link, no overclocking.
• Motherboard: ASUS P8B WS LGA 1155 Intel c206 chipset ATX, $230.
• Graphics Card: GIGABYTE GV-N460OC-1GI GeForce GTX 460 1GB, $186.
• HBA: LSI MegaRAID SAS 9260-16i 16-port internal 6Gb/s SATA and SAS RAID Controller PCI Express
2.0 x8 Card, $746.
• Case: Antec Twelve Hundred V3 ATX (12 x 5.25 bay), $168.
• HDD Cage (optional): NORCO SS-500 5 Bay SATA(I or II)/SAS Hot Swap Module, $80, or SuperMicro
• Total Cost: $2656 (optional HDD cages and drives for data storage are not included)
64
Figure 64: Intel (LGA 1155) Workstation - Xeon
Intel (LGA 1366)
Summary The third system uses a LGA 1366 processor and a motherboard with X58 and NVIDIA nForce
200 chipsets, supporting triple-channel memory and PCI Express 2.0 x16, x16, x16 / x16, x16, x8, x8 / x16, x8,
x8, x8, x8 links.
System
• CPU: Core i7-960 3.20GHz 130W LGA 1366, $285. An alternative is Core i7-990X 3.46GHz 130W LGA
1366, $1,000, if you want better performance in multi-tasking.
• Motherboard: ASUS P6X58-E WS LGA 1366 Intel X58/ICH10R/nForce 200 chipsets ATX, $300.
• Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL9T-12GBRL Ripjaws DDR3-1600 CL9 3 x 4GB Kit, $155.
• Graphics Card: GIGABYTE GV-N460OC-1GI GeForce GTX 460 1GB, $186.
• HBA: LSI MegaRAID SAS 9260-16i 16-port internal 6Gb/s SATA and SAS RAID Controller PCI Express
2.0 x8 Card, $746.
• Case: Antec Twelve Hundred V3 ATX (12 x 5.25 bay), $168.
• HDD Cage (optional): NORCO SS-500 5 Bay SATA(I or II)/SAS Hot Swap Module, $80, or SuperMicro
• Total Cost: $2733 (optional HDD cages and drives for data storage are not included)
65
Figure 65: Intel (LGA 1366) Workstation
66
Media Storage Server
Purpose of a Media Storage Server
The main purposes of the media storage server described here are:
• Storing/archiving media files (ripped/downloaded/recorded SD and HD video contents/music, photographs etc.) in one centralized place.
• Streaming media to HTPCs.
• Possibly serving as a DVR with TV tuners added.
Here are some considerations in building such a system.
Component Selection
OS The intended OS is one of the following:
• Windows Vista or 7, 32 bit or 64 bit, with or without FlexRAID and/or FlexRAID-View
• Windows Home Server (WHS) 2011, with or without FlexRAID (in place of Folder Duplication)
• unRAID (a Linux variant with RAID 4 capability)
You can also use Linux with software RAID, OpenFiler etc. as long as your hardware components are supported.
Case NORCO RPC-4220/RPC-4224 is the best case for a media storage server. It support 20/24 HDDs in
hot-swap bays and has a backplane with five SFF-8087 mini-SAS connectors for better cabling at a relatively
cheap price. If you need more storage space, build another server of the same type and store them in a rack
such as iStarUSA WO22AB 22U WO Open Frame Rack, ∼$300.
Figure 66: Server Rack
67
PSU Each hard disk drive consumes as low as 5W at idle, but as much as 30W at start-up, depending on the
model. So we may need a powerful PSU to start up all the drives at a time. A typical power consumption of a
20-HDD server is
• ∼500W at start up
• ∼200W at seek
• ∼150W at idle
CPU A dual-core processor is enough because archiving/streaming/recording is not so CPU-intensive. If
you do transcoding videos for a media player other than PCs, you may want a quad-core processor, however.
Memory 2GB is enough for a similar reason, but 4GB is used here.
Motherboard Basic requirements are
•
•
•
•
•
Onboard graphics (to avoid a discrete graphics)
Gb LAN (that provides enough bandwidth for streaming HD contents to several HTPC simultaneously)
Proper support for power management, in particular WOL (Wake-On-LAN)
Enough number of onboard SATA 3.0Gb/s ports
Enough number of expansion slots for SAS/SATA controller cards
The number of onboard SATA ports and expansion slots depends on the number of drive bays of the case. We
will consider this point later. If you are going to use the server as a DVR, you will need more expansion slots
for TV tuners.
HBA (host bus adapter) We use here the following non-RAID SATA controller cards. They are cheap and
reliable.
• HighPoint Rocket 620 2-port SATA 6.0Gb/s RAID Controller PCI Express x1 Card, $25, with Marvell
88SE9128 chip.
• Rosewill RC-218 4-port SATA 3.0Gb/s Controller PCI Express x4 Card, $90, with Marvell 88SX7042 chip
• Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 8-port SAS/SATA 3.0Gb/s Controller PCI Express x4 Card, $105, with
Marvell 88SE6480 chip
Figure 67: Host Bus Adapter
System drive Basically you can use any HDD for OS. Windows Home Server 2011 requires a 160GB or larger
HDD as the system drive. UnRAID uses a USB flash drive.
68
Storage drives 2TB HDD is the current standard drive for large data such as HD videos. Here are a couple
of good 2TB SATA HDDs. All of them use 667GB platters.
• HGST Deskstar 5K3000 HDS5C3020ALA632 2TB 5700 RPM 32MB SATA 6.0Gb/s, $80.
• WD Caviar Green WD20EARS 2TB IntelliPower 64MB SATA 3.0Gb/s, $80.
• Samsung EcoGreen F4 HD204UI 2TB 5400 RPM 32MB SATA 3.0Gb/s, $80. You may need to update
firmware.
• Seagate Barracuda Green ST2000DL003 2TB 5900 RPM 64MB SATA 6.0Gb/s, $80. You may need to
update firmware.
3TB HDD has become affordable. Hardware-wise every system mentioned here supports 3TB HDDs as data
drives. Not every OS supports 3TB HDDs, however. Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows Home Server
2011 supports 3TB HDDs, while the support of 3TB HDDs by unRAID is under development. If you want to
boot from a 3TB HDD, your motherboard must support Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) and
you have to use a 64-bit OS. Please read the thread WD ships 3TB HDDs in mid-October and references cited
there for details.
• HGST Deskstar 5K3000 HDS5C3030ALA630 3TB 5700 RPM 32MB SATA 6.0Gb/s, $140.
• WD Caviar Green WD30EZRSDTL 3TB IntelliPower 64MB SATA 3.0Gb/s, $180.
Backup
You will need to back up important, irreplaceable data (e.g. personal documents and family photos), perhaps
off-site. Building a dedicated backup system is one method (you can use similar hardware components here).
A caution to those who consider RAID5: RAID 5 is not a backup strategy, it’s about uptime - if a drive fails,
you can swap it for a new one to rebuild with no service interruption. You may lose the entire date in the
array instantly however if multiple drives fail or if a hardware issue kills the array. FlexRAID and unRAID are
better in this point: you can still get data from each non-failed drive.
Feature Comparison
I will give several tower and rackmount systems in the below. A brief feature comparison is here.
Figure 68: Server Systems Feature Comparison
Case Type
Case
Size: W x H x D mm
Number of 3.5" Bays
Hot Swap
Cost
Cost/Bay
12
No
$623
$52
Server I
Tower
Antec 900 II
218 x 493 x 472
15
15
No
Yes
$693
$858
$46
$57
Antec 1200
Rackmount
RPC-450B
213 x 582 x 513
483 x 176 x 550
15
No
$691
$46
15
No
$598
$40
Server II
Tower
Rackmount
Antec 1200
RPC-4220
RPC-4224
483 x 176 x 650 483 x 176 x 650
213 x 582 x 513
20
20
20
24
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
$1,036
$1,256
$1,049
$1,273
$52
$63
$52
$53
Server I
Basic design
In this subsection we will consider a couple of systems supporting 12 or 15 drives in addition to the system
drive. Basically you can use any motherboard having:
69
•
•
•
•
•
Onboard video
Gb LAN
6 onboard SATA ports
A PCI Express x1 slot (for a Rocket 620 card)
A PCI Express x4 or higher slot (for a AOC-SASLP-MV8 card)
In the systems below an ASRock AMD 880G/SB70 chipsets motherboard is used (because it is cheap), but most
AMD 760G/780G/785G/790GX/880G/890GX / Intel H55/H57/H67 motherboards should work as well.
Figure 69: Server I Block Diagram
LAN
VGA
RJ45
Realtek
RTL8111DL
AMD
SB710
PCI Express x1
AMD
880G
A-Link Express II
PCI Express 2.0 x1
6 SATA
DVI
AMD
Athlon II
PCI Express x4
Marvell
88SE9128
Marvell
88SE6480
2 SATA
8 SATA
12-Bay Tower Server
System
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Case: Antec Nine Hundred Two V3 ATX (9 x 5.2500 bay), $120.
HDD Cage: Scythe Hard Disk Stabilizer x4 SCY-HDSX4, $10.
PSU: Corsair VX550W CMPSU-550VX 550W, $90.
CPU: Athlon II X2 250e AD250EHDGMBOX 3.0GHz 45W AM3, $83.
CPU Cooler: Stock Cooler, $0.
70
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Motherboard: ASRock 880GM-LE AM3 AMD 880G/SB710 chipsets microATX, $60.
Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ DDR3-1600 CL9 2 x 2GB Kit, $48.
Graphics: Radeon HD 4250 (integrated in the chipset), $0.
HBA: Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 8-port SATA 2.0 Controller PCI Express x4 Card, $105.
Cable: 0.5m SFF-8087 to Four SATA Forward Breakout Cable (e.g. 3ware CBL-SFF8087OCF-05M), $12.
Mounter: SYBA SY-MRA25018 2.500 SATA HDD Tray Less Mobile Rack for PCI Slot, $18 (attaching the
2.500 HDD for OS to an empty expansion slot).
• HDD for OS: Seagate Momentus 7200.4 ST9250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s mobile, $45.
• Total Cost: $623 (storage drives are not included)
Figure 70: 12-Bay Tower Server
Remark
• You can use three of either of the following 4 in 3 HDD cages instead of Scythe Hard Disk Stabilizer x4
SCY-HDSX4 (perhaps discontinued):
– XIGMATEK CCA-EMFCB-U01 4 in 3 HDD Cage, $23.
– Cooler Master 4-in-3 Device Module STB-3T4-E3-GP, $25.
The former cages fit better (color-wise) with XIGMATEK Utgard ATX (9 x 5.2500 bay), $70.
15-Bay Tower Server 1
System
•
•
•
•
•
Case: Antec Nine Hundred Two V3 ATX (9 x 5.2500 bay), $120.
HDD Cage: NORCO Hard Drive Cage for RPC-450, $15. You can buy it from iPCDIRECT.
HDD Rail: NORCO Hard drive Rails for RPC-CASE x 5, $10. A pair of rails are used to attach a HDD
to the cage. 5 pairs for a cage. You can buy it from iPCDIRECT.
71
• HDD Rail: NORCO Hard drive Rails for RPC-CASE x 5, $10. A pair of rails are used to attach a HDD
• PSU: Corsair TX650W CMPSU-650TX 650W, $90.
• CPU: Athlon II X2 250e AD250EHDGMBOX 3.0GHz 45W AM3, $83.
• CPU Cooler: Stock Cooler, $0.
• Motherboard: ASRock 880GM-LE AM3 AMD 880G/SB710 chipsets microATX, $60.
• Graphics: Radeon HD 4250 (integrated in the chipset), $0.
• HBA: HighPoint Rocket 620 2-port SATA 6.0Gb/s Controller PCI Express x1 Card, $25.
• HBA: Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 8-port SATA 2.0 Controller PCI Express x4 Card, $105.
• Cable: 0.5m SFF-8087 to Four SATA Forward Breakout Cable (e.g. 3ware CBL-SFF8087OCF-05M), $12.
• Mounter: SYBA SY-MRA25018 2.500 SATA HDD Tray Less Mobile Rack for PCI Slot, $18 (attaching the
Figure 71: 15-Bay Tower Server 1
15-Bay Tower Server with Hot Swap
System
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Case: Antec Nine Hundred Two V3 ATX (9 x 5.25h bay), $120.
HDD Cage: NORCO SS-500 5 Bay SATA(I or II)/SAS Hot Swap Module, $80.
PSU: Corsair TX650W CMPSU-650TX 650W, $90.
72
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
HBA: HighPoint Rocket 620 2-port SATA 6.0Gb/s Controller PCI Express x1 Card, $25.
HBA: Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 8-port SAS/SATA 3.0Gb/s Controller PCI Express x4 Card, $105.
Figure 72: 15-Bay Tower Server with Hot Swap
15-Bay Tower Server 2
System
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
HBA: HighPoint Rocket 620 2-port SATA 6.0Gb/s Controller PCI Express x1 Card, $25.
HBA: Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 8-port SAS/SATA 3.0Gb/s Controller PCI Express x4 Card, $105.
73
• HDD for OS: Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB SATA 3.0Gb/s, $48.
Figure 73: 15-Bay Tower Server 2
Remark
• You can use four of either of the following 4 in 3 HDD cages instead of Scythe Hard Disk Stabilizer x4
SCY-HDSX4 (perhaps discontinued):
– XIGMATEK CCA-EMFCB-U01 4 in 3 HDD Cage, $23.
– Cooler Master 4-in-3 Device Module STB-3T4-E3-GP, $25.
15-Bay Rackmount Server
System
• Case: NORCO RPC-450B Black 4U Server Rackmount Chassis, $75.
• HDD Cage: NORCO Hard Drive Cage for RPC-450, $15. The cage holds 5 HDDs. The case comes with
2 of them. So you need to buy only 1 from iPCDIRECT.
to the cage. You will need 5 pairs as the case comes with 10 pairs. Buy them from iPCDIRECT.
• CPU: Athlon II X2 250e AD250EHDGMBOX 3.0GHz 45W AM3, $83.
• Motherboard: ASRock 880GM-LE AM3 AMD 880G/SB710 chipsets microATX, $60.
• Graphics: Radeon HD 4250 (integrated in the chipset), $0.
• HBA: HighPoint Rocket 620 2-port SATA 6.0Gb/s Controller PCI Express x1 Card, $25.
• HBA: Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 8-port SAS/SATA 3.0Gb/s Controller PCI Express x4 Card, $105.
74
Figure 74: 15-Bay Rackmount Server
Server II
Basic design
In this subsection we will consider a couple of systems supporting 20 or 24 drives in addition to the system
drive. This is achieved by adding another Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 card, that requires another PCI Express x4 slot. I chose here a new Intel C202 chipset motherboard supporting two PCI Express 2.0 x8 links (from
an Intel 2nd generation Core processor / Xeon E3-1200 family processor) and a PCI Express 2.0 x4 link (from
C202).
75
Figure 75: Server II Block Diagram
LAN
RJ45
RJ45
Intel
82579
Intel
82574
PCI Express x1
VGA
Winbond
WPCM450
PCI Express x1
PCI / LPC
Intel
C202
DMI 2.0
PCI Express x4
6 SATA
Intel
Core i3
PCI Express x4
PCI Express x4
Marvell
88SX7042
Marvell
88SE6480
Marvell
88SE6480
4 SATA
8 SATA
8 SATA
20-Bay Tower Server
System
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
CPU: Core i3-2100 3.1GHz 65W LGA 1155, $125.
76
• Motherboard: Supermicro X9SCL MBD-X9SCL-O LGA 1155 Intel C202 chipset microATX, $160. An
alternative is Supermicro X9SCL-F MBD-X9SCL-F-O LGA 1155 Intel C202 chipset microATX with IPMI
(Intelligent Platform Management Interface) 2.0, $180, if you want IPMI 2.0.
• Memory: Kingston ValueRAM KVR1333D3E9SK2/4G DDR3-1333 ECC CL9 2 x 2GB Kit, $57.
• Graphics: Graphics Core in Nuvoton WPCM450 BMC Chip, $0.
Figure 76: 20-Bay Tower Server
20-Bay Tower Server with Hot Swap
System
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
CPU: Core i3-2100 3.1GHz 65W LGA 1155, $125.
Motherboard: Supermicro X9SCL MBD-X9SCL-O LGA 1155 Intel C202 chipset microATX, $160. An
77
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Memory: Kingston ValueRAM KVR1333D3E9SK2/4G DDR3-1333 ECC CL9 2 x 2GB Kit, $57.
Graphics: Graphics Core in Nuvoton WPCM450 BMC Chip, $0.
HDD for OS: Seagate Momentus 7200.4 ST9250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s mobile, $45.
Total Cost: $1256 (storage drives are not included)
Figure 77: 20-Bay Tower Server with Hot Swap
System
• Case: NORCO RPC-4220 4U Server Rackmount Chassis with 20 Hot Swappable SATA/SAS Drive Bays,
$291.
• HBA: Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 8-port SATA Controller PCI Express x4 Card, $105.
78
• Cable: 0.5m SFF-8087 to Four SATA Reverse Breakout Cable (e.g. 3ware CBL-SFF8087OCR-05M or
Norco C-SFF8087-4S), $12.
• Cable: 0.5m SFF-8087 to SFF-8087 Cable (e.g. 3ware CBL-SFF8087-05M or Norco C-SFF8087-D), $11.
Figure 78: 20-Bay Rackmount Server with Hot Swap
System
• Case: NORCO RPC-4224 4U Server Rackmount Chassis with 24 Hot Swappable SATA/SAS Drive Bays,
$375.
• HBA: Rosewill RC-218 4-port SATA 3.0Gb/s Controller PCI Express x4 Card, $90.
79
Figure 79: 24-Bay Rackmount Server with Hot Swap
80

Buyer`s Guide to Building a Home Theater PC

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