Grangey.
Distinguished Member
STILL HEAVILY UNDER CONSTRUCTION,
Please see Post 17 for a list of subjects I require user input on
The rest is still under development so dont be surprised if there are areas missing when you see this.
The "Ultimate" HTPC Information Thread
Everything you need to know about HTPC's (Hopefully!)
AVForums is FULL of usefull information on building PCs & HTPCs and I was lucky enough to join at a time where all these key threads were current and well known of.
Unfortunatley as time progresses, like anything things change, and valuable information get sucked deep into the many pages of a perticular forum- and with many members not using the search function its gets forgotten about.
Thats whats prompted me to start this thread!
I'm building this with the aim of this being your one stop "FAQ" shop if you will, and I hope that even the most unknowledgeable person on PCs can walk away from this educated.
I intend for this thread to cover everything so as to not leave a stone unturned, hopefully you can read this thread with a blank page and be able to walk away knowing the type of components you wish to purchase, how to build them, what front end to use, how to set everything up, know the important things, etc etc so lets get started!
Index;
Post #1 Beneith this index: Computers 101- Understanding components; Motherboards, CPU Sockets, Chipsets, Processors, RAM, Cases, & Hard Drives.
Post #2: Computers 101 continued; Graphics Cards, TV Cards, Operating Systems, Front Displays, Control Methods, & Cables
Post #3: Selecting the components appropriate for your needs
Post #4: How to build your HTPC
More.....
Basics/ What you need to know/understand
Components
--------------------------Motherboards--------------------------
So whats a motherboard? Well, this is the hart of a PC. It is with this board that everything connects to- think of it like your bodys nervous system
Now this is one of the big confusion parts of PCs especially when youre looking at buying components at the first time so let me try to put it as simple as I can.
So there are 3 key parts to a motherboard you need to bare in mind;
1) Formfactor
So a formfactor refers to layout and size of motherboard- and it is this that cases are based around.
There are 4 main types of form factors-
ATX
Micro ATX (Or MATX)
ITX
and Mini ITX (or MITX)
This is very important when searching for cases- there is no "competition" between them, they all do similar things just in different sizes and shapes basically.
2) Sockets;
So what is a socket?
In very simple terms this is basically what you would think, it is like a plug socket. What I mean by this is PCs are based on different "Sockets" which changes normally once a year with new processors etc.
Sockets are generally referred to as numbers but also have a "code name" afterwards, I would forcus more on the number is when searching for components this is what will come up with the most results;
The different sockets for processors;
AMD
Socket F (LGA 1207)
Socket C32 (LGA 1207) (replaces Socket F)
Socket G34 (LGA 1974)
Intel
775
771
1366
1356 - Sandy Bridge
1156 - Lynnfield & Clarkdale
1155 - Sandy Bridge & Ivy Bridge Processors
2011 (Socket R)- Ivy Bridge-E
3) Chipsets;
So what is a chipset?
Well of corse I can put it no better than Wiki- "PC chipset, or chip set refers to a group of integrated circuits, or chips, that are designed to work together. In computing, the term chipset is commonly used to refer to a set of specialized chips on a computer's motherboard"
So why is this important?
Well very simply because the type of chipset your board is based on will dictate the features your motherboard have.
more needed here
Common and respected manufacturers/brands of Motherboards are;
Gigabyte
Asus
The processor is the brain of the system, this is the clever thing that will determine a good proportion of the speed of your system.
There are 3 key parts to processors to look at;
1) Number of Cores
Basically each core is like a brain in itself, so cores are important when it comes to serious multi tasking.
Imagine a core like a single lane road, there is only so much traffic that single lane can cope with at one time...
Add another core or another lane, and you will have double the amount of tasks that can be coped with at one time.
2) Speed (ghz)
4) Cache
As would be suggested by the socket section of the motherboard, there are two processor makes in the PC world which are AMD and Intel. There will forever be a battle of which is better no different to the PS3 vs 360 battle so Il try and not go into that but I will leave it with my own personal current view of both.
AMD solutions seem to be overall cheaper offering good bang for buck so is ideal for cheaper builds. Looking at performance, currently Intel appear to be leading the way so deciding between the two will come down to what you want to achieve from your build. Its unlikely however that you will notice a big difference between them for general computing.
So lets take a look at the processor ranges from an overview;
Need a users imput here
The most recent processors are the second editions of the i3, i5, and i7 so lets have a quick look at them in summery terms.
It is worth noting that all (someone please confirm) ranges of intel processors features onboard graphics and audio fully capable of playing back blurays and bitstreaming HD audio. This means you do not have to purchase a seperate Graphics card should this be your main usage of the HTPC (it is however worth noting that there is a bug that effects them outputting 24p pictures properly, most people dont notice this though at all- again, someone please confirm.)
i3- availible at a range of speeds- duel core and offer integrated graphics.
This is a intels entry level process and a great processor for a base level HTPC, it offers good performance all round, and its onboard graphics are good enought to playback full 1080p blurays and bitstream HD audio removing the need for a seperate GPU if your most challenging task visually is bluray playback
The one thing worth noting though is last I heard Intel accross the board still have issues delivering 24p playback on blurays- I will fill this in with more information when it comes.
Note: Second generation processors are indicated by a 4 number model number, last year was 3. (eg a current model is 2100, last years was 540- both are based on different sockets.)
Prices for processor only start from circa £90 for this years version, and last year from circa £70.
i5- availible in a range of speeds in both duel core and quad core models
The i5 is Intels mid level card and caters for all ends of the market. The i5's offer a perfect range of processor to cater for all needs. If you've got abit of spare cash and want to get more speed from a dual core processor (not needed much for general htpc use) then the i5 duel core version is great, if however you want to get into current gaming, the quad core versions are perfect. They offer fantastic bang for buck and all overclock (more on this later) very well. Its worth noting that there are two forms of the later i5, the very simple difference between these are one is limited not to allow overclock, one is not (this has a "k" at the end, ie 2500k)
i7
The top end end of intels general market CPUs. These offer the latest and greatest and also include a further technology called "Hyperthreading", this effectivly works as if you have double the amount of cores, so if you had a quad core with hyperthreading, performance would be similar in theory to an 8 core. I wont say much more on this other than these processors are for those that are serious about building a high spec rig needed either for high end gaming or video editing.
Ram consists of three things, its type, its speed (in frequency), and its timmings.
Type is reffered to as DDR- The most recent type for example is known as DDR3
Speed (frequency), keeping it simple Ram is made to function at different speeds, this generally ranges from 800mhz- 2200mhz, very simply speaking the higher the mhz the better speed/performance that RAM will deliver you. BUT check which frequencies your motherboard will except- some for example way only accept up to 1800mhz speeds
Timings I cant explain this right now
Common and more respected brands for RAM are;
Corsair
RAM is driven & limited by the motherboard, so to know what you can get, check what the motherboard accepts (should be specified on the technical spec and also owners manuals), the maximum amount of RAM can also be limited by the processor
RAM is basically the temporary memory that ALL programs and process use, and has a direct correlation between the speed of your machine and its ability to have and keep multiple programs running.
As a minimum I would recommend 2GB or Ram, for a posative experience I would recommend 4GB, but above 4GB is recommended for serious users who will be running big games for an example.
Im sure you dont have to be a genious to guess what this is for... yes thats right, it houses all of your PC components and is basically what you will see every day!
These range MASSIVLY in shapes, sizes, features, capacity, etc etc and forums an important part of your build, as if you want loads of hard drives, you will want a case with plenty of drive bays. If you want quietness, you will want it to have at least 3 fans supported with at least an 80mm diamiter.
Cases are made to support specific form factor motherboards, so I would normally recommend finding a suitable case for your needs before making any decisions on motherboards and processors.
There are 4 Main things to look at and consider in hard drives;
1) Storage Capacity
How much space do you need? The higher the GB, the more the space (for reference 1TB (TB= "Terrabite"= 1000GB).
2) Speed
This is delivered just like a car- in RPM (rotations per minute). There are two primary speeds you will see from drives, 5400rpm and 7200rpm. The higher the RPM, the quicker the drive- so the quicker your programs and media will respond. But SOME 7200rpm drives can be noiser than their slower counterparts (worth bearing in mind if you want to build a completely silent system).
3) Connection Speed
There are currently two versions of connections, Sata 2 (or SATA II) and Sata 3 (SATA III)- These basically have different maximum transfer speeds, Sata2 having 3.0gb/s, Sata3 having 6gb/s.
Both connections are the same in how they look so dont worry about one not fitting on the other. But simply put Sata 3 is the latest standard allowing far higher transfer speeds from the drive, so where possible its worth trying to get a drive which has a Sata 3 (may just say 6gb/s) connection.
4) Physical size of the drive
There are 2 main sizes of drive, Conventional PC size 3'5 inch, and Laptop size 2'5.
There are also two TYPES of Drives availible- Hard Drives (Or HDDs) are the mainstream storage capacity due its cost and the time its been around. However, there are also whats known as Solid State Drives (SSDs).
Whats the difference?
HDDs are almost just like a CD player, they have a moving CD which the data is written to.
Solid State drives however have no moving parts at all, and instead their memory are on chips. This means instantly quick access times (for example the difference between windows taking say 12-15 seconds to boot from a HDD, to 4-5 seconds MAX on a SSD) they are also considerably smaller (as outlined in the picture at the top).
SSD drives still do cost a hell of a lot more than HDDs when looking at cost per gigabite- however, for speed they are highly recommened- even more so than a processor in many respects.
Well this is a quick and painless subject, Optical drives are drives that you inset you CDs/DVDs/Blurays into.
All that you should be looking out for here is read and write speads, so if you intend to rip your dvds to your hard drives as possible, you will want this to read DVDs at as quicker time as possible (indicated by "x" eg "x32"). Likewise if you want it write to blank CDs, Dvds, etc quickly you will want to find the highest write speeds possible.
I would also recommend you look at plenty of user reviews to determine the noise of the drive if this is important to you.
Please see Post 17 for a list of subjects I require user input on
The rest is still under development so dont be surprised if there are areas missing when you see this.
The "Ultimate" HTPC Information Thread
Everything you need to know about HTPC's (Hopefully!)
AVForums is FULL of usefull information on building PCs & HTPCs and I was lucky enough to join at a time where all these key threads were current and well known of.
Unfortunatley as time progresses, like anything things change, and valuable information get sucked deep into the many pages of a perticular forum- and with many members not using the search function its gets forgotten about.
Thats whats prompted me to start this thread!
I'm building this with the aim of this being your one stop "FAQ" shop if you will, and I hope that even the most unknowledgeable person on PCs can walk away from this educated.
I intend for this thread to cover everything so as to not leave a stone unturned, hopefully you can read this thread with a blank page and be able to walk away knowing the type of components you wish to purchase, how to build them, what front end to use, how to set everything up, know the important things, etc etc so lets get started!
Index;
Post #1 Beneith this index: Computers 101- Understanding components; Motherboards, CPU Sockets, Chipsets, Processors, RAM, Cases, & Hard Drives.
Post #2: Computers 101 continued; Graphics Cards, TV Cards, Operating Systems, Front Displays, Control Methods, & Cables
Post #3: Selecting the components appropriate for your needs
Post #4: How to build your HTPC
More.....
Basics/ What you need to know/understand
Components
--------------------------Motherboards--------------------------
Now this is one of the big confusion parts of PCs especially when youre looking at buying components at the first time so let me try to put it as simple as I can.
So there are 3 key parts to a motherboard you need to bare in mind;
1) Formfactor
So a formfactor refers to layout and size of motherboard- and it is this that cases are based around.
There are 4 main types of form factors-
ATX
Micro ATX (Or MATX)
ITX
and Mini ITX (or MITX)
This is very important when searching for cases- there is no "competition" between them, they all do similar things just in different sizes and shapes basically.
2) Sockets;
So what is a socket?
In very simple terms this is basically what you would think, it is like a plug socket. What I mean by this is PCs are based on different "Sockets" which changes normally once a year with new processors etc.
Sockets are generally referred to as numbers but also have a "code name" afterwards, I would forcus more on the number is when searching for components this is what will come up with the most results;
The different sockets for processors;
AMD
Socket F (LGA 1207)
Socket C32 (LGA 1207) (replaces Socket F)
Socket G34 (LGA 1974)
Intel
775
771
1366
1356 - Sandy Bridge
1156 - Lynnfield & Clarkdale
1155 - Sandy Bridge & Ivy Bridge Processors
2011 (Socket R)- Ivy Bridge-E
3) Chipsets;
So what is a chipset?
Well of corse I can put it no better than Wiki- "PC chipset, or chip set refers to a group of integrated circuits, or chips, that are designed to work together. In computing, the term chipset is commonly used to refer to a set of specialized chips on a computer's motherboard"
So why is this important?
Well very simply because the type of chipset your board is based on will dictate the features your motherboard have.
more needed here
Common and respected manufacturers/brands of Motherboards are;
Gigabyte
Asus
--------------------------Processors--------------------------
The processor is the brain of the system, this is the clever thing that will determine a good proportion of the speed of your system.
There are 3 key parts to processors to look at;
1) Number of Cores
Basically each core is like a brain in itself, so cores are important when it comes to serious multi tasking.
Imagine a core like a single lane road, there is only so much traffic that single lane can cope with at one time...
Add another core or another lane, and you will have double the amount of tasks that can be coped with at one time.
2) Speed (ghz)
4) Cache
As would be suggested by the socket section of the motherboard, there are two processor makes in the PC world which are AMD and Intel. There will forever be a battle of which is better no different to the PS3 vs 360 battle so Il try and not go into that but I will leave it with my own personal current view of both.
AMD solutions seem to be overall cheaper offering good bang for buck so is ideal for cheaper builds. Looking at performance, currently Intel appear to be leading the way so deciding between the two will come down to what you want to achieve from your build. Its unlikely however that you will notice a big difference between them for general computing.
So lets take a look at the processor ranges from an overview;
AMD;
Need a users imput here
Intel;
The most recent processors are the second editions of the i3, i5, and i7 so lets have a quick look at them in summery terms.
It is worth noting that all (someone please confirm) ranges of intel processors features onboard graphics and audio fully capable of playing back blurays and bitstreaming HD audio. This means you do not have to purchase a seperate Graphics card should this be your main usage of the HTPC (it is however worth noting that there is a bug that effects them outputting 24p pictures properly, most people dont notice this though at all- again, someone please confirm.)
i3- availible at a range of speeds- duel core and offer integrated graphics.
This is a intels entry level process and a great processor for a base level HTPC, it offers good performance all round, and its onboard graphics are good enought to playback full 1080p blurays and bitstream HD audio removing the need for a seperate GPU if your most challenging task visually is bluray playback
The one thing worth noting though is last I heard Intel accross the board still have issues delivering 24p playback on blurays- I will fill this in with more information when it comes.
Note: Second generation processors are indicated by a 4 number model number, last year was 3. (eg a current model is 2100, last years was 540- both are based on different sockets.)
Prices for processor only start from circa £90 for this years version, and last year from circa £70.
i5- availible in a range of speeds in both duel core and quad core models
The i5 is Intels mid level card and caters for all ends of the market. The i5's offer a perfect range of processor to cater for all needs. If you've got abit of spare cash and want to get more speed from a dual core processor (not needed much for general htpc use) then the i5 duel core version is great, if however you want to get into current gaming, the quad core versions are perfect. They offer fantastic bang for buck and all overclock (more on this later) very well. Its worth noting that there are two forms of the later i5, the very simple difference between these are one is limited not to allow overclock, one is not (this has a "k" at the end, ie 2500k)
i7
The top end end of intels general market CPUs. These offer the latest and greatest and also include a further technology called "Hyperthreading", this effectivly works as if you have double the amount of cores, so if you had a quad core with hyperthreading, performance would be similar in theory to an 8 core. I wont say much more on this other than these processors are for those that are serious about building a high spec rig needed either for high end gaming or video editing.
--------------------------RAM--------------------------
To keep it simple, what you need to know about the Ram is as follows;Ram consists of three things, its type, its speed (in frequency), and its timmings.
Type is reffered to as DDR- The most recent type for example is known as DDR3
Speed (frequency), keeping it simple Ram is made to function at different speeds, this generally ranges from 800mhz- 2200mhz, very simply speaking the higher the mhz the better speed/performance that RAM will deliver you. BUT check which frequencies your motherboard will except- some for example way only accept up to 1800mhz speeds
Timings I cant explain this right now
Common and more respected brands for RAM are;
Corsair
RAM is driven & limited by the motherboard, so to know what you can get, check what the motherboard accepts (should be specified on the technical spec and also owners manuals), the maximum amount of RAM can also be limited by the processor
RAM is basically the temporary memory that ALL programs and process use, and has a direct correlation between the speed of your machine and its ability to have and keep multiple programs running.
As a minimum I would recommend 2GB or Ram, for a posative experience I would recommend 4GB, but above 4GB is recommended for serious users who will be running big games for an example.
--------------------------Cases--------------------------
Im sure you dont have to be a genious to guess what this is for... yes thats right, it houses all of your PC components and is basically what you will see every day!
These range MASSIVLY in shapes, sizes, features, capacity, etc etc and forums an important part of your build, as if you want loads of hard drives, you will want a case with plenty of drive bays. If you want quietness, you will want it to have at least 3 fans supported with at least an 80mm diamiter.
Cases are made to support specific form factor motherboards, so I would normally recommend finding a suitable case for your needs before making any decisions on motherboards and processors.
--------------------------Hard Drives--------------------------
These are the little beauties that will store all of your information, media, OS, etc etc.There are 4 Main things to look at and consider in hard drives;
1) Storage Capacity
How much space do you need? The higher the GB, the more the space (for reference 1TB (TB= "Terrabite"= 1000GB).
2) Speed
This is delivered just like a car- in RPM (rotations per minute). There are two primary speeds you will see from drives, 5400rpm and 7200rpm. The higher the RPM, the quicker the drive- so the quicker your programs and media will respond. But SOME 7200rpm drives can be noiser than their slower counterparts (worth bearing in mind if you want to build a completely silent system).
3) Connection Speed
There are currently two versions of connections, Sata 2 (or SATA II) and Sata 3 (SATA III)- These basically have different maximum transfer speeds, Sata2 having 3.0gb/s, Sata3 having 6gb/s.
Both connections are the same in how they look so dont worry about one not fitting on the other. But simply put Sata 3 is the latest standard allowing far higher transfer speeds from the drive, so where possible its worth trying to get a drive which has a Sata 3 (may just say 6gb/s) connection.
4) Physical size of the drive
There are 2 main sizes of drive, Conventional PC size 3'5 inch, and Laptop size 2'5.
There are also two TYPES of Drives availible- Hard Drives (Or HDDs) are the mainstream storage capacity due its cost and the time its been around. However, there are also whats known as Solid State Drives (SSDs).
Whats the difference?
HDDs are almost just like a CD player, they have a moving CD which the data is written to.
Solid State drives however have no moving parts at all, and instead their memory are on chips. This means instantly quick access times (for example the difference between windows taking say 12-15 seconds to boot from a HDD, to 4-5 seconds MAX on a SSD) they are also considerably smaller (as outlined in the picture at the top).
SSD drives still do cost a hell of a lot more than HDDs when looking at cost per gigabite- however, for speed they are highly recommened- even more so than a processor in many respects.
--------------------------Optical Drives--------------------------
Well this is a quick and painless subject, Optical drives are drives that you inset you CDs/DVDs/Blurays into.
All that you should be looking out for here is read and write speads, so if you intend to rip your dvds to your hard drives as possible, you will want this to read DVDs at as quicker time as possible (indicated by "x" eg "x32"). Likewise if you want it write to blank CDs, Dvds, etc quickly you will want to find the highest write speeds possible.
I would also recommend you look at plenty of user reviews to determine the noise of the drive if this is important to you.
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