Assembled HTPC or Xtreamer Ultra

[rameshbitra]

hey guys..i understand lots of audioholics here..i am a newbie and still learning..if there is anything wrong, excuse my igonorance..

Ok now coming to the issue..I was waiting for the Xtreamer Ultra release in May and thought lemme buy this one in UK itself..I m coming to India for gud by end of May..I am literally following Xtreamer Ultra everyday for its pros and cons..and read abt its negative side in the below link..

Xtreamer takes "Ultra" beating... - MPC Club Community Board

Though every device has its pros and cons, this review slightly pushed me back in buying Xtreamer Ultra..Now i m even thinking whether should i build my own HTPC in my budget (Around 20K)..help me in deciding whether to go for Xtreamer Ultra or build own HTPC

If its going to be on my own then below are some items I chose..

Processor: - 67.89
Scan.co.uk: AMD CPU Phenom II 555 Black Edition Dual Core Processor - HDZ555WFGMBOX

Motherboard: - 97.07
Scan.co.uk: Asus M4A89GTD PRO AMD 890GX AM3 Motherboard

GPU: - 53.63
ASUS 1GB GeForce GT 430 PCI-E 2.0 with Low Profile Bracket: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

CPU Cooler: - 7.98
Arctic Cooling Alpine 64 Pro CPU Cooler: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Mini keyboard: - 39.99
2.4G 2.4GHz Wireless Rii Mini PC Keyboard Touchpad V2: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

So far altogether - 266.56 (18,925 INR)..if there are any other gud alternatives to the above list, pls suggest..

Cabinet - Can buy in India
RAM - can buy in India
Internal Harddrive for OS - Can buy in India..
External harddrive - Already have one 2TB (almost full with BluRay rips) and one 500GB
What abt remote?? Can i get in India?
did i missed anything else??

Everyone wants their device to play every format u throw at them and best audio output..

Help me guys..if its HTPC, then i wud like to buy above stuff in UK itself before I travel or do the above listed items available in India (Ritchie St hyeah around the same price?

or should i just go for PlayON HD2 or Xtreamer prodigy? hyeah: which comes less/around 10K and especially reducing the size and headache of building HTPC..I am slightly confused

 

[Imrahn]

I am in the same boat and would finally go for HTPC solution it seems,but the major factors pulling me back are:

1)A good looking,slim and decent quality cabinet can cost a bomb-easily above 10k.

2)More money has to be pumped towards power backup in the form of a good UPS.

3)Heat generation can be considerably higher(assumption).

 

[vaibhavyagnik]

the onboard GPU is more than sufficient to handle blu ray playback. why invest in a graphics card then? It will keep the heat and power consumption down

 

[spirovious]

HTPC needs proper configration & patience(boot time),once done,you can play practically any format with power.
Whenever I feel,certain formats are not readable,DL the necessary player/codec & you get a new player everytime.Power may require more,but one time investment.

 

[Imrahn]

@Spiro: Which cabinet u have bro?

 

[spirovious]

@Spiro: Which cabinet u have bro?

I am not using a dedicated HTPC cabinate,
http://www.hifivision.com/my-audio-video-setup/1167-showcase-your-audio-video-setup-here-14.html

you can get entrylevel starting from Rs.4100
Buy Silver Stone Cabinet | Silver Stone Cabinet in India | Buy Silver Stone Cabinet Online at cheap Price

 

[humrahi]

I would suggest you go via the htpc route. Though I would suggest a different config:

• Review Intel Core i3-2100T and DH67CF Mini-ITX Motherboard | Missing Remote
• Coding Horror: Revisiting the Home Theater PC

The best thing about the above config is that u can give graphics card a miss for now. Also most of the above things you can buy in India at a good price. I would suggest getting a good looking cabinet & wifi keyboard with touchpad from uk.

 

[spirovious]

I prefer Intel as these systems are flexible.ie.You can simply upgrade CPU on same Motherboard OR change MB with same CPU.
With AMD,you need to change both(mostly)

 

[n_sachin84]

motherboard-ASUS M4A78LT-M LE AM3 AMD 780L Micro ATX RS-2500
PROCESSOR-AMD Athlon II X3 440 Rana 3.0GHz RS-3100.
RAM- 2GB DDR3 CORSAIR RS-1300.
CABINET- RS1500
PSU- IBALL 500W RS-550
LOGITECH WIRELESSKB AND MOUSE- RS -1350
ZOTAC 9800GTX 1 GB PLUS - RS -6500 OR
Radeon HD 5670 (Redwood) 512MB RS- 4400
500GB SEAGATE SATA HDD RS-1820
ALL MAY BE AROUND RS 18500
MONITOR OF UR CHOICE.I HAVE CONSIDERED U DONT WANT MONITOR OR U CAN GO FOR ATI HD GRAPHIC CARD HD4650 FOR RS 3100 AND SAVED MONEY CAN BE USED FOR MONITOR.
IT IS GAMING CUM POWERFUL HTPC .ADD ROUTER FOR RS 1800-2400

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Help me guys..if its HTPC, then i wud like to buy above stuff in UK itself before I travel or do the above listed items available in India (Ritchie St hyeah around the same price?

Unless you have very specific fixed requirements, I do not see the point in buying PC components in UK to build in India. I don't know how the prices compare, but you can see sites like Deltapage (Richie St) and The It Depot (Thiruvanmiyur, plus branches and online shopping) for price/availability comparison.

I was tempted to buy MB and CPU , for my build last November, in Singapore. I would have saved money, but someone on this site pointed out that I might have warranty issues, which is another point to consider.

If I were you, I'd use my baggage/customs allowance to buy some neat bargain from Richer Sounds and build my PC back in India.

 

[reignofchaos]

Build an HTPC with the fusion APU. They are quiet, decode/passthru everything, eat very little power and are quite cheap. Get a 4GB ram stick, a decent notebook hard drive/SSD, a nice mini itx cabinet, a bluray drive and you are all set.

 

[rameshbitra]

Unless you have very specific fixed requirements, I do not see the point in buying PC components in UK to build in India. I don't know how the prices compare, but you can see sites like Deltapage (Richie St) and The It Depot (Thiruvanmiyur, plus branches and online shopping) for price/availability comparison.

I was tempted to buy MB and CPU , for my build last November, in Singapore. I would have saved money, but someone on this site pointed out that I might have warranty issues, which is another point to consider.

If I were you, I'd use my baggage/customs allowance to buy some neat bargain from Richer Sounds and build my PC back in India.

Thanks evryone for your responses..Thats a valid point too Thad abt the warranty!! I am still not decided but continuously searching google/forums to get some knowledge on HTPC..

User "Humrahi" has suggested "Intel Core i3-2100T with DH67CF Mini-ITX Motherboard (updated version - DH67CFB3), and Waseena ITX7 cabinet case..

The above looks gud..but these three alone is mounting to 300GBP in UK hyeah: I was just looking for the prices in UK to get an idea abt the approximate price in India..surely this should be more in India..

Do you know anyother alternative for Wesena mini HTPC?? I dont want to go beyond 20K now(initially thinking to not go beyond 18K )..

 

[n_sachin84]

amd rig is super performer than intel yaar. what specification i have given r good .go for it u wont regret.

 

[Kittu]

Xtreamer ultra is 280E ... I think it suits your requirements.

 

[rameshbitra]

Xtreamer ultra is 280E ... I think it suits your requirements.

Hey Kittu i was expecting your comments..as i said earlier, in MPCCLUB, they were discussing that Xtreamer Ultra cannot handle TrueHD and DTSHD and there is still a question about HDMI (1.3 or 1.4)..it seems based only on nVidia's 3DTV play and not true 3DBD..

So still not sure abt Xtreamer..only when it comes to market, we will get to know what they are offering wrt what they claim in their website..

 

[Kittu]

Hey Kittu i was expecting your comments..as i said earlier, in MPCCLUB, they were discussing that Xtreamer Ultra cannot handle TrueHD and DTSHD and there is still a question about HDMI (1.3 or 1.4)..it seems based only on nVidia's 3DTV play and not true 3DBD..

So still not sure abt Xtreamer..only when it comes to market, we will get to know what they are offering wrt what they claim in their website..

Yes for all the facts , we need to wait for the product to be released in 2nd week of may.

 

[prithivi]

the ritchie street prices can be seen in http://www.deltapage.com/list/index.html

and HTPC is best after yu reach chennai

call my num i will help you to change your htpc to media player

will boot to media player mode once you start your pc

buy GPU equal to greater than ati 5770

and GPU IS must ! !

 

[yrk1969]

Everyone wants their device to play every format u throw at them and best audio output..

Help me guys..if its HTPC, then i wud like to buy above stuff in UK itself before I travel or do the above listed items available in India (Ritchie St hyeah around the same price?

or should i just go for PlayON HD2 or Xtreamer prodigy? hyeah: which comes less/around 10K and especially reducing the size and headache of building HTPC..I am slightly confused

From my experience its to much to keep a HTPC running. You can also look at Netgear Neo 550, it supports most formats and does support HD audio, though not HDMI 1.4. I use a couple of these and no issues so far.

 

[digitalv]

buy GPU equal to greater than ati 5770

and GPU IS must ! !

Any specific reason why you are recommending a relatively high-end GPU for an HTPC? Keeping even the most demanding of HTPC requirements in mind, what would a gamer centric card like 5770 additionally do more than a 5570 or even a 5670 (other than adding a lot more fan noise, eat more power and dissipate a lot more heat)?

Or did I miss any gaming requirement by the OP? If not the OP should look for a passively cooled GPU or even an I3 based solution should be more than enough

 

[spirovious]

Any specific reason why you are recommending a relatively high-end GPU for an HTPC? Keeping even the most demanding of HTPC requirements in mind, what would a gamer centric card like 5770 additionally do more than a 5570 or even a 5670 (other than adding a lot more fan noise, eat more power and dissipate a lot more heat)?

Well a good GPU will do better with gaming,for HTPC 5570 is a balanced option.Mine 5570 is doing well job-
http://www.hifivision.com/home-thea...fused-hdav-card-vs-radeon-5xxx-series-12.html