New home theater PC build

[Jared2606]

Hiya all Tom's. I would like to build a fanless home theater PC that I can shove behind my TV and forget about it.

A few things I would like it to do:
1. I would like it to be fanless and drive-less [minimal sound](I want it to boot the OS off of LAN{If someone could explain to me how to do that, that would be much appreciated})
2. I want it to be able to play movies all the way up to 4K resolution
3. I would like it to not have a GPU (So an APU from AMD maybe?)
4. I would like it to have a Gigabit ethernet port to connect to my gogabit switch
5. Size doesn't really matter (but I doubt it will be big as most of the things will not even be in it anyway)

Also if this is not possible please tell me

 

[NOT_PROVIDED_330]

SSDs are noiseless and would be simpler imo.

You could probably just get away with a powerful i7 and its integrated GPU if you want no gaming performance. i7 6700k igpu can output 4k @60hz

Gigabit ethernet is usually standard on mobo and the mobo will tell you what kind of controller it has

You can't get fanless but you can get pretty silent. I doubt you'd be able to hear your pc over the noise of your room if you went with liquid cooling cpu and a quiet case (idk what case off the top of my head, but maybe do your own research?)

 

[Mr5oh]

Fanless? You won't hear some slow moving fans anyways. Booting from LAN is going to be much slower, than just booting from a SSD.

In my living room I don't notice any hard drive sounds anyways. In the bedroom at night, I do occasionally here the WD Black (same drive in the living room PC) drive that my media is stored on, but I don't really here any of the 5 fans in the case (6 with the GPU).

I haven't looked at any AMD chips in recent times, but onboard GPU on my G3258 (Intel HD graphics) would not even handle YouTube videos, much less actual 1080 stuff. For this reason I ended up buying a 750 TI for both machines, and now it's not a problem.

If you plan on playing 4k videos, I think you're going to end up needing a bit more of a machine than you think.

 

[ComputerSecurityGuy]

AMD says the Athlon 5350 can play 4K video. It's Haswell that can't along with the Intel low power chips. An Athlon 5350 can be passively cooled. On the other hand it isn't exactly a high performance CPU.

 

[why_wolf]

I would look into the Intel NUC stuff then. I believe there are even some mod versions that put in a big fat heatsinks to go fanless as well. But a standard fan version will be quiet if all you're doing is playing videos anyways.

 

[quilciri]

Booting from LAN is going to be much slower, than just booting from a SSD.

I'm fairly certain he means he wants the PC to boot from a LAN signal, not that he wants the machine to be a thin client with the OS stored elsewhere.

The 5350 will indeed handle 4k playback, at least from a local source, and at 30hz.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rbh-GzT_nbk

Are you planning on storing 4k videos locally or are you planning on mostly streaming 4k content?

 

[Jared2606]

SSDs are noiseless and would be simpler imo.

You could probably just get away with a powerful i7 and its integrated GPU if you want no gaming performance. i7 6700k igpu can output 4k @60hz

Gigabit ethernet is usually standard on mobo and the mobo will tell you what kind of controller it has

You can't get fanless but you can get pretty silent. I doubt you'd be able to hear your pc over the noise of your room if you went with liquid cooling cpu and a quiet case (idk what case off the top of my head, but maybe do your own research?)

I am thinking about an SSD

I probably should've added that I don't have all the money in the world, so an i7 would never (even if it did everything) come across my mind when building a PC i will be streaming movies from my server. But thanks for the information anyway

 

[quilciri]

You could probably just get away with a powerful i7 and its integrated GPU if you want no gaming performance. i7 6700k igpu can output 4k @60hz

So can the I3 6100's. The skylake's Igpu's are actually really powerful. The HD 530 in the I3 is equivalent to the DDR3 R7 250, meaning it can play any game in existence @ at least 720p med-low settings and decent framerates.

 

[Jared2606]

Fanless? You won't hear some slow moving fans anyways. Booting from LAN is going to be much slower, than just booting from a SSD.

In my living room I don't notice any hard drive sounds anyways. In the bedroom at night, I do occasionally here the WD Black (same drive in the living room PC) drive that my media is stored on, but I don't really here any of the 5 fans in the case (6 with the GPU).

I haven't looked at any AMD chips in recent times, but onboard GPU on my G3258 (Intel HD graphics) would not even handle YouTube videos, much less actual 1080 stuff. For this reason I ended up buying a 750 TI for both machines, and now it's not a problem.

If you plan on playing 4k videos, I think you're going to end up needing a bit more of a machine than you think.

I would like it to boot off of LAN, but I am thinking about an SSD. My idea is to be able to have it to boot off LAN, because I don't want to spend money on an SSD just for an operating system like XBMC or something like that.

I wont be storing any media on the HTPCs hard drive, everything will be streamed from my home NAS.

If 4k means spending quite a bit of money, I think I will forget about it rather. I'm not saying I will be playing 4k, but if it can support it then maybe I can use it if that time ever comes.

 

[Jared2606]

AMD says the Athlon 5350 can play 4K video. It's Haswell that can't along with the Intel low power chips. An Athlon 5350 can be passively cooled. On the other hand it isn't exactly a high performance CPU.

If it can play 4k video, I want it. I don't want a high performance CPU as I will just be installing XBMC or Plex (or something like that) onto the PC.

About the cooling, I am thinking of going for a fan option, as I have been told that fans can be very quiet.

 

[Jared2606]

I would look into the Intel NUC stuff then. I believe there are even some mod versions that put in a big fat heatsinks to go fanless as well. But a standard fan version will be quiet if all you're doing is playing videos anyways.

But can I play 4k videos?

 

[Jared2606]

Booting from LAN is going to be much slower, than just booting from a SSD.

I'm fairly certain he means he wants the PC to boot from a LAN signal, not that he wants the machine to be a thin client with the OS stored elsewhere.

The 5350 will indeed handle 4k playback, at least from a local source, and at 30hz.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rbh-GzT_nbk

Are you planning on storing 4k videos locally or are you planning on mostly streaming 4k content?

No, I would like to boot it from the LAN (the OS is stored on our home server). I'm thinking of Plex or XBMC.

The Intel chips are quite expensive. I don't have a large budget and won't be upgrading this PC, so AMD with its APU will do just fine with me.

I will be streaming videos from our home NAS. And they won't be 4k, that's only if I will need to be able to watch a 4k video (if there ever will be a time).

 

[quilciri]

Okedoke. In that case, The 5350 is the cheapest option that can get you to 4k, and streaming 1080p is no sweat. CPU cooler options are limited for that chip, however, and none are very silent. I don't use mail-in rebates at this price point by default; if you don't mind them, I can either make you a similar build for cheaper or a slightly better build for the same price.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD 5350 2.05Ghz Quad-Core Processor ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Alpine M1 Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($9.97 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock AM1B-ITX Mini ITX AM1 Motherboard ($34.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra II 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($42.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($32.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Total: $239.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-02 12:14 EST-0500

I'll give you an I3 option in a moment.

 

[quilciri]

Here's the I3 option. More expensive, but quieter and *much* faster. I started to build a middle ground option using the a8-7600 APU, but realized it was only going to be $30-40 cheaper than the I3 build.

Like I already mentioned, this build is also suitable for moderate gaming and will last quite a while. I used 1x8 instead of 2x4GB sticks for future expansion to 16GB.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($122.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Scythe BIG Shuriken 2 Rev. B 45.5 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($44.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($66.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($31.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra II 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($42.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($32.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Total: $391.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-02 12:15 EST-0500

This is very powerful for an (non-gaming) HTPC. Anything more is wasted for that particular use, imho.

Cheers!

 

[why_wolf]

I would look into the Intel NUC stuff then. I believe there are even some mod versions that put in a big fat heatsinks to go fanless as well. But a standard fan version will be quiet if all you're doing is playing videos anyways.

But can I play 4k videos?

yes and the new skylake models just came out as well. They sport a full sized HDMI 1.4b port and a mini DisplayPort 1.2.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856102146&cm_re=NUC6i3SYH-_-56-102-146-_-Product
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/nuc/nuc-kit-nuc6i3syk.html

 

[Jared2606]

I would look into the Intel NUC stuff then. I believe there are even some mod versions that put in a big fat heatsinks to go fanless as well. But a standard fan version will be quiet if all you're doing is playing videos anyways.

But can I play 4k videos?

yes and the new skylake models just came out as well. They sport a full sized HDMI 1.4b port and a mini DisplayPort 1.2.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856102146&cm_re=NUC6i3SYH-_-56-102-146-_-Product
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/nuc/nuc-kit-nuc6i3syk.html

Awesome, I will definitely look into that. Thank you.

 

[ComputerSecurityGuy]

Actually Alpine sells a completely passive cooler for AM1 chips. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00U8PUNH2/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr1_1?qid=1456939504&sr=8-1-fkmr1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=socket+am1+passive+cooler

 

[quilciri]

Actually Alpine sells a completely passive cooler for AM1 chips. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00U8PUNH2/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr1_1?qid=1456939504&sr=8-1-fkmr1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=socket+am1+passive+cooler

Tasty, but 3.7" is too tall for some mini ITX cases (2.5" max height on the coolermaster elite 130). Thanks, though, I didn't know about that cooler!

 

[Jared2606]

Here's the I3 option. More expensive, but quieter and *much* faster. I started to build a middle ground option using the a8-7600 APU, but realized it was only going to be $30-40 cheaper than the I3 build.

Like I already mentioned, this build is also suitable for moderate gaming and will last quite a while. I used 1x8 instead of 2x4GB sticks for future expansion to 16GB.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($122.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Scythe BIG Shuriken 2 Rev. B 45.5 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($44.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($66.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($31.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra II 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($42.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($32.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Total: $391.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-02 12:15 EST-0500

This is very powerful for an (non-gaming) HTPC. Anything more is wasted for that particular use, imho.

Cheers!

I'm so sorry that I didn't reply to you earlier, I must've scrolled right past your comment. But thank you so much, this is an awesome in-depth build of something I would like.

I have a few questions about the build though:
1. Do I really need 8GB of RAM for a HTPC?
2. Can I leave the SSD out, as I will be booting XBMC off a flash drive.

Well.....that's about it.

 

[quilciri]

1. You don't *need* it, but 4GB is the usual recommended minimum for XBMC. I don't know if 4k playboack is any more memory intensive than the 1080p playback that the recommendation is based on, but better safe.

2. Yes you can. I missed that part; sorry. However, I don't know if there are any additional complications to booting off a USB stick from a LAN signal, as I've never tried to do both in one setup.

 

[Jared2606]

1. You don't *need* it, but 4GB is the usual recommended minimum for XBMC. I don't know if 4k playboack is any more memory intensive than the 1080p playback that the recommendation is based on, but better safe.

2. Yes you can. I missed that part; sorry. However, I don't know if there are any additional complications to booting off a USB stick from a LAN signal, as I've never tried to do both in one setup.

I probabl should've added that I was going to ditch the boot off LAN thing. I've bought a 16GB flash drive (those tiny ones) that I can pop into the back of the motherboard and not have to worry about seeing it.