Low Power HTPC build (will be using XBMC/Kodi)

Hide sidebar Show sidebar
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
I'm thinking of getting this for my HTPC (will be placed inside one of my Silverstone Crown 02 cases already own):

$57 MB + CPU:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KXP5610?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

$43 SSD
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009GG06F8?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

$38 PSU
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H33SDR4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

$23 RAM
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006WAGG14?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

Total $161

Thoughts?
 
Last edited:
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
BoredSysAdmin said:
why no RasPi v2? or if Powah is needed i'd with thos http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JY4Q52U/ref=psdc_565098_t2_B00IT1WJZQ
Asus Chromebox can be easily modded to run OpenElec...

p.s: ASRock > Biostar any day....
Click to expand...
+1

Raspberry Pi v2!

I'm using one with Emulation Station and working on building a bartop arcade cab.

My bro in law has set up about 10 people with RP2 + Kodi
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1m9ldEmdEBieq0YERTf-V5wLPgepoew61mx4FftdZ2FA/edit?usp=docslist_api
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
if RP2 works fine, why beefier hardware?

Now, if you must have support 10-bit video - then your options are very limited - you pretty much would must get beefy cpu like i5. Can't yet decode 10bit in hardware
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
Just wanted to report that DTS-HD MA & Dolby TrueHD bitstream works on the MB/CPU HD 8330 combo. :)

Just make sure to click the Audio Pass-Through Function in Kodi on Expert Settings.
 
jinjuku

jinjuku

Moderator
I was just going to post that it should support bit-streaming.
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
jinjuku said:
I was just going to post that it should support bit-streaming.
Click to expand...
Yeah. It definitely helps if I knew how to set up Kodi. I just now upgraded from XBMC. :D

So didn't know about the "EXPERT LEVEL" settings. :D

But tested movies with DTS-HD MA & TrueHD and all worked perfectly. So I am very happy with this AMD MB/CPU. I am now waiting for the Artic Silver 5 to arrive so I can replace the cheap factory thermal paste. CPU temp at idle now is 40C. I also stuck a 120mm Fan by the heatsink using double-sided adhesive tape case. :)

Will report CPU temp afterward. Hopefully temp will be < 35C after Artic Silver 5 applied.
 
Alexandre

Alexandre

Audioholic
BoredSysAdmin said:
if RP2 works fine, why beefier hardware?

Now, if you must have support 10-bit video - then your options are very limited - you pretty much would must get beefy cpu like i5. Can't yet decode 10bit in hardware
Click to expand...
Hi there,

do you know if the RPI2 will output DTS-HD-MA with OpenElec/Kodi? Right now my Mac Mini won't do that and it's the only issue I have with it.

Alex.
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Alexandre said:
Hi there,

do you know if the RPI2 will output DTS-HD-MA with OpenElec/Kodi? Right now my Mac Mini won't do that and it's the only issue I have with it.

Alex.
Click to expand...
Alex, Curious how do use Kodi with you Mac Mini - as Kodi app running in OSX or using bootcamp and openElec installed on bare hardware?
If it's prior - I'd recommend trying the later :)

I have DTS-HD-MA passthrough working on my Asus Atom 2.1ghz /Nvidia GPU box and supposebly it works on Chromebox w/openelec.

I also going to assume you're using HDMI port for connection...
 
Alexandre

Alexandre

Audioholic
BoredSysAdmin said:
Alex, Curious how do use Kodi with you Mac Mini - as Kodi app running in OSX or using bootcamp and openElec installed on bare hardware?
If it's prior - I'd recommend trying the later :)

I have DTS-HD-MA passthrough working on my Asus Atom 2.1ghz /Nvidia GPU box and supposebly it works on Chromebox w/openelec.

I also going to assume you're using HDMI port for connection...
Click to expand...
I am indeed using Kodi.app on OS X and outputting using HDMI, OpenElec sounds intriguing, any good guides on how to set it up on the Mac Mini? (I'm technically savvy – software engineering savvy anyway – but not really linux savvy).

UPDATE: ok, maybe I should google before asking questions… I'll start reading up the openElec wiki. ;)
 
Alexandre

Alexandre

Audioholic
I spent a good chunk of time last night trying to install OpenELEC on my mac mini and haven't had much luck. I've got it to boot on the USB drive and present the initial setup UI (after blessing the drive which wasn't mentioned in the user guide) and got it to boot into the OpenELEC setup UI. Once that's done, I've selected the USB drive to 'install' OpenELEC onto, that seemed to work well, then I rebooted and it won't boot on that USB Drive anymore. I'm on El Capitan and I wonder if there is an issue with it. :(

Any suggestions? I'll keep checking on their forums and on the wiki but I figured maybe someone here had some ideas.
 
RichB

RichB

Audioholic Field Marshall
My fanless HTPC build recently cooked.
I had enough so I tried two:

$99 Gigabyte Intel Celeron N2807 Mini PC Barebones GB-BXBT-2807

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KR0QHXW?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

This was too slow and did not sound good driving my USB DACS: XMC-1, BDP-105D, and HA-1.

So I tried this one:

262.99 Gigabyte Core i3-5010U Ultra Compact Mini PC Barebone Support 2.5-Inch HDD (GB-BXi3H-5010)

This idles about 10 watts works very well with my DACs. It has a fan but is very quiet.
It costs a bit more but and you have to supply memory (8 gig in my case) and SSD.

- Rich
 
Alexandre

Alexandre

Audioholic
BoredSysAdmin said:
I was tempted to buy this : http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Chromebox-CXI2-2GKM-Desktop-Keyboard/dp/B00ZYKTQA6/ref=dp_ob_title_ce
It was very recently priced at $119 (2gb option)

But then I remember I do have a unused mac mini 2012 which just @Alexandre above just confirm can be near perfect htpc :)
It even has built-in IR sensor :)
Click to expand...
Yep, it took me a little while to get OpenElec installed on it, let me know if you have issues, maybe I can help. One thing about the IR sensor is that I also have an TV and the 2 use the same codes so I ended up masking the IR sensor and I'm using the iPhone Kodi app to control the Kodi Mac Mini. Note that if you don't care about HD pass through (DTS HD MA or Dolby HD), Mac OS X will be a fine Kodi vehicle, otherwise, OpenElec has been working well for me… once I managed to install it which took a little while like I said. Also, my mac mini is the dual drive server version which is neat because I can dual boot: Mac OS X and OpenElec.

Cheers,
Alex.
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Alexandre said:
Yep, it took me a little while to get OpenElec installed on it, let me know if you have issues, maybe I can help. One thing about the IR sensor is that I also have an TV and the 2 use the same codes so I ended up masking the IR sensor and I'm using the iPhone Kodi app to control the Kodi Mac Mini. Note that if you don't care about HD pass through (DTS HD MA or Dolby HD), Mac OS X will be a fine Kodi vehicle, otherwise, OpenElec has been working well for me… once I managed to install it which took a little while like I said. Also, my mac mini is the dual drive server version which is neat because I can dual boot: Mac OS X and OpenElec.

Cheers,
Alex.
Click to expand...
Thanks Alex, I've recently tinkered with MacBook Air bootcamp so I know the drill (pun intended)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis

Sitemap

Sitemap

Site Information

Site Information

HTML

audio forum
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
  • Twitter
  • instagram
  • rss
Top