For a long time I've wanted to build a HTPC that is about the size of the final iteration of the Xbox 360. Small, stylish (to some) and with capable enough hardware to handle the constant 1080 streaming since I lack the hardware and the content to enjoy 4K films. I can pick components for a friends desktop with out issue because there is almost never a size problem but when it comes to something of the dimensions of the final iteration of the 360 it may be very difficult and physically impossible to do.
Everything from the PSU to the GPU and various drives needed for this joint pose an issue when there are size limitations like this. That's not even taking into consideration cooling such as case fans and CPU cooler. This is a slightly more complex build than I'm normally into so I figured what better way to amalgamate this PC than to ask the most advanced tech community I know for some advise. Just looking to get some opinions on how I could go about doing this.
Not possible, nothing can beat the consoles on size, and there's a good reason for that. The closest thing you get to console size would be that new silverstone raven case or the elite 130 by cooler master
Thanks for posting everyone, sorry I was never able to get back on the thread as I had a string of urgent matters that are still on going that kept me from coming back to it. I appreciate the feedback and the BRIX actually looks like a better choice than what I originally wanted. Although I can't ignore that Silverstone case.
Try this one on for size. It uses the Silverstone ML06B. I checked the dimensions on an Xbox 360 vs this case. The Silverstone case is roughly: .75" deeper, 2.3" Wider, and 8.1" shorter. Plus the motherboard supports using a DC adapter instead of a standard PSU. The build also includes an SSD, wireless AC + Bluetooth 4.0, 4GB of dual channel RAM, and a quad core. I suggest running XMBCBuntu/KodiBuntu on this rig and running XBMC aka Kodi on your media server to server media without having to transcode.
And XBOX 360's Dimensions are:
[H]: 12"
[W]: 11.5"
[D]: 7.25"
The Silverstone ML06B Dimensions are:
[H]:3.9"
[W]:13.8"
[D]:8"
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/tQ2W6h Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/tQ2W6h/by_merchant/
CPU: AMD 5350 2.05Ghz Quad-Core Processor ($54.99 @ NCIX US) Motherboard: ASRock AM1H-ITX Mini ITX AM1 Motherboard ($58.49 @ Newegg) Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.49 @ Amazon) Storage: Patriot Blaze 60GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($46.98 @ Newegg) Case: Silverstone ML06B HTPC Case ($49.99 @ Newegg) Power Supply: Silverstone 300W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Amazon) Other: Intel Network 7260.HMWWB.R WiFi Wireless-AC 7260 H/T 2x2 AC+ Bluetooth HMC Dual Band ($24.85) Total: $329.78 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-17 05:01 EST-0500
Just for convenience, here is a good remote with qwerty support.
until you consider that unless it is running XBMC natively on both ends, one side has to transcode on the fly the video content so that the anemic Atom CPU can handle it. Transcoding will cripple a CPU. Ever wonder why the Rokus and Tablets and such are given HD content on Netflix? Because the content is already transcoded specifically for the format of those devices. All the work is already done for those machines. If it went to PC, their servers would have to work overtime to transcode the video for you specific machine. If your machine was anemic, it would have to transcode to a lower grade format, if you had beastly hardware, it would hardly change much. The benefit of an XBMC HTPC and Server is that NOTHING need be transcoded. All the necessary codecs are there in XBMC/Kodi (recently the name changed to Kodi) The stick is convenient sure, but is it really powerful enough to stream ripped Blu-rays? I know of my folks old WDTV Live that choked on ripped Blu-rays until we ran it over the ethernet and even then it took a bit to load. That little stick is only running 802.11 a/b/n. Not 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac. If it was 802.11 ac I could possibly see that working if the server transcoded to the proper format. The thing is, you still have to transmit it to the device fast enough.
Hence the choices on hardware I made. The CPU is a quad core with an iGPU that combined can play Bioshock Infinite on High settings 1080p at 50FPS and only eats ~24W. Coupled with 4GB of RAM and 802.11 ac wireless and ethernet. If you combine Kodi on it with Kodi on the main rig, or Plex on the rig and Plex server on the Server rig, you will be fine. I prefer Kodi of course but to each their own I guess.
1080p isn't that big of a deal and who keeps full Blue Rays? Use handbreak to get reuse the size without any performance hit. You will go through way too much space at 25GB per movie. If you are going to have that many films you might as well have a NAS to transcode anyway. The NAS can be used for other things as well, like back ups and cloud storage. He will have to store that media somewhere. The NAS will also provide redundancy of data
And yes that stick could do 1080p just fine. Smartphones which are weaker than it, have been able to do native 1080p for years. Heck there a phone that can do 4k playback
It is a waste of money to build a gaming rig for movie box. Then you can extend the server to all computers, phones, tablets, and tvs through out the house. A server and client set up is normally much cheaper.
Side note: I wouldn't worry about 4k even if you stream it from Netflix or Amazon (which it is block on PC at the moment), it will look worse than a less compressed 1080p video.
who said the build was a gaming rig build? I simply stated the benchmarks done by Ryan Shrout of PCPer.com where they tested it as a gaming CPU. What I put together is an HTPC aka HOME THEATER PC.