This forum is in permanent archive mode. Our new active community can be found here.

New HTPC Build

12346

Comments

  • Coldguy said:

    Apreche said:

    If I get a new HTPC, does someone want my old one? It's perfect for just watching videos and playing any game that doesn't requires much GPU. It can even play Rocket League at quite low settings.

    I may be able to take it off your hands. I have a very specific use I can do with that.

    Also Scott you may want to look into this.

    http://www.corsair.com/en-us/landing/lapdog
    That is some useless gamerz garbage right there.
  • That thing is fucking hideous.
  • I could maybe find a use for it since I often play coop games with my htpc and regular PC but I've been fine so far so I probably wouldn't want to spend money on it.
  • I'm poor and my current desktop is from like 2007, so I could definitely use it.
  • I simply don't enjoy playing stuff that needs a keyboard and mouse from the couch. I tried setting up a tray table and playing Overwatch on the TV one day and I couldn't get the hang of it. The screen was just too big.

    I stick with one of these for any keyboarding/mouse needs:
    image
  • That's the exact keyboard I have for my HTPC setup. It was like $20 too.
  • Rym has that. It's the Logitech K400. It's perfectly fine. I only don't have it because I got my HTPC before it existed. I have a crappy old Asus keyboard with actual mouse. It's wireless and tiny, but otherwise just a standard mouse and keyboard.

    The thing is Logitech also has a K400 Plus and a K830 Living Room Keyboard. They look nicer and fancier than the K400, and they cost more, but they don't actually seem to offer more features. Is there a reason to pay $74 for the K830 instead of $30 for the K400?

    Also, does anyone have experience with the Logitech Harmony Remotes? I currently have four separate remote controls for my HTPC.

    TV
    Sound System
    Optical Audio Switch
    Boxee Remote

    Is it worth it to get a Harmony Remote? Will it even work with some janky device like my optical audio switch? Can it interact with the HTPC directly at all such as launching Spotify without having to turn on the TV?
  • Just a heads up, do not get the rosewill knockoff of that keyboard. You will regret.
  • edited September 2016
    K830 is absolutely not worth it for the price. All it gives you above the K400 and K400 Plus is a backlit keyboard, for more than double the price. Hard pass.

    The K400 I showed above I actually use in my office, for when my laptop is docked. I liked it so much I replaced my old logitech wireless keyboard/mouse combo from my first HTPC circa 2009, but I went with the K400 Plus this time:

    image

    Only difference here is the "media friendly" key layout, most notably the sound controls above the touchpad w/ very large buttons for easy access.

    K400 and K400 Plus are same exact price.
    Post edited by Matt on
  • Matt said:

    K830 is absolutely not worth it for the price. All it gives you above the K400 and K400 Plus is a backlit keyboard, for more than double the price. Hard pass.

    K830 also has a built-in lithium battery and both bluetooth and the Logitech 2.4GHz wireless.

    Scott, Do you have (or plan to have) a > 1080p TV connected to this? If not, I wonder if it is worth having the 1070 over the 1060. Pretty big price jump for it, though 1060 availability is still a problem.

  • Jameskun said:

    Matt said:

    K830 is absolutely not worth it for the price. All it gives you above the K400 and K400 Plus is a backlit keyboard, for more than double the price. Hard pass.

    K830 also has a built-in lithium battery and both bluetooth and the Logitech 2.4GHz wireless.

    Scott, Do you have (or plan to have) a > 1080p TV connected to this? If not, I wonder if it is worth having the 1070 over the 1060. Pretty big price jump for it, though 1060 availability is still a problem.

    I actually kind of do. I was looking recently and 4K TVs are scary cheap. But right now my only source of 4K footage is my camera and YouTube. As soon as Netflix or Hulu or Crunchyroll or whatever adds 4K, I'll get one.
  • Apreche said:

    Jameskun said:

    Matt said:

    K830 is absolutely not worth it for the price. All it gives you above the K400 and K400 Plus is a backlit keyboard, for more than double the price. Hard pass.

    K830 also has a built-in lithium battery and both bluetooth and the Logitech 2.4GHz wireless.

    Scott, Do you have (or plan to have) a > 1080p TV connected to this? If not, I wonder if it is worth having the 1070 over the 1060. Pretty big price jump for it, though 1060 availability is still a problem.

    I actually kind of do. I was looking recently and 4K TVs are scary cheap. But right now my only source of 4K footage is my camera and YouTube. As soon as Netflix or Hulu or Crunchyroll or whatever adds 4K, I'll get one.
    Netflix does, but not much. http://www.netflixupdate.com/4k-movies-on-netflix-list/

  • You mean as soon as they allow PC's to stream 4K, instead of having to use the "correct" (approved DRM) hardware.
  • Jameskun said:

    You mean as soon as they allow PC's to stream 4K, instead of having to use the "correct" (approved DRM) hardware.

    Honestly, cable TV subscriptions don't even offer 4K. I might even be willing to pay the lowest cable TV subscription price if I could watch all pro sports in 4K reliably.
  • Oh, I also want some extra horsepowers because I'm going to do mad streaming and such.
  • That is my main motivation for the new PC. I want to do more streams with multiple inputs live.
  • Many of the Netflix originals are shot in 4k as well. We watched Kimmy Schmidt on the 4k TV
  • If you search Amazon for 4K TV they are selling some for under $500. I'll still be waiting a few years for one, but now is the HTPC time, and I expect that to last 5 years minimum. With such a for-real video card, and HTPC doing less duty than real PC, it could even last 10.

    As for the people who want my old HTPC, it's not free unless you are a charity. This thing is still a working real computer. It has some value. My money also isn't high right now. PAX plane tix and such.
  • Apreche said:

    Boxee Remote

    Now there's a product I haven't heard in a very long time.

  • okeefe said:

    Apreche said:

    Boxee Remote

    Now there's a product I haven't heard in a very long time.

    Now there's a quote I've not heard in a long, long time. A long time.
  • Apreche said:

    If you search Amazon for 4K TV they are selling some for under $500. I'll still be waiting a few years for one, but now is the HTPC time, and I expect that to last 5 years minimum. With such a for-real video card, and HTPC doing less duty than real PC, it could even last 10.

    As for the people who want my old HTPC, it's not free unless you are a charity. This thing is still a working real computer. It has some value. My money also isn't high right now. PAX plane tix and such.

    I'm no charity, though I'm still interested, albeit with new requirements. What are its specs?
  • edited September 2016
    Old HTPC Specs:
    • Intel Core i3-530 Dual Core 2.93Ghz CPU
    • Lian Li HTPC Case
    • ASUS P7H55D-M EVO Motherboard
    • 4G RAM (2x2G) DDR3 1333
    • 430W PSU
    • Radeon HD 5570 1GB Low Profile Video Card
    • Seagate 1TB 7200rpm Drive
    • Optical Drive
    Post edited by Apreche on
  • edited September 2016
    Apreche said:


    Also, does anyone have experience with the Logitech Harmony Remotes? I currently have four separate remote controls for my HTPC.

    TV
    Sound System
    Optical Audio Switch
    Boxee Remote

    Is it worth it to get a Harmony Remote? Will it even work with some janky device like my optical audio switch? Can it interact with the HTPC directly at all such as launching Spotify without having to turn on the TV?

    Just like when you say that computer scientists need more data to assist with computer problems, I need more info to give you help with this. Can you give me the model number or an Amazon link for receiver in your sound system, and your optical switch? What are you using for Boxee? A computer or the old Boxee box?
    Post edited by Hitman Hart on
  • This is the optical switch I have:

    http://amzn.to/2ces3K1

    My sound system is a Logitech Z5500. It only has one optical input, which is why I have the switch.

    The Boxee remote I don't actually use with Boxee. I just use it as a wireless keyboard when I want to quickly start/stop music and such. The kind of thing that is more annoying to do quickly with the keyboard. I'll put it in my pocket while I'm cooking and use it to skip tracks and such. I probably don't even need it. I could just use my phone as a remote to control Spotify and such.
  • Apreche said:

    This is the optical switch I have:

    http://amzn.to/2ces3K1

    My sound system is a Logitech Z5500. It only has one optical input, which is why I have the switch.

    The Boxee remote I don't actually use with Boxee. I just use it as a wireless keyboard when I want to quickly start/stop music and such. The kind of thing that is more annoying to do quickly with the keyboard. I'll put it in my pocket while I'm cooking and use it to skip tracks and such. I probably don't even need it. I could just use my phone as a remote to control Spotify and such.

    You'll definitely be able to control your TV, you may be able to control your sound system only because the Harmony is also Logitech, but I very much doubt your optical switch will work. Get yourself a proper receiver and speakers and that will be be able to be controlled and probably mean you don't need the switch. I know you probably aren't looking to do that, but that is what you would need to make this happen with a single remote. The Harmony wouldn't be able to control your PC as far as I know.
  • Depending on the harmony remote you get, I know at least some of them you can learn an IR code as long as you have the original remote to send the signal for it to capture. Sometimes you don't even have to do that you can find online somebody else may have documented the codes.
  • Jameskun said:

    Depending on the harmony remote you get, I know at least some of them you can learn an IR code as long as you have the original remote to send the signal for it to capture. Sometimes you don't even have to do that you can find online somebody else may have documented the codes.

    Yeah, I was wondering how well that feature worked exactly. And does the harmony know that "audio switchers" are a kind of device that it can learn to copy? The goal would be to push just one button to switch the TV and the audio siiiimultaneously.
  • Pretty sure you can make macros. I think they call them "scenes" so you hit one button and it takes multiple actions. I don't have one myself, just remember seeing something about it when I looked into getting one a while back.
  • After much deliberation and finding ways to save $10 here and there, new HTPC is on the way. I considered putting the 1070 into my desktop PC and my current 680 into the HTPC. The problem is that my 680 has 1x HDMI and 1x Display Port. The 1070 has 2x HDMI and 2x Display Port. My monitors take Display Port, but my TV is HDMI only. I need those two HDMI ports on the HTPC so I can duplicate the screen and stream it out.
  • Apreche said:

    After much deliberation and finding ways to save $10 here and there, new HTPC is on the way. I considered putting the 1070 into my desktop PC and my current 680 into the HTPC. The problem is that my 680 has 1x HDMI and 1x Display Port. The 1070 has 2x HDMI and 2x Display Port. My monitors take Display Port, but my TV is HDMI only. I need those two HDMI ports on the HTPC so I can duplicate the screen and stream it out.

    Why not just get an hdmi splitter?
Sign In or Register to comment.