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What would make a good UHD HTPC

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Teddyboy
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Re: What would make a good UHD HTPC

Post by Teddyboy » Wed Mar 03, 2021 7:19 pm

Jamie wrote: Wed Mar 03, 2021 7:11 pm
Efrain, how much did you pay for that case? Not that I am jealous. Well maybe I am :lol:
Depending on options for the HDPLEX H1 V3 fabless chassis $277 to $340
https://hdplex.com/hdplex-h1-v3-fanles ... -case.html
You’d still have to make a pocket for the ir board if you wanted to go that route. It really is a nice case. I’m glad that I bought it.
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Jamie
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Re: What would make a good UHD HTPC

Post by Jamie » Wed Mar 03, 2021 7:46 pm

Teddyboy wrote: Wed Mar 03, 2021 7:19 pm
Jamie wrote: Wed Mar 03, 2021 7:11 pm
Efrain, how much did you pay for that case? Not that I am jealous. Well maybe I am :lol:
Depending on options for the HDPLEX H1 V3 fabless chassis $277 to $340
I like it but the price is out of my league I want to use my money on the MB, CPU, and ram. I am waiting to see whether Intel comes out with the 11th Generation parts. Could be a long wait though. I mainly want to use it for 4k UHD and I want to keep it for 5 years or longer. I have kept my NUCs for over 5 years and they do a good job on Bluray rips

Jamie

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Pauven
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Re: What would make a good UHD HTPC

Post by Pauven » Wed Mar 03, 2021 10:09 pm

My other HTPC case has a 1/4" circular IR window. It works okay, but it's definitely on the small side. I think you could go to to 1/2" and it would still be okay.

But trying to make a perfectly round plastic IR window is probably the hardest part. The rectangle I made to fit the USB port was probably easier, as I cut it slightly large with the dremel, then sanded it down by hand until it just fit, rounding the corners just a little.

Unless you want to keep both USB ports up front, I'd recommend you take the same path I took.

If you do choose to go the circle route, I'd recommend making the circular IR window first, then drill a matching size hole. That way, if you discover it's too hard to make a circle insert, then you haven't ruined your case.

To mount the IR window in the case, I held it in place with blue painters tape, then ran a small bead of clear super glue on the inside, kinda like caulking the corners.
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Jamie
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Re: What would make a good UHD HTPC

Post by Jamie » Thu Mar 04, 2021 6:59 pm

Hi Paul,

I spoke to my brother today and he suggested plugging in a Flirc which you described earlier in this thread. He says that I can plug the Flirc into one of the two front USB ports and that it should work with MCE remotes and windows 10. He did say to talk with you to see if CMC will handle a flirc? He really does not want to drill, or even touch the front of the case if we can get by with the flirc.

FLIRC USB Universal Remote Control Receiver. https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Remote ... 853&sr=8-1

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Re: What would make a good UHD HTPC

Post by Pauven » Thu Mar 04, 2021 8:51 pm

I will cautiously say CMC should work with the FLIRC, as I believe it can emulate a WMC remote. That said, I haven't tested this myself. Since I have a FLIRC, I can go ahead and test it if you want me to.

My last picture above shows the FLIRC in the left port, to give you an idea of how it looks. I find the silver band too bright, it really draws your eye to it. But there's any number of ways you could black that out, easiest if which is probably electrical tape. That would certainly make it less obvious.
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Jamie
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Re: What would make a good UHD HTPC

Post by Jamie » Thu Mar 04, 2021 9:41 pm

My brother reminded me at the time that the wireless keyboard with touch pad uses a usb receiver adapter for controlling the NUC. Since I am not bothered by that device the Flirc should work for me, The TV is about 12 inches above the NUC.

If you can test your flirc that should be a good thing to look into because it might help others who do not want to modify their case. This is not a requirement on my end, so I let you decide whether you want to check it out.

Jamie

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Re: What would make a good UHD HTPC

Post by Jamie » Tue Mar 30, 2021 4:23 pm

Hi Guys,

The 11 Gen desktop CPUs with Graphics came out today . I think I need some of your input regarding what CPU to get including the i9-11900K, or i7-11700K with UHD 750 graphics. What do you guys think?.

I will mostly use it with powerdvd 20 and maybe Jriver. I may use it for other things such as ripping bluray and UHD disks. I will be using 4k uhd for watching movies but the bulk of my collection is Bluray and only special disks will become UHD.

I got to do a little more research but right now I think that the I7 show be good enough. Any opinions or preferences? Hopefully the CPUs will not become as scarce as GPU cards

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Re: What would make a good UHD HTPC

Post by Teddyboy » Wed Mar 31, 2021 12:43 pm

Hi Jamie,
I just bought a new it’s mother board that support the next gen Intel cpus. I bought a current gen i3 for the time being, but now I might just spring for a new cpu for the new generation igpu. My question is why not a i3 or a i5? The igpu is going to be doing the majority of the heavy lifting for 4k. I’ve always used a i3 in the past for blu-ray playback and general htpc use it was fine. I’m on the fence about PowerDVD 20. I’d I can get away with using jriver I will. Everything is decrypted with fox, so I don’t see the point of using PowerDVD as it takes away the need for sgx requirement.

Whats the cost of cpus going for online.
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Pauven
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Re: What would make a good UHD HTPC

Post by Pauven » Wed Mar 31, 2021 1:36 pm

I agree with Efrain, I don't see a need for a high-end i9 or i7 in a HTPC. Since you're just after the integrated GPU, I would look down the product stack for a lower-end CPU with the same graphics. Additionally, the 11700 has recently been panned as a "waste of sand", and the 11900 as "a waste of sand trapped in your swimwear".

I don't believe i3's have been released yet, so an i5 is the lowest you can go. Checking on Wikipedia's Rocket Lake page, I see that the 11th gen i5's come with either an UHD 750, or a lower-end UHD 730. I agree with you that the UHD 750 is the better choice.

For the CPU's that have the UHD 750, they all have identical GPU clock rates as long as you avoid the 11500T, which is a thermally constrained "T" version with lower speeds.

That leaves the i5-11500, i5-11600T, i5-11600, and i5-11600K. The price spread across these three models is only $70, so I don't think that's an important factor. Instead, I would expect design-power to be your main consideration. The i5-11600K is a 125 watt CPU. The 11th gen CPU's are running hot, and Intel is famous for their TDP ratings to be very conservative, so that 125W CPU might end up producing 180-250 watts of heat. That seems like a lot for a HTPC.

On the other end of the spectrum, the i5-11600T is a miserly 35W CPU. While this would work great in a HTPC chassis, you give up a lot in clock speeds. Additionally, even though the UHD 750 GPU is still rated at 1.3GHz, this is a max clock rate and it is not a guaranteed constant-load speed. I fear that running it hard for 4K processing might cause it to clock-down to stay within the 35w design envelope.

Which in my mind leaves two solid choices, the i5-11500 at $192 (in stock on Amazon and Newegg for $218), and the i5-11600 at $213 (not showing in stock on Amazon or Newegg). On average, the 11500 gives up 100 MHz in CPU speed to the 11600, a difference small you might not even notice. Even though both are rated at 65W, I would expect the 11500 to run slightly cooler due to the lower clocks, and that might even leave a little thermal headroom for the GPU to perform better than on the 11600, though again I doubt you would notice the difference.

Based upon all of that, my recommendation is the i5-11500.
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Jamie
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Re: What would make a good UHD HTPC

Post by Jamie » Wed Mar 31, 2021 10:31 pm

Thanks for your suggestions Efrain and Paul. Your analysis' are quite good. Paul thank you especially for pointing out the heat that the I7 might create inside my case. I was under the assumption that the I7 and I5 were close together for wattage but you are right.

I will go with the i5-11500.

What motherboard manufacturer do you guys like? I have gone with Asus in the past but my previous MB longevity have left something to be desired? The Asrock MB which Paul recommended for my unraid server last year seems to be a Champ!

What should I consider for a MB. I am thinking of a micro ATX, or a mini ITX. I also know that I need a LGA 1200 socket Any winning MB designs that you guys like?? I will probably watch fo rsomething with Hdmi 2.1 but every MB I look at is HDMI 1.4 which has been old technology for many years. I don't want to buy a MB and find that I will be looking for a new one in a year or so.

Jamie

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