The GoldChannel Project: Build a home theater PC for less than $1000.
For the last several years, I've been wanting a home theater PC. A few of my friends already had home theater PCs, through which they could play their music on their stereo, display their pictures on their TV, and play their videos on their TV. Some of these systems were based on the Windows Media Center edition OS. I didn't want a Windows-based home theater. Support for the Media Center versions of Windows has waned, and in the current version, it's practially non-existent. I had heard of Mythbuntu -- a flavor of Ubuntu [Linux] with MythTV support integrated into it -- and wanted to try it out.
The name for this machine -- and the project -- was GoldChannel, after the high-priority command-level communications channel on "Babylon 5". Since my main desktop is named "orac" (from "Blake's 7"), and my main laptop is named "tardis" (from "Doctor Who"), I wanted to continue using names from some of my favorite science fiction programs.
The goal was to build such a home theater system for under $1,000 using easily obtainable parts.
My starting point was an article on Lifehacker from 2015 that listed suggested parts for a home theater PC that could be built for less than $500. I used this parts list as an initial baseline. Another design requirement was that I wanted a system that could easily be expanded in the future as my budget allowed, by adding more RAM, hard drives, and features. And I wanted parts that could easily be obtained at a brick-and-mortar computer store such as Micro Center, or an online store such as newegg.com.
The specs (with links to the parts):
I started with the case: an nMediaPC HTPC 6000B. I wanted something that wasn't a mini-tower, would look nice with my stereo system, and had the capacity for multiple hard drives. The HTPC 6000 can accommodate several different sizes/styles of motherboard -- ATX, microATX, DTX, and mini-ITX -- and can hold up to 6 hard drives.
(1) nMediaPC HTPC 6000B case
Then came the motherboard: an ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3 motherboard. It has the microATX form factor, supports USB 3.0, has a few PCI express expansion slots, uses DDR3 memory, and has a number of audio and video outputs for home theater applications.
(2) ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3 motherboard
Next was the power supply: a Corsair CX500. It provides 500 watts of power, has plenty of outlets for peripherals, and is quiet. I don't want to be listening to fan noise when I'm listening to music or watching a video.
(3) Corsair CX500 power supply
Next came the processor: an AMD FX 6300. It's a 6-core, 64-bit processor running at 3.5 GHz.
(4) AMD FX 6300 Processor
Then came the memory: two 4 GB IPSG DDR3 Long-DIMM 1600 MHz (PC3-12800) chips, giving me an initial total of 8 GB of RAM. Error-correcting (ECC) memory would have cost me a litle more money. (IPSG is one of the house brands carried by Micro Center. The link refers to Crucial brand memory.)
(5) 4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz RAM
I also wanted an SSD Drive for the operating system, and selected the Samsung SSD 850 EVO, which holds 120 GB of data.
(6) Samsung SSD 850 EVO
The first hard drive for media storage was a Western Digital Green 3 TB drive (model number WD30EZRX). I've always had great luck with Western Digital drives, and wanted to stick with them for my media files. I went with the 3 TB drive since it had the lowest cost per terabyte. The Green series focuses on energy consumption; the Blue series is their standard tier.
(7) WDC Blue 3 TB hard drive
For the optical disk reader/writer: an ASUS BW-12B1ST. It can read and burn CDs, DVDs (both +R and -R), and Blu-Ray discs (at 12x speed).
(8) ASUS BW-12B1ST optical drive
Since the placement of the unit was going to be in my living room, and the router was in the upstairs loft, I added a wireless network card: the TP-Link TL-WDN3800. It has two directional antennas and uses the Wireless-N (IEEE 802.11n) protocol.
(9) TP-Link TL-WDN3800 wireless network adapter
For the keyboard and mouse, I didn't want to have to trip over or untangle wired connectors. And I wanted them to be a matching set. I went with THE Iogear GKM552R wireless keyboard and mouse.
(10) Iogear GKM552R wireless mouse and keyboard
Last was the OS: Mythbuntu 14.04. It's based on Ubuntu 14.04, with MythTV integrated into it. The distro is free to download. I burned a copy of it to a DVD, and used that to install from.
(11) Mythbuntu OS
I assembled the parts over the course of two evenings in January 2015. I ran into a few problems, such as forgetting to plug in a second power supply connection to the motherboard, and needing to get a small internal speaker, in case there were any beep codes to be heard. After assembling the CPU unit, and encountering problems I couldn't solve, I ended up pitting it aside for a year, and didn't set it up until August 2016, when I received some help removing my old tube TV and replacing it with a flat-screen TV.
The total cost of the parts came out to $818.82. This included a couple of manufacturer rebates.
Once I installed it and started Mythbuntu, it took me a few days to properly configure the system, but once it worked, it worked well.
I've since made a few additions: adding another 8 GB of RAM (maxing it out at 16 GB), a second 3 TB hard drive (Western Digital Blue 3 TB - WD30EZRZ), and a Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-955Q external TV tuner card.
(12) Hauppauge HVR-955Q TV tuner
There are still several things to be fixed and tweaked, including these items:
- The system doesn't wake up after being suspended/hibernated. (I'm suspecting it has something to do with the wireless card.)
- My cable TV system is not compatible with the Hauppauge tuner. (I'd have to get a PCMCIA card reader and a PCMCIA descrambler card from the cable TV company.) So I can't use MythTV's DVR capabilities.
- I can't seem to change the LCD display on the front of the box; it constantly says "Home Theater PC".
- It can't play commercially available Blu-Ray discs. That may be related to the encryption scheme used on the discs.
- The USB 3.0 port on the front of the case is inoperative. (Maybe something needs to be plugged in.)
- If I'm not running MythTV, the sound goes through the external speakers, and not through the HDMI cable to my TV.
The name for this machine -- and the project -- was GoldChannel, after the high-priority command-level communications channel on "Babylon 5". Since my main desktop is named "orac" (from "Blake's 7"), and my main laptop is named "tardis" (from "Doctor Who"), I wanted to continue using names from some of my favorite science fiction programs.
The goal was to build such a home theater system for under $1,000 using easily obtainable parts.
My starting point was an article on Lifehacker from 2015 that listed suggested parts for a home theater PC that could be built for less than $500. I used this parts list as an initial baseline. Another design requirement was that I wanted a system that could easily be expanded in the future as my budget allowed, by adding more RAM, hard drives, and features. And I wanted parts that could easily be obtained at a brick-and-mortar computer store such as Micro Center, or an online store such as newegg.com.
The specs (with links to the parts):
I started with the case: an nMediaPC HTPC 6000B. I wanted something that wasn't a mini-tower, would look nice with my stereo system, and had the capacity for multiple hard drives. The HTPC 6000 can accommodate several different sizes/styles of motherboard -- ATX, microATX, DTX, and mini-ITX -- and can hold up to 6 hard drives.
(1) nMediaPC HTPC 6000B case
Then came the motherboard: an ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3 motherboard. It has the microATX form factor, supports USB 3.0, has a few PCI express expansion slots, uses DDR3 memory, and has a number of audio and video outputs for home theater applications.
(2) ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3 motherboard
Next was the power supply: a Corsair CX500. It provides 500 watts of power, has plenty of outlets for peripherals, and is quiet. I don't want to be listening to fan noise when I'm listening to music or watching a video.
(3) Corsair CX500 power supply
Next came the processor: an AMD FX 6300. It's a 6-core, 64-bit processor running at 3.5 GHz.
(4) AMD FX 6300 Processor
Then came the memory: two 4 GB IPSG DDR3 Long-DIMM 1600 MHz (PC3-12800) chips, giving me an initial total of 8 GB of RAM. Error-correcting (ECC) memory would have cost me a litle more money. (IPSG is one of the house brands carried by Micro Center. The link refers to Crucial brand memory.)
(5) 4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz RAM
I also wanted an SSD Drive for the operating system, and selected the Samsung SSD 850 EVO, which holds 120 GB of data.
(6) Samsung SSD 850 EVO
The first hard drive for media storage was a Western Digital Green 3 TB drive (model number WD30EZRX). I've always had great luck with Western Digital drives, and wanted to stick with them for my media files. I went with the 3 TB drive since it had the lowest cost per terabyte. The Green series focuses on energy consumption; the Blue series is their standard tier.
(7) WDC Blue 3 TB hard drive
For the optical disk reader/writer: an ASUS BW-12B1ST. It can read and burn CDs, DVDs (both +R and -R), and Blu-Ray discs (at 12x speed).
(8) ASUS BW-12B1ST optical drive
Since the placement of the unit was going to be in my living room, and the router was in the upstairs loft, I added a wireless network card: the TP-Link TL-WDN3800. It has two directional antennas and uses the Wireless-N (IEEE 802.11n) protocol.
(9) TP-Link TL-WDN3800 wireless network adapter
For the keyboard and mouse, I didn't want to have to trip over or untangle wired connectors. And I wanted them to be a matching set. I went with THE Iogear GKM552R wireless keyboard and mouse.
(10) Iogear GKM552R wireless mouse and keyboard
Last was the OS: Mythbuntu 14.04. It's based on Ubuntu 14.04, with MythTV integrated into it. The distro is free to download. I burned a copy of it to a DVD, and used that to install from.
(11) Mythbuntu OS
I assembled the parts over the course of two evenings in January 2015. I ran into a few problems, such as forgetting to plug in a second power supply connection to the motherboard, and needing to get a small internal speaker, in case there were any beep codes to be heard. After assembling the CPU unit, and encountering problems I couldn't solve, I ended up pitting it aside for a year, and didn't set it up until August 2016, when I received some help removing my old tube TV and replacing it with a flat-screen TV.
The total cost of the parts came out to $818.82. This included a couple of manufacturer rebates.
Once I installed it and started Mythbuntu, it took me a few days to properly configure the system, but once it worked, it worked well.
I've since made a few additions: adding another 8 GB of RAM (maxing it out at 16 GB), a second 3 TB hard drive (Western Digital Blue 3 TB - WD30EZRZ), and a Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-955Q external TV tuner card.
(12) Hauppauge HVR-955Q TV tuner
There are still several things to be fixed and tweaked, including these items:
- The system doesn't wake up after being suspended/hibernated. (I'm suspecting it has something to do with the wireless card.)
- My cable TV system is not compatible with the Hauppauge tuner. (I'd have to get a PCMCIA card reader and a PCMCIA descrambler card from the cable TV company.) So I can't use MythTV's DVR capabilities.
- I can't seem to change the LCD display on the front of the box; it constantly says "Home Theater PC".
- It can't play commercially available Blu-Ray discs. That may be related to the encryption scheme used on the discs.
- The USB 3.0 port on the front of the case is inoperative. (Maybe something needs to be plugged in.)
- If I'm not running MythTV, the sound goes through the external speakers, and not through the HDMI cable to my TV.