Another "Help me with my build" thread

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Gillette

[H]ard|Gawd
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Feb 6, 2005
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I'm new to HTPCs, but after doing some research I've pieced together the following:

I have existing hard drives I will use

Case: http://pccyber.com/?v=product&i=CC-ANTEC-FUSION
Mobo: http://pccyber.com/?v=product&i=MB-GB-MA78GM-S2H
CPU: http://pccyber.com/?v=product&i=CPU-AM2-ADH4850DO
RAM: http://pccyber.com/?v=product&i=RAM-VS2GBKIT667D2
BR/DVD: http://pccyber.com/?v=product&i=DVDRW-LG-GGC-H20L-BK

I'll be hooking this up to an existing 5.1 (PC) setup and going out through HDMI to my TV. Ideally I want to do 1080p playback, both from files (mkv) and BR disks.

I understand there are alot of BR drives that have issues - is this one of them? Should I hold off for now and toss in a $10 DVD drive until things settle down?

Ideally I'd like to buy everything from PC Cyber (the store linked to) since they're local. Shipping costs from all retailers in Canada are absurd.

Any and all input is appreciated, thanks in advance :)
 
everything seems fine to be.. but id go with this optical drive instead.. http://pccyber.com/?v=product&i=DVDRW-LG-GGC-H20L-BK .. 1 big reason is that hd-dvd's are friggin dirt cheap now.. and there are still a lot of movies on hd-dvd that aren't on blu-ray yet and may never be put on blu-ray.. I actually just bought the black version of that antec fusion case for a htpc build im doing for some one else..

just remember doing mkv 1080p playback.. use MPC-HC since it has the ability to enable gpu hardware accel for playback.. even though that cpu will be plenty fast enough for just cpu playback.. mpc-hc also allows for multi threaded playback support..

but looks like it will be a nice build..
 
Thanks for the feedback, I'll definitely look into that drive as the alternative!

How loud are the fans on that case? I plan on controlling the CPU fan through SpeedFan, but the quieter everything is the better.

Also, you mentioned using MPC - I'm using MediaPortal on my current (old) media PC and I know I can select the codec to use with it. I'd like to continue with this as it's a solid piece of software that does everything I want/need. Do you know of a way to use MPC in this app, or is there just a specific codec I should select? I'm using CoreAVC right now since the current PC is pretty old/slow.
 
Hello,

I was a little unclear on something, what did you mean by...

I'll be hooking this up to an existing 5.1 (PC) setup and going out through HDMI to my TV. Ideally I want to do 1080p playback, both from files (mkv) and BR disks.
Click to expand...

Is this new PC connecting through another PC with 5.1 set up?
 
No, sorry, I mean it's a set of PC speakers (3x 3.5mm jacks) as opposed to going through an amp/receiver over HDMI/SPDIF.
 
OK. So why would you want to use a 5.1 PC speaker system for a home theater? PC speakers are great for PC audio, but not all that good for HTPC.

Do you have a nice set of home speakers?
 
Thanks for the suggestion but at this time buying a high-end sound system to go with that just wouldn't be practical. I live in an apartment building right now and my 100W sound system is far more than enough :p
 
Gillette said:
Thanks for the feedback, I'll definitely look into that drive as the alternative!

How loud are the fans on that case? I plan on controlling the CPU fan through SpeedFan, but the quieter everything is the better.

Also, you mentioned using MPC - I'm using MediaPortal on my current (old) media PC and I know I can select the codec to use with it. I'd like to continue with this as it's a solid piece of software that does everything I want/need. Do you know of a way to use MPC in this app, or is there just a specific codec I should select? I'm using CoreAVC right now since the current PC is pretty old/slow.
Click to expand...

with mpc-hc you do not need any codecs install nor do you need coreavc.. the program comes with preinstalled filters/codecs.. basicly its a fool proof version similar to vlc but way better..


i havnt had a chance to check the fans yet.. since im still waiting on a few parts..
 
Thanks very much for the feedback (and info).

I'm going to order those parts tonight and hopefully have a machine up and running for the weekend!

As for the higher-end audio stuff - my plan is to buy a solid sound system w/ receiver, etc... when I move into a house. I should be able to hook the PC up over SPDIF or HDMI to the receiver and still get similar sound quality to what I'd get from that board listed a few posts up would get connected directly to the speakers, right?

In reference to Javabri's post - is the integrated video on the board in my first post not good enough to handle 1080p content? I understand the CPU should be more than adequate to handle the decoding, but it must still play a part right?
 
yeah the motherboard can handle 1080p fine if your doing blu-ray's/hd-dvd's.. for 1080 mkv you need to make sure its using the L4.1 x264 codec.. which is hardware accel enabled.. the only way that processor will be able to do 1080p is if its set up for multi threading.. single core it will not be able to do a 1080p.. might be close depending on the bitrate.. but id say anything over 8mbit and it will start blocking..
 
Where would I be able to get that codec?

I believe CoreAVC, VLC, and ffdshow are all multithreaded anyway so should I still be worried?
 
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