Approve my HTPC build

[Team Obi Juan]

This is less of an HTPC and more of a light-gaming in the living room PC. I'll browse the net and play some games with it. Music, etc. I kind of want to add a TV card to use with my OTA HD antenna. I have a standalone Blu-ray player.

I have an HD 4830 with native HDMI that I plan to use. It will output to a Denon receiver. TV is a 47" LG LCD 1080p, a 2008 model.


Here goes:
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit for system builders
Case: SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum / 0.8mm SECC Grandia Series GD05B
CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor
Memory: Mushkin Enhanced Essentials 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
PSU: SILVERSTONE ST50F-ES 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Mobo: ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
DVD: LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support


This is $562 shipped. How's it look?

 

[af22]

i would spend a bit more on the cpu to "future" proof it. my htpc is 2 years now and its still going strong, but i have an itch for a faster cpu upgrade.

 

[gn0me]

I bought parts for an HTPC on Sunday. Parts should be here tomorrow. I looked at all the same parts you have listed. I think your list looks pretty good.

I was going to buy the same HDD you have listed, but got in on the 2TB Samsung for $80 deal instead. That deal is dead now unfortunately.

I was going to buy that same 245 Regor that you have listed, but saw a Triple-Core 440 Rana 3.0 Ghz for 12 bucks more. Went with that.

I bought a TV Tuner since I'm wanting to drop cable again, but want to be able to record a few choice OTA broadcasts. Since I've used one before and liked it, I went with the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250. Dual tuners, works well in Windows 7. $20 MIR available now. I bought all my stuff on 11/14. MIR is good for 11/15 - 11/21. I missed it by one freakin day.

I am going to be using the HDTV Antenna that I bought to avoid cable when I first got my 46 Inch TV; Terk HDTVa. It works well and is just as clear as digital cable. At least it is where I live. Hopefully it works well with the HTPC.

That ASUS board looks great. I notice its memory is DDR3 versus DDR2. The board I bought was a Gigabyte board with the same 785G chipset, but it uses DDR2.

I added a Sapphire HD 5670 to the mix for more reliable video output. Also should be able to play most games with few issues. This will add heat to the system and might even be totally unnecessary for what I'm doing, but I'll find something to do with the video card if I choose not to use it in this build.

 

[Activate: AMD]

Looks pretty good to me. I dunno how the 4830 performs gaming-wise, but since the 5770 is roughly the same as the 4870, I'd say you're probably around 5670 levels, which will do most games ok. don't expect great things. I dunno about the CPU. Probably fine, but if gaming is a thought, maybe the triple/quad cores might be a safer choice. Normally I wouldn't even bring them up for HTPC use since they're 95w parts vs the 65w for the dual cores, and the heat can make a difference in such a tight case. But again, if gaming is involved then the reach for them price-wise might not hurt. Chances are you'll be GPU limited anyway though. As gn0me mentioned, the HVR-2250 is a staple in the HTPC world for OTA broadcast recording, so you can't go wrong there.

EDIT: forgot to mention, that case is kinda weird because the optical drive is situated such that it sticks out over the CPU socket, precluding the use of larger HSF's. I've *heard* that some of the stock HSF's might not clear it, but I think that was for the 6-core stock HSF. the 65w CPU HSF's should clear it no problem, but I'd check before going with one of the 95w CPU's

 

[Ravenor]

This is less of an HTPC and more of a light-gaming in the living room PC. I'll browse the net and play some games with it. Music, etc. I kind of want to add a TV card to use with my OTA HD antenna. I have a standalone Blu-ray player.

I have an HD 4830 with native HDMI that I plan to use. It will output to a Denon receiver. TV is a 47" LG LCD 1080p, a 2008 model.


Here goes:
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit for system builders
Case: SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum / 0.8mm SECC Grandia Series GD05B
CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor
Memory: Mushkin Enhanced Essentials 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
PSU: SILVERSTONE ST50F-ES 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Mobo: ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
DVD: LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support


This is $562 shipped. How's it look?

I would say that the build is fine, my only change that i might make is a Blu-Ray Drive. They have come down far enough that you might as well as toss one in if you do not have a separate one. I know that you said it more of a light gaming then HTPC, but it could not hurt for future-proofing.

 

[VA Supremacy]

I would say that the build is fine, my only change that i might make is a Blu-Ray Drive. They have come down far enough that you might as well as toss one in if you do not have a separate one. I know that you said it more of a light gaming then HTPC, but it could not hurt for future-proofing.

I agree a BD drive might be useful down the road and you'll be glad to have one.