Building a HTPC Need Help

T

TSWG00

Weaksauce
Joined
Jul 12, 2003
Messages
113
Right now I'm in the process of building a HTPC. I'm not really sure what stuff i'm going to need. I know I want it to be not only a PVR but also able to play DVD's and pretty much replace all my items I have right now. I don't really have a reciver as of yet. I would like the HTPC to be a DVD player, Reciver, DVR, Music player and what ever else you can have it do. I know I'm going to run Windows XP Media Center 2005 or I might wait until Windows XP Media Center 2006. I know I want the dual tuner so I'm going to go with Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 500 MCE. Not sure what type of video card I'm going to use. Also I'm not sure what type of Remote I'm going to use I'm looking at the Logitech® Harmony® remotes just not sure what one I want to get. Well I hope someone can help me choose my configureation.
 
How much do you want to spend?

Also I'm pretty sure you can't use it as a receiver you would want a sound card with optical out (or something else digital) to go to a real receiver and use that to go to all of your speakers

O just go with a good set of Computer speakers
ex: Logitech Z-5500 or a set of Klipsch
 
while you are waiting for MCE, go download a copy of SageTV, much more pwoerfull and flexible.

For the video card, we need to know what TV. For a standard def TV, i usually recommend a Nvidia 5200 or ATI 9600. the svideo out on either is good and they boths upprt directX 9 so no compatibility ussues with MCE as far as I know. For an HDTV, I suggest the 6200 as a minimum. A 9600 will work, but can have issues with resolutions over 720x480. The sweetest card in my mind is a passively cooled 6600gt by Gigabit. passive for less noise in your living room, but powerfull enough for HD playback and most games. as for the harmony stuff, the entry level is the one I am shooting for. some of the others are cool, but the 680 or 676 will do all that I need right now I think.
 
Currently I have a standard TV but I'm going to upgrade to a Panasonic HD 42" or 50" Plasma TV. I'm pretty sure I have found a configuration I like. Althought I'm thinking of using a different HDD. Thanks for the help. I think I might go with an ATI 9600 but then again if I upgrade my TV I might want to get something that can do HDTV
 
Well then I'd suggest either a vanilla 6600 or a 6600 GT, which every you think better suits your system but the vanilla 6600 is more then enough for an SDTV as well as an HDTV.
 
Cool thanks. I'll keep my eye out for a Geforce card. What about any ATI cards? Also what is a quit CPU Fan and Power Supply? So far Newegg has all my items :-D and its only looking to be about 1k so far that's with out speakers and a nice sound card. Not sure what sound card I should use looking at the sound blaster audigy 2 or 4.
 
I don't really have a sound system LOL I have a reciever that is about 30 years old, I'm guessing lol. What is wrong with using a sound blaster? just cerious
 
I don't use the creative stuff becuase it is overpriced for what I use it for. I simply pass the audio out of the digital out on my chaintech av710. ATI and HTPC are getting better, but Nvidia has had better driver support with lots of HTPC specific settings and tweaks.
 
Cool thanks. I have come up with a configuration tell me what you think

CPU: AMD Sempron 64 3400+ Processor
CPU Cooler: Stock/ Don't know
Motherboard: Asus but don't know what model
RAM: Corsair 1GB PC3200 DDR DIMM Memory
Hard Drive: Seagate 7200.8 ST3300831AS 300GB Hard Drive
Optical Drive #1: Plextor PX-716SA Dual Layer DVD±RW Writer
Video Card: eVGA Geforce 6600GT 128-A8-N350 Video Card
Sound Card: Built In / Don't know
Networking: Built In / Maybe WIFI
Case: SILVERSTONE LASCALA 10 CS-SST-LC10B-M Black
Power Supply: SilverStone Tech. 460W Super Silent Model SSTST46F
Keyboard & Mouse: Logitech MX 5000 Cordless Desktop Bluetooth Keyboard & Mouse
Speakers: N/A
Capture Card PVR-500MCE
Operating System: Windows XP MCE 2005 (OEM)
Software: nVIDIA DVD Decoder
Other: Nothing or Bayond TV 4
Remote Control: MCE Remote

The motherboard I think I'm going to get something different because that one didn't seem very good I was looking at the ASUS K8N4-E DELUXE but I'm not sure what to get.
 
IDversusEGO said:
A 9600 will work, but can have issues with resolutions over 720x480.
Click to expand...

What makes you say this?
Just an FYI, I have a 9600xt (which there isn't much difference between 9600pro and xt other than 100mhz on the clock) which plays HD content night and day. VGA>RGBHV on the TV and I have my HTPC upscale DVD's and other content to the 1920x1080i native res on the TV. Never had a hiccup.

Not to say a 9600 WON'T have problems...but I've never seen any with either a pro or an xt card.

There are a few versions of the 9600 though...9600le, 9600, 9600pro, 9600xt. Of those, I really wouldn't recommend LESS than the 9600XT. And if you're spending the money on that card...do yourself a favor and pay about $30 more for a 6600 series. That way you have some headroom for 1080p if you decide to get a TV with that.


For the CPU cooler...I'd recommend an XP-90 or XP-120 with a quiet fan.
For the motherboard, if you're going to use a REAL reciever (I'd highly recommend that), then just get a board with onboard Optical/Coaxial out.

Rest of it looks good.

btw, chances are you can undervolt that sempron and still maintain it's 3400+ speed. I can run my A64 3200+ at 1.17v instead of the normal 1.4v. Makes a BIG difference in heat output...and that's something you don't want to ignore in the HTPC.
 
1.) Since you have a PVR500 make sure you don't get a VIA mobo, they don't like the PVR500.

2.) The 3400+ is good but you need to think about whether or not you're going to be using all of that speed, will you be using FFDShow and do you have a good TV for it?

3.) Ditch the stock cooler, it doesn't cut it for HTPC use.

4.) I would go with a Seasonic S12 PSU instead, I haven't heard a quality PSU that was this silent.
 
I know I'm going to go with an asus board just not sure what model either the ASUS K8N4-E DELUXE or ASUS K8N-E. I was looking for a PSU that had sleeving much like Pc power and cooling's PSU's. I know I'm going to get a Geforce 6600GT. I would also like to play games on the HTPC and if I ever to get an HDTV everyone has been saying the 6600 or 6600GT is the best.

This being my first HTPC and the fact that I have been out of the computer building & Hardware loop for almost 3 or 4 years isn't helping. I use to know what was the best of the best, ha now I don't know anything. Thank God for the Forums, they have helped out a lot.

Oh one last Q when looking at PSU's what wattage do I want to look for 300w, 400w, 500w?

Thanks for the help.
 
I have a vanilla 9600 and have some stuttering at 1280x720 when playing xvids. also, the timing was tricky to get rid of flickering on whites.
 
IDversusEGO said:
I have a vanilla 9600 and have some stuttering at 1280x720 when playing xvids. also, the timing was tricky to get rid of flickering on whites.
Click to expand...

Does it have a 128-bit memory bus? I've heard that a 64-bit memory bus is a BIG handicap for HD content.

I guess I could see a plain 9600 having problems...I never really thought about it but I suppose the GPU performance and memory bandwidth have a pretty big part to play now that VMR9 is the renderer of choice (uses Direct3D).

I've also heard that enabling High Quality AF makes a difference on playback...but I haven't noticed much of a difference.
 
Well I think I might go with a AMD Turion 64 Mobile MT40 Lancaster But I'm not sure. What is a good AMD CPU for a HTPC? also what is a good RAM ammount?
 
any athlon64 Venice core (90nm) is pretty cool, make sure you enable Cool & Quiet, and you can have your CPU as cool as your MB temp.

RAM? doesn't really matter, 512 seems plenty.

Try BeyondTV, I'm using it and it is the best thing after MCE. V.4 even has HDTV support!
 
I'll keep that in mind. Yeah I was looking at beyond TV 4.0 it looks pretty damn cool.
 
dpwnload the beyond demo and the sage demo. new sage version supprots HDtv as well and has client/server features that make a whole house solution possible. also, beyond charges you to add more than 3 (I think) tuners.
 
I'm just going to have one PVR so I'm not real worried about having it on more than one computer. Its just going to be hooked up to my main TV. I guess if I ever want a PVR in another room I'll build one but for now its just one.
 
Well I have no clue what motherboard will be my best option. I was looking at the ASUS ones I'm going with an AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego so its going to be a socket 939. The motherboard I'm looking at is ASUS A8N-SLI but I don't know if I really need an SLI Board, I do want the Nforce 4 chipset. But I don't really need SLI. Hummm... Can anyone help me choose lol :-D
 
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego
Motherboard: ? Not sure need help with that one
Memory: CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB)
Case: SILVERSTONE SST-LC10S-M
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12-430 ATX12V 430W Power Supply
Hard Drives: Western Digital Caviar 400GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 (I am thinking of getting a SATA 3Gb drive)
Optical Drive: PLEXTOR PX-716A/SW
Video Card: eVGA Geforce 7800GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 (Not sure if I need this or a cheaper card)
TV Tuner Card: Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 500 MCE
Keyboard & Mouse: Logitech MX 5000
Remote: Logitech Harmony 680
OS: Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 w/Update Rollup Release 2

I think that is about it lol. Minus figuring out what Motherboard I need :-D
 
personally I value silence, so I would go with a slower card and get it passively cooled. unless you are gaming on a 1080p display, you don't need that much power anyway. and speaking of power, you could save ont he PSU by going with a little less wattage. your setup would be ok with 350 if I had to guess. well, that CPU might demand more, I don't know. as far as hard drives, I prefer seagate for it's warranty or samsung for it's low noise. I am not a huge WD fan. I also don't see a sound card listed. Are you using your home theater receiver with this? if so, get a mobo with optical out or pick up a chaintech av710.
 
I was going to go with a Mobo with an optical out so that way I woudln't have to get a sound card. Not that the reciver I have even has an optical input lol. I was thinking about using the HTPC to play games on the TV but I also want an HDTV ready card. But the main function of the HTPC is the PVR and storing DVD's on it so I want a lot of HDD space. I still am not sure what MOBO to us I'm thinking of an ASUS because I have never had any problems with them. But I just don't know right now lol.
 
asus makes good boards. whatever board you pick, be sure you get a good chipset. that can make or brak a board. a 6600gt is fine for HD and can be had in passive mode without spending an arm and a leg. I want to build my next HTPC around a 6150 based board. HD graphics on board, but not much for gaming. has some great features too.
 
cool. Yeah I was thinking of any Nforce chipset they seem to be nice. I dont' really want to get a SLI board but it seem like there are more SLI options than non SLI lol. Could always go with a socket 749 or what ever it is and go with an AMD Mobil CPU lol would run cooler and would not be as loud :-D.

Thanks for your input. Now time to get prices on the Mobo and video card lol.
 
Here is the Mobo Spec

Specifications
Model
Brand ASUS
Model A8N-E
Supported CPU
CPU Socket Type Socket 939
CPU Type Athlon 64 FX/Athlon 64/Athlon X2
FSB 1000MHz Hyper Transport (2000 MT/s)
Chipsets
North Bridge NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra
Memory
Number of DDR Slots 4x 184pin DDR
DDR Standard DDR 400 (PC 3200)
Maximum Memory Supported 4GB
Dual Channel Supported Yes
Expansion Slots
AGP Slots None
PCI Express x16 1
PCI Express x1 2
PCI Slots 3
Other Slots 1x PCI Express x4
Storage Devices
P ATA 2 x ATA100 up to 4 Devices
P ATA RAID NV RAID 0/1/0+1 JBOD
SATA II 4
S ATA RAID NV RAID 0/1/0+1 JBOD
Onboard Video
Onboard Video No
Onboard Audio
Audio Chipset Realtek ALC850
Audio Channels 8 Channels
Onboard LAN
Max LAN Speed 10/100/1000Mbps
Rear Panel Ports
PS/2 2
LPT 1
USB 4x USB 2.0
S/PDIF Out 1x Optical and 1x Coaxial
Audio Ports 6 Ports
Onboard USB
Onboard USB Connectors 6x USB 2.0
Physical Spec
Form Factor ATX
Dimensions 12.0" x 9.6"
Features
Power Pin 24 Pin

Just wondering if this is a good model for my HTPC :-D
 
Yeah the A8N-E is a good board to use, just make sure to replace the noisy chipset fan with a passive cooler or something.
 
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