• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Building a New System---Ideas??

T

TooncesLives

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 11, 2005
Messages
188
Well, I have once again found myself with a pile of new parts, and want to start a new project. I posted what I have below. What I want to do is build a smaller form factor HTPC (doesn't need to be ultra small, but I don't want to be using a full-size ATX case if possible). I also want this machine to be as close to silent as possible, since it's going to be an HTPC for my bedroom, and I don't want to have to shut it off in order to be able to fall asleep. I'm interested in a Pentium-M or Core Duo system after hearing about how quiet/fast/cool they run compared to the Pentium systems. I'm also not opposed to an AMD solution, I just have never used AMD before so I don't know much. I don't have an HD signal yet, but when I move in two months I will, so having a HD tuner might be nice, but isn't totally necessary. Finally, I keep in mind that I need to use a wireless card with this machine, so that will take up a PCI slot. Funding for the parts I need to buy will come from the sale of a stock Dell 4600 (which used to be my HTPC, but I took the media components out first), and a laptop that I got 250 for on ebay. That puts me at around 500 for sure. I could go a little more if needed, but I'd prefer not to. I was told that maybe I should wait for a little while due to new hardware from Intel coming out shortly, so if anyone has opinions on that, I'm open to those. Keep in mind I want this thing to handle Vista when it's finally out, because I work for a university and can buy any MS product I want on the cheap (paid 5 bucks for MCE2005!). Post links and let me know what you'd suggest. Thanks for the help!

Current parts:
SeaSonic S12 600watt PSU
Samsung 250gb SATA hd
Samsung 300gb SATA hd (both these drives are virtually silent)
Hauppauge 150 TV tuner
Belkin Pre-N wireless network card
S-Flex 120mm fan (hooked it up to see how quiet it it, and seems
LaCie DVD-+RW with Lightscribe
 
As far as installing/using hardware, there's really little difference between Intel and AMD. There are some MB/CPU compatibility issues for Intel, but if you're buying decent parts, it shouldn't be a problem. For AMD, just make sure the processor fits the socket, and that's about it. I would personally suggest this MSI board, as it has a great chipset and integrated graphics for HTPC use, and comes with DVI and component connectors--no extra video card needed for HD goodness.

In any case, you might want to wait until both AMD and Intel release their new products. If nothing else, it'll drive down the cost of current products significantly.
 
Well, the power of the processor is going to depend on what you will be doing.

For SD playback, you could get away with a sempron or celeron.
For DVD playback, same.
For DVD playback with post processing, you will need a little more oomph, so a P4 or Athlon 64.
For HDTV playback, you should still be fine with a P4 or Athlon 64.
Dual cores are nice, but aren't necessary unless you do tons of multitasking or encoding.

I have tested DVD playback with post processing with both a P4 2.8ghz, and an Athlon 64 3200+ and both worked without a hiccup. Using DVD shrink, they both perform similarly with rip and encode time being 15-30 minutes.

If you want quiet, AMD is the way to go unless you go with Intel's mobile chips. Right now, the mobile chips are more expensive than they are worth, particularly since you need more expensive motherboards.

Based off of your list, you need a case, mobo, processor, and aftermarket cooler (for silence), and a video card. That is a lot to buy with only $500. My suggestions would be the following:

Processor: Athlon 64 3000+ Venice core (doesn't use a lot of power, and should provide plenty of juice for HTPC use.) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103537 $113

Mobo: Asus A8N CSM-VM (passive NB cooling, good onboard video, firewire, spdif out with $10 bracket, everything you need to get started) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131570 $85

CPU heat sink : Zalman 7000B (very popular, competent and quiet cooler. using it in silent mode should more than handle even an overclocked 3000+) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118112 $29

Case: Silverstone LC-17 (Now, this isn't micoatx, however it has a fairly small footprint for a full atx case. I have this one. I recommend it since it has 2 80mm fans in the rear for cooling, which can be run at 5v and provide plenty of cooling for my P4 (while being virtually silent)) http://www.pcalchemy.com/product_in...cases?osCsid=5536c0a48a1bd99626becfb89e028e30 $140

This gives you a great case, mobo, heatsink and processor with cash left over for a standalone video card if needed, or a juiced up processor if needed (although that cpu heatsink could allow you to overclock your processor a bit and still stay quiet). I don't see the need to spend too much more to get a couple hundred mhz. I would consider jumping to dual core, but that is just because I like the latest and greatest. An nvidia 7600gs would be a good card to consider and can be had for $100ish after rebate. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130004 It will play nicely with the purevideo codec that is very popular here (as well as be good for mainstream gaming).

Some might have different opinions on what I have written, but I doubt too many would object too strongly.
 
Before buying, you need to ask yourself some questions:

What will it be used for?
What software will I use?
What's more important, noise or performance?
Will I be gaming?

Uses:
If you're doing hdtv, you'll need a more powerful cpu obviously. any of the newer p4/a64's can handle that workload no problem. If you're upscaling dvd's, the more powerful the cpu the better. scaling is one of the most cpu intensive tasks. I'd recommend a p4, but honestly an a64 3400+ or better should work.

Software:
since ur using MCE, make sure all ur hardware is supported under mce. ull be shooting urself in the foot if u dont (going through a similar problem now). also remember mce requires a hardware based ntsc tuner in order to work, and an atsc tuner can't be used natively without an ntsc tuner. also be prepared to retag all of ur media. doing it MS's way can be a pain at time, but when u get it done, it's well worth it. WMP10 has the advanced tag editor, but i like tag&rename. u can dl all of ur album info from amazon. also make sure ur plugins are supported under mce too. just because it was written for mce, doesnt mean it's not buggy.

Importance:
Since u said noise level has to be low, make sure you get a passive gpu, passive chipset, and low-noise psu. since ur hdd are low-noised that should help. even tho u want it to be quiet enough to sleep through, u should consider making sure ur mobo supports s3 standby. with the microsoft mce remote, u can put it sleep and wake it up at the click of a remote.

Gaming:
if you are gaming, what kind of gaming will u be doing. if ur just doing emus, or last gen games then u shouldnt have a problem from the gpu side. if ur planning on doing serious gaming, ur not gonna get a quiet video card more than likely. i'd reccomend a passive 7600gt. it's a little pricey, but ull get the best of both worlds. ull more than likely need a wireless gamepad if doing emus, or wireless kb/m (all of that could be addedd after the fact tho).

remember the key to building a DEPENDABLE machine is to plan, and not just buy components on a whim. also even though it's a computer, doesn't mean it should be treated as one. by that i mean once u get it working LEAVE IT ALONE. think of it as ur average CE device. u dont twiddle with ur dvd player, receiver, or tv too much do u? the more ur "tweak" the better the chance of screwing something up. Write out ur requiremens, then build ur machine around those requirements.

Also heres some links to browse through:
MCE HCL master list
MCE on Windows Marketplace
Useful MCE threads
 
This will be used for viewing TV (hopefully HD soon), recording about 5 hours of video a week, watching DVDs, and occassional archiving of video (burning my recorded stuff to DVD). I don't game at all, so I don't need anything special that is geared towards making it a gaming box. It will be hooked up to a 26inch HD LCD TV that has composite and DVI inputs.

Software will be MCE2005. So far I think all I would have to update on the system is a more powerful PCI-Express video card if I moved to Vista. Since I'm able to buy MCE2005 cheap through our MS contract, and I like the interface (plus it does everything I want to do with it quite well), I'll stick to MCE.

Sound and size is a big factor for me. I have hearing problems, so I want the box to be as silent as possible for this price range. Since this is going to be going in a bedroom, I'd also like to keep it on the smaller size. It doesn't have to be a Mac Mini size or anything like that, but I like the smaller size cases.

Hope this general rundown of how I want to use it helps a bit. Let me know what else would help to know.
 
I stand by my original recommendations, however after viewing silentpcreview.com today I noticed their review of Antec's newer case, the NSK2400 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129014

It is cheaper than the Silverstone and can be modded slightly to be very quiet. And for your size concerns, it is an matx case. My silverstone cannot be heard when my AC is running and it can barely be heard when it is off. This antec is cheaper, though and you could probably sell the PSU that comes with it for even better savings. If you are going to wait until Vista to upgrade your video card, then maybe spend a little more on the CPU. An Athlon 64 3500 should easily run under $200 and will give excellent performance. I still am not sold on dual core for general HTPC use since my p4 performs admirably. You already have great HDD's and a great PSU so using a cool running processor like an Athlon with the Zalman cooler will be a great start. Using the Asus mobo, you get a passively cooled north bridge that has a gpu that should start you off just fine. Once the DX10 cards start coming out, I am sure you can find a passive one that will suit Vista's needs.

Have fun!
 
I'm using the K8NGM2-FID mobo in the Antec NSK2400 case. Sweet setup, and the onboard GPU outputs perfectly to my 42" westy LCD at 1920x1080. Though I have not set it up yet, this is one of the few chipsets that can output bit-perfect audio via spdif at multiple bit-rates without having to go in and manually reconfigure your settings.

If you are not a serious gamer, the FID is a great deal and the NSK2400 is a nice looking, well designed and quiet case for a bargain price, but is not very small. For cooling, I always use the 4-heatpipe opteron/x2 coolers. I have a separate tuner/DVR, so can't comment on tuner/capture cards.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone! I really like some of the case suggestions that you've given me. As for size, they are about where I'd like to stay (or a bit smaller). The Silverstone cases look really nice, and if I did eventually want to move my HTPC to my tv room, it would fit right in with my AV rack. That is a big plus I think. I'm still investigating what I want to go with (other people are still telling me to wait on this purchase because of the fastly approaching processor upgrades), so I might end up holding off a little longer. I'll keep you posted.
 
Like oldnavy, I've got the MSI -FID board with the NSK2400 case. The -fid board is great. The integrated graphics works very well. Memory is 2x512 dual channel with an A64 3200+, allocate 64MB to frame buffer, and I've yet to stress the CPU. Play WMV-HD 720p clips at low CPU utilization due to the 6150's hardware accel support. If you use Smart Fan in the BIOS, the CPU and case fans run slow enough that they are very quiet -- do not enable Cool n Quiet, it gives you video problems. Antec's done is good job with the silicone grommets to keep component vibration to a minimum. Also the case has two 120mm fans - I use one since my basement is always cool. As someone mentioned, the only downside to the 2400 is its size, mainly the depth. But hey I only paid 60 bucks for the case. securemart.com

The only addin card I have is the PVR150. I'll probably add the A180 hd card later. I also have the same 250gb samsung drive (2504, i think) -- SATA2.

How do you like the LaCie drive? I need to get a quieter DVD drive.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top