First HTPC tips/advice

F

Falls Included

I'm happy & gay too
Joined
May 30, 2003
Messages
3,701
ok. i've been thinking about building an htpc for a few weeks now. i have been using xbmc for a few years, and i'm absolutely spoiled by it, but i find more and more often that the xbox just isnt up to the challenge of playing HD/newer codec files. i do not feel the need to have a tuner in my box, as i really just download all the shows i feel like watching anyway... :rolleyes:

My Main Questions!_____________
opinions of vista as htpc os? codec compatibility?
does ram speed really matter with htpc's? i can get 2gb ddr2-5300 for 35 bucks anymore.
will i get use out of a dvd burner in the system?
can some one point me to a quiet dvd-rom (sata)


Currently Owned Hardware!_____________
Hard Drive
4x 400Gb Seagate 7200.10

Speakers
JBL 6.1 + Denon 885

OS
Vista Ultimate

Monitor
Westinghouse TX-42F430S


What I Want!_________________________
Case
Antec NSK2400

PSU
Included

Video Card
8600GT

Keyboard + Mouse
MS MCE ZV1-00004 IR Wireless Mini Keyboard
-and/or-
Logitech Harmony 880

HSF
Zalman CNPS7000B


Motherboard
Asus P5K-VM

CPU
C2D

RAM
2Gb

DVD-ROM
Sata DVD Burner.
 
well, i've got about 300 in 1 xbox, and 200 in the other one. so i suppose to replace those both, with 600 gigs, would be nice. so i would pick up another 320 and maybe throw in a small boot drive. so i'd say 500-600 bucks, not including the tv.

since i have 1 hd, and 2 copies of vista, i see that 600 is a very easy mark to hit, considering that i don't need a monster machine for this to work.

looks like e63x0's are extremely cheap on ebay. have to pick one up.
 
in that case, heres what I'm doing:


Athlon64 X2 4000+
Biostar TForce TF7050 w/ HDMI out
2 GB of DDR2 ram
Antec NSK2400



if you do that, you can EASILY be in the 500-600 dollar budget. The built in video will be enough to support HD when paired with the CPU.

if you still want to go with the Core 2 Duo route, go with the Abit IP35 Fatal1ty board (I believe thats what its called). It's mATX, has HDMI out and the video card built in (ATi x1250pro) and can support HD video
 
close. the ip35 has an hdmi audio connector internally. i'm just gonna go with a dvi-hdmi cable.

the IP35 is a very nice board. i will have to get one of those too. i'm now thinking about tearing up my current main rig, and building the htpc out of that. i have 2gb ram, an e6300, a 7900gs. with my hard drive collection going on, i wouldnt have to buy much. i would get the new mobo though.

lol, i can just use the e520 that sitting in my garage for regular computing if i need to. i have plenty of windows cals laying around for some reason. or i can use my laptop... :cool: maybe put 1 or 2 400gigs in the dell, and the raptor and the other HDs in the htpc.
 
rayman2k2 said:
if you still want to go with the Core 2 Duo route, go with the Abit IP35 Fatal1ty board (I believe thats what its called). It's mATX, has HDMI out and the video card built in (ATi x1250pro) and can support HD video
Click to expand...
I wouldn't touch that board with a ten foot pole, have you even been over to the SFF forum? There are too many stories about that board dying, it's just not worth getting.

Heres what I would suggest:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116036
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186123
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820161677
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102699
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125065

You can bump the CPU up to 2.x-3 Ghz easy (move the FSB up to 333); either one of those video cards will work as well.

I would second the suggestion on that Antec NSK2400 case; for about a $100 you can a good. solid budget case with a terrific PSU.
 
the antec is pretty. and i've pretty much been an antec whore for the last few years... can't beat the price either...

EDIT: sorry, i guess i forgot to mention, that i needed s/pdif. optical or coaxial, it doesn't matter. i guess i figured since i said that i owned a receiver, that it would common sense to need it. some people say that coaxial is better than optical, but its all the same signal... so it really doesnt matter.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131187
 
CrimandEvil said:
I wouldn't touch that board with a ten foot pole, have you even been over to the SFF forum? There are too many stories about that board dying, it's just not worth getting.
Click to expand...

umm you're thinking of the wrong Abit mATX board. It was the Abit Fatal1ty F-I90HD mATX that kept dying not the Abit IP35 ATX motherboard.
 
Danny Bui said:
umm you're thinking of the wrong Abit mATX board. It was the Abit Fatal1ty F-I90HD mATX that kept dying not the Abit IP35 ATX motherboard.
Click to expand...
Reading FTW! :rolleyes:
rayman2k2 said:
if you still want to go with the Core 2 Duo route, go with the Abit IP35 Fatal1ty board (I believe thats what its called). It's mATX, has HDMI out and the video card built in (ATi x1250pro) and can support HD video
Click to expand...
As in this board, Rayman just has the name confused.

Clearly, he's not talking about any of the IP35 boards cause, last time I checked, none of them have the G33 chipset and, hence, no onboard video. Muchless HDMI out. Not to mention that the P35 chipset is an Intel chipset and would not have an ATI IGP.

Then theres the whole problem with the IP35 boards being full ATX and not MATX which Rayman mentions.

So no, I'm not "thinking of the wrong board." Rayman was just confused about the name (understandably, just look at it) but I have little idea WTF you're trying to correct.
:rolleyes:
 
CrimandEvil said:
Reading FTW! :rolleyes:

As in this board, Rayman just has the name confused.

Clearly, he's not talking about any of the IP35 boards cause, last time I checked, none of them have the G33 chipset and, hence, no onboard video. Muchless HDMI out. Not to mention that the P35 chipset is an Intel chipset and would not have an ATI IGP.

Then theres the whole problem with the IP35 boards being full ATX and not MATX which Rayman mentions.

So no, I'm not "thinking of the wrong board." Rayman was just confused about the name (understandably, just look at it) but I have little idea WTF you're trying to correct.
:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Actually, I thought you were the one who made the mistake about the IP35 and F-I90HD. My bad. :eek:
 
And I recommend:

E4400 w/ Gigabyte 8500gt.

That combo will cost you 200, but is the sweeet spot imho.
 
whats the difference between the e4xxx series and the e6xxx series? just fsb?

@ jcmuse
http://www.foxconnchannel.com/product/Motherboards/detail_spec.aspx?ID=en-us0000327
specs lists shows that it has a spdif header, and would require a separate adapter. i'm personally not looking for something like that, honestly. the less wires in there, the better for me. plus i have no problem using asus for the board either :cool:
 
Falls Included said:
whats the difference between the e4xxx series and the e6xxx series? just fsb?
Click to expand...
Off the top of my head some 6xxx series have more cache and a higher FSB. Other then that there isn't really much more.
@ jcmuse
http://www.foxconnchannel.com/product/Motherboards/detail_spec.aspx?ID=en-us0000327
specs lists shows that it has a spdif header, and would require a separate adapter. i'm personally not looking for something like that, honestly. the less wires in there, the better for me. plus i have no problem using asus for the board either :cool:
Click to expand...
If you need SPDIF out and you're cool with coax out then I would suggest going with the Asus (I think this is the name) P5K-VM.
 
I personally run a eVGA 680i/C2D 4300/2GB DDR1066/GB Passive 8500GT. Works flawlessly with any HD material i've thrown at it.

Now i'm waiting on a cheaper Dual format HD-DVD/BlueRay drive.:rolleyes:
 
CrimandEvil said:
If you need SPDIF out and you're cool with coax out then I would suggest going with the Asus (I think this is the name) P5K-VM.
Click to expand...

yeah, thats the one i had picked out. i'll go IP35 if i decide to go full atx case again, but for now, its the antex and asus. optical is the exact same signal as coaxial, so it doesnt really matter, and my receiver has 2 or 3 coax in's anyway. plus with the 360, and the xbox 1 using optical, i'd like to have a free one for a hd dvd or something in the future.
 
oops, I thought I had the name of the mobo wrong, my b yo, my b.




Crim, you really think the E2160 will support HD well? Or would it be better to spend 30 more dollars and get the e4400?
 
rayman2k2 said:
Crim, you really think the E2160 will support HD well? Or would it be better to spend 30 more dollars and get the e4400?
Click to expand...
Not sure really. I've got my E2160 running along at 3Ghz (9x333) on stock voltage but this isn't my HTPC CPU (which is a single core 3200+... man, I need to upgrade that) but I haven't had any playback issues with the 2160 at stock clocks for playback. Honestly, the only difference between the E4400 and E2160 is the extra cache and from what I've read it doesn't hamper performance as much with the Core2 era chips, sort of like how the extra cache on certain A64 chips didn't really help or hurt them.
 
rayman2k2 said:
Crim, you really think the E2160 will support HD well? Or would it be better to spend 30 more dollars and get the e4400?
Click to expand...

Well if you get the 8600GTS, the E2160 can support HD pretty well.

If you scroll down to the second graph here, you'll see the average CPU utilization of the E4300/8600GTS combo while playing an HD clip. Considering how low the CPU utilization is for the above combo, the E2160 will be fine since it's only a little bit slower than the E4300.
 
Danny Bui said:
Well if you get the 8600GTS, the E2160 can support HD pretty well.

If you scroll down to the second graph here, you'll see the average CPU utilization of the E4300/8600GTS combo while playing an HD clip. Considering how low the CPU utilization is for the above combo, the E2160 will be fine since it's only a little bit slower than the E4300.
Click to expand...


And I assume that an E2160 w/ an HD2400XT or 8500GT will still be acceptable?
 
i'll probably pick up an e6600 and underclock it. they run about 40 more than the e4300 on ebay. can't hurt to get a full blown c2d.
 
Tip 1 - don't buy anything but NVIDIA for stable HDTV support
Tip 2 - buy Slysoft's AnyDVD
Tip 3 - buy NVIDIA's PureVideo codecs
 
which intel was so kind to provide me with 2 copies of :cool:

right now, the plan is in post1. i'm just gonna update it as the plan progresses.
 
Any updates on this? Only curious because I would like to build one myself based on Vista Ultimate.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top