HD-DVR

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bkershaw

n00b
Joined
Dec 16, 2009
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1) What will you be doing with this PC? Home HD-DVR maybe some gaming if it can handle it
2) What's your budget? around 650.00 could spend some more if i have to Are tax and shipping included? No
3) Where do you live? Florida
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? I need a media center case Id like it to run quite and of course not get over heated it will be on allll the time and I want at least 4Gb of RAM, I want HDMI connection, HD tuner card, and good hard drive for fast reads
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model. None
6) Will you be overclocking?No
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have? 50" Plasma Television
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? ASAP
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit? Win 7 Ultimate 64bit
 
Is this OTA HD TV or the premium content from a service provider? (HBO, Showtime, etc)
 
Give us a moment... some of us here like to have our weekends free....

Here's a "base" to work from:

$88 - nMEDIAPC HTPC 5000B mATX media center case and SeaSonic SS-300ES Bronze 300W PSU combo deal
$145 - AMD Athlon II X2 255 and MSI 785GM-E51 combo deal (free shipping on processor)
$95 - G.Skill F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT 2x2GB DDR3 1333 dual channel kit
$90 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB SATA HDD (OEM; free shipping)

I don't know much about HD tuner cards, so I can't recommend (let alone find) a "good" one.

I have a few more questions to ask:

Which games would you like to play on this machine? Is the ability to play games with this system a must-have feature?

Are you interested in watching/ripping Blu-ray discs?
 
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At the moment I play TF2 Im thinking about getting MW2 and possible the new Bad Company 2 (I would like to play if I wanted to for some reason on the big screen with surround sound sometimes.) Its not 100% necessary to game on this machine but id like the option.

Im in the process of building a new machine for work/gameing/blu-ray ripping so all this media center needs is a blu-ray player

My only concern is having a quite media center pc (no loud fans etc.), hopefully the case is large enough so everything fits easily, Id like a hdmi video card and a decent sound card capable of at least 5.1 DTS

If I need to spend a little more its not a problem if its justified at the end.
 
Noise is subjective; what may be quiet for me could be loud for you, and vice versa. I'd recommend checking out silentpcreview.com for suggestions on quiet parts to choose.

Even cheap (sub-$100) DX10/DX11 video cards nowadays have HDMI slots, though only a few of them support both HD video and multichannel (read: 5.1) HD audio. You may have to spend a bit more on one of those cards (like the HD5770), especially if you want decent gaming performance on a 1080p HDTV.

Besides quiet operation, are you trying to go for low energy ouput as well (especially when "idle")?
 
Swap out tiraides' case/PSU choices and go with the Antec NSK 2480 instead. It's quieter and has a better HTPC look IMO. Plus it comes with a larger PSU.

More comments coming when I can get to a PC (can't multi-task too much on this phone.)
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
Danny Bui said:
Swap out tiraides' case/PSU choices and go with the Antec NSK 2480 instead. It's quieter and has a better HTPC look IMO. Plus it comes with a larger PSU.
Click to expand...

Better yet, get it from Amazon. (I can't believe I missed that earlier....)
 
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Build So far

Option 1
Intel Core i7-860+Asus P7P55D http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.354337 - $452.98
Case - Unknown Not sure what can fit all this equipment efficiently
G.skill Ripjaws Series 4 GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277 - $104.99
Hauppauge WinTv-HVR-2250http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116036 - $124.99
Western Digital RE3 250GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136291 - $59.99
XFX Radeon HD 5770 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447 - $169.99
SeaSonic X650 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088 - $159.99
LB Blu-ray http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136183 - $97.99

Total = 1170.92 + Case+ Shiping/Tax

Option 2 ( Do you think the Power supply with case is enough?)
ASUS M3A78-EM (Using on board video)http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131324&Tpk=Asus%20M3A78-EM - $74.99
Antec NSK2480 / 380W PS - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129034 - $99.89
G.Skill 4BG (2x2GB) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166 - $97.99
Hauppauge WinTv-HVR-2250http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116036 - $124.99
Western Digital RE3 250GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136291 - $59.99
LB Blu-ray http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136183 - $97.99
Processor- I am not sure which to go with I am up in the air over this any thoughts?

Total - $555.84 + Processor + shipping/tax

Also is this card necessary with either build to achieve 1080P on my HDTV? http://http://www.silentpcreview.com/LogicSupply_BCM970012_HD_video_decoder
 
Option 1 is total overkill and inappropriate for a HTPC.

Option 2 is better but still has some issues:
- The AMD 785G chipset only supports 5.1 audio via HDMI at most. If you want bitstreamed audio via HDMI, then I recommend adding a video card like the HD 5450, HD 5670, or the HD 5770.
- Zero reason for that hard drive unless you're created an enterprise class server

I'd recommend the following:
$145 - AMD Athlon II X2 255 and MSI 785GM-E51 combo deal (free shipping on processor)
$95 - G.Skill F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT 2x2GB DDR3 1333 dual channel kit
$50 - XFX HD 5450 PCI -E Video
$90 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$98 - LG Blu-Ray Drive
$100 - Antec NSK 2480 + Antec EA380 380W PSU
$125 - Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 1229 PCI-E x1 Dual TV Tuner / Encoder w/MCE Remote
----
Total: $703 plus tax and shipping.


If you setup playback correctly, most if not all of the decoding of HD content will be done on the video card. This means that the X2 255 is more than enough for HD playback. The HD 5450, HD 5670, and the HD 5770 all support bitstreamed audio via HDMI. If bitstreamed audio via HDMI is not important, you can ditch the HD 5450, HD 5670, or HD 5770 cards and go with the onboard video.

As for gaming, If you want medium settings in video games, go with the HD 5770 1GB. If you want low to medium settings, then go with the HD 5670. If pretty low settings is fine, then go with the HD 5450.
 
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forgive my ignorance

Option 2 is better but still has some issues:
- The AMD 785G chipset only supports 5.1 audio via HDMI at most. If you want bitstreamed audio via HDMI, then I recommend adding a video card like the HD 5450, HD 5670, or the HD 5770.
- Zero reason for that hard drive unless you're created an enterprise class server
Click to expand...

Its possible to run audio and video through HDMI on a computer? how can you send audio through a video card? Please explain
 
bkershaw said:
Its possible to run audio and video through HDMI on a computer? how can you send audio through a video card? Please explain
Click to expand...

Well most new onboard video as well as newer video cards these days have a sound chip onboard. As such they can output audio and video via HDMI. As long as you have a video card capable of doing that (HD 5xxx series, 785G series), you should be able to output audio and video.
 
If I go with the HD 5770 what make should I get? and is there any way for sure to find out if there is a audio chip in the video card?
 
bkershaw said:
If I go with the HD 5770 what make should I get? and is there any way for sure to find out if there is a audio chip in the video card?
Click to expand...

XFX due to their lifetime warranty and excellent customer support:
$160 - XFX HD-577X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 1GB PCI-E Video Card

As long as the card is part of the HD 5xxx serie, it's gonna have an audio chip on the card.
 
only worry is that the case comes with a 380W power supply and that card has a
Minimum 450 Watt Power Supply Requirement

What do you think?
 
I wanted to thank you all, I just got all my parts hooked it up and it all works and runs beautifully so far. My only issue is that the htpc will not full screen my TV I have a 50" plasma and there is about a 2inch border on sides and bottom. I have checked the resolution settings and everything is as large as it can go. Any Ideas?
 
underscan/overscan problem. go into catalyst control center advanced, click on desktop and displays, on the bottom, right click on your tv, click on configure, scaling tab, adjust as needed. if thats not right, google for "ati underscan problem"... though, that should be right, cuz i just did it a few hours ago, lol.

no pics of the build?!?! :( how's that tuner working out for you? I would have recommended the avermedia duet, but I didn't get here in time, sorry. :p
 
OMG THANK YOU!!!! i have been trying to fix this forever man i appreciate it. Ill get some pics up in the morning, oh btw is there something wrong with my tuner card? should i take mine back and get the one you recommended
thanks again man
 
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