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HTPC build

T

trick0502

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Apr 17, 2006
Messages
5,608
im looking to build a htpc. i was hoping to get this done on the cheap. i was looking into atom (330, 510) but they wont play 1080p so i was kind of against that option. i was thinking a athlon II dual core (maybe unlock to tri or quad) on an 785g mb. i would like to use ddrII because i already have two 1 gb sticks and two 512mb sticks. linux compatibility is a plus because i might try to run myth on it.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
htpc

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
as little as possible

3) Where do you live?
ma, microcenter is about an hour and a half drive (if it will save me i will make the drive)

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
cpu, mb ram (maybe), case, tv tuner card, remote

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
i have 3 gb of ddrII ram i would like to reuse, a ton of old sata hdds, and a dvd-rw

6) Will you be overclocking?
i dont think so, i would unlock a core or two if possible

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
1080 tv (has hdmi and vga input)

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
before christmas

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
capture card with remote

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
have win 7 32 and 64, was thinking i would use 32
 
$59 - AMD Athlon II X2 245 CPU
$70 - Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H AM2+ AMD 785G mATX Motherboard
$60 - XFX HD-555X-ZNF2 HD 5550 512MB PCI-E Video Card
$125 - Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 1229 PCI-E x1 Dual TV Tuner / Encoder w/MCE Remote
$130 - Antec NSK2480 mATX case with Antec Earthwatts 380W PSU
----
Total: $444 plus tax and shipping.

What exactly did you want to record? Content from your cable TV? Or simply local channels?
 
Pretty similar to danny's build, just a little tweaking..

70 GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H
125 Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 1229 PCI-E x1 Dual TV Tuner / Encoder w/MCE Remote
55 XFX HD-545X-YNH2 Radeon HD 5450 (Cedar) 512MB
50 CORSAIR Builder Series CX430
100 SILVERSTONE Black 8.0mm aluminum front panel, 0.8mm SECC body GRANDIA GD04B Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case
38 AMD Athlon II X2 Dual-Core Processor 210e Cupon Code COLUMBUS15

451 shipped total

Overall same mobo and tuner, I changed the video card to get a fanless one since most cheapo cards will have loud fans. Changed the Case & PSU to what I think is a better case (and much smaller too) & PSU. Same cost after rebate. Biggest change is to that Athlon II x2 240e.. that is a 45w CPU so it should run nice & cool being in a tiny little htpc & also wont drink quite as much power.

Either build the CPU I listed is a great buy for the use. The rest is just a difference in preference.

Edit: Also 55 in MIR & I believe Danny's build had 35 in MIR if your one of those people who like to take that stuff into account.
 
Hmm, I would ditch that Corsair and go with this slightly better PSU for the money:
$50 - Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W PSU

Besides that, looks good to me.
 
Danny Bui said:
$59 - AMD Athlon II X2 245 CPU
$70 - Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H AM2+ AMD 785G mATX Motherboard
$60 - XFX HD-555X-ZNF2 HD 5550 512MB PCI-E Video Card
$125 - Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 1229 PCI-E x1 Dual TV Tuner / Encoder w/MCE Remote
$130 - Antec NSK2480 mATX case with Antec Earthwatts 380W PSU
----
Total: $444 plus tax and shipping.

What exactly did you want to record? Content from your cable TV? Or simply local channels?
Click to expand...

not really sure what i would be recording. over the air local would all i would be able to record in hd.

you dont think a 785g (4200) gpu would be enough to do hd? do i really need a discrete gpu?
 
tricky0502 said:
not really sure what i would be recording. over the air local would all i would be able to record in hd.

you dont think a 785g (4200) gpu would be enough to do hd? do i really need a discrete gpu?
Click to expand...

Ok, then the Tuner card I chose should be fine for that.

The onboard 785G GPU can handle HD once properly setup. Though apparently certain newer HD content, i.e Blu-ray, supposedly requires a dedicated GPU like the HD 5550. Not to mention that the 785G chipset only supports 2.1 audio via HDMI, So if you have a 5.1, 7.1 or other higher end audio setups, the 785G chipset will not do.
 
Danny Bui said:
Ok, then the Tuner card I chose should be fine for that.

The onboard 785G GPU can handle HD once properly setup. Though apparently certain newer HD content, i.e Blu-ray, supposedly requires a dedicated GPU like the HD 5550. Not to mention that the 785G chipset only supports 2.1 audio via HDMI, So if you have a 5.1, 7.1 or other higher end audio setups, the 785G chipset will not do.
Click to expand...

good points, thanks for the info. i will not be playing any games on this system so maybe i could get away with a lower end gpu.

also can you unlock any of the cores on the athlon II? i would like to do that if possible.
 
Danny Bui said:
Hmm, I would ditch that Corsair and go with this slightly better PSU for the money:
$50 - Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W PSU

Besides that, looks good to me.
Click to expand...

After rebate the Antec is 23 dollars more then the corsair.. I agree it may be a little better PSU, but not that much better.

Also Consider This Tuner instead and a separate remote. The HD home Run seems to have a better track record for ease of use (this from someone who own's a hauppague 2250)
 
bastage said:
After rebate the Antec is 23 dollars more then the corsair.. I agree it may be a little better PSU, but not that much better.
Click to expand...
Now that I think about it, the Antec is the significantly better choice for $23 more:
  • The Antec Neo Eco 400C has 30A on the +12V rail VS 28A for the Corsair 430CX.
  • The Antec has a 3 year warranty VS the two year warranty on the Corsair.
  • The Antec is based on a Seasonic platform known to be capable of providing its rated power at 40C to 50C whereas the Corsair 430CX is based on a CWT platform that's only been shown to be able to provide its rated power at 30C and below.
  • The Corsair's efficiency is only up to 80% whereas the Antec has been certified by 80Plus testing for at least 80% efficiency.
 
Danny Bui said:
Now that I think about it, the Antec is the significantly better choice for $23 more:
  • The Antec Neo Eco 400C has 30A on the +12V rail VS 28A for the Corsair 430CX.
  • The Antec has a 3 year warranty VS the two year warranty on the Corsair.
  • The Antec is based on a Seasonic platform known to be capable of providing its rated power at 40C to 50C whereas the Corsair 430CX is based on a CWT platform that's only been shown to be able to provide its rated power at 30C and below.
  • The Corsair's efficiency is only up to 80% whereas the Antec has been certified by 80Plus testing for at least 80% efficiency.
Click to expand...

Meh... Either way they are both good PSU's & both more then capable of running the hardware listed & then some with no issues at all. And if you count only the shipped price then the antec is the better choice for sure. For a 23 dollar savings on a 50 dollar item though the performance difference inst enough to justify it IMHO.

Edit: also for the tuner there is a recertified HDHomeRun for 20 bucks less. That puts it cheaper then the HDHomeRun has been selling for on the FS/T forums. Its a good enough buy that I also just ordered one to add to my SageTV server.
 
Danny Bui said:
Ok, then the Tuner card I chose should be fine for that.

The onboard 785G GPU can handle HD once properly setup. Though apparently certain newer HD content, i.e Blu-ray, supposedly requires a dedicated GPU like the HD 5550. Not to mention that the 785G chipset only supports 2.1 audio via HDMI, So if you have a 5.1, 7.1 or other higher end audio setups, the 785G chipset will not do.
Click to expand...

5.1 S/PDIF audio outputs through the HDMI port is also available if I am not mistaken.
 
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