Building one - Specs good?

[tsantsa]

I am going to break down and build myself an HTPC. Here is a link to the newegg wishlist:

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=6774265

A couple question: If I wanted to add bluray later, will what I have there be sufficient?
I need to make this thing 'wife-friendly' so what about a remote control unit? What are the options there and can I control it with a Harmony (whenever I decide to get one!)

If you see anything that screams INCORRECT! please let me know! I think it looks good, but there are so many variable with HTPC that I gotta ask!

TIA

[fritzi93]

If I wanted to add bluray later, will what I have there be sufficient?

A glance at the manufacturer's overview of the mobo seems to imply that the integrated graphics can handle it. Without more specific info, I'm doubtful it would be sufficient.

As to a remote, if you're going with Media Center, there are a number of MCE remotes available. On my HTPC, I use the soft that came with the tuner on a regular XP install, and use a Soundgraph iMon remote. It's satisfactory, good range, easy to program.

Good luck.

[rallynavvie]

Everything looks to be in order. That case may be the best part of the entire build, you need to let us know how it works for you. You can easily get away with less memory but the price isn't bad for that set. I don't like single HDD setups but with the space on that system you may not have a choice. If you can fit it get a smaller capacity HDD to be your OS and application drive leaving the 500GB drive free for video. That hybrid board should support BRD fine since that ATi chipset has decent driver support for HDCP output. I don't know if I'd trust the audio chipset though.

One glaring omission is the TV tuner card. Do you have digital cable where you're at? HD programming? Do you have an HD-capable antenna? I've been using the Hauppauge HVR-1600 for a year now and like the dual tuners. If you're a junky like me you need at least two of them for 4 channels of simultaneous recording. You never know when your favorite shows are going to overlap. Check out the HVR-1800 for PCI-E slot support if you have those free.

Which OS are you going to run? Vista MCE works pretty well for me and I'm still using my MCE 2005 remote. I think you can use the one that comes with the tuner card with Media Center but I've not tried mine. I don't know if I'd bother with one of those really expensive all-in-ones though, I really have my home theater down to only two remotes now: HTPC and stereo receiver.

[redwudz]

I use that same Gigabyte MB. I would really look into a AM2+ CPU to take advantage of that AM2+ MB. One of the newer 3 core Phenoms would be a good choice. And the RAM should be DDR2 1066, also to take advantage of the MB. I use the MB with a early version Phenom 9500. It handles most HD video very well.

2GB is sufficient, even with Vista, as a 32bit OS can only use about 3.5GB anyway. But it won't cause a problem.

The stock cooler from AMD is sufficient, but a aftermarket cooler may lower the temp by a couple of degrees. I would use a cooler with PWM on the fan. (Pulse Width Modulation) You will get the best performance and a quieter fan that way. It does have to be set in BIOS.

You can use a PATA optical drive, but the SATA ones use smaller cables and you don't need to set Master/Slave jumpers. The Samsung or Pioneer SATA drives both work well.

I would also consider a second hard drive with the OS on a small drive and your files on a large drive. Much more efficient.

As mentioned, a remote is usually tied to a video card or a OS like Vista MCE.

BTW, that MB, with the proper RAM does very well with HD video, even with the on-board video, but you need the AM2+ CPU and the 1066 RAM.

[tsantsa]

BTW, that MB, with the proper RAM does very well with HD video, even with the on-board video, but you need the AM2+ CPU and the 1066 RAM.

What about running just MKV's or m2ts files instead of Bluray drive? It should handle just fine there right? and if I upgrade to a BD drive in the future I may have to upgrade the processor and ram?

My current desktop (which i've just built as well) is an Intel e8400 dual core @3.0ghz with a gigabyte p35 mobo. I took it upstairs and connected by vga to my 1080p tv and it played 1080p mkv just fine. I am aware that the intel clocks faster than the amd, but the difference isnt dramatic.

I am trying to build as cheaply as possible while getting full benefits. Barebones you might say.

If I were to upgrade the amd to an am2+, does anyone know of a case that's about $100 tops (to make up the difference in cost) but looks and functions really well? I could lose the VFD screen I guess and just buy a remote that has one...That soundgraph remote looks nice!

Of course, I can always add on things like the PVR mentioned earlier, but I'm trying to save on initial costs. This thing is essentially going to be a mulitmedia player rather than a true HTPC for now. I want to add PVR but I am less knowledgable about the recording capabilities of them with encrypted signals and whatnot.

Thanks for the replys, btw. It is helpful. Everytime I get ready to pull the trigger on this thing, something tells me to wait just a minute! I've built pc systems, just not something like this that needs to be wife-friendly. everything has to meld together and work together nicely. hell, if it was just for me, I'd go crazy with add-ons and the like!

[redwudz]

My existing HTPC uses a AMD dual core 5600 Windsor CPU. It works fine, but with HD video, it needed help, even with some MKVs. I added a Nvidia video card as I also needed component video output. My other Vista computer with the AM2+ MB and a 9500 Phenom CPU handles HD with the on-board card with no problems. That's the difference I noted.

You can use the AMD 5200+ Brisbane with most any other video, it's just H.264 and some HD video that may strain it. It does have the advantage of low power usage and lower heat output, compared to some other 125W or 95W CPUs. If you are considering a upgrade to a AM2+ CPU in the future, you could go with what you have planned. The 3 core AMDs have been dropping in price and by next year should be very reasonable.

There are not a lot of economy desktop cases that also have a decent power supply and good construction. The case is what you will see and work with, so I have no problem with that choice. Even additional hard drives can be added at a future date. I had 3 in an older Antec desktop case. The Lian-Li desktop case I use now is fairly pricey, and only accepts Micro-ATX MBs. The older Antec case I used was fairly heavy and did handle full ATX MBs.

I didn't opt for Windows MCE, though it is more 'User friendly' for video playback. I'm using Vista Home Premium. It has most of the MCE stuff on it already. The difference with MCE is you need a MCE certified video card and that does include a remote. My videos are stored on a couple of servers and played over a LAN from them. I use VLC media player and Zoom most times. I didn't need a remote and I don't use WMM or MCE.

The system you have laid out should work for you, but be aware that AM2+ MBs are built for AM2+ CPUs and compatible memory.

[rallynavvie]

Vista Home Premium and Ultimate are MCE flavors :P

I don't see why you'd need a faster CPU. HD playback doesn't support multi-threading and as long as your TV tuner card does the encoding via hardware the only thing a second core is going to see on an HTPC is the occasional OS and background threads. I still don't see the reason so many have issues with HD playback when most of the duty is handled by the GPU. My dual 3.06 system ran HD video just fine (once I realized the plaback issues I had were due to incompatibilities with my sound card) and that is old Intel 130nm architecture (4-5 years old).

The aftermarket cooler may be a good idea for the cramped space as long as the larger fan runs lower RPM and thus lowers the sound in your case. Depending on the airflow in the case could you duct the CPU and run passive on the chip? You may want to look around for users with that same case and find out. The PSU that is included with that case is decent. I'd trust it as long as you don't add much more to your system (like another GPU).