Please critique my proposed HTPC build

[wazakenn]

I'm planning to build this HTPC. My plan is to use it mainly for PVR functioning and to play movies - I want to "future proof" it to some extent and would therefore want to use it to play high definition DVD's (when the cost of the players decreases and the winning format is decided) onto a high definition plasma or LCD.

Anyways, I'd appreciate any advice about this proposed setup.

Case – Silverstone LC17
PSU – Coolermaster iGreen Power 500W
Motherboard - GA-M55plus-S3G
CPU - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+
Memory - 1G Kit ( 2 x 512) DDR 2 Kingston 667
Graphics - MSI 8600 GT
Sound card - Creative X-Fi Xtreme Audio
Tuner Card – Hauppauge WinTV PVR 500 MCE dual tuner card
Hard Disc 1 – Western Digital 80G SATA
Hard Disc 2 – Samsung 500G SATA
DVD burner - Pioneer SATA 18x 212D
OS - Vista Home Premium
Keyboard/Mouse - Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110

[edDV]

You'll need a new HD/BD writer of course but if and when they turn on the HDCP encryption requirement, you'll may need a new display card as well.

The manufacturers are walking away from "HDCP ready" claims.

[wazakenn]

You'll need a new HD/BD writer of course but if and when they turn on the HDCP encryption requirement, you'll may need a new display card as well.

The manufacturers are walking away from "HDCP ready" claims.

Thanks for the comment. My impression is that the whole HDCP thing is in a state of flux and that it will be a while before that it is sorted out.

[RabidDog]

ram 4 gigs is better
msi 8600?? no get the 8800 twice as nice
#Biggest failing 80g hard drive get a raptor 150g boot and program disk plus 2 x 750gb drives for storage (mirrored if you can afford the storage loss)
2 tuners
dvd burner ok
Also add hd dvd burner and
ditch V stick with Xp ..(V is failing and will be dropped b4 the years end)
Add 1tb NAS ..750w silent power supply
A5 graphics tablet and mouse
and some cotton buds.

You can get cotton buds bogof from Walmart

[pchan]

You didn't mention remote. Your TV card might come bundle with one. Are you using the Hauppauge bundle software to do schedule recording ?

[jman98]

ditch V stick with Xp ..(V is failing and will be dropped b4 the years end)

I strongly agree with this, but not for the same reason. While I don't think Microsoft will abandon Vista, there are just too many problems right now with it. All the time here we see posts from people crying because something they have doesn't work any more after they upgraded. I work in IT and my advice to anyone is NEVER NEVER NEVER install a new OS from Microsoft before the first service pack comes out. In this case, that means use XP as there is no service pack for Vista. Maybe in 3+ months everything will start to work OK in Vista, but right now you should avoid it.

[wazakenn]

ram 4 gigs is better
msi 8600?? no get the 8800 twice as nice
#Biggest failing 80g hard drive get a raptor 150g boot and program disk plus 2 x 750gb drives for storage (mirrored if you can afford the storage loss)
2 tuners
dvd burner ok
Also add hd dvd burner and
ditch V stick with Xp ..(V is failing and will be dropped b4 the years end)
Add 1tb NAS ..750w silent power supply
A5 graphics tablet and mouse
and some cotton buds.

You can get cotton buds bogof from Walmart

I'm trying to keep the budget reined in! I would have liked to have gotten the 8800 but at twice the price can't justify the cost. Similar story for other suggestions. Not in a rush for Vista either - would appreciate any suggestion re OS and PVR software.

[wazakenn]

You didn't mention remote. Your TV card might come bundle with one. Are you using the Hauppauge bundle software to do schedule recording ?

I haven't really sorted out what remote to use - still nutting out that problem.

As far as schedule recording goes I thought that the media centre part of Vista would do that?!?

[wazakenn]

ditch V stick with Xp ..(V is failing and will be dropped b4 the years end)

I strongly agree with this, but not for the same reason. While I don't think Microsoft will abandon Vista, there are just too many problems right now with it. All the time here we see posts from people crying because something they have doesn't work any more after they upgraded. I work in IT and my advice to anyone is NEVER NEVER NEVER install a new OS from Microsoft before the first service pack comes out. In this case, that means use XP as there is no service pack for Vista. Maybe in 3+ months everything will start to work OK in Vista, but right now you should avoid it.

Thanks for that.

My imression from reading around in forums is that a lot of the issues with Vista is because of there not being Vista drivers available for components. That said - my HTPC is very much still only alive and well in my imagination. It will likely not be a physical reality until after July (at the least).

What alternative OS would you suggest? It seems that XP is on the way out and I would assume that MCE 2005 won't be supported forever.

[edDV]

ram 4 gigs is better
msi 8600?? no get the 8800 twice as nice
#Biggest failing 80g hard drive get a raptor 150g boot and program disk plus 2 x 750gb drives for storage (mirrored if you can afford the storage loss)
2 tuners
dvd burner ok
Also add hd dvd burner and
ditch V stick with Xp ..(V is failing and will be dropped b4 the years end)
Add 1tb NAS ..750w silent power supply
A5 graphics tablet and mouse
and some cotton buds.

You can get cotton buds bogof from Walmart

Other than spending more money, explain what gets better and why with your suggestions.

1. 4GB vs. 1GB memory

2. Raptor 150GB vs. 7200RPM PATA/SATA OS drive

3. Mirrored RAID vs. Raw drives.
OK I get the data failsafe but is this necessary for TV shows?.

4. HD DVD burner now vs. 8mo. from now.

5. msi 8800 now vs. waiting for a demo that HDCP works.

6. What is the A5 graphics tablet for in a PVR machine?

[Datahead]

ditch V stick with Xp

I'll totally agree, I own 2004,2005, and recently installed Vista. Other than the Desktop, and gadgets, the MCE part of Vista has taken a step backwards. Not to mention hardware drivers.

Other than that I think other post have covered the rest. Keep in mind.. 500 gig will fill up fast, even with compressed avi. I'm running 1 Tera byte, and thinking of doubling that.

Enjoy:
Datahead

[redwudz]

RabidDog said:

ram 4 gigs is better

From the Gigabyte MB site:

(Note 1) Due to the limitation of Windows 32-bit operating system, when more than 4GB of physical memory is installed, the actual memory available for the operating system will be less than 4GB; Windows 64-bit operating system doesn't have such limitation.

[pchan]

You didn't mention remote. Your TV card might come bundle with one. Are you using the Hauppauge bundle software to do schedule recording ?

I haven't really sorted out what remote to use - still nutting out that problem.

As far as schedule recording goes I thought that the media centre part of Vista would do that?!?

It will good to have a remote. I once setup a HTPC using Showshifter and Mamitek remote. I put it on S3 standby mode and it can do schedule recording. It works great for the 1st 3 months. Then it starts breaking up and misses ny schedule recording. BTW, Showshifter has gone belly up. I junk the HTPC and buy a DVD Recorder with hard disk. It works right out of the box and saves me a lot headache.

[jstewart]

Is this for gaming at all? If not I would suggest saving your money and buying a more energy efficient processor. I am very happy with my 6150 as I would suggest it to anyone. Also keep in mind how much of a power hog that 8800 is going to be.

Also, I bought a 250gb WD which is half way full. I have not even started truly recording tv shows yet nor have I even dreamed about backing up my movie collection. I would purchase a couple of 500gb if not 750 (these tend to run hot).

When I built my first HTPC, the three things I kept in mind: budget, diversity, and convenience.

I did not build the most expensive htpc. My htpc however was considerably cheap and keeps my electricity bill down somewhat. It is very diverse as it can play movies and music at very high end quality. I can also use it as a monitor to do basic computer and web browsing. It is great to be able to open up a You Tube video and get decent quality on it. When I thought of convenience, I bought a bluetooth keyboard and mouse so that I could pretty much go anywhere in the house and use it. I also wanted my machine to be really quiet so that I didn't even notice it was there. The Xbox makes more noise than my machine.

[chris1379]

I see you are planning on using the GA-M55Plus-S3G motherboard. I have one of these, a PVR-150, and 7600GT. There is apparently a conflict with some Nvidia cards with some Hauppauge cards on this motherboard. Other motherboards have similar conflicts so it's not just Gigabyte. The engineers were kind enough to write a custom BIOS for me. Works like a charm now. Thank you Gigabyte.

[dj4monie]

If your not playing games you can get along with recommended requirements for MCE 2005 Rollup 2 which is a 3.0Ghz processor for HD content and that includes HD-DVD and Blueray.

I can tell you that windowed 720p content runs between 60-75% CPU and 1080i at 70-80% CPU with a 2.4Ghz Intel P4 non HT CPU. 1080i on CBS or NBC does not studder windowed, but does full screen (98-100% CPU), unlike 720p which is as smooth as butter (85-90% CPU).

I find it HARD to believe 1080p would out run a 3.0Ghz hardware accelerated P4/AMD 64 PC....

You should be only future proofing your system if you plan on playing any next generation PC games as few games are already in HD and require big time Graphic Horsepower to get the job done with "everything turned on"

You don't need much to "watch tv" or playback a DVD.

The system you have designed is JUST FINE

I would suggest avoiding Vista for now. My mom has it in her HP built PC and early on it has a few "bugs" in it. Its more stable now, but we believe there's a hardware problem with it and just waiting to hear from HP to send us an RMA for it.

I got Vista with my MCE2005 OEM package and I haven't installed it and in NO hurry either. Once its all nice and stable and we can't squeeze anymore out of XP then I'll switch.