Low Cost Hardware for Xvid encoding take 2

[WildParadise]

Actually it's gonna be H264 encoding. About 750 movies, and i'll use this pc for htpc after.

Got a lot of info on my other thread about the encoding, now that I've got near all I want, I need to setup my hardware.

Here's what's hardware I came up so far, feel free to give me some info on better hardware, keep in mind, price IS an issue. I'm not gonna overclock my system.
For the motherboard I might change for a non-hdmi one, i'm gonna do some test to see the difference of image.

Case: Silverstone LC17 Black
Offering up to 6 hdd, 3x80mm fans and 2x92mm fan this is pretty much upgrade proof and the fans will help cool for the encoding sessions. Also like the design.

Fan: 2x92mm 24db 1x80mm 18db. The 2x80mm that come with the case are 21db

PSU: Corsair CMPSU-620HX 620W. Enough for upgrading after, especially 6 sata connector.

CPU: Intel Q6600 Retail box. Seems to be best bang for the buck for encoding.

RAM: 1gb ddr-800. I may update later when i've finished my encoding, I don't need more for now.

HDD: Main: 250gb sata2, storage: 1tb sata2. Might get less than 250 if the price is good, don't need that much for main. Will get my second 1tb drive when first one is nearly full as price is expected to go down.

DVD: Pioneer DVR-212D. Always like pioneer, seems good, feels free to give me info on other model with argument. I don't want to pay for bluray as my ps3 is my bluray reader.

Board: Asus P5E-VM HDMI. 6xsata, hdmi, middle model. Seems good. May save with non-hdmi if my test is concluent that I don't need it.

WLAN: Dlink WDA-542, got it on another computer, never had a problem, working fast, don't wanna spend on linksys just for the name.

OS: XP Home for now, for encoding, as I said, might upgrade ram and os later but not now. Already got a xp home license so i won't pay for pro.

Seems like it. I may need adapters to plug the fans, I don't know, if you guys know tell me so I don't forget to buy that.

[Soopafresh]

Get some thumb screws for the case. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16800881303

That motherboard has VGA on board and HDMI. No DVI, which may or may not be an issue for you. Actually, that mobo seems like trouble. Read the reviews on Newegg.com

[WildParadise]

Are they special screws? Because you get a lot with the casing: http://www.thinkcomputers.org/beta/home.php?x=reviews&id=244&page=3

Board come with hdmi to dvi adapter. I still don't know if i'm gonna get the hdmi or not hdmi version, i'll a dvi-hdmi cable and to some test with my mbp.
I've asked here: https://forum.videohelp.com/topic349709.html
and seems that vga wouldn't change but they suggest to test so I will.
Non-hdmi version is 20$ less.

This review pretty liked that board: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article785-page1.html

Any other feedback?

[ronnylov]

The Q6700 CPU has dropped in price to the same level as Q6600 before the price drop (and Q6600 has dropped a little in price too) so you may consider the Q6700 or even the Q9300 instead. Q9300 would require less powerful cooling which may be nice in a HTPC setup. But Q6600 is a little bit cheaper anyway and can easily be overclocked to 3 GHz if needed so it may still be the best low cost choice.

[FulciLives]

You might want to read the following article over at TOM'S HARDWARE: CLICK HERE

Here is the motherboard they discuss at NEWEGG.COM: CLICK HERE

Seems like a no brainer for someone looking to build an HTPC considering what it can do ... especially for such a low price.

Only caveat? It is an AMD board so you would have to go with an AMD CPU instead of an Intel CPU. Not necessarily a bad thing though ...

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[WildParadise]

You might want to read the following article over at TOM'S HARDWARE: CLICK HERE

Here is the motherboard they discuss at NEWEGG.COM: CLICK HERE

Seems like a no brainer for someone looking to build an HTPC considering what it can do ... especially for such a low price.

Only caveat? It is an AMD board so you would have to go with an AMD CPU instead of an Intel CPU. Not necessarily a bad thing though ...

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

Very interesting, will do some check for the temp of these phenom.

[WildParadise]

Ordered everything, can't wait to setup everything!

[ronnylov]

So what did you order then?

[WildParadise]

everything on first post, i've edited it. for the difference in q6600 and 6700 i've sticked to 6600 and enjoyed the price down. Also prefered to keep processor "cooler" with intel.

[Soopafresh]

Say "thanks" every now and again. We appreciate it

[WildParadise]

Hehe, yes indeed, thanks everyone for everything, big help!!