MadGrip

I'm thinking of buying/building a HTPC, but am a little unsure as to what I'm going to need.

I recently bought an LG50pc1D 50"plasma set so have RGB, component & HDMI connection options.

Most of the pre built HTPC's come with dual TV tuners, but seeing as I already have SKY+ I think these would be wasted.(or would they? can sky be integrated into a media pc ??)

So, I'd appeciate opinions on my idea of a build please.

I was thinking , If I get a nice slim pc case so it fits in the tv cabinet, and fit it with a sound card with a digital coax output (to plug straight into my 5.1 amp), a good graphics card (HDMI or VGA output ??? unsure) , small hard drive running MCE and a bigger hard drive to put all my music/films/games etc on, wireless mouse & keyboard and either a wireless card or an ethernet card to connect to my network. and of course a DVD drive

Does the above seem feasable? what MB & CPU should I be looking towards & also what graphics card

Cheers

Phil

EddScott

If your DIY'ing the box then here might be a good start.

Kustom PC's

Pretty cases!

jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

try the likes of computer components pc systems, parts & peripherals aria and microdirect.co.uk quite often they have specials on part built small cube type machines for reasonable money. Usually you get a mobo and processor and sometimes memory (depending on what the deal is) therefore you just add storage, gfx and dvd drive/writer

GC8

Phil; for the chassis look at Silverstone. Ive just bought one; as has Sharkman; and theyre ****-hot. They seem to be cheapest at Scan in Bolton.

HDMI out isnt common (far from it) but DVI is; HDMI is DVI with audio, simply buy a DVI to HDMI cable. Id look for a system board that has high definition sound and an S/P-DIF digital audio out. The CPU and video adapter dont need to be particularly special; far from it really and remember that lower-end and passively cooled makes for a far quieter and more useful HTPC... Hauppauge as well as several other manufacturers make digital satellite receiver cards. Id suggest using a wired NIC and Im using an ASU P5VDC-X which supports dual-core CPUs and has a digital audio out, all for under £40.


Simon

GC8

...and dont cut corners with the power supply or itll sound like a hovercraft!

GC8

staffs Mike

I've been looking into this..its hardly worth the bother of building them. The silverstone cases are very attractive and can go a LOT slimmer
than the above with the right hardware...but for the price you will end up paying as much as something like this anyway

Acer Aspire iDea Media Center Wireless PC 98.IVB7Z.UHM From Acer Notebooks - Acer Laptops in the UK

GC8

I couldnt disagree more about cost. HTPCs are very high margin and to justify the inflated price they frequently have excessive specifications where it cant be justified.

Slimmer cases are available but in using one you compromise the machine in a number of ways. Im happy with a full height chassis; I need to be able to fit standard expansion cards and it matches the dimensions of my Sony amplifier.

gatecrasher3

What sort of processor speed and memory are required for a decent setup used for playing high def files?

MadGrip

Thanks for the input guys.
I thought the same about the case & board. I wanted a full size case (but not tower) which would give me more options on a mobo & future expansion. I managed to find a card with a digital coax output, that will plug straight into my amplifier and I'm pretty sure I've decided on my gfx card.
I'm not 100% sure weather or not to go for the tuner cards ,as I will be quite happy running my sky+ box as it is.

any more recommendations on mobo , CPU & PSU ?

Cheers

Phil

GC8

In my opinion most processors are a giant overkill; theyre used more to justify price and secure margin than because theyre needed (PentiumM). Im using a new 65nm/512KB Celeron 3.2GHz. cpu (slightly overclocked to 3.5GHz.). I had 2x512MB PC2700 Corsair DIMMs to hand so Ive used those: if I was buying new Id be looking at 2x256MB of Corsair Value Select DDR2 533MHz. Im happy with the Asus board that Im using so Id happily recommend it and the S/P-DIF digital audio out is ideal. Im using an Enermax PSU, but any decent brand kit shouldnt be too loud.

Id use integrated (high definition) audio and an extremely modest video adapter. An extra expansion card equals more heat and more heat makes for more noise..... A HTPC only needs a relatively low-end video adapter too; you certainly dont want anything that cant be cooled passively and many passively cooled cards still make far too much heat; which leads to more noise as other fans struggle to deal with it. £40 system board; £35 CPU; £30 video adapter: theyre more than adequate and anything else is folly. Dont scrimp on the system menory and PSU and youre away!

GC8

Im running two tuners: an Hauppauge PVR150 (principally for the integrated MPEG2 encoder chip to record from external sources) and a Hauppauge WinTV-Nova DVB card. The Hauppauge WinTV-Nova-S-Plus suits your needs: itd be a shame to omit such a vital component.


Simon

GC8

Silverstone LaScala HTPC chassis.