Hi there, I built an HTPC for my living room last year with the following parts:
Athlon II X2 240e
M4A785TD-M Evo
NSK2480 Case with PSU
4GB TW3X4G1333 C9A Corsair Ram (2x2GB)
1.5TB WD Green (AV-GP version)
Windows 7
Hauppage HVR-220 twin freeview tuner card
Nova S2 freesat card
Pioneer DVD
and am chuffed to bits with the thing.
BUT
I use this computer to stream media to a Samsung R580 laptop hooked up to a 32" flatscreen in my bedroom and am getting a bit irritated having to keep plugging it in everynight to watch TV. I would now like to build a second HTPC to permanently sit in my bedroom, but given that it is going to have to sit on a shelf on the wall next to the TV on the wall, it has got to be a lot (and I mean a lot) smaller than the huge HTPC above.
Unlike my main HTPC, I am purely going to be using it to record/watch live TV (I have satellite output and aerial output in bedroom), stream recorded media from my main HTPC and websurfing. It also needs to be fully HD fo rstreaming hi-def recordings and possibly putting in a blu ray player at a later dated.
I have had a look around and found that I can get away with something much simpler (and cheaper) than my first build. However, I have no idea what components to choose.
I have come accross a Silverstone SG05B case, which would be a perfect size, but I have never come accross mini-itx or mini-dtx mobos before.
Could anyone recommend where to go from here please? Is choosing such a small form factor asking for trouble or is it a good idea for a small, quiet htpc?
My other possible components would be a 500GB Western Digital hard drive (AV-GP series) and I think I might be able to get away with just 2GB or ram rather than 4. I would also get a Hauppage WinTV-HVR-4000 tv card for freeview and freesat.
Your comments on mobos/cpus etc would be really appreciated.
Many thanks
A
Athlon II X2 240e
M4A785TD-M Evo
NSK2480 Case with PSU
4GB TW3X4G1333 C9A Corsair Ram (2x2GB)
1.5TB WD Green (AV-GP version)
Windows 7
Hauppage HVR-220 twin freeview tuner card
Nova S2 freesat card
Pioneer DVD
and am chuffed to bits with the thing.
BUT
I use this computer to stream media to a Samsung R580 laptop hooked up to a 32" flatscreen in my bedroom and am getting a bit irritated having to keep plugging it in everynight to watch TV. I would now like to build a second HTPC to permanently sit in my bedroom, but given that it is going to have to sit on a shelf on the wall next to the TV on the wall, it has got to be a lot (and I mean a lot) smaller than the huge HTPC above.
Unlike my main HTPC, I am purely going to be using it to record/watch live TV (I have satellite output and aerial output in bedroom), stream recorded media from my main HTPC and websurfing. It also needs to be fully HD fo rstreaming hi-def recordings and possibly putting in a blu ray player at a later dated.
I have had a look around and found that I can get away with something much simpler (and cheaper) than my first build. However, I have no idea what components to choose.
I have come accross a Silverstone SG05B case, which would be a perfect size, but I have never come accross mini-itx or mini-dtx mobos before.
Could anyone recommend where to go from here please? Is choosing such a small form factor asking for trouble or is it a good idea for a small, quiet htpc?
My other possible components would be a 500GB Western Digital hard drive (AV-GP series) and I think I might be able to get away with just 2GB or ram rather than 4. I would also get a Hauppage WinTV-HVR-4000 tv card for freeview and freesat.
Your comments on mobos/cpus etc would be really appreciated.
Many thanks
A
