Help me spec a HTPC

davejm

davejm

davejm

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16 May 2007
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Hi guys. I'm looking at trying to wittle down some components to build a cheap HTPC. Although I'd like it as cheap as possible, I don't really have a budget in mind, but I'd like it to meet some criteria:-

* As small a motherboard as possible, so I can fit it into a small case such as a shuttle
* A GPU with Hardware HD acceleration
* As silent as possible, i.e passively cooled GPU, aftermarket CPU cooler, silent PSU
* Decent onboard sound, i.e DTS, optical out

So basically I'm looking at building something that will handle HD video encodes, with the potential to play Blu-Ray and HD-DVD at some point in the future.

One thing I'm not sure about is HDCP. Is this something I need to consider in the build? What are the implications of this? I'll be using a DVI->HDMI cable to connect the PC up to the TV.

Cheers guys.
 
Home Theater Personal Computer

It's a machine on which you watch movies, listen to music, watch recorded TV, etc. Usually a dedicated HTPC is connected to a TV rather than a traditional computer monitor.

Frequently used software on HTPC rigs include MythTV, Windows Media Center, Front Row, and Freevo.
 
gumbald said:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-084-SH&groupid=43&catid=110&subcat=

Shuttles generally come with their own motherboard :)

And they are mega cramped, you might struggle to fit aftermarket coolers in them. It's up to you what processor you put in, that's why you need to set some kind of rough budget. Shuttles might also be difficult to get a decent graphics card in, again that could be dictated by budget anyway.
Click to expand...

Cheers mate. I may go for something like an Antec Fusion rather than a shuttle, so that I can be a bit more flexible with the components.

Was looking at this motherboard...

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-125-AB

Does it feature HD hardware acceleration? Or is it just the same as any other motherboard but with a HDMI port?
 
Shuttles aren't great for HTPC's.
Noisy and they have very limited expansion slots. You most likely want a TV tuner card, GFX card, sound card and wireless card - and this will not fit in a shuttle, no matter what you do.

If you get USB substitutes, you will realise USB sucks for many things - and just messes up the look of your HTPC.

Just use this one as a template - get your own parts, maybe lower spec etc and build it your self = cheap HTPC that will do the job
http://overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-013-OK


PS : This is my shameless mediaportal plug. XP or vista's front end software (windows media centre) eats hairy balls, go check out team-mediaportal.com for a great solution :)
 
Play around with the following spec - includes TV tuner etc, but it should be more than sufficiant for your needs.
Obviously does NOT include blu ray.

 
Last edited:
Cheers guys... I've come up with this so far:-

spec02.jpg


Some thoughts:-

* I don't need a TV tuner as most of the content I watch will be HD encodes.
* I don't need a massive HD, as my desktop machine has plenty of space and will be networked up.
* I went for an E4400 and 2gb of RAM to give the system a little bit more grunt.
* The PC will be next to the router, so no wireless card will be needed.
* I quite like the look of the Antec case, and seems nice and compact.

One question... will the PSU drive this system OK? Presumable the Core2Duo won't be pulling much power, and without a dedicated GPU I presume I'd be OK with the included 300W PSU?
 
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