HTPC Build Check

Meds · 21 Jun 2007 at 12:00

Hi Guys,

Could you check out my spec and let me know what you think please (thanks in advance):

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £150

PowerColor ATI Radeon X1950 XT Extreme SILENT Heatpipe 256MB GDDR3 VIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £123

Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB 5000AAKS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM x 2
£131

G.Skill 2GB DDR2 PK PC2-6400 (2x1GB) CAS4 Dual Channel Kit (F2-6400 £65

Zalman HD160XT-B Home Theatre PC - Black £353

Total so far is £845

So i reckon i need a power supply and a motherboard, your recommendations would be most welcome. Also any ideas or thoughts on the above would also be very much appreciated.

Thanks

BTW does the graphics card i have chosen have dvi or hdmi? cause i want to plug it into a hdmi connection on me TV

pcAnywhere · 21 Jun 2007 at 12:10

Thats a very powerful GPU for a HTPC. I have to assume you are planning of playing games rather than the more typical web-surfing and TV recording!

Even though it's called silent (and doesn't have the horrendously noisey stock fan) it may still be intrusive in a HTPC. You might want to consider a fan free GPU.

What resolution is your TV? If it's "only" 1366 x 768 then you could get away with a much quieter (and cheaper) card

Meds · 21 Jun 2007 at 12:33

The resolution of my tv is 1920 x 1080 (1080p)

I was hoping to be able to play a few games on there, like Command and conquer 3 etc.... which is why i thought i'd go for that GFX.

Not sure about the case i have chosen tho, its very expensive.. I think its that one or the Antec Fusion, but i dont like the way the fusion looks...

Has that GFX got a fan?? i thought cause it said it had silent heatpipe that it would be silent. I definately dont want a noisey machine in my living room.

Also with regards to the mobo, i would like one thats wifi too.

Thanks man

squiffy · 21 Jun 2007 at 12:35

Yeah for HTPC non gaming GPU is way overkill. As for case look at Siverstone Lascala range. Far cheaper. Also touchscreen on the case is a gimmick, you won't use it.

If you want a quiet graphics card you'll want passive. As for video output, use a DVI to HDMI cable.

Antec Fusion is MATX, not ATX.

pcAnywhere · 21 Jun 2007 at 13:06

The graphic card does have a fan; it's much quieter than stock but in a quiet room it may well stand out. You need to look for a passive card. The downside you have is that your TV has a resolution ~ the same as a 20" widescreen - and the top card for this res is the 320MB 8800GTS (which is not passive...)

I do remember Nvidia doing a high end passive card (7800 or 7900) but OC don't sell them now.

The case is OTT.. Think about your current audio/visual gear.. do you ever control them via their front panel? I don't think I've pressed a button on the front of my DVD player since I bought it!

Meds · 21 Jun 2007 at 13:26

H'mmm i've checked out the silverstone range... and they seem a lot more price competitive. Im now thinking to go for the lc-17 if i build a full ATX machine.

Or

the LC-19 if i build a micro atx, the benefits here would be that i would save some space.

My requirements are that i can play DIVX movies, OGG movies, and Windows media mp3 etc.... Surf... Play limited games like CC 3.

ALso it must be able to output is full hd, and have at least 500gb HDD.
Digital sound output would also be great.

So any opinions would be appreciated....

If possible i'd like to get this baby up and running within the next week or so... TBH i dont really have a budget, but at the same time dont want to waste money, so anything up tp £1000 would be fine, but if its under £500 thats great, cause i can pick up a ps3 too

squiffy · 21 Jun 2007 at 13:29

Avoid the slimline MATX cases, get something like the Antec Fusion or similar (lots of space, standard ATX PSU, space around CPU area, and allow PCI slots to be used)

I'm using onboard Nvidia 6150 to a 1080p scaling SD to 1080p, no problems.

Meds · 21 Jun 2007 at 16:55

Thanks Squiffy, i'll go for the lc-17 or Fusion.

Would it be possible for you guys to suggest a motherboard and a GFX please.

Better still just provide me with a spec, cause i'm a bit useless when it comes to this.

Would this be a good Motherboard : Abit Fatal1ty F-I90HD ATI Micro ATX (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £73??

Thanks

pcAnywhere · 21 Jun 2007 at 17:33

That motherboard looks particularly well suited for HTPC.

It's got a HDMI output & optical SPDIF and (as onboard graphics go) quite a reasonable graphic capacity in a small package.

If you want more GPU then I would look to find a passive 7950GT - OC don't sell them anymore so you will have to hunt around for one.

Chuck in 2GB of DDR2 ram and a reasonable C2D (with an aftermarket cooler to further reduce noise) and.. sorted

Meds · 21 Jun 2007 at 17:57

Thanks for that PCanywhere.

So far this is my spec:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £150

Abit Fatal1ty F-I90HD ATI Micro ATX (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £73

Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB 5000AAKS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM x 2
£131

G.Skill 2GB DDR2 PK PC2-6400 (2x1GB) CAS4 Dual Channel Kit (F2-6400 £65

Thats a total of £419.

Btw whats a C2D?

Now all i need is a DVD drive, and a CPU Cooler.

I'll probably get vista home for this and a wireless mouse keyboard...
Still not 100% sure about the fusion, but i'll give it more thought overnight. Other than its appearance i'm a little dissapointed that it doesnt have a card reader on it...

I'll try and use the onboard Graphics for now, and upgrade it if required.

Meds