HTPC build check

topher · 25 Aug 2009 at 12:42

e5200 cpu
mini ninja cooler or artic freeze pro
motherboard 9300/9400 igp Asus P5N7A-VM (anyone recommend a board with pci slots)
compro s350 freesat card (does this work with VMC?)
silverstone lc20 case (any other worth lookin at?)
bluray drive

already have psu and hdd

may also add a freeview card at a later date, can VMC or W7 use 2 seperate tv tuners?

htpc must play @ 1080p.

PermaBanned · 25 Aug 2009 at 13:11

Why two? Why not just get one dual channel tv tuner? And i would really recommend AMD for this, a 780/785/790 chipset is perfect because it has an integrated graphics chip, and Cool&Quiet is brilliant for HTPCs too.

topher · 25 Aug 2009 at 13:13

1 freeview and 1 freesat although I may well just stick with freesat

I thought the igp 9300/9400 were better for HD playback

PermaBanned · 25 Aug 2009 at 13:15

With one of the latest AMD Chipsets there's no need for a graphics card in this sort of work...

topher · 25 Aug 2009 at 13:22

sorry crossed wires I think, the 9300/9400 are intergrated gfx, not a seperate card.

PermaBanned · 25 Aug 2009 at 13:24

Well what's your budget for the whole thing?

topher · 25 Aug 2009 at 13:35

£400

PermaBanned · 25 Aug 2009 at 14:32

roduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £105.00
(£91.30) £105.00
(£91.30)
LG CH08LS10 8x Blu-Ray Reader/16x DVD±RW - Black (OEM) £79.99
(£69.56) £79.99
(£69.56)
AMD Phenom II X2 Dual Core 550 3.10GHz Black Edition (Socket AM3) - Retail £77.99
(£67.82) £77.99
(£67.82)
Kingston HyperX T1 2GB (1x2GB) DDR3 PC3-16000C9 Dual Channel (KHX16000D3T1K2/2GN) £65.54
(£56.99) £65.54
(£56.99)
Sub Total : £285.67
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £44.35
Total : £340.02

Then the rest of the stuff... i wouldn't bother with a super expensive HTPC case though. There's a shop that people from Europe, buyers would go that has a few good ones.

topher · 26 Aug 2009 at 19:28

how about ASRock ION 330, plays 1080p fine according to reviews. Only downside is I would need a usb freesat dongle that works in vmc/w7! anyone know of one?

Katoom · 26 Aug 2009 at 19:35

What about the 785 boards? They have the higher spec 4200 on-board GFX.

Lanz · 26 Aug 2009 at 23:40

topher said:
compro s350 freesat card (does this work with VMC?)
.

I can confirm that this card works fine in Vista/W7 x64.

topher · 1 Sep 2009 at 21:04

anyone recommend a case, was looking at the silverstone lc17/20 but they are BIG!

looking for something cool quiet, full size atx psu and full height pci cards would be good