New HTPC build and hello.

mr.brown · 1 Oct 2007 at 19:43

I couldn't see a Welcome type forum so I thought I may as well make my first post here seeing as I've just built a small(ish) form factor PC. Due to having an Athlon 64 lying around I decided (for cost's sake) to build something around this. So here's what I have accumulated in the last few days:

Athlon 64 3500+
Asus A8V-VM SE mATX
2x1Gb PC3200
Zalman CNPS8000 cooler
Hitachi DeskStar Sata 250Gb HDD
random DVD+- RW
Soundgraph iMon
NSK2480 case

First thoughts are that (with the Fanmate turned right down) the computer is near silent - the quietest I've ever had in fact and quieter than my laptop. Processing power/speed wasn't my top priority as it's just there to act as a storage device for photos/videos/music and as a display device (connected to an LCD tv).

However, now that I've built (in a rush admittedly) I'm getting a hankering for a Blu-Ray capable set-up. I had a PS3 and bought a few BD movies but now the PS3 has gone they're sitting upstairs gathering dust.

I'd love to see any SFF Blu-Ray set-ups if there are any out there?

Cheers

Sean

Cyber Hamster · 4 Oct 2007 at 11:51

I have not got one my self my HTPC has the following stats :-

P4
1Gig Ram
nvidia 6600 AGP
Nebula TV freeview card
HDA Digital X Mystique 7.1

heres what Id be aiming for for HD stuff
CPU:-some thing duel core
Graphics :-ether Nvidias 8500/8600 range with purevideo2 or ATIs HD 2400/2600 range all should come with HDCP.
Ram:- 1/2gig perhaps 4 if your using vista 64bit

Hardrive:-500Gig possibly samsung or a good silent one.
As for sound thats up to you, when I next upgrade mine I think im gonna use the onboard sound to free up a slot and create better air flow.

oh yea one last thing a nice quite case and the all important blue-ray/HD drive

mr.brown · 4 Oct 2007 at 18:44

Cheers for the reply (it was starting to get cold in here..)

I'm happy with the case but have been thinking about starting from scratch pretty much along the lines you'vw mentioned:

E2140
2x1Gb Ram (Crucial Ballistix or something in that sort of price range - £70ish?)
HD 2600XT card
2x250Gb Sata - I have a Hitachi one already that is far from silent so I guess I need to read up on silent ones.
For the BD I was going to go for the Pioneer 202BK

The only thing I'm stuck on at the moment is the motherboard but I'm leaning toward the Asus P5K-VM as I understand it will make o/c'ing the cpu easier?

james.miller · 4 Oct 2007 at 18:54

i just built my htpc. the specs are completely overkill but its not staying like this lol

abit ip35 pro
e2160
4gb geil pc6400
asus Xonar d2 soundcard
2x500gb WD aaks hard drives
1x 18x sony nd170-a dvd writer
1x pioneer 202bk bluray drive
620w corsair
8800gtx (

)

its a really nice case, much nicer than the antecs

my gtx, 620w coarsair and 4gb of ram wont be staying in there long term. its not exactly needed lol

mr.brown · 4 Oct 2007 at 21:14

Damn. that's a beast - if only I had the room.

Unfortunately, I'm limited in terms of case height to about 15cm due to my LCD stand (which I'm not going to replace as it cost me loads - and it fits my YSP-800 perfectly

)

cokecan · 5 Oct 2007 at 10:36

Nice set up there james

I'm currently using an Origen AE H7 for my HTPC, again as with james, the spec is waaaaaay over kill but I do use it for 3d modelling also

q6600
2gb geil
x1950pro
GIgabyte GA-G33m-DS2R
X-Mystique soundcard (mainly for optical out)
1 raptor (will be gettin rid soon, dont need the noise lol)
1x400gb sammy spinpoint
LG dvd-rw (planning on changing to a BD drive when the prices come down a bit more)
360 HD-DVD drive (modded to fit in a drive bay and run off a 12v molex and onboard USB headers)

The case is about 14.5cm tall from the desk to the top of it so may fit in your LCD stand, from the looks of it also that Silverstone is the same too