please help out a newbie...new htpc specs??

arcam_boy

arcam_boy

arcam_boy

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Joined
25 Jun 2007
Posts
90
Hi,

I'm building a new htpc for by home cinema/stereo system and not really got much of a clue when speccing or building a computer but would like to have a go and see how things go.

I have decided I'm going to house it all in a Claritas 390AX case with a seasonics 2U 400w PSU. This lot will set me back just over £400 so I have around £600 to spend on the rest of the system. My main aims are:

Lowish power supply so it won't fry the PSU
As fast as possibly so it runs stable and won't take ages to access songs/films
Run as quiet and stable as possible generating minimal heat so it can run 24/7

The system I have spec'd is:

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C4 800MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT12864AA804)

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (66I-01939)

Seagate Momentus 7200.2 G-Force 200GB 7200RPM SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST9200420ASG) x2

Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - OEM

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

Pioneer BDC-202BK 5x BD-ROM + 12x12 DVD±RW Serial ATA Dual Layer ReWriter - (Black) - OEM

Netgear WG311T 108Mbps Wireless Desktop PCI Network Adapter

Arctic Ceramique Thermal Compound (2.5g)

MAudio 24/96 sound card

I have opted for 2.5" hard drives to hopefully keep noise and temperature down (good/bad choice) I don't want to overclock anything so hoping the CPU will be quick enough. I will upgrade the memory eventually to something a little quicker and 8gb but will stick with that for now to keep in budget. I also want to be able to output bluray at 1080p to my lcd tv so need a graphics card capable of doing this thats quite small in size to fit in the case (recommendations please??)

Thanks for any help or info.

P.S My max budget for the components is £600 and that little lot excluding the sound card/case/psu comes to £594.
 
id go for:
-amd 4850e 45w cpu (you dont need a 6600 for a htpc, its a bit overkill unless you use it for gaming as well)
-Gigabyte GA-MA78G-DS3H AMD 780G (full atx board as your case can take it, with onboard hd-decoding)
-2gb of ram
-id also wait for ati's new lower end gfx cards to come out or the new asus soundcards to come out if you want full 7.1hd sound over the hdmi connection, otherwise make do with downsampled ac3 via onboard sound
-i dont feel theres a need to go for 2.5" hdds, 2 x samsung 500gb 3.5" drives will do fine.
-also buy powerdvd for bluray decoding, coreavc pro for playing x264 encoded mkv files
+ addin anything else you want like wireless lan, tv cards, blueray drive of choice...etc

this will come in way underneath your budget, and will save you a significant amount in electricity running costs as it consumes less power.
 
you can saveyourslf a whole heep of csh going down this route.

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Pioneer BDC-202BK 5x BD-ROM + 12x12 DVD±RW Serial ATA Dual Layer ReWriter - (Black) - OEM
(£83.41)
Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2-6400C5 TwinX (2x1GB)
(£32.89)
Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H AMD 780G Micro-ATX (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
(£58.74)
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4800+ 2.50GHz (Socket AM2) - Retail
(£50.51)
Sub Total : £191.96

shipping : £8.95
VAT : £35.16
Total : £236.07


you can add other parts you need to it like wireless and yoru choice of hdd. you dont need a gfx card with tis option as the mobo has built full hd decoding hardware. and doesnt need much cpu power to run it
 
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