Spec Me An HTPC Build

zom247

zom247

zom247

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29 Sep 2004
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I'm looking at building myself an HTPC but not quite sure what I need! I wont be playing any games on it so purely for playing movies etc. I'm not going to be using it for blu-ray/hd just yet either but will in the future. I would also like to be able to connect it to my amp via toslink for the sound though.

Thanks.
 
If you really want, I can spec you one for £500. However, I think this would meet or exceed your requirements.
overclockersukyourbaskewj8.gif

As usual in my HTPC specs I recommend an X2 3800+ "Energy Efficient" 35 W CPU. The one I've included in this spec is a placeholder since OcUK doesn't sell the "Energy Efficient" model. It is more than powerful enough for decoding 1080p with aggressive codecs and it will put out significantly less heat than competing Intels or their non "EE" brethren. The AMD part number for it is ADD3800CUBOX. Shop around because OcUK doesn't stock it. I have one in my HTPC and I love it.
 
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Thanks for this. I take it the onboard video will play my avi/vob files ok so I wont need to get a graphics card until I want to play blu-ray stuff?

I'm still not sure what case to get though!
 
The video on that mobo is specifically designed for HTPC use. It should perform some hardware acceleration of popular codecs and should handle HD-DVD/Blu-Ray gracefully.

The case I have above is pretty good. They do a gussied-up version called the Fusion that costs twice as much. It's got a front LCD screen that nobody uses. :p

If you want real nice kit have a look at Silverstone's HTPC range.
 
I've just been looking at the antec fusion one and it's nice! Not sure if it's worth the extra money just for the VFD though. I'm going to order it all tomorrow though and build it whilst the Mrs is at work!

Before I forget, what keyboard and remote do you recommend?
 
The ATi Remote Wonder is excellent and I've heard very good things about the Windows Media Center Remote, though IIRC it had some Vista-related issues a while back. Honestly, you should look around and see what remotes are rated well with Vista. Driver support is expectedly dodgy.

Any bluetooth keyboard would do well. Get one that suits your taste.
 
Im in the market for a HTPC for Blu-Ray and that build looks very nice. However, i noticed on the motherboard spec that it says, "The motherboard supports superior YPbPr TV-out functionality with a higher resolution to 1080i and 720p format, delivering high image quality." Does that mean that it only does up to 1080i or can it do 1080p?
 
I have this exact spec - except i have a much smaller case.

Antec Fusion HTPC Case - 430HE Watt PSU Antec Fusion HTPC Case - 430HE Watt PSU (£115.14)
Intel Core 2 Duo E2160 "LGA775 Conroe" 1.80GHz (800FSB) - Retail
(£48.16)
Abit Fatal1ty F-I90HD ATI Micro ATX (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
(£68.14)
OCZ 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 Dual Channel Platinum Revision 2 XTC Series DDR2 (£27.01)

Total: £258.45 including VAT. That leaves £240 for storage, remote control TV tuners, and anything else you might want.

The motherboad has true onboard HDMI and optical SPDIF outr, unlike the ASUS AM2 one which uses one of the PCI-E slots. If you want to go AM2, Gigabyte do the best one (link). It too has onboard HDMI and optical, plus it has a better Realtek sound chip. The best they do at the moment.


PS:

Mine is playing the King Kong HD-DVD right now at 1080p/24 on my 40" TV. What is interesting is, I was running 1GB until today and my CPU load has dropped from almost 100% @ 2.4GHz, down to around 50%-60% at only 1.8GHz since I replaced it with 2GB. Best £25 I've spent in quite a while.
 
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zom247, I'd echo the comments about the Antec case. I've got the predecessor on my Media Centre box and it's a cracking case. 2480 is the updated version with an 80+ PSU I believe.

Regarding the Asus motherboard, I'd also echo what Bigpops said: that the Gigabyte board is better. In all honesty, I had nothing but grief with the Asus board when it was in the MCE box ended up ripping it out and using it on another build. Been waiting for the 3400 ATI cards to turn up so I can have a bash at HDMI again as well, as the HDMI support on the Asus isn't fantastic as well in my experience. Get digging down into the the Asus support website, in particular the forum for the M2A-VM HDMI and you'll get a flavour of where the issues are.
 
After all this I've checked the case dimensions and it's too deep to fit in our pine unit! I might have to saw the back out when the Mrs is at work, she'll never know :D We're moving in a couple of months anyway and I'll be wall mounting my tv so the unit will be going.
 
zom247 said:
After all this I've checked the case dimensions and it's too deep to fit in our pine unit! I might have to saw the back out when the Mrs is at work, she'll never know :D We're moving in a couple of months anyway and I'll be wall mounting my tv so the unit will be going.
Click to expand...

Just built my Antec fusion media centre only to find the case was too big for our beech TV unit.
I measured the case before hand. I just forgot to account for all heavy weight cables :eek:.

Simple solution (while she was out of course), cut the back off the TV unit. It's been in 3 days now and she still hasn't noticed what I've done. :D
 
zom247 said:
After all this I've checked the case dimensions and it's too deep to fit in our pine unit! I might have to saw the back out when the Mrs is at work, she'll never know :D We're moving in a couple of months anyway and I'll be wall mounting my tv so the unit will be going.
Click to expand...
How much depth do you have to work with?
 
BillytheImpaler said:
Much smaller? Their dimensions are identical according to Antec's web site: 5.5" (H) x 17.5" (W) x 16.3" (D)
Click to expand...

I have a different case is what i should have said. As that's the only HTPC case Ocuk stock, i just threw it in there. The biggest problem with the fusion, as many have said, is the depth. It really has no chance of fitting on most glass TV stands. My case only just fits once the cables are in.

I have a Lian Li PC-C35B which is only 435 x 86 x 340mm (W,H,D). While small and very pretty, it doesn't take expansion cards, and only takes one 3.5" HDD and one 5.25" optical drive. No bother for me, as i don't need it to have a TV tuner. Everything i need is on the motherboard.
 
BillytheImpaler said:
How much depth do you have to work with?
Click to expand...

The case will almost fit in but when you account for the cables at the back it will stick out a bit. The easiest option will be for me to cut out a slot at the back of the unit so it fits in. She'll never notice :D
 
Bigpops said:
I have this exact spec - except i have a much smaller case.

Antec Fusion HTPC Case - 430HE Watt PSU Antec Fusion HTPC Case - 430HE Watt PSU (£115.14)
Intel Core 2 Duo E2160 "LGA775 Conroe" 1.80GHz (800FSB) - Retail
(£48.16)
Abit Fatal1ty F-I90HD ATI Micro ATX (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
(£68.14)
OCZ 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 Dual Channel Platinum Revision 2 XTC Series DDR2 (£27.01)

Total: £258.45 including VAT. That leaves £240 for storage, remote control TV tuners, and anything else you might want.

The motherboad has true onboard HDMI and optical SPDIF outr, unlike the ASUS AM2 one which uses one of the PCI-E slots. If you want to go AM2, Gigabyte do the best one (link). It too has onboard HDMI and optical, plus it has a better Realtek sound chip. The best they do at the moment.


PS:

Mine is playing the King Kong HD-DVD right now at 1080p/24 on my 40" TV. What is interesting is, I was running 1GB until today and my CPU load has dropped from almost 100% @ 2.4GHz, down to around 50%-60% at only 1.8GHz since I replaced it with 2GB. Best £25 I've spent in quite a while.
Click to expand...

Couple of questions for you about this system:

What cpu cooler are you using? The retail one?

What keyboard & remote do you have.

Thanks
 
zom247 said:
Couple of questions for you about this system:

What cpu cooler are you using? The retail one?

What keyboard & remote do you have.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I'm using the retail one. Well, actually, it's the retail one from an E4300 Core2 processor. It's the same design as the one that comes with the E2160, but has a copper core rather than being all aluminium.

For remote and keyboard i use the MS media centre keyboard (the infra red one with the little nipple to control the mouse) and the MS media centre remote.
 
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