What you think of this HTPC rig?

samcim

samcim

samcim

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GX-028-HA Hauppauge WinTV PVR-500 Media Centre Edition Dual TV Tuner (GX-028-HA)
£94.95 £94.95
CA-010-SV Silverstone Lascala SST-LC11M HTPC Case (Silver) (CA-010-SV)
£139.95 £139.95
MY-012-GS G.Skill 2GB DDR2 LA PC2-5300 (2x1GB) CAS4 Dual Channel Kit (F2-5400PHU2-2GBLA) (MY-012-GS)
£99.95 £99.95
MB-145-AS Asus M2NPV-VM Micro ATX (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (MB-144-AS)
£54.95 £54.95
CP-166-AM AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ 2.00GHz (Socket AM2) - Retail (CP-166-AM)
£179.95 £179.95
2 x HD-078-SE Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB ST3320620AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-078-SE)
£62.95 £125.90
SW-008-MS Microsoft Windows XP Media Centre 2005 Edition - OEM - 1Pk (M93-00200) (SW-008-MS)
£64.95 £64.95
SW-009-MS Microsoft Windows XP Media Centre 2005 Remote Controller (SW-009-MS)
£19.95 £19.95
CD-020-AS Asus DRW-1608P3S 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - Retail (CD-020-AS)
£24.50 £24.50
Subtotal £805.05
VAT £140.89
Total £945.94


All this work ok?
 
Looks good. Maybe 2Gb ram is a bit overkill. Also, you may want to invest in a better CPU cooler, ie: a Zalman CNPS8000 :)
 
That's a good machine, some will say a bit OTT especially on the RAM and CPU side of things. Although I've read HD might require dual core in the near future. I guess you're going to scale, and record from digital TV? (dual core will help here if the convertor codec has dual core support.

Oh that case is really slimline, so bit stuffed when it comes to GFX/sound/additional PCI cards. I would look at another case that is standard PCI height. Onboard is good (I have the same GFX onboard CSM) but you might want to upgrade later, perhaps if a new codec hogs GFX, and new card has acceleration so prolong the system.
 
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It should be fine although if it is just an HTPC then yeah the CPU and Ram probably are overkill at the moment. You would also be cheaper buying a socket 939 based system and it is a more tested platform.

I'd personally change the DVDRW to either an NEC or Pioneer but the Asus ought to do all you need of it.
 
2GB is waaaaaaay OTT, I'm running mine with 512MB at the moment and it doesn't look close to going over that, but then again I don't watch HD material on it and it's only used for the MCE frontend.
 
Yeah depends what you're using it for, a P3 1ghz with 512MB is plenty if it's just a music server.

I would find the quiest DVD drive, the Pioneers are quite loud. I would downgrade to 1GB. Dual core perhaps, although my 3700+ manages well enough for HD, Microsoft have hinted that HD will require more CPU horsepower. Dunno really I have a DC gaming rig and that seems nippier, but that gets overloaded ie if I'm DVD shrinking. But a HTPC can/will do this so you might want the extra power. But if's a simpler DVD/AVI playback HTPC you don't need it. My HTPC is a Asus CSM, 1GB, 3700+ single core, M-Audio Revo 5.1. Does everything.
 
Well I will be using it for future HD decoding hence the CPU. Would going duel 939 be ok for decoding HD? OK so 1gb is ok?
 
If I switch to socket 939 mobo, can I still use DDR2? I was looking at this lot:

GX-028-HA Hauppauge WinTV PVR-500 Media Centre Edition Dual TV Tuner (GX-028-HA)
£94.95 £94.95
CA-010-SV Silverstone Lascala SST-LC11M HTPC Case (Silver) (CA-010-SV)
£139.95 £139.95
HD-078-SE Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB ST3320620AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-078-SE)
£62.95 £62.95
SW-008-MS Microsoft Windows XP Media Centre 2005 Edition - OEM - 1Pk (M93-00200) (SW-008-MS)
£64.95 £64.95
CP-152-AM AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ (Socket 939) - OEM (CP-152-AM)
£139.95 £139.95
MB-119-AS Asus A8N-VM CSM Micro ATX (Socket 939) PCI Express Motherboard (MB-119-AS)
£46.95 £46.95
CD-030-NE NEC ND4570 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM (CD-030-NE)
£21.95 £21.95
Subtotal £571.65
VAT £100.04
Total £671.69



Memory?????????????

Would/could I use DDR2 with that mobo?
 
No you have to use DDR. If you want to add any cards at all I would NOT buy that case. Look at the height, you'll need to use a riser card. Get another case, for example the Qpack/Sugo/Silverstone TJ-08 will allow you to add the full amount of cards on the motherboard.

I have that Asus CSM motherboard btw. Good stable board, I would add the blue Zalman and fit it onto the southbridge.
 
Ok.. so if I choose that case I cant use GFX or PCI cards? I dont want an upright case My wife wont let me :) Its goota fit in the AV rack & look smart.

Also what memory do you recommend?

Thanks for all the effort guys!
 
I use the Corsair Value DDR. Running at stock so no need for faster XMS stuff. You can add a card in that case, but you can't add a PCI AND a PCI-Express card, you can only fit one PCI, or one PCI-Express. You can't fit two riser cards and two one of each. So pretty naff, can't add tuner plus another card. :(

The Antec NSK2400 looks pretty good, and will allow full number of expansion cards.

You might also want a soundcard, that Asus has onboard sound, but no digital output. The backplates are quite hard to get hold of (and expensive) also unsure of driver support/ASIO support.
 
I'd probably just for Geil Value although by the time you factor in that it costs more to get DDR than DDR2 the savings from going socket 939 are all but wiped out. I'd normally say Mushkin but the cheaper 2gb packs are out of stock.

You could look at the OriginAE cases as they accept full height cards although by some small miracle they are even more expensive than the Lascala you were looking at and I'm not sure if they come with a PSU. Actually they support ATX motherboards so they might be too big anyway.
 
Ok lol.That case looks cool. Gunna go with this lot:

HD-078-SE Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB ST3320620AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-078-SE)
£62.95 £125.90
GX-028-HA Hauppauge WinTV PVR-500 Media Centre Edition Dual TV Tuner (GX-028-HA)
£94.95 £94.95
SW-008-MS Microsoft Windows XP Media Centre 2005 Edition - OEM - 1Pk (M93-00200) (SW-008-MS)
£64.95 £64.95
CD-030-NE NEC ND4570 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM (CD-030-NE)
£21.95 £21.95
CA-053-AN Antec NSK2400 Desktop Case - 380W SmartPower PSU (CA-053-AN)
£46.95 £46.95
CP-166-AM AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ 2.00GHz (Socket AM2) - Retail (CP-166-AM)
£179.95 £179.95
MY-012-GS G.Skill 2GB DDR2 LA PC2-5300 (2x1GB) CAS4 Dual Channel Kit (F2-5400PHU2-2GBLA) (MY-012-GS)
£99.95 £99.95
Subtotal £634.60
VAT £111.06
Total £745.66

Going to put my x800 in it & use it as a gaming rig too. So gunna go for 2x1g sticks.

Need a motherboard?? What you think?
 
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samcim said:
{snip}Need a motherboard?? What you think?
Click to expand...
What you'd picked earlier should be good enough, i.e. Asus M2NPV-VM ;)

Rest is A* :)

From the savings you've made, I suggest you invest in quietening down/further the rig BUT after receiving it! That way you can decide whether its worth making it more quiet :cool:
 
Yeah gunna do that :p. Ok gunna buy a Zalman CNPS7700-CU Ultra-Quiet CPU Cooler & a Zalman NB cooler. My X800 has a artic cooler on it... you recon it will be OK in this case? Or should I buy a diffrent cooler?

Will the Zalman VF900-CU Quiet Copper fit the X800?

Thanks!

Sam
 
Still think you're going OTT, you don't need 2GB.
I wouldn't get after market coolers until you know they fit. Use stock heatsinks for now. Don't forget the MS remote.
 
2GB not needed for gaming? Saves me upgrading & trying to match later on?Also the 7000 zalman fits as Ive seen it on reviews with the same mobo. The MS remote comes with the TV card Im buying :)
 
samcim said:
2GB not needed for gaming? Saves me upgrading & trying to match later on?Also the 7000 zalman fits as Ive seen it on reviews with the same mobo.
Click to expand...

It might fit the motherboard, but does it fit into the case? Does it overlap the motherboard? By how much? How much space is there between motherboard and case? I guess since this'll be used for gaming you don't mind the extra noise/heat due to faster graphics? (and more costly)
 
It cant be any louder than my Xbox 360 lol!

Well about the CPU cooler... I wont know till I try right?
 
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