Hi all,
I'm new here so please don't flame. I did a search on this topic and didn't come up with any current information so I decided to make a new post. I have a general idea of how I want to set this system up, but I'm not sure exactly what kind of mobo or cpu I should spring for. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Building an HTPC
Ok well its funny you should mention HTPC that is what I have been researching for the last few months and looking at what works and what doesn't.
some questions for you.
1. are you a cable subscriber that uses either a decoder box or a DVR?
2. are you using HDTV?
3. what is your vid equiptment(personally I have a projector and a 32" LCD TV hooked up)
4. What is your audio equiptment
now the question is what is going to work for you. I personally have a DVR from the cable company and its a high def DVR with 2 tuners so I really don't need to worry about TV tuner to record things because the TV tuners will only get the first 125 channels and does not decode. I have a Pioneer Receiver (the 815 model) to consolidate my video sources; Cable, HTPC, CD player, DVD player. (yes I realize I don't need all of them that is another conversation)
MY HTPC is a Shuttle SN45GV2 I picked it up offa Ebay for 107.00 (that was the barebones) I added to it a XP2500 barton core I had and 1 gig of Dual channel Ram the vid card is a chaintech Geforece 5200 and an 80 gig HD.
I use a media server to hold my music and movies that has about 500 gigs of storage you can easilly add a bigger HD to the HTPC but because I have a laptop, HTPC, Office PC I thought the media server was a better Idea and it also doubles as a print server and file server.
If you are not going to be doing maissive recordings of TV or DVD ripping and encoding but instead just use it for playback and some monor burning then and a 2500 will work just fine and you really don't have to worry too much about vid cards. people get hung up on numbers but you have to answer first
WHAT AM I REALISTICALLY GOING TO DO WITH THIS.
once you answer the above question then you can determine what you need.
some questions for you.
1. are you a cable subscriber that uses either a decoder box or a DVR?
2. are you using HDTV?
3. what is your vid equiptment(personally I have a projector and a 32" LCD TV hooked up)
4. What is your audio equiptment
now the question is what is going to work for you. I personally have a DVR from the cable company and its a high def DVR with 2 tuners so I really don't need to worry about TV tuner to record things because the TV tuners will only get the first 125 channels and does not decode. I have a Pioneer Receiver (the 815 model) to consolidate my video sources; Cable, HTPC, CD player, DVD player. (yes I realize I don't need all of them that is another conversation)
MY HTPC is a Shuttle SN45GV2 I picked it up offa Ebay for 107.00 (that was the barebones) I added to it a XP2500 barton core I had and 1 gig of Dual channel Ram the vid card is a chaintech Geforece 5200 and an 80 gig HD.
I use a media server to hold my music and movies that has about 500 gigs of storage you can easilly add a bigger HD to the HTPC but because I have a laptop, HTPC, Office PC I thought the media server was a better Idea and it also doubles as a print server and file server.
If you are not going to be doing maissive recordings of TV or DVD ripping and encoding but instead just use it for playback and some monor burning then and a 2500 will work just fine and you really don't have to worry too much about vid cards. people get hung up on numbers but you have to answer first
WHAT AM I REALISTICALLY GOING TO DO WITH THIS.
once you answer the above question then you can determine what you need.
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infinitevalence
- Legit Extremist
- Posts: 2841
- Joined: Sat Apr 24, 2004 12:40 pm
- Location: Nashville, TN
- Contact:
Two things, welcome and we do not tolerate flaming. So no worries. You want to build a HTPC? well the you have come the right place.
Motherboard: Aopen 918EA10IM1 Link
CPU: Pentium M 735 (400fsb simple OC to 533fsb) Link
Alt CPU: Celeron M 370 Link
Ram: 1gb DDR2 Corsair Link
Alt Ram: 1gb DDR2 OCZ Link
HD: 300gb Maxtor DM10 Link
DVD: NEC DVDRW DL Link
Keybord Mouse: Logitec S10 Link
Case: ThermalRock Link
PSU: ThermalTake Silent Link
You can use onboard sound and video if you want, if you would rather make this HTPC as feature filled as you can the i would spend the $$ on a decent video card and sound card as well.
GFX: ATI AIW Link
Sound: 7.1 SoundBlaster Link
Motherboard: Aopen 918EA10IM1 Link
CPU: Pentium M 735 (400fsb simple OC to 533fsb) Link
Alt CPU: Celeron M 370 Link
Ram: 1gb DDR2 Corsair Link
Alt Ram: 1gb DDR2 OCZ Link
HD: 300gb Maxtor DM10 Link
DVD: NEC DVDRW DL Link
Keybord Mouse: Logitec S10 Link
Case: ThermalRock Link
PSU: ThermalTake Silent Link
You can use onboard sound and video if you want, if you would rather make this HTPC as feature filled as you can the i would spend the $$ on a decent video card and sound card as well.
GFX: ATI AIW Link
Sound: 7.1 SoundBlaster Link
"Don't open that! It's an alien planet! Is there air? You don't know!"
couple things.
for the cost of just the case and powersupply you can get a barebone SFF like a shuttle or MSI that includes case/PS/motherboard/HS/Fan/Sound/Nic
as far as the All in wonder cards go ( I own the X800XT AIW) stay away from them if you want to record TV they are software based and to get them working with Media Center Edition is a real task (and only a couple work)
There are MCE alternatives out there but again I have done more research than a bag of hammers on this and MCE is still your best bet
almost forgot to talk about a remote for it.
you can spend tons of money on a Logitech or you can do what I did I picked up a Remote Wonder II offa Ebay for $14.95 and it works terrific.
again it all goes back to your needs and what you want to do I really can't give you a list of speciality stuff to pick up until then, though the processor and RAM suggestions that Infinite made were good solid choices.
also whats your budget like?
for the cost of just the case and powersupply you can get a barebone SFF like a shuttle or MSI that includes case/PS/motherboard/HS/Fan/Sound/Nic
as far as the All in wonder cards go ( I own the X800XT AIW) stay away from them if you want to record TV they are software based and to get them working with Media Center Edition is a real task (and only a couple work)
There are MCE alternatives out there but again I have done more research than a bag of hammers on this and MCE is still your best bet
almost forgot to talk about a remote for it.
you can spend tons of money on a Logitech or you can do what I did I picked up a Remote Wonder II offa Ebay for $14.95 and it works terrific.
again it all goes back to your needs and what you want to do I really can't give you a list of speciality stuff to pick up until then, though the processor and RAM suggestions that Infinite made were good solid choices.
also whats your budget like?
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ScottSummers
- Legit Little One
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2005 8:07 pm
Hey guys, thanks for the welcome and replies. Also, thanks Infinite on those recommendations, I'll look into those.
2. Well for some shows I was planning on going that route, seeing as networks are beginning to broadcast some of them in that format.
3. My vid equipment is just the TV.
4. No special audio equipment either.
Again, thanks for the help.
1. Nope, not a subscriber or have any of those.Bal`thzar wrote: some questions for you.
1. are you a cable subscriber that uses either a decoder box or a DVR?
2. are you using HDTV?
3. what is your vid equiptment(personally I have a projector and a 32" LCD TV hooked up)
4. What is your audio equiptment
2. Well for some shows I was planning on going that route, seeing as networks are beginning to broadcast some of them in that format.
3. My vid equipment is just the TV.
4. No special audio equipment either.
Basically I just want to record my shows, use it for DVD playback, and act as a media server. Also, if possible to try to hook it up so I would be able to, if need be, record three broadcasts at the same time.Bal`thzar wrote: WHAT AM I REALISTICALLY GOING TO DO WITH THIS.
once you answer the above question then you can determine what you need.
Don't really have a numerical limit, but I'd like to put money in to get good value from it. Of course I'm willing to go the extra mile if it's really warranted.Bal`thzar wrote: also whats your budget like?
Again, thanks for the help.
Is your TV High def or standard CRT?
if you are going to make this your Home theater system then here is what I would suggest.
Don't bother with HTPC cases that you see at most online retailers they are a waste of a couple hundred dollars instead I would suggest going the route I did that being a shuttle XPC barebones you can pick them up reasonably. Here is a good link for them but you can find better prices on ebay or at retialers like Ewiz. Make sure you get a model with atleast the 250 watt powersupply and it will run everything fine
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... =0&Recs=10
the shuttles come with everything you will need including 8 channel audio. all you have to do is add your drives\processor and memory.
I would suggest a socket 939 model and pick up a venice 3200+ or 3500+ from http://www.ewiz.com they have solid pricing. the 939 is going to give you enough processor to encode and record shows and do other things with the machine.
Gig of Ram PC3200 Kingston Hyper is a good solid proformer that can get decent speeds. No the greatest for overclocking but I wouldn't suggest doing that with this rig
I would get an ATI HDTV wonder you can get then new on Ebay for significantly less than what you can pick them up for at retailers, this also comes with the Remote Wonder Plus so you don't have to worry about buying a remote for it. THis recomendation is based on you not wanting 2 tuners so you can watch one channel and record another. if you want to do that then I would suggest a Hauppauge 500 MCE this has 2 tuners and frankly I really don't see the need for HD network TV the only thing I use HD for is DVD\DivX playback <shrug> If you go the route of hauppague you can get a solid remote on Ebay on the cheap either a remote wonder 2 or remote wonder plus.
I would definatly go with Windows MCE.
I also want to strongly suggest that you not go with onboard video but instead get a vid card from a reputable manufacturer. my minimum recomendation would be a ATI 9600XT or Nvidia 6600 I use an ATI X800 All in Wonder though I don't reccomend this card as a primary PVR card to record your shows it is a good solution to watch TV as a second tuner and you can go with the HDTV wonder as a second tuner.
Hard drive, DVD R and media reader are up to you <shrug> you can find solid deals on them.
For speakers let me reccoment the Logitech 5300e, don't confuse them with the 530. You can pick them up for under $100 now a days and they are kick butt.
this reccomendation is based on the following
1. you are not looking to run this into a Home audio receiver. (you really don't need to)
2. you have a HD compatible TV ( if you don't you can get 32" LCD's for under $1000 and they are great for gaming on )
any questions let me know.
this was a heck of a post on my part for not having coffee yet o.0
if you are going to make this your Home theater system then here is what I would suggest.
Don't bother with HTPC cases that you see at most online retailers they are a waste of a couple hundred dollars instead I would suggest going the route I did that being a shuttle XPC barebones you can pick them up reasonably. Here is a good link for them but you can find better prices on ebay or at retialers like Ewiz. Make sure you get a model with atleast the 250 watt powersupply and it will run everything fine
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... =0&Recs=10
the shuttles come with everything you will need including 8 channel audio. all you have to do is add your drives\processor and memory.
I would suggest a socket 939 model and pick up a venice 3200+ or 3500+ from http://www.ewiz.com they have solid pricing. the 939 is going to give you enough processor to encode and record shows and do other things with the machine.
Gig of Ram PC3200 Kingston Hyper is a good solid proformer that can get decent speeds. No the greatest for overclocking but I wouldn't suggest doing that with this rig
I would get an ATI HDTV wonder you can get then new on Ebay for significantly less than what you can pick them up for at retailers, this also comes with the Remote Wonder Plus so you don't have to worry about buying a remote for it. THis recomendation is based on you not wanting 2 tuners so you can watch one channel and record another. if you want to do that then I would suggest a Hauppauge 500 MCE this has 2 tuners and frankly I really don't see the need for HD network TV the only thing I use HD for is DVD\DivX playback <shrug> If you go the route of hauppague you can get a solid remote on Ebay on the cheap either a remote wonder 2 or remote wonder plus.
I would definatly go with Windows MCE.
I also want to strongly suggest that you not go with onboard video but instead get a vid card from a reputable manufacturer. my minimum recomendation would be a ATI 9600XT or Nvidia 6600 I use an ATI X800 All in Wonder though I don't reccomend this card as a primary PVR card to record your shows it is a good solution to watch TV as a second tuner and you can go with the HDTV wonder as a second tuner.
Hard drive, DVD R and media reader are up to you <shrug> you can find solid deals on them.
For speakers let me reccoment the Logitech 5300e, don't confuse them with the 530. You can pick them up for under $100 now a days and they are kick butt.
this reccomendation is based on the following
1. you are not looking to run this into a Home audio receiver. (you really don't need to)
2. you have a HD compatible TV ( if you don't you can get 32" LCD's for under $1000 and they are great for gaming on )
any questions let me know.
this was a heck of a post on my part for not having coffee yet o.0
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Illuminati
- Site Admin
- Posts: 2378
- Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2003 8:48 am
- Location: Wright City, Missouri, USA
- Contact:
Bal'thzar, have you had a setup like the one you are recommending? I only ask because the one of the setups I tried, if you use both expansion slots on a shuttle, with one being a TV Tuner card, the interferance with the other card in the expansion slot causes the recorded audio to sound like crap on anything you record with the TV Tuner.
In the setup I'm talking about, I had a video card in the AGP slot and a PCI TV Tuner card. I ended up having to scrap the shuttle and get a full-size ATX system and have the TV tuner card in the PCI slot furthest away from the AGP card and everything worked fine for recording.
Now I haven't looked into what you recommended, but I was just wondering if the TV tuner card has the necessary shielding to prevent interferance.
BTW, I also built a shuttle system with an All-In-Wonder card, and the recordings worked great... but that was with Windows XP, not MCE.
Anyways, just wanted to check on the interferance issue...
In the setup I'm talking about, I had a video card in the AGP slot and a PCI TV Tuner card. I ended up having to scrap the shuttle and get a full-size ATX system and have the TV tuner card in the PCI slot furthest away from the AGP card and everything worked fine for recording.
Now I haven't looked into what you recommended, but I was just wondering if the TV tuner card has the necessary shielding to prevent interferance.
BTW, I also built a shuttle system with an All-In-Wonder card, and the recordings worked great... but that was with Windows XP, not MCE.
Anyways, just wanted to check on the interferance issue...
I currently have a shuttle SN45gV2 no interference issues, but I will say this after doing a lot of research I have not seen or heard of this problem and that is from accessing several forums. It might have been your card, not sure what model shuttle it was or what the sound chipset was. Long and short other than hearing from you about this issue I have not heard of it.
as for MCE prior to the latest version 5.9 of the catylist drivers you had to do some tweaking and junk but the latest drivers support MCE very well.
then again I am not really into the whole 2 tuner thing because I use a DVR and stuff.
but I will say that with over 20 years in the business I don't speak up when I am not sure.
If you could post the model of the shuttle system that you were using and the Tuner card that would go a long way to having the information if somthing like this pops up for me.
Thanks
as for MCE prior to the latest version 5.9 of the catylist drivers you had to do some tweaking and junk but the latest drivers support MCE very well.
then again I am not really into the whole 2 tuner thing because I use a DVR and stuff.
but I will say that with over 20 years in the business I don't speak up when I am not sure.
If you could post the model of the shuttle system that you were using and the Tuner card that would go a long way to having the information if somthing like this pops up for me.
Thanks