Building a HTPC what components will i need

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teh_boxzor

teh_boxzor

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Aug 27, 2007
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Hi guys and girls,
my dad just asked me to build an htpc for a project, it has to be under 1000 dollars.

my question is what components will i need and it will be connected to a 20 in. LCD that has HDMI. so i would like a motherboard with onboard HDMI, or a video card with HDMI. Also, will i need those TV tuners for a satellite/cable hookup with HDTV?

Thanks!
 
Just for an example:

Antec Veris Fusion 430 Silver $200
pqi 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400 $40 ($10 MIR)
GIGABYTE GA-MA69GM-S2H AM2 AMD 690G HDMI Micro ATX $80
Western Digital Caviar GP WD10EACS 1TB $260
Vista Home Premium / WinTV-HVR-1800 MCE / Gyration MCE Remote Bundle $250
BTC 9019URFIII Black USB RF Wireless Mini Multimedia Keyboard with Dual Mode Joystick Mouse Mouse Included $40
ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T $40
AMD Athlon X2 BE-2350 Brisbane 2.1GHz Socket AM2 45W Processor Model ADH2350DOBOX $90

That's $1000 for everything including remote, keyboard, Vista Premium, and a tuner. Important things to keep in mind with an HTPC: keep it cool, keep it quiet, get as much storage in as little space as possible, make it fit in with your other AV components. A quiet aftermarket CPU cooler such as the Scythe Ninja Mini may be an option too if you find the CPU too noisy/hot. If you want to record from satellite, the selected tuner has an IR blaster, though I'm not sure if it works with Vista.

You may opt for an ATI 2X00 or nvidia 8X00 series video card, but the motherboard above has built in HDMI, DVI, and Dsub that will suffice for basic HTPC needs (no gaming). You could also save a little by getting an OEM DVD drive if you already have software.





 
Read the THG review on HTPC. The Radeon HD2600XT/Pro provides lower CPU usage as well as better post-processing and everything with H264 videos (BluRay and HD-DVD) - that is if you're interested into upgrading to that in the future. Otherwise I like the set he has. I like they components too:

Antec New Solution NSK2480 Black/Silver 0.8mm cold-rolled steel MicroATX Desktop Computer Case 380W Power Supply - $100 (no IrDA)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129034&Tpk=nsk2480

SILVERSTONE SST-LC17-B Black Aluminum front panel, 0.8 mm SECC body ATX Media Center / HTPC Desktop Computer Case - $120 (silver is available too, and no IrDA)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163055

From another post that could be helpful:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum2.php?config=tomshardwareus.inc&cat=31&post=247069&page=1&p=1&sondage=0&owntopic=1&trash=0&trash_post=0&print=0&numreponse=0&quote_only=0&new=0&nojs=0
Check out this site:

http://silentpcreview.com/

Especially these things:

Suggested fans - http://www.silentpcreview.com/article63-page1.html
Suggested PSUs - http://www.silentpcreview.com/article699-page1.html
Suggested Cases - http://www.silentpcreview.com/article75-page1.html
Suggested HDDs - http://www.silentpcreview.com/article29-page1.html
Click to expand...
 
thanks guys here's the setup i have built.

ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T - Retail = 37.99

SILVERSTONE SST-LC17-B Black Aluminum front panel, 0.8 mm SECC body ATX Media Center / HTPC Desktop Computer Case - Retail = 119.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM = 69.99

GIGABYTE GA-MA69GM-S2H AM2 AMD 690G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail = 79.99

HauppaugeWinTV-PVR 500 MCE Personal Video Recorder(White box) PCI Interface - Retail = 138.99

XFX PVT88PUDF4 GeForce 8800GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail = 209.99

CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply - Retail = 119.99

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail = 49.99

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ Brisbane 2.1GHz Socket AM2 65W Processor Model ADO4000DDBOX - Retail = 61.99

Sub total = 888.91 (no rebates)

grand Total = 982.48 to my doorstep. (all us dollars)

now the question is, is it really necessary for the 8800gt because the HTPC will be built mainly for TV and web surfing (no games or photoshop or the like). it is going to be used publicly in a Hotel Lobby. Also is the TV tuner i picked out good? and in the end how will i hook up the pc to a TV that already has HDMI, i just want to get regular channels, not cable or satellite.

also is that enough HDD space since its going to be used publicly and not used to record TV.

do i just plug in the hdmi output from the mobo to the tv?

feel free to make adjustments as you see fit.

THANKS!
 
Yeah, the 8800GT is overkill for just an HTPC. If you intend to use the HDMI from the motherboard, you do not even need a separate graphics card. Without the graphics card, you can even step down to a lesser power supply (say 350 watts).

The TV Tuner Card is going to need a video source. If you're not going to hook it up to Cable or Satellite, then you're going to need some sort of antenna.

The TV video will be processed by the TV Tuner Card, passed to the motherboard's onboard graphics chipset, and then to any of the video out ports (HDMI, DVI, or VGA). Since were not concerned with Hi-Def video, any of the three will work just fine, provided you have matching inputs on the TV.

-Wolf sends
 
WOW thank you so much wolfshadw for enlightening me. see the thing is thats what im ordering since i was given a 1000 dollar budget but i have spare parts like 6600gt and a 520w tier 5 psu thats got fan speed control which i will end up putting the htpc.

so i don't need a GPU, but i will buy one for me, and i don't need the PSU but i will buy it for me. i mean its a waste of a budget if i don't spend it.

what daddy don't know won't hurt him =].
 
Hehe...

Well in that case, by all means get the 8800GT and the Corsair Power Supply!

One other thing. Since you're not doing any video recording, you could prolly get by with an 40 or 80 GB Hard Drive, but since you're still under budget, the 250 GB drive isn't going to hurt anything.

-Wolf sends
 
Your 6600GT is plenty to run on an HTPC. Just use a DVI to HDMI cable and run the sound separately via RCA, minijack, optical, or whatever you have. Is the 6600GT AGP or PCIe?

That being the case, you could get an el cheapo motherboard that isn't as fully loaded as the Gigabyte.

If you're not planning on recording TV or storing DVD's on the hard drive, then 250GB will do you fine.

Do you know the resolution of the LCD TV you are planning to connect this to? 720p, 1080i, 1080p?

Also, if your TV is unable to automatically adjust the display, you will need to school yourself on overscan and underscan adjustments.
 
 
I must protest!

First off, wtf is the point of buying $250 XP-MCE?
Second, Dont buy any nvidia for HDM

Reasons.
-> Linux + MythTV(even toms has a review on it) is much better than what MCE will ever be
-> Go for the ATi HD3800 series, they support full HDM (audio+video) (nvidia only supports HDM video)

If you do that, your cost is not going to change, the price of the ATi3800 will be offset by using Linux
 

Myth TV is a good option for some, but not for the uninitiated. The same is true for Linux MCE. Windows XP MCE is problematic at best.

I use standard XP Home and the very good MCE software that came with the Leadtek tuner card.

My Sharp TV is 720p, and I have no trouble with the MB HDMI.
 
cruiseoveride remember that the htpc is for public use which is why i stuck to windows MCE because of everyone's familiarity with the window's OS and i chose the 8800gt because i'm buying it for me, i will be using the mobo's onboard HDMI for output to the TV.
 
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