HTPC: 1st build. How is this for a start?

[sxtrav]

This is my first build. Looking for a strong system to run all standard HTPC functionality.

Two Questions:
1. Will these hardware components work well? Other suggestions?
2. What would you recommend for a Tuner card, Video card, Audio card???

Thank you in advance for your thoughts,
-1213

THE LIST:

SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum / Steel LC13B-E ATX Media Center / HTPC Case

CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5C

GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard

OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply

AMD Phenom II X3 710 2.6GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Processor Model HDX710WFGIBOX

AMD Phenom II X3 710 2.6GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Processor

Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5

 

[mindless728]

umm, i would drop the cpu down to an Athlon II X2 250, it's only 65w part, less heat and should work fine for an HTPC build (so long as you aren't doing any video converting)

btw, i like the case, but i think you would do fine with a micro ATX board w/ 2 x pci-e x1 slots and Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 and if you need more tuners get another (each one has 2 tuners)

i would drop the ram for G.Skill 1.8v memory, you don't need performance ram for this build, also if you want to save a little bit of money go for 2GB of memory (2x1GB)

really, you could use this, it has planty of power for a build like this:
CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008

 

[AKM880]

You probably won't need a Phenom X3 for a HTPC unless of course your video editing or transcoding.

A Athlon X2 5050e will work fine, but if you wanted more upgrade options I think that the Athlon II 250 is a good choice too.

The RAM just like suggested above can be changed to something like G.Skill RAM, since the XMS2 is gaming RAM, IIRC. A 700W PSU is not needed, a high quality PSU i.e SeaSonic, Antec, Corsair could easily power a system with a Athlon II or a 5050e with 400W.

 

[hunter315]

Switch the motherboard to a 790GX chipset instead of a 790X so that you dont need a graphics card.

 

[sxtrav]

Switch the motherboard to a 790GX chipset instead of a 790X so that you dont need a graphics card.

Hello hunter315,

Will the onboad graphics card (ATI Radeon HD3300 graphics built-in 128MB DDR3 1333MHz SidePort Memory) support a HD 1080 LCD TV & Bluray?? I was also thinking about running Ubuntu. I have been told it is better to run nVidia due to the drivers. Is this true????

 

[Helloworld_98]

^ well, tell us your budget, you'll give us an idea of if you want a top of the line Mini-ITX build or a bottom of the line M-ATX build.

 

[sxtrav]

^ well, tell us your budget, you'll give us an idea of if you want a top of the line Mini-ITX build or a bottom of the line M-ATX build.

Shooting for a budget within $600-800.

 

[AKM880]

Yes the 3300 can support 1080p and Blu-ray, its good enough.

 

[hunter315]

Yes, the onboard graphics on AMD boards if often recommended for HTPCs as it is capable of full HD and Bluray playback. I dont know about ubuntu support but the differences in performance between the two does not tend to be significant.

 

[sxtrav]

Thank you