Hey guys, need your help again. We're kinda in the process of revamping our entertainment system, so, out with the old TV and VCR, in with a new monitor and an HTPC. Here's what I've got in mind for the HTPC:
CPU: Intel Dual-Core E2160
CPU HS&F: ZEROtherm BTF90 92mm Silent UFO CPU Cooler
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-G33M-DS2R LGA 775 Intel G33 Micro ATX (just in case I need to overclock )
RAM: 2x1GB A-DATA DDR2-800
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda ES ST3320620NS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
Optical Drive: SAMSUNG 20X DVD Burner
TV Tuner/Remote: Hauppauge 1033 WinTV-Go-Plus
Case/PSU: Antec Solution Series NSK2400 Black/Silver Steel MicroATX Desktop Computer Case 380W ATX12V v2.0 Power Supply
Basically, any opinions you have to offer are welcome. I don't want the system to sound like a jet engine, but it doesn't have to be super-silent at this point, so long as it's not a distraction when watching video. Also, if you have any suggestions for a better video capture card that works with closed-captioning in MythTV and has an IR input, I wouldn't mind hearing it. Do you think that HS&F will be sufficient if I end up overclocking the CPU? (Still not sure if I'll need/want to, but 3GHz would be pretty handy for lengthy H.264 transcodes!)
For the time being, all I need to use it for is satellite (via composite cable) and DVD viewing/capture/transcoding. In the future, I'm hoping to just need to add an optical drive and graphics card to make it able to handle whatever HD media ends up winning. And another question: Do you think a 380W PSU will be sufficient for that (potentially overclocked) CPU and a graphics card that can handle HD decoding? (Doesn't need to be a great gaming GPU.) Speaking of HD, this monitor is what I had in mind:
Hanns·G HG-281DPB Black 28" 3ms Widescreen LCD HDMI Monitor
Opinions about it are also welcome! I know it doesn't come with a remote, but we'll probably be adding in a separate audio receiver/speakers pretty soon too, so I'm guessing we should be able to get by without it for now. (That tuner card I chose comes with an IR input that should allow me to change the HTPC's output volume by remote control, right?) Anybody have any words of advice/warning about using a computer monitor in the place of a TV? I realize its only input will be from the HTPC itself and everything else will be relayed through that.
Anyway, tons of questions - answer one, some or all of them if you please! Thanks in advance!
CPU: Intel Dual-Core E2160
CPU HS&F: ZEROtherm BTF90 92mm Silent UFO CPU Cooler
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-G33M-DS2R LGA 775 Intel G33 Micro ATX (just in case I need to overclock )
RAM: 2x1GB A-DATA DDR2-800
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda ES ST3320620NS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
Optical Drive: SAMSUNG 20X DVD Burner
TV Tuner/Remote: Hauppauge 1033 WinTV-Go-Plus
Case/PSU: Antec Solution Series NSK2400 Black/Silver Steel MicroATX Desktop Computer Case 380W ATX12V v2.0 Power Supply
Basically, any opinions you have to offer are welcome. I don't want the system to sound like a jet engine, but it doesn't have to be super-silent at this point, so long as it's not a distraction when watching video. Also, if you have any suggestions for a better video capture card that works with closed-captioning in MythTV and has an IR input, I wouldn't mind hearing it. Do you think that HS&F will be sufficient if I end up overclocking the CPU? (Still not sure if I'll need/want to, but 3GHz would be pretty handy for lengthy H.264 transcodes!)
For the time being, all I need to use it for is satellite (via composite cable) and DVD viewing/capture/transcoding. In the future, I'm hoping to just need to add an optical drive and graphics card to make it able to handle whatever HD media ends up winning. And another question: Do you think a 380W PSU will be sufficient for that (potentially overclocked) CPU and a graphics card that can handle HD decoding? (Doesn't need to be a great gaming GPU.) Speaking of HD, this monitor is what I had in mind:
Hanns·G HG-281DPB Black 28" 3ms Widescreen LCD HDMI Monitor
Opinions about it are also welcome! I know it doesn't come with a remote, but we'll probably be adding in a separate audio receiver/speakers pretty soon too, so I'm guessing we should be able to get by without it for now. (That tuner card I chose comes with an IR input that should allow me to change the HTPC's output volume by remote control, right?) Anybody have any words of advice/warning about using a computer monitor in the place of a TV? I realize its only input will be from the HTPC itself and everything else will be relayed through that.
Anyway, tons of questions - answer one, some or all of them if you please! Thanks in advance!