Anyone build their own HTPC?

BOT#00001

BOT#00001

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I'm really considering making myself an HTPC. Right now I have my old gaming machine streaming my video through the network, but its hardly an ideal situation.
I want something that is going to hold alllll my movies as well as DVR.
But I wanna keep it small/sleek and silent.
 
I have built quite a few. Just get an AMD micro-atx board, any AM3 dual-core, 2gb of ram, and a huge HD.
 
Thats all the power you need? I wanna be able to use a 4 stream HD tuner and thats the only reason im a lil worried about cpu speed/ram. Also it's gonna be goin through a midrange 7.1 surround sound system so i wanna make sure the audio quality is great too (optical). And the vid card has to be good enough to be able to look good ona 55 inch tv. Here's the tuner card im lookin at.
 
Onboard S/PDIF (either Toslink or Coax) is often limited to 2-channel output. I've found that out the hard way. On my desktop, it doesn't half matter (I use a stereo DAC). On an HTPC, it simply refused to output 6-channel. I had to use regular stereo cables for that.
 
Hmm I'm seeing that most hardcore HTPC makers use video cards (like radeon 5xxx series) with LPCM over HDMI. It feeds 8 channels over the video cards HDMI like hdmi does on normal A/V devices. Now i just gotta figure out if that will be able to take the place entirely of the sound card. eg will i be able to put winamp across it or normal avi files.
 
Yeah you should have no problem streaming regular audio, though only the stereo channels will be in use. I have an HD3850 and HD5850 and both support Audio-over-HDMI. I've never used it but supposedly HD5000 and HD6000 have the most complete support for HDMI. I picked up an HD5450 for the HTPC and it runs fine, though I still have to figure out the grainy picture issue.
 
Hey Bot not sure what your doing, but I saw this and remembered you were going to build one so I thought I would post.

Zotac's Fusion-based Zbox AD03 Blu-ray HTPC gets reviewed, smiled upon

By Darren Murph posted Feb 21st 2011 5:31PM



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While AMD's Zacate E-350 APU has managed to find its way into a number of laptops, it's not exactly simple to find a desktop based on Fusion right now. Thankfully, Zotac was champing at the bit to be one of the first, and its Zbox AD03 / AD03 Plus has just hit the test bench over at Hot Hardware. All told, the results were fairly predictable, with the Fusion APU running laps around the prior Atom-based version. Of course, "laps" is a relative term, and while it hasn't single-handedly redefined the SFF PC sector, it has provided a real alternative to Intel's stable of underwhelming nettop chips. Across the board, the Zacate E-350 managed to hold its own, with the only real issue being "lackluster Flash video acceleration." We're told that updated drivers are expected to remedy that, however, so there's really little to gripe about from a numbers standpoint. As for value proposition? The AD03 Plus (ringing up at $529.99) seems like a worse deal with its skimpy 2GB of RAM and (comparatively sluggish) 250GB HDD, while the barebones AD03 (which lists for $439.99) could be turned into quite the powerhouse with 4GB of memory and a speedy SSD. Head on down to the source link to get your nerd on, but only if you're interested in scratching that DIY itch that's been so bothersome of late.
 
I built one a year or so ago; wasn't impressed with the content out there; but, if your looking for a DVR that would be cool. If your looking for something simple: WD TV Live Plus - Digital multimedia receiver - United States#
It looks like some cool options plus you can add external drive for media; if your going to put media I would suggest something like 2-3TB. I'm looking for something to put my Blu-rays on, the files are huge. It would be nice to sit down and pick them from a list; instead of switching a looking through all my titles.
 
I'm slowly but surely getting this build done in my head. I want mid range power with almost dead silence and energy efficiency.
This is what I have so far...


Case:
Antec Fusion Remote Black
http://www.amazon.com/Theater-Enclosure-120MM-Black-remote/dp/B001BLWVJU/
149.00


Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-UD2H AM3 AMD 880G HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-UD2H AM3 AMD 880G HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
99.00
or

MSI 890GXM-G65 AM3 AMD 890GX HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Newegg.com - MSI 890GXM-G65 AM3 AMD 890GX HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
129.99

CPU:
Phenom II X4 910E AM3 2.6G 8MB 45NM 65W 4000MHZ Box
PROVANTAGE: AMD HD910EOCGMBOX Phenom II X4 910E AM3 2.6G 8MB 45NM 65W 4000MHZ Box
162.43

BluRay Drive:
LITE-ON 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM 8MB Cache SATA Internal Blu-ray Burner with 3D Playback iHBS212 LightScribe
Newegg.com - LITE-ON 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM 8MB Cache SATA Internal Blu-ray Burner with 3D PlaybackiHBS212 LightScribe
129.99
ASUS Internal Blu-ray Burner Blu-ray Burner BW-12B1LT LightScribe Support - OEM
Newegg.com - ASUS Internal Blu-ray Burner Blu-ray Burner BW-12B1LT LightScribe Support - Blu-Ray Burners
119.99
or
LG WH10LS30 10X Blu-ray Burner - LightScribe Support - Bulk - OEM
Newegg.com - LG WH10LS30 10X Blu-ray Burner - LightScribe Support - Bulk - Blu-Ray Burners
79.99

Hard Drive
Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARS 2TB 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARS 2TB 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
79.99

Still workin on the CPU cooler (i wanna see if i can find a fanless one that will fit in that case)
Video card im gonna go with an ATI but im not sure which yet. 5450 at least.
Ram who knows, but itll be 4gb ddr3. Its gonna depend on the cpu cooler i get because some of the heatsinks have high clearances. Power supply I wanna find something extra quiet, and modular. It will depend on how much power this system will need. Might replace a few of the 120 mm fans with some quieter ones possibly.
 
Ok this is the final product I think.

Case:
Antec Fusion Remote Black - $149.00 Free Shipping
Includes LCD, IR, Very Quiet


Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-UD2H - $99.99 + 2.99 S/H
MicroATX


CPU:
Phenom II X4 910E AM3 2.6G - $162.43 + $4.95 S/H
Green CPU, Runs Half Wattage and Much Cooler


CPU Heatsink: (Not Set in Stone) - $32.00
Scythe SCSK-1100 Shuriken CPU Cooler (Rev. B)
Extra Quiet


RAM:
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 - $46.99 FS


PSU:
SeaSonic X650 Gold 650W Modular - 134.99 FS
Very Quiet, Great Reviews, Fan only turns on under major load. I know it's expensive but I think it's needed


Video Card:
SAPPHIRE Ultimate 100289UL Radeon HD 5670 1GB - $99.99 + $2 S/H
No Fan, Doesn't take up two slots


Hard Drive for OS:
OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II $119.99 FS w/ $10.00 rebate
Will hold windows 7 32bit for instant on from hibernation


Hard Drive for Storage:
Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARS 2TB 64MB Cache SATA 3.0 - $79.99 FS
Very Quiet/Energy Efficient Green Drive



BluRay Drive:
LITE-ON 12X iHBS212 LightScribe - $129.99 + $4.99 S/H
Supposedly Pretty Quiet


Tuner Card:
Ceton InfiniTV 4 - $399.00
Allows you to replace your DVR/HD box. 4 HD signals at once to record/watch. Can watch in other rooms across network.


May pick up a sound dampening kit for the case as well.
 
Take a look at the Athlon II X4 6__e's--they're 45W chips--and should run even cooler than that 65W Phenom II X4. Same CPU cores but with the L3 cache disabled.

Also consider 2x4GB DDR3-1333 and a smaller PSU. That 80 PLUS ranking stuff means it hits the efficiency rating at 20%, 50%, & 100% load. A computer like that would have a tough time putting a 20% load on a 650W PSU (130W draw or ~145W from the wall). Then again, the 400W version is fanless and runs $130+s&h and the 650W should do as well or better than a common low-wattage Bronze model.
 
Bobsama said:
Take a look at the Athlon II X4 6__e's--they're 45W chips--and should run even cooler than that 65W Phenom II X4. Same CPU cores but with the L3 cache disabled.

Also consider 2x4GB DDR3-1333 and a smaller PSU. That 80 PLUS ranking stuff means it hits the efficiency rating at 20%, 50%, & 100% load. A computer like that would have a tough time putting a 20% load on a 650W PSU (130W draw or ~145W from the wall). Then again, the 400W version is fanless and runs $130+s&h and the 650W should do as well or better than a common low-wattage Bronze model.
Click to expand...

Ill check out that chip and ram. I didn't go with 8gb of ram because I'm going to be running 32bit windows. From what I was reading theres a bunch of filters that only work on 32bit and some other wonky issues that may arise with 64bit os. In the future I had 2 more open slots i can always drop 2 more sticks of 2 in.

When i did a wattage calculator on the machine it was puttin me at just under 400. Problem is they didnt have any modular boxes at that level except the one that was fanless. I can't have fanless sadly in this box because of the compartmentalization of the PSU/5 1/4 bay. If i could find a good quality, quiet, modular PSU then I'd give it a shot. Everyone who's talked about the PSUs in the silent pc forums and such mentioned only corsair and seasonic (which i believe are the same company)
 
That Zalman looks good but its expennnsiveee. And yah the IR shouldnt be a convenience on an HTPC, it should be a necessity. What stereo/video equipment DOESNT have a remote control to it? It's ridiculous.
 
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