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HTPC Build
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07-10-2009 12:26pm#1
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Redriddick wrote: »Would like to use it to store my dvd collection
How many DVDs is that? At ~9.4GB (dual-layer) per uncompressed title you might need an awful big HDD (array)
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How many DVDs is that? At ~9.4GB (dual-layer) per uncompressed title you might need an awful big HDD (array)
Hi solitaire,
My dvd collection is not that big as of yet but i reckon 1tb+ will do me.I really need advice on motherboard,cpu,psu,tv card,sound card ?.Will be using it for media playing mostly,surfing the web and maybe the odd game.Crt tv only im afraid but would like to future proof for later on.I may also add a surroun sound system to my setup too.Will use wmc7,mediaportal or xbmc as the front end.
thanks
redriddick0 -
Try to find ~€300 spare for a "real" TV set (i.e. something that's 32" across and has a higher resolution than the average baked potato! :P) if you can as while even a 720p LCD telly can be a little fuzzy when displaying small text an old CRT telly will strike you down with eye-strain migraines the instant you try to read any text off it!
Even teletext induces pain on those! 
What do you mean by "surround sound"? PCs are generally designed to be hooked up to active (i.e. powered) speaker sets piecemeal, so if you want to hook the PC up to a 5.1 or 7.1 amp etc. you'd need a mobo with optical (TOSLink) out and an amp with a free optical input to match. If you don't have a Dolby Digital amp already there is a 5.1 amp that can be put in a PC, but it needs a special mobo which has no PCI slots (so your TV card would have to be USB or PCIex1) and altogether adds another €120+ to the build, plus you'd still need the set of (passive, i.e. unpowered) speakers to go with it! Although to be fair you'd be hard-pressed to get a top-quality Dolby Digital amplifier for €120!
And finally, what games are said "odd" games? Not that I see it being much of an issue, as most sub-€500 TVs are 1366*768 at the very most, so even with modern 3D games you'd get away with a pretty basic graphics card 
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Try to find ~€300 spare for a "real" TV set (i.e. something that's 32" across and has a higher resolution than the average baked potato! :P) if you can as while even a 720p LCD telly can be a little fuzzy when displaying small text an old CRT telly will strike you down with eye-strain migraines the instant you try to read any text off it! Even teletext induces pain on those!
What do you mean by "surround sound"? PCs are generally designed to be hooked up to active (i.e. powered) speaker sets piecemeal, so if you want to hook the PC up to a 5.1 or 7.1 amp etc. you'd need a mobo with optical (TOSLink) out and an amp with a free optical input to match. If you don't have a Dolby Digital amp already there is a 5.1 amp that can be put in a PC, but it needs a special mobo which has no PCI slots (so your TV card would have to be USB or PCIex1) and altogether adds another €120+ to the build, plus you'd still need the set of (passive, i.e. unpowered) speakers to go with it! Although to be fair you'd be hard-pressed to get a top-quality Dolby Digital amplifier for €120!
And finally, what games are said "odd" games? Not that I see it being much of an issue, as most sub-€500 TVs are 1366*768 at the very most, so even with modern 3D games you'd get away with a pretty basic graphics card
ok so the telly is s***e will look into it.
mobo with toslink will do the job too.
Im leaning towards the silverstone lc17 case what ya think?0 -
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Redriddick wrote: »Im leaning towards the silverstone lc17 case what ya think?
You're not going to get any sense out of me, I'm a whore for the MicroFusion
If you really want that... tank eating up your living room get the LC20B, it looks better and for less than €15 more (Komplett-wise) you're getting a style upgrade, remote and trippy VFD display thingamabob. The reason I'm holding off building my HTPC at home is because I can't countenance blowing a ton of money on a case with a display... but I can't buy a HTPC case without one. I just can't
What site(s) you buying this from? I'm thinking cheapo AM2 build with an Athlon2 (AM3 but without that pricey-ass DDR3!) but I doubt I'm going to find a mobo with TOSLink that cheap; it'll probably be over €60
TV card is also an issue - do you want/need a satellite or cable card, or plain old PAL terrestrial (that'll have to be replaced in a few years)? 0 -
You're not going to get any sense out of me, I'm a whore for the MicroFusion
If you really want that... tank eating up your living room get the LC20B, it looks better and for less than €15 more (Komplett-wise) you're getting a style upgrade, remote and trippy VFD display thingamabob. The reason I'm holding off building my HTPC at home is because I can't countenance blowing a ton of money on a case with a display... but I can't buy a HTPC case without one. I just can't
What site(s) you buying this from? I'm thinking cheapo AM2 build with an Athlon2 (AM3 but without that pricey-ass DDR3!) but I doubt I'm going to find a mobo with TOSLink that cheap; it'll probably be over €60 TV card is also an issue - do you want/need a satellite or cable card, or plain old PAL terrestrial (that'll have to be replaced in a few years)?
Have not decided whare to buy from yet.Any idea for the mobo and cpu?maybe something like this Gigabyte GA-MA770-UD3,????????0 -
Only get an AM3 mobo if you're buying from Komplett as they're the only place where there's virtually no disparity between DDR2 and DDR3 prices. In most places even budget DDR3 is a fair bit more expensive. Ironically, on Komplett there are no decent AM3 mATX mobos with TOSLink optical-out :rolleyes: Either way, an 785G mobo is most likely the best bet as they usually come with TOSLink. If you weren't gaming the onboard GPU would be more than enough for a HTPC too.
mATX mobos with TOSLink start around €50 for AM2 and north of €65 for AM3 (and that's HWVS!). ATX mobos are pricier plus you need a huge-ass HTPC case to fit them in; TOSLink starts around €55 for AM2 and €70+ for AM3 and that's only because Gigabyte like sticking them on their budget mobos! And as DDR3 will push the price up even further I'd stick with AM2 if on a tight budget.
As for CPU? X2-245/250; if the former is out of stock or there's less than a fiver's difference go with the faster chip. I doubt you'd need that much muscle in this rig. €45-65 depending on where you get them.
I'd still love to know what games you might play every so often, just to see exactly how much money I can avoid spending on graphics; I doubt we'd be talking anything over €60 anyway, maybe a fair bit less Just don't buy a full 1080p TV! 0 -
Only get an AM3 mobo if you're buying from Komplett as they're the only place where there's virtually no disparity between DDR2 and DDR3 prices. In most places even budget DDR3 is a fair bit more expensive. Ironically, on Komplett there are no decent AM3 mATX mobos with TOSLink optical-out :rolleyes: Either way, an 785G mobo is most likely the best bet as they usually come with TOSLink. If you weren't gaming the onboard GPU would be more than enough for a HTPC too.
mATX mobos with TOSLink start around €50 for AM2 and north of €65 for AM3 (and that's HWVS!). ATX mobos are pricier plus you need a huge-ass HTPC case to fit them in; TOSLink starts around €55 for AM2 and €70+ for AM3 and that's only because Gigabyte like sticking them on their budget mobos! And as DDR3 will push the price up even further I'd stick with AM2 if on a tight budget.
As for CPU? X2-245/250; if the former is out of stock or there's less than a fiver's difference go with the faster chip. I doubt you'd need that much muscle in this rig. €45-65 depending on where you get them.
I'd still love to know what games you might play every so often, just to see exactly how much money I can avoid spending on graphics; I doubt we'd be talking anything over €60 anyway, maybe a fair bit less Just don't buy a full 1080p TV!
Thanks for that.I think the lc17 case will take an atx or matx mobo so i still dont know! What about a hdmi port on the mobo may be needed when i get the new tv:D.I have another pc upstairs so the gaming will probably go on up there so not pushed.:rolleyes:0 -
That's what I was trying to warn you: the LC17 and (superior) LC20 can take a full ATX mobo, but that's because they're both friggin' huge Remember the desktop PCs of yesteryear? Bigger than that :P
And if you're going to be playing the odd game (or have you changed your mind again about that? :P) then you wouldn't be worrying about the mobo's HDMI connector as it'd be the graphics card you'd be running the HDMI lead from And most of those come with either HDMI or a DVI>HDMI dongle. If you want onboard video (in which case forget about the games, unless they're ancient. Or Peggle.) then you'd be looking at an mATX mobo (most likely 785G chipset) as the cheaper AM2/3 ATX mobos are usually 770s with no onboard video. 0 -
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That's what I was trying to warn you: the LC17 and (superior) LC20 can take a full ATX mobo, but that's because they're both friggin' huge Remember the desktop PCs of yesteryear? Bigger than that :P
And if you're going to be playing the odd game (or have you changed your mind again about that? :P) then you wouldn't be worrying about the mobo's HDMI connector as it'd be the graphics card you'd be running the HDMI lead from And most of those come with either HDMI or a DVI>HDMI dongle. If you want onboard video (in which case forget about the games, unless they're ancient. Or Peggle.) then you'd be looking at an mATX mobo (most likely 785G chipset) as the cheaper AM2/3 ATX mobos are usually 770s with no onboard video.
I think ill go with the matx so. http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=488349&view=detailed#ProductTabs
Cpu= http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=488305
ram=http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=312054
need psu and hardrive now.
Thanks for all the suggestion solitaire i really appriciate it and keep it coming!0 -
Eye spy with my little I something that looks nicer than that Gigabyte :P
CPU is very pricey. Komplett is being a bit of a [CENSORED] today! :rolleyes:]
RAM is stupidly pricey. If you wanted 2GB of bog-standard DDR2 you should be paying half that! :mad:
NAUGHTY KOMPLETT! Found an intentional scam - the Lascala 20 they have there is the one without the iMon/VFD. So why are all the images showing the LC20B-M with the VFD eh?! :eek::mad:
Anyway... if you were desperate to keep costs down and didn't want to game much... how's €340 shipped sound? Although you'd need a low-profile or USB TV card...
I'll put up a more reasonable mid-range system when I get the chance (still painting here! :rolleyes: )0 -
Eye spy with my little I something that looks nicer than that Gigabyte :P
CPU is very pricey. Komplett is being a bit of a [CENSORED] today! :rolleyes:]
RAM is stupidly pricey. If you wanted 2GB of bog-standard DDR2 you should be paying half that! :mad:
NAUGHTY KOMPLETT! Found an intentional scam - the Lascala 20 they have there is the one without the iMon/VFD. So why are all the images showing the LC20B-M with the VFD eh?! :eek::mad:
Anyway... if you were desperate to keep costs down and didn't want to game much... how's €340 shipped sound? Although you'd need a low-profile or USB TV card...
I'll put up a more reasonable mid-range system when I get the chance (still painting here! :rolleyes: )
thanks once again for that and your right those pictures sure would catch ya out.I guess im willing to spend between 400 and 500 yo yos on this.If i knew ya were painting i would have given you a hand:)0 -
Mid-range build at €450 shipped, again without iMon, TV card or Blu-Ray (so adjust accordingly):
Should handle light gaming easily enough up to 1366*768.
Now for something totally unreasonable
Probably overkill, and overbudget to boot at €520 shipped, sans additional macguffins :rolleyes: But its pretty futureproof; reasonably quick quad-core CPU, gaming-grade card that eats 1366*768 for breakfast and can just hold its own at 1080p, without even draining the National Grid. And the case is a proper posh one with a VFD and maybe even real aluminium!If it ever comes back in stock, that is...
EDIT: Ah feck, for the first build choose another HD4670 (if you even need one), the one up there is DDR2, didn't even know there were any HD4670s with cack memory doing the rounds! Only reason I went with that one was because the cheapest one has a really good aftermarket cooler... that blocks a valuable PCI slot 0 -
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Redriddick wrote: »Hi solitaire,
Thanks a million for the recomendations am tempted to go with the second one just 2 question:
1 could i leave out the graphics card and get it later
Deffo. 780G has a HD3200 onboard, HD4200 for 785G2 780g chipset or 785g chipset.
Preferably the latter as they're newer but the cheapest on HWVS is over €60, so its an extra tenner for just a bit more refinement. On the other hand most 785G mobos would ship with a BIOS with full compatibility for most Athlon2s whereas the 780Gs could need a BIOS update.0 -
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Be careful; ebuyer have been acting the maggot a fair bit lately.
Build seems okay, first issue is that you've only got 2GB RAM, second is that the mobo is fairly pricey, plus its pushing up memory prices (DDR3 is still pricier). As for the case bear in mind that you're limited to full-size Antec Fusions, Silverstone Lascala variants and that Thermaltake I showed you if you're going with a full-size ATX mobo. Most HTPC enclosures are mATX.
Why didn't this post seven hours ago?
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The build looks fine if you're reusing the case/PSU etc. But are you ready to deal with the (im)practical issues of hiding a home server/HTPC in the attic? Depending on the state of your ceiling a lot of wireless equipment won't work; an IR remote certainly won't! Plus you have to go attic diving each time you need to service/maintain/upgrade the PC. And even if you have dust filters on the old case dust and dirt could be a big problem up there!
On other notes: 785G is nice but what about an AM2 incarnation of same? Is DDR3 much cheaper than DDR2 on eBuyer?! And why would you want to recycle an old Se3000+? It might be able to play 1080p with the help of a HD3200 or better (just) but it couldn't touch one of the X2-250's dual cores. Its ~€50 well spent IMHO.0 -
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