Building a cheap HTPC.

[Gurudristi]

7000 for cabinet, 13K for mobo cpu ... now dont throw water on the whole project by using an ordinary smps. Get a corsair 400W or similar that costs around 3000/- range. And you need silent cpu fan like Ninja mini-Scythe or Ninja Shuriken for 1200/+ and silent chassis fans add another 400/-.

Regards

This Silverstone LC 10BE cabinet has two silent 80mm fans in the rear, and most reviews talk about it being the most efficient cabinet in terms of it cooling.

I will look at the corsair, but lot of people told me about the VIP gold 500W and that the reason.
Thanks,

 

[Gurudristi]

wow. what are u building man, triple core cpu, graphics card, additional cooling etc... sounds like a gaming rig.

Usually the power supply with an htpc will be fine. dont throw money by buying an expensive power supply. the one with an expensive htpc cab will be more than enough.

You are spending money on a separate Graphics card which is not needed et al, and planning to use the on-board audio card

Good cooling... why... why is normal cooling not enough. the fan in the htpc cab you mention will be enough. the only thing that matters is the fans shud be silent. I live in bangalore, weather is good, so I have no AC, means, ceiling fan is always on.. When the ceiling fan is on, I cant hear my htpc:lol:, and it has stock fans on iball baby cab...

Thanks buddy,

No graphic card... I will be using on board graphics of the Gigabyte.
No audio card as well.

This cabinet does not have PSU, so buying a 500W VIP Gold (Rs 2100/=).
Buying no extra cooling... will be using the cabinet cooling and I think they are quite silent.

Total Cost of HTPC:

Motherboard +Processor = Rs 13000/= (HDMI, DVI (on board graphice HD ATI Radeon 4200)(Realtek on board audio, SPDIF in/out).
RAM =Rs 5200/=
1TB HDD= Rs 4000/=
Cabinet = Rs 7500/=
PSU = Rs 2100/=
w/l Keyboard+ Mouse= ?? 4000 ( high end).....Please suggest.

Total Cost = approx Rs 34K

I hope it not an overkill...but certainly future proof for some time....
Hey guys do let me know since I don't want to be wasting money!

Will be using Windows Vista....

 

[thevortex]

This motherboard has a on board Reatek ALC 889 audio and in addtion to various other outputs has also SPDIF Out and In ports. I was wondering whether this will pass thru the AC3 and DTS signals.

I am not very sure what would be their sound quality, but I understand it supposed to be good....

It is much better than what used to be the de facto standard for on board sound systems. But it still will not match the quality of a separate sound card.

 

[kaushik]

7000 for cabinet, 13K for mobo cpu ... now dont throw water on the whole project by using an ordinary smps. Get a corsair 400W or similar that costs around 3000/- range.

Regards

vip is very good too,they have very silent PSUs and are used in good setups , only name sounds like a cheap PSU
coolermaster extreme PSU is in 1600 Rs range ..may cut costs

 

[doors666]

Thanks buddy,

No graphic card... I will be using on board graphics of the Gigabyte.
No audio card as well.

This cabinet does not have PSU, so buying a 500W VIP Gold (Rs 2100/=).
Buying no extra cooling... will be using the cabinet cooling and I think they are quite silent.

Total Cost of HTPC:

Motherboard +Processor = Rs 13000/= (HDMI, DVI (on board graphice HD ATI Radeon 4200)(Realtek on board audio, SPDIF in/out).
RAM =Rs 5200/=
1TB HDD= Rs 4000/=
Cabinet = Rs 7500/=
PSU = Rs 2100/=
w/l Keyboard+ Mouse= ?? 4000 ( high end).....Please suggest.

Total Cost = approx Rs 34K

I hope it not an overkill...but certainly future proof for some time....
Hey guys do let me know since I don't want to be wasting money!

Will be using Windows Vista....

5200 for RAM sounds a bit too much. 2gb 800mhz RAM should be enough in an HTPC. also, dual core 2.6ghz cpu should be enough for an htpc.
if you wish to use the htpc for music, you'll benefit a lot from a separate sound card. what amp and speakers will u be using.

 

[ajinkya]

Will be using Windows Vista....

Don't use Vista. Go for Windows7, which is now officially released in India. If the drivers are a problem, install XP and wait for Win7 drivers to stabilise. But do not use Vista since it is a pain to use and work around.
For the software side, see if you can install the ASIO drivers as well.

 

[Gurudristi]

It is much better than what used to be the de facto standard for on board sound systems. But it still will not match the quality of a separate sound card.

I have a Creative Audigy2 ZS 7.1 PCI sound card on my other home PC, which I am planning to upgrade next year. Probably, I can use this card for my sound on the HTPC planned. What do you recommend?

 

[gobble]

5200 for RAM sounds a bit too much. 2gb 800mhz RAM should be enough in an HTPC. also, dual core 2.6ghz cpu should be enough for an htpc.
if you wish to use the htpc for music, you'll benefit a lot from a separate sound card. what amp and speakers will u be using.

Correct! an DDR2 88mhz 2GB RAM stick should be around 1000/-. You need 2 sticks for optimal performance. If you are getting 1066mhz RAM then it may be higher. But 2x1GB sticks should be around 3200/- whereabouts not 5200/- if memory serves me correct.

Regards

 

[Gurudristi]

Don't use Vista. Go for Windows7, which is now officially released in India. If the drivers are a problem, install XP and wait for Win7 drivers to stabilise. But do not use Vista since it is a pain to use and work around.
For the software side, see if you can install the ASIO drivers as well.

Thanks a lot,
I think I will go with Windows XP Pro, I have heard a lot from other regarding Vista....sorry for my ignorance, but what is this ASIO drivers for ?

 

[Gurudristi]

5200 for RAM sounds a bit too much. 2gb 800mhz RAM should be enough in an HTPC. also, dual core 2.6ghz cpu should be enough for an htpc.
if you wish to use the htpc for music, you'll benefit a lot from a separate sound card. what amp and speakers will u be using.

Thanks a lot , it great you guys are around...I think i fully agree with you and gobble and I was going a little overboard..

I will now get a requote, this motherboard requires DDR3 RAM.

I think, I should save about Rs 750 on Motherboard+CPU bundle and
another Rs 2000 or so on RAM :yahoo: Let me rework and comback to you guys....

 

[Gurudristi]

Doors,

Sorry, I forgot to tell about my amp:

I am using the following for my HT:

Denon 3805 Receiver,
Wharfedale L,C,R,
Wharfedale DFS for Surround Back(LR)
B&W in wall : for main Left and right surround
Wharfedale SW150 sub

The Projector is LG XGA. Unfortunately, it has only component in(RGB), S-Video inputs projected on a 100" fixed screen.
plus on a Samsung HD ready LCD, which I am planning to upgrade to full HD.

 

[spirovious]

Hi,
few Q abt HTPC-

1.Is true HTPC case available in India,Mumbai?

now available in India -

Silver Stone

 

[spirovious]

a good HTPC case-

Thermaltake VF7001BNS DH101 HTPC Computer Case - Front LCD Display, Remote at TigerDirect.com

 

[crn12]

I am new to the PC hardware, & I am planning to build my FIRST desktop PC :yahoo: . I would appreciate if you advice if I assemble it or buy a branded one. I have a max budget of 35k. This PC would be mainly used to watch Movies, browse, basic work on MS office, some games (Not the high end ones) & Music
Appreciate if you tell me the best config I should be looking at, at this budget. I don't mind even if its a branded one.

 

[spirovious]

I am new to the PC hardware, & I am planning to build my FIRST desktop PC :yahoo: ..

Pls go thru this-

http://www.hifivision.com/home-theater-pc-htpc-media-pc/6273-plan-new-pc-setup-htpc.html

 

[spirovious]

a budget HD-GC from Sapphire-HD 5450 1GB DDR3 PCIE HDMI for Rs.3,650
SAPPHIRE HD 5450 1GB DDR3 PCIE HDMI

similar Rev-
Sapphire Radeon HD 5450 512MB DDR3 Review - Page 17
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Sapphire/HD_5450/33.html
http://www.ninjalane.com/reviews/video/sapphire-5450/page12.aspx

Details-
SAPPHIRE HD 5450 1GB DDR3 PCIE HDMI

 

[kpit]

Hi,

This discussion thread sounds interesting to me.
I am a new guy into the world of hifivision.

After seeing this forum discussion on HTPC, I also wanted to upgrade my PC to HTPC.

I bought my computer in around 2006.

It is Intel P4 processor.

Below are my motherboard specs.
Motherboard Name Asus P5GL-MX

Front Side Bus Properties:
Bus Type Intel NetBurst
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 134 MHz (QDR)
Effective Clock 535 MHz
Bandwidth 4282 MB/s

Memory Bus Properties:
Bus Type DDR SDRAM
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 167 MHz (DDR)
Effective Clock 334 MHz
Bandwidth 2676 MB/s

Chipset Bus Properties:
Bus Type Intel Direct Media Interface

Motherboard Physical Info:
CPU Sockets/Slots 1 Socket 775
Expansion Slots 3 PCI, 1 PCI-E x16
RAM Slots 4 DDR DIMM
Integrated Devices Audio, Video, LAN
Form Factor Micro ATX
Motherboard Size 240 mm x 240 mm
Motherboard Chipset i915GL
Extra Features Q-Fan

HDD is only 80GB. So I am planning to upgrade it with a 1.5TB hard disc.

I have a creative sound blaster 24 Bit 7.1 audio card.

Currently I dont have any HD video graphix card.
So I wanted to buy ATI Radeon 5670 video card.

Though my PSU is not so quite, I am planning to upgrade it later.

But after reading throught this complete thread...
I thought my preference to upgrade has to be as below:
PSU
HDD
Graphix card.

Can anyone please suggest any other things has to be upgraded in my PC or do you need any more information...


My basic purpose is onlt to watch HD movies and playing HD games.


I would like to make decision based on your valued suggestions.

I stay in Pune. If anyone knows a good dealer with better price offerings.. please sugest.


Regards
KPIT

 

[thevortex]

You would do well to upgrade your processor/motherboard first. If you upgrade the rest then the above two could become your bottlenecks and you may not reap the rewards for the spent money.

The Corei5 has got very good reviews and is a very strong chip. But the AMD Phenoms are extreme value for money. If you can get an AMD 965 Quad Black Edition nothing like that. And they are still cheaper than the Corei5's from Intel.

 

[kpit]

You would do well to upgrade your processor/motherboard first. If you upgrade the rest then the above two could become your bottlenecks and you may not reap the rewards for the spent money.

The Corei5 has got very good reviews and is a very strong chip. But the AMD Phenoms are extreme value for money. If you can get an AMD 965 Quad Black Edition nothing like that. And they are still cheaper than the Corei5's from Intel.

Hi,

My CPU/Motherboard details are as below:
P5GL-MX with Intel 915GL chipset inside is an all-in-one solution for LGA 775 Intel Pentium 4 CPU. It provides 800 MHz FSB, PCI Express architecture, Serial ATA interface, high performance integrated graphics engine, dual-channel DDR memory, 6-channel HD Audio CODEC and 10/100 LAN. It especially supports Intel EM64T and EIST technology, which provides you a 64-bit environment and an energy saving solution. P5GL-MX is the most rewarding 775 solution in 2005 with Intel 915GL chipset inside.

Asus P5GL-MX 800MHz FSB Intel 915GL Chipset Dual Channel DDR 400 Socket 775/T micro ATX Motherboard with LAN, SATA, PCI-Express 16X, On-Board Video, 6 Channel Audio, USB 2.0 (Retail) (Discontinued)


For ATI Radeon 5670, I have seen the system specifications as to have PCI Ex - 16.
I think my MB would support it without any problem.

Does the processor speed greatly impact the HD video quality... (for me HD Gaming is secondary option...)?
I am thinking about the cost effective option for HD videos without compromising the Video quality and the HD/5.1 audio capablities.

So leaving the Gaming capablities apart, can you suggest better cost effective solution (I am planning to limit my upgrade cost not more than INR 15000/-) for my PC upgrade..?

 

[thevortex]

My suggestion was based on your preference for HD gaming as well as HD videos. Yes your graphics processor will be used for the bulk of the activity. But your processor will certainly help.

The older Pentium 4s are no match for the newer range of processors. Of course if you are not getting into heavy duty ripping, archiving or transcoding (all normal when you are dealing with HD videos for the most part) then you may go with your present processor.

On another note, ASUS has a Xonar HDAV card which will take care of both you video as well as audio requirements in a single shot.