HTPC Configuration help

[kpkini]

Am planning to convert my old rig in to an HTPC ....will be using these components

CPU - AMD athlon X2 3ghz
Motherboard - Asus M2N 68 AM+
GPU - XFX GT 220
RAM - Transcend 1X2GB DDR 2 800hz
Monitor - AOC 19 inch, will connect it to Sony Bravia 32 inch later
SMPS - Stock , came with the local cabi
HDD - Seagate 160 gb, Buffalo external harddrive 1tb
Speakers - F & D 6000 , 5.1 set up ..

Will be using the HTPC for

Watching TV
HTPC
Watching HD movies
Occasional gaming if i am around - COD, CS

The HTPC will be connected to my AOC for the time being , will connect it to sony bravia 32 inch screen later on ..

Need help with the following components..

1)Cabinet - Zebronics Flair , had some doubts though, can it fit my CPU cooler that comes with AMD procy, and the expansion slot does not seem to fit my GPU either, but the vendor told me that i may be able to shorten the GPU panel length ??

2)TV tuner card - have no idea about which one to buy , the ones on flipkart look line ...need some suggestion regarding this ...
Motherboard - any compatible motherboard
AverMedia AVerTV SUPER 009 TV Tuner Card | Tv Tuner Card | Flipkart.com
AverMedia AVer EZMAKER SDK TV Tuner Card | Tv Tuner Card | Flipkart.com
Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1200 Media Center Kit TV Tuner Card | Tv Tuner Card | Flipkart.com
Frontech FT JIL 0606 Internal TV Tuner Card | Tv Tuner Card | Flipkart.com

The TV tuner card will be connected to the local cable and probably later to the set top box ..tata sky or something of that sort ..suggestions are welcome for the same ...
The tv tuner card is basically to watch the tv programmes, recording them is not a priority , neither will my parents be able to do it on their own ...

3)A good HTPC remote ... please suggest whr to buy them from ???
USB Wireless Remote Controller With Receiver for Laptops & Desktop pc | eBay
PC Remote Control And USB Receiver | eBay

anybody has any experience with these ?? are they worth buying ?

4)A wireless keyboard , preferably with lithium ion rechargeable batteries, dont want to keep changing the batteries...
Logitech K400 Wireless Keyboard | Keyboard | Flipkart.com
this one needs batteries to be replaced though ...

 

[vaibhavyagnik]

1. XFX GT220 seems to be of full height. it wont fit in zebronics flair
2. I choose AverMedia AVerTV SUPER 009 but basically all will work except the hauppage one. Hauppage requires a PCIe slot and your motherboard only has one which is used by GT220.
3. Go for the 2nd option. probably seen it on XBMC forums and was working
4. Go for logitech is cheaper and also has on-off switch on mouse to conserve battery. Buy high capacity rechargeable AA cells for mouse. Keyboard AAA wont drain that fast

 

[haisaikat]

unless this HTPC is also meant for gamin, you can combine 3 and 4 and get this Amazon.com: FAVI Entertainment Wireless Keyboard (Built-in TouchPad/Laser Pointer) - Black: Electronics will serve both purposes and is handy and good looking rig as compared to a bulky keyboard.

 

[haisaikat]

I am using this for my HTPC as remote HP OEM Windows 7 Vista XP Media Center MCE PC Remote Control and Infrared Recei | eBay

regarding your question 1, unless you are tight pressed for space in your HT Rack you may buy a more vertically taller HTPC cabinet. I have zebronics genesis which is of same vertical height as Flair since I had a space constraint. Looks good and cheaper than those imported ones that cost a fortune, running great so far. If your existing mobo is having the CPU cooler fitted on top of the proc measure the vertical height, if it is within 9 cm you should be good.

 

[kpkini]

1. XFX GT220 seems to be of full height. it wont fit in zebronics flair
2. I choose AverMedia AVerTV SUPER 009 but basically all will work except the hauppage one. Hauppage requires a PCIe slot and your motherboard only has one which is used by GT220.
3. Go for the 2nd option. probably seen it on XBMC forums and was working
4. Go for logitech is cheaper and also has on-off switch on mouse to conserve battery. Buy high capacity rechargeable AA cells for mouse. Keyboard AAA wont drain that fast

Thanks vaibhav for the valuable input... the seller told that the extra length of the card is due to the vga port which can be removed ... he showed it in a card ... once removed the vga port will be dangling inside the case or can be totally disconnected .. the card length becomes almost half the size ... and will fit in to the case ...

Wanted to know which media center u r using ..and how u have configured it for the tv tuner card ??

 

[kpkini]

Thanks Haisakat ... just checked out the keyboard on ebay ..FAVI Entertainment Wireless Keyboard (Built-in TouchPad/Laser Pointer) - B-VMR | eBay

Will opt for the logitech one since it will cater to occasional gaming ..

 

[kpkini]

I think the Flair looks more classy ..besides it has a cover for the cd rom ... also wanted to know what was the smps u used in your rig ?? was it the regular size ???

the flair was offered for 1.5k plus tax .. he also offered a smps along with the case but it was of smaller size than the regular ones, 400 watts .. was not sure about the smps whether it will be easier to get a replacement in case the first one goes kaput ....

 

[haisaikat]

The Genesis also has cover for optical drive. The Genesis has the biggest area (although same height) of all the compact zebronics series.

SMPS I am using the cheap one that came for around Rs 400, yes it is also 400W and is abit smaller, seems these are readily available in the market.

I think you can go for it, another consideration is that in case you want to use this as your music pc with dedicated sound card then at times I have read reviews that having a better power supply reduces noises in the sound output of stereo (no effect on movie that much) if you are playing via good stereo amp + stereo speakers. Just though would let you know so that you can do some research on that ground too.

 

[kpkini]

what type of smps is it haisaikat ??? is it available on flipkart ??? any good brands making smps of this type???

 

[haisaikat]

Yes it is available on flipkart Corsair CMPSU-430CXV2UK 430 Watts PSU | Psu | Flipkart.com but I recommend youy check the dimesions from here and check whether there is room to host this insde Flair. I can confirm at least the height is okay. Remember that in most Zebronics slim cabinets the power supply is in the front left corner and the power cable goes out from the left side (more towards the front of the cabinet)

 

[haisaikat]

One other consideration would be that if you have future plans to install ASUS Xonar type of Soundcards for using this as music PC you may have trouble fitting your full height cards in slim cabinets like this unless you plan to use a PCI Riser Card / Cable to put the card in a horizontal manner inside or even outside the cabinet.

 

[kpkini]

Thanks a lot haisaikat .... will probably go for flair or genesis ...

 

[haisaikat]

Thanks a lot haisaikat .... will probably go for flair or genesis ...

Please verify the wight and depth of the power supply in cabinet before ordering the PSU from flipkart just to be on the safer side.

 

[vaibhavyagnik]

My primary display is LCD. Cable directly connects to the TV. I dont have a TV tuner as I dont want to record programs. If you are going to modify the card, preserve the full height adapter. will help when you sell the card. Be very careful with dimensions while oredering stuff. I mostly use XBMC and KMPlayer for watching movies

 

[kpkini]

Thanks a lot for the help guys ....
Ordered the remote USB Wireless Remote Controller With Receiver for Laptops & Desktop pc | eBay

Works fine ... very fragile built , looks cheap & plasticky !! ...but gets the work done....

 

[kpkini]

Regarding the cards ... i guess i shall hook up the cable directly to the tv as u have done vaibhav , since i dont need to record the programs...

As for the other cards ,,most of them look like they can be accommodated in the expansion slots if i change the full length adapter to smaller one .. any idea where i might be able to get it guys ???

 

[haisaikat]

Regarding the cards ... i guess i shall hook up the cable directly to the tv as u have done vaibhav , since i dont need to record the programs...

As for the other cards ,,most of them look like they can be accommodated in the expansion slots if i change the full length adapter to smaller one .. any idea where i might be able to get it guys ???

@kpkini, I opened my HTPC cabinet yesterday and measured the dimensions of my slim PSU, it is 3 inch x 4.5 inch x 5 inch (H x W x D) since it is less than 4 inch easily fits inside my slim cabinet.

Regarding your other query, what are you looking for low height cards Graphics Card / Sound Card or capability to fit full sized cards inside low profile cabinet?
The former is possible with low profile editions of cards (search in google with this phrase added) whose PCB itself is low profile but sometime comes with a full height bracket. If your intension is the later one then be careful in choosing the card as if the pcb itself is full height it will be difficult to fit inside slim cabinet with the exception of PCI / PCIe Riser cards / cables but even then you ought to have horizontal space for placing your cards inside cabinet without colliding with other compionents

 

[baijuxavior]

Thanks a lot for the help guys ....
Ordered the remote USB Wireless Remote Controller With Receiver for Laptops & Desktop pc | eBay

Works fine ... very fragile built , looks cheap & plasticky !! ...but gets the work done....

I would stay away from this remote. The buttons like power etc. are not configurable and sends keyboard signals. But there is a work around using eventghost which I have discussed in my E350 HTPC thread.

What you need is RC6 or MCE remote but these are expensive as you will need to import it from ebay.com. In a few days I may put my HP MCE remote for sale.

 

[mowgli80]

If you plan to run xbmc on ur HTPC ... The xbmc android remote is pretty awesome. You would be able to control ur htpc through ur phone. That is one way you can consider instead of buying a dedicated remote

 

[kpkini]

@ Haisaikat .. thanks a lot for all the info .... my card is a low profile card ... so all i need is to change the bracket from large one to low profile ... it will fit in to my cabi.... besides the other cards are also the same ..with smaller pcb .... so i guess they should be able to fit in to the cab ....