Putting together an HTPC...what do you think?

S

suryad

Veteran
I want this to go with my impending purchase of the Sony XBR8, and PS3 and so you will note I did not bother with getting a bluray drive for the machine.

Case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163117

Motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121059R

CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

Hard drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136313

PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256027

Memory:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146726

Keyboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126008

Video card (HDMI capable):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131129

Of course suggestions/recommendations are welcome. I am not sure about what OS to go with. I have been hearing decent things about Windows Media Center. I am not sure if there is an x64 version of it or not. Still researching about that. I am intending this machine to be mainly a video watching machine, with some gaming thrown in once in a while.

Thanks in advance guys :)
 
Windows Vista Ultimate includes Media Center application and is available in x64.
 
suryad said:
Thanks didnt know that. :) I kinda want to avoid Vista though...prejudice and what not. I would like to stick with good old XP.
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I've been using Vista-32 since beta. I needed to add another GB of RAM (2 GB total) to my old Socket 939 Opteron-based system to accommodate the additional resource requirements, but that was about it. It has run perfectly fine for me since. I don't get why people have such a negative view of it. I mean, I 'm aware of the mistakes MS made launching it, but now, on new hardware, I'd consider it a no-brainer to go with it over XP /shrugs.

I'm also currently running the Windows 7 Beta x64 and liking it quite a bit. Maybe give this a shot until it releases and then determine if you want to go with that or XP or MCE 2005.
 
Why bother with a HTPC at all if your buying a PS3? Make sure it's on a gigabit network and stream movies directly from any PC, as long as it has Media Center (which even Vista Premium has). Don't have any issues with streaming 1080P 14Gb movies through the PS3 from my workstation.

Of course if you want to use it to play game occasionally (as you stated) and maybe to be storage for the actual media itself so it's not on your own workstation, then go ahead.
 
Yeah why bother with a HTPC that will play everthing without a problem if you can get a console and spend half your time trying to get it to play your files.

I would get XP instead of vista. Dont pay more for the media center if you can download MediaPortal for free. That will probably work alot better too as it will use codecs and other software on your pc to play files. Im not sure what MS did to vista media center but XP MCE cant play alot of files or plays them with half the options (no audiostream or subtitle stream available for selection while it is there). Has been working perfectly fine on my HTPC for over a year now.

I would get a MCE remote with it though. Makes life alot easier (and for managing the HTPC just use the xp multi user logon hack so you can just RDP to it while not having to log out the HTPC user). Too bad the MS ones are impossible to get. Mine died 2 weeks ago but I cant find a new one anywhere.

As far as the hardware goes, maybe it is a option to go for the low power athlon x2 models? That way you can even let the system on without hearing it and if you get one of those mainboards with the onboard hdmi connector you can use that for the 1080p playback so you wont need a powerfull cpu. Unless you want to play downloaded 1080p content ofcourse than it wont be fast enough (atleast my 4450 isnt). Its alot cheaper too. You can get such a mainboard, the cpu and ram for the price of the cpu you now selected.
 
suryad said:
Thanks didnt know that. :) I kinda want to avoid Vista though...prejudice and what not. I would like to stick with good old XP.
Click to expand...

I really think you need to bit the bullet and move. Vista is just outright better, at least if your not trying to use ancient unsupported hardware.

Home Premium OEM won't set you back much and given it comes with MC built in, it will no doubt be infinatly more compatable/stable than the niche product that is the XP version of Media Centre.
 
Vista is pretty much a no brainer for an HTPC. Install it, install some codecs and all done. Can't imagine anything being simpler.

Regards,
SB
 
tongue_of_colicab said:
Yeah why bother with a HTPC that will play everthing without a problem if you can get a console and spend half your time trying to get it to play your files.
Click to expand...

Because I can't justify to myself to spend that amount on a HTPC just for convenience sake because the PS3 I already have will stream just about everything immediately apart from MKV's, which even at 10gb take like 10 minutes to convert.

If I had the money to dedicate to a nice HTPC I would do it, no doubt about it. It's just that many are not aware how compatible the PS3 is for streaming different types of files and codecs via MC.

But I guess when buying an XBR8 and PS3, money isn't really an issue :D
 
Yes its capable, but not that capable. I mean, it wont do .iso, it wont do .vob properly and that are the 2 formats you'll get when you download a dvd. And with current internet connections (atleast around here) I dont see why I would go for anything less than a dvd. So that already makes the ps3 about as usefull for mediaplayback as a brick. And why would you want to convert? its 2009, im not going to bother with converting anymore as there isnt any reason why a machine like the ps3 wouldnt be able to play .mkv other than somebody not writing the software.

Also price isnt that much of a issue. For less than 150 euro you'll have a mainbord capable of 1080p playback inc hdmi connection, a low power silent 2 core cpu and a couple of gig of ram.

It might be a waste of money if you only use it from time to time, than a ps3 will do. Though instead of using a ps3 i'd buy a tv out cable for 10 euro's and just play things from my pc.
 
Have you tried streaming solutions such as PS3 Media Server ? I'm told it works great with BluRay rips (h264/x264 inside MKV).
 
Hey BRiT thanks for that link. I have not tried that. But I will check it out. My main reason for the HTPC was the playback of mkv files. The PS3 cant do it yet unfortunately. Also I was going to go for the large storage option too which the PS3 just does not have either. It only sports a 160 gb drive whereas I am nearly filling up my TB drive.

And my curiosity about Vista has been piqued and so I will just grab myself a copy of it. Time to break that prejudice of mine :) .

I am gonna check out PS3 Media Server. Thanks again for all the replies guys!
 
2K RPM FANs? Those are going to have to be undervolted to 5V to be quiet. Talking about noise ... your video card seems a poor choice in that regard too (at least with the stock heatsink). Using a stock intel heatsink is not a great idea either.
 
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suryad said:
Hey BRiT thanks for that link. I have not tried that. But I will check it out. My main reason for the HTPC was the playback of mkv files. The PS3 cant do it yet unfortunately. Also I was going to go for the large storage option too which the PS3 just does not have either. It only sports a 160 gb drive whereas I am nearly filling up my TB drive.

And my curiosity about Vista has been piqued and so I will just grab myself a copy of it. Time to break that prejudice of mine :) .

I am gonna check out PS3 Media Server. Thanks again for all the replies guys!
Click to expand...

Heh, I wish I only had a TB of media. :) I'm currently in the process of re-aquiring all my Japanese anime series in 720p or 1080p. Heck just for the Ghost in the Shell series and movies, that's already over 50 GB. /sigh. Thankfully not all series have been re-released in hi-def yet. :p

Add to that my love of old horror movies, old B&W movies, post apocalyptic movies...yadda yadda yadda. Thankfully however, I doubt there will ever be 720p or 1080p of some really old "crappy yet good" movies that hadn't even been rereleased on DVD. :)

BTW - I use a setup of WHS (Windows Home Server) and Vista machines for all my multimedia needs. WHS contains the media server which the cable TV goes into. Then serves it all up to any connected Vista machine I have. Laptops, desktops, TVs, you name it. Seemless video anywhere in the house on any machine. and currently 12 TBs (although that's the HD TBs not actual computer TBs. :p)

Regards,
SB
 
The case seems kind of pricey for something not that special to me. It is just a regular case laid on its side mostly.

You can get an even cheaper video card if you want. There are ones with passive heat sinks that are good enough for decoding HD video streams. It depends if you want to game on it as well though.

Let us know how it works out though, especially the keyboard I am interested in as I want a new one for my htpc (I have an RF one and it won't work from 6 feet away).
 
Sxotty said:
The case seems kind of pricey for something not that special to me. It is just a regular case laid on its side mostly.

You can get an even cheaper video card if you want. There are ones with passive heat sinks that are good enough for decoding HD video streams. It depends if you want to game on it as well though.

Let us know how it works out though, especially the keyboard I am interested in as I want a new one for my htpc (I have an RF one and it won't work from 6 feet away).
Click to expand...

I have used the keyboard before at a friends house and in fact at work we have a conference room with a wall mounted 46 inch lcd display that is attached to a computer as well. So for convienience we have that keyboard setup and it works really well. I think if you get it you will not be disappointed.

I have been looking at various softwares like Tversity and ps3 home media server, so I am going to be a bit patient in seeing how they develop and improve over the next few months instead of splashing out cash for an all new machine. I would much rather upgrade my video cards on my existing rig in the sig :) with that money instead! But I definitely vouch for that keyboard!

And to respond to SB's post :) I think my anime collection is around 550 gb and thats with me being picky and only keeping the ones that i will probably rewatch or I really enjoyed. I am also grabbing them in bluray format and Code Geass, Gundam 00, Macross Frontier, etc etc are still not finished and are being collected as they get released so that should be around 50 more gb right there once they get done! I dont collect movies for some reason so I tend to buy them on Bluray. But to your point I have heard of WHS and never really mucked around with it. I guess what I am trying to say is I would really love to avoid buying an HTPC since I would rather upgrade my current machine and have it be the jack of all trades...well bottomline is I am going to sit still for a bit more :) Thanks for all the posts though fellas. I learned a lot!
 
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Yeah I'm not a huge fan of physical media other than as a backup. Hence, my entire DVD collection is stored in my closet while the movies themselves reside on my HD.

As for Anime, American translated official releases usually lag the actual shows by quite a bit. So more often then not I get fansubbed packages off the net. And if the show is special enough I'll grab the physical media when it gets to the states. Again usually for archival purposes more than anything else. And the obvious one, which is to support those that brought the anime to us in the first place, publishing houses, studios, artists, whatnot. They deserve to get paid for bringing out stuff I'd otherwise not get to see.

Regards,
SB
 
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