Guidelines in building an HTPC Machine

[mheloy]

Gurus,

what are the things you consider in building your HTPC machine?
I planning to build one pero di ko alam kung anong mga criteria of building one.

Thanks

[av_phile1]

Would love to hear some also. And maybe you could include the brands,  prices and where available.  That would help a lot.  Also, I don't know if this early you could already include some sound cards and drives that can process HD-DVDs and Blu-Ray.

[shotgun]

I've been planning to build an HTPC for awhile now. I've played with Windows Media Center PC demos and here's what I'm aiming for:


1. Small/copact casing (SFF, micro-atx cases) - a lot of samples are on the net
2. Limit the number of fans to lessen noise- For Graphic Cards and CPU use larger heatsinks with pipeline technology
3. 2GB of RAM
4. Asus Media drives - quitest of them all
5. Dedicated sound card - at least a Sound Blaster Audigy
6. GPU - silent cards, mid-priced (about 10-12K) wiht DVI output
7. CPU - still researching on the best
8. Windows Media Center package - App, wireless Keyboard and remote
9. Tuner cards with dual input - so I can watch and record 2 different channels at the same time
10. large HDD - 250GB SATA at least

That's it so far. Any other suggestions>

[mheloy]

I've been planning to build an HTPC for awhile now. I've played with Windows Media Center PC demos and here's what I'm aiming for:


1. Small/copact casing (SFF, micro-atx cases) - a lot of samples are on the net
2. Limit the number of fans to lessen noise- For Graphic Cards and CPU use larger heatsinks with pipeline technology
3. 2GB of RAM
4. Asus Media drives - quitest of them all
5. Dedicated sound card - at least a Sound Blaster Audigy
6. GPU - silent cards, mid-priced (about 10-12K) wiht DVI output
7. CPU - still researching on the best
8. Windows Media Center package - App, wireless Keyboard and remote
9. Tuner cards with dual input - so I can watch and record 2 different channels at the same time
10. large HDD - 250GB SATA at least

That's it so far. Any other suggestions>

sir,

for sound card what are the qualities you are looking for? whats SPDIF for? why SB Audigy?
for Graphics card same question??? output for DVI, Component, HDMI etc? can play HDTV 480p,720p,1080i,1080p?
Intel or AMD? which kind of processor?

Thanks

[slowhand]

Hope the experts can also include guidelines on:

- how to bring down noise levels of PCs
- cooling options, esp. those that do not make the units more noisy

TIA

[shotgun]

Hope the experts can also include guidelines on:

- how to bring down noise levels of PCs
- cooling options, esp. those that do not make the units more noisy

TIA

- user less and larger fans. a 120mm make less noise but will move the same air as 2 80mm fans.
- use fan controllers and temp monitors. you can monitor and adjust the fan speeds to lessen sound
- user tower type/heatsink CPU coolers than have larger fans. (zalman, arctic, thermaltake, etc.)
- use software that can monitor and change CPU fan speeds (or CPUs that adjust their own temp)
- proper internal wiring for more efficient airflow which makes efficient cooling
- change GPU fans to 0-noise heatsinks such as Zalman (there are cards that are already 0-noise out of the box)
- use noise absorbing material (though this could raise your temps since the case will radiate less heat)
- use low noise Power Supplies with larger or no fans
- efficient fan placements (blow holes, rear, side) depending on the case, placement of case, etc.

I hope this helps!

[shotgun]

sir,

for sound card what are the qualities you are looking for? whats SPDIF for? why SB Audigy?
for Graphics card same question??? output for DVI, Component, HDMI etc? can play HDTV 480p,720p,1080i,1080p?
Intel or AMD? which kind of processor?

Thanks

- for the sound card, I've used built-in, SB blaster live and Audigy. So far, I like the audigy's sound the best. Clean, without noise, etc.
- graphic cards should be quiet and be able bhurn out 1920x 1080 resolutions for 1080i. This would also mean that your monitor/plasma/CRT should be able to show these resolutions as well. For the output, it would depend on your display type.
- for the CPU, i'm still undecided. I'm looking at CPUs that self-control their temps for lower power consumption and fan noise (intel step-down, throttling, etc.) budget also plays a factor. I read somewhere that you need at least a P4 2.8Ghz for HTPCs

I hope this helps.

[av_phile1]

Are there HDMI and HDCP compliant video graphics card and monitors out there?

Will the new Windows VISTA contain media players that can play Blu ray and HD-DVD formats, assuming you can get 2 drives for both formats?  Are the new versions of PowerDVD and WinDVD capable of playing both formats?  Can they still run on Windows XP?

Is there already a soundcard that can support DolbyTrueHD, DD Plus and DTS-HD via HDMI 1.3?

TIA 

[atomicat10]

If you're going SFF (Small Form Factor) Shuttle XPC SD11G5 is the way to go. Practically noise-free.



Review Link:http://www.pcstats.com/artvnl.cfm?articleID=1905

P26,xxx locally

[mheloy]

mahal pala ng mga casing na ito... wala bang mura?

yung S/PDIF ba is parang optical/RCA out ng mga DVD player? so raw data ang lumalabas dito tapos yung receiver ko na ang mag play ng sound?

[atomicat10]

mahal pala ng mga casing na ito... wala bang mura?

yung S/PDIF ba is parang optical/RCA out ng mga DVD player? so raw data ang lumalabas dito tapos yung receiver ko na ang mag play ng sound?

Cheapest is around 10k

S/PDIF is the same with digital outs ng dvd player either coaxial or toslink then connect to receiver for amplification.

[mheloy]

Cheapest is around 10k

S/PDIF is the same with digital outs ng dvd player either coaxial or toslink then connect to receiver for amplification.

so any motherboard na may S/PDIF is safe na in terms of sound coming out... I plan to connect it to my receiver.

what about video??? anong klaseng chips ang pang HD na kaya hanggang 1080p?

Thanks

[Vincent]

sir you could try to download this for your pc...

BR and HD Advisor - automatic check to see if your system is ready for Blu-ray and HD DVD.  This tool also gives few suggestion how to make your htpc BR and HD compliant.
http://www.cyberlink.com/english/support/bdhd_support/index.jsp

http://download.cyberlink.com/ftpdload/trial/BD_HD_Advisor.exe

I hope this doesnt break any pinoydvd rules. 

[MAtZTER]

I am hoping to assemble a  HTPC w/ HDMI (Audio & Video) capable motherboard.

I was told that regular HTPC couldnt handle the high bitrates of the HD audios, unless you get some special sound card pa, etc etc. 

[doughn]

ano store po dapat bumili ng mga stuff for htpc coz some store offer only regular pc stuff lang. TIA

[GneW]

here's a guide to building HTPC from AVS Forum
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=940972

[ericag_ph]

I know this has been asked before...not sure what the answer was...

What's a good sound card that has either fiber optic or digital coax as output?  5.1 is fine

[Clondalkin]

I know this has been asked before...not sure what the answer was...
What's a good sound card that has either fiber optic or digital coax as output?  5.1 is fine

I like this Onkyo.  SE-200PCI Ltd.  or its older sibling SE-200PCI

and this one from Egosys:  Audiotrak Prodigy HD2 Advance

But I'm still stuck with cheap Soundblaster Audigy 2 Value and/or the on-board sound.   

[kapau]

hi guys, i saw a HTPC casing and the powersupply is so small and its only 200+w i think kaya na ba yan for htpc or do i need a 500w powersupply? also un card slot nya pag tingin ko sa likod ng casing parang half lang ng the usual card. 

[smoothtalker]

buy a matx mobo with built in gpu that can handle decoding hd output. for AMD, get the mobo with 780 chipsets. for intel procs, get a mobo with g45 chipsets. that would mean you wouldnt need a dedicated/separate video card.