Topic: Share your HTPC Setup

[ricky]

wow kato sige nga try to ask how much the damage would be if they're going to dispose it na And from the list you suggested, wala ako napansin na video and sound cards   or built in na yon sa motherboard?

[Kato]

Hey Ricky, the mATX DFI RS482 motherboard has on-board video and 7.1 channel audio na. Pero if you're going for upgradability, siguro settle for an ATX board and casing. Sexy lang talaga ang mga mATX casings. So siguro try to weigh which route you wanna go... sexy (but on a diet) or fat (but strong and mean)? hehehe

[ricky]

Hey Ricky, the mATX DFI RS482 motherboard has on-board video and 7.1 channel audio na. Pero if you're going for upgradability, siguro settle for an ATX board and casing. Sexy lang talaga ang mga mATX casings. So siguro try to weigh which route you wanna go... sexy (but on a diet) or fat (but strong and mean)? hehehe

Bro syempre love your own,doon ako sa FAT strong but not mean,meaningful pwede pa Bro sa casing pwede na sa akin kahit yung mga tower lang kasi I've noticed lately na magaganda na din yung dating nya,i just want it in pure black na minimalist lang

[jpadua]

I have a bnew Xmystique 7.1 with Dolby digital live encoding... google about it nalang to find out about it.  PM if your interested nalang.. I brought in 10 of these... only have 2 more left.

[voj]

HTPC Guru JPadua is helping me build my HTPC.  So far, I've already bought the items below.  My sister and her whole family will be coming home from the States for a visit end of May and will be bringing all these stuff for me (saving shipping costs as they virtually have nothing much to bring, and hopefully, no taxes).

I'm already excited but Jay cautioned me to wait for the items first before we buy the other stuff cause there might be compatibility issues.  Not to mention warranty issues.  I bought item 2 and 3 at Ebay.

Sorry if I feel like a small kid showing off what I bought.  But I'm just too excited with this new project.  With more members joining this thread maybe you can give me more suggestions, additions, and things to consider for this project.


Thanks. (special mention to JPadua who graciously demoed his own unit that made me decide to embark on this journey)







1. Dell™ UltraSharp™ 2005FPW 20.1-inch Flat Panel LCD Monitor (from Dell USA)



2. SilverStone Lascala SST-LC14M w/VFD and Remote, Black (from ebay usa)



3. Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 250 (from ebay usa)



4. Auzentech HDA Digital XMystique 7.1 Gold Sound Card (from jpadua)



5. BTC 9019URF Wireless Multimedia USB Keyboard with Joystick (from Octagon Mega)

[ricky]

Congrats sir voj You've made the right decision

[jpadua]

Vojie, your Dell monitor is the bomb!!! I just saw one this evening, Jambam was nice enough to show me his system... all I can say is wow! what a monitor..... you really got a good deal on that one Voj!  You've really got to see that monitor in action watching HD clips... simply amazing.

Jambam, thanks for the DVI to hdmi cables and the "other stuff"  

[ronjet]

congrats sir voj



i just saw lang nga pala last march30 sa Octagon(tama ba?yung sa center 4thflr) MEgamall.dami pa nilang stock dun na BTC wireless RF keyboard... dont know lang if may stock pa ngayon... box is color blu and yellow ata.

[voj]

congrats sir voj



i just saw lang nga pala last march30 sa Octagon(tama ba?yung sa center 4thflr) MEgamall.dami pa nilang stock dun na BTC wireless RF keyboard... dont know lang if may stock pa ngayon... box is color blu and yellow ata.

Thanks, I'll try Megamall later.  Told my sis to hold off ordering the keyboard while I look if Mega has one.


To Jpadua, ricky, ronjet

Nakakainip waiting 

[jpadua]

nakakainip talaga,  I have all my parts waiting... case nalang...

Athlon 3500 venice
1GB Dual Channel Geil Value
200gb Seagate Sata
DFI RS482 Infinity
Sapphire Theatrix Theater550

oh the wait is agony hehehe....

[voj]

nakakainip talaga,  I have all my parts waiting... case nalang...

Athlon 3500 venice
1GB Dual Channel Geil Value
200gb Seagate Sata
DFI RS482 Infinity
Sapphire Theatrix Theater550

oh the wait is agony hehehe....

ako naman yung monitor and case, nasa sister ko na kaya lang sa MAy ko pa mahawakan.

Jay, can you pm me individual cost of the first four items on your list.

[rene_canlas]

Just bought 2 more Western Digital 250Gb drives from TPC.  I plan to set up a 500Gb File Server for my HTPC.

[jpadua]

Just bought 2 more Western Digital 250Gb drives from TPC.  I plan to set up a 500Gb File Server for my HTPC.

Hi Rene,

please report how those drives do... I was planning on getting the 250GB WD but I got dettered by the warranyty compared to Seagates 5yr warranty... How's the speed, Noise Etc. ?

[voj]

congrats sir voj



i just saw lang nga pala last march30 sa Octagon(tama ba?yung sa center 4thflr) MEgamall.dami pa nilang stock dun na BTC wireless RF keyboard... dont know lang if may stock pa ngayon... box is color blu and yellow ata.

got a BTC keyboard at Octagon Mega.  Thanks for the tip.  Meron pang stocks available doon. P2047.00

[ronjet]

Thanks, I'll try Megamall later. Told my sis to hold off ordering the keyboard while I look if Mega has one.


To Jpadua, ricky, ronjet

Nakakainip waiting

Sir Voj, sigurado namang sulit yan pagdumating na!!! konting araw nalang naman !!!

got a BTC keyboard at Octagon Mega. Thanks for the tip. Meron pang stocks available doon. P2047.00

NICE!...congrats sir voj!

[ronjet]

nakakainip talaga, I have all my parts waiting... case nalang...

Athlon 3500 venice
1GB Dual Channel Geil Value
200gb Seagate Sata
DFI RS482 Infinity
Sapphire Theatrix Theater550

oh the wait is agony hehehe....

Master JAY, pwede pa pm me din damage of these parts so i can have an idea po.. thanks po

[voj]

What do you guys think of this case for a possible HTPC?

[agmjr]

hi! share ko lang for your comments and recommendations.  i have the following specs in my computer:
athlon 64 sitting on k8n neo platinum mobo
1 Gb ram (512x2)
160Gb SATA HDD
20Gb IDE HDD (boot)
lg dvd/cr-r/w combo drive
winfast tv 2000 expert
ati radeon 9600 video card
sound blaster audigy

i am still not able to use it as an htpc kasi gamit ko pa sa work but will be doing so in the near future.  anyways, i sometimes experience "freezing" in the display...minsan matagal ang reaction ng computer especially multi-tasking of various office softwares. i figure na if use this as a htpc, baka mag-hang lalo.  ano kaya ang kulang ko at bakit parang hindi seamless ang dating ng video display? dagdag pa kaya ako ng ram or my video card is not up to the task?
do you have any suggestions on how to improve this system for a htpc set-up including the price for budgetary purposes?  do you have any suggestions for a htpc case na affordable? tia.

agmjr

[rene_canlas]

Hi Rene,

please report how those drives do... I was planning on getting the 250GB WD but I got dettered by the warranyty compared to Seagates 5yr warranty... How's the speed, Noise Etc. ?

Will do. This is my second and third drive actually.  I put the 1st one directly onto my HTPC.  Performance is good.  Can't tell you much about the noise since all sounds from the PC are drowned out by the fans

[purple_jedi]

What do you guys think of this case for a possible HTPC?

ok yan voj, ha? is it available locally? want to build an HTPC myself but can't seem to find a good looking case. congrats on your upcoming toy 

[Kato]

What do you guys think of this case for a possible HTPC?

Would look great with your gaming gear (kinda looks a bit like an Xbox 360), but too fancy/toyish if you lay it together with serious Audio/Video gear. 

[voj]

ok yan voj, ha? is it available locally? want to build an HTPC myself but can't seem to find a good looking case. congrats on your upcoming toy 

saw this at HMR, kaya lang they're selling complete CPU units.  Visit jpadua's site - there's a lot of info there on building HTPC.

[jackryan]

saw this at HMR, kaya lang they're selling complete CPU units.  Visit jpadua's site - there's a lot of info there on building HTPC.

Voj,

How much do they sell this kind of Dell PC's nowadays at HMR ?

[voj]

Voj,

How much do they sell this kind of Dell PC's nowadays at HMR ?

tag price is P10k+ change. Although kaunti na lang available.  Most of the dell optiplex i saw where already awaiting shipment and marked sold.

[jpadua]

What do you guys think of this case for a possible HTPC?

ok yung case ah.. parang sarap i mod... paint it silver parang ngang xbox 360.. I guess the innards can be replaced by more high performance hardware for gaming... hmmm

[jpadua]

Will do. This is my second and third drive actually.  I put the 1st one directly onto my HTPC.  Performance is good.  Can't tell you much about the noise since all sounds from the PC are drowned out by the fans

Thanks! hmmm I'll try the WD 250 Sata... may 8mb cache yun so it should be fast.

[jpadua]

hi! share ko lang for your comments and recommendations.  i have the following specs in my computer:
athlon 64 sitting on k8n neo platinum mobo
1 Gb ram (512x2)
160Gb SATA HDD
20Gb IDE HDD (boot)
lg dvd/cr-r/w combo drive
winfast tv 2000 expert
ati radeon 9600 video card
sound blaster audigy

i am still not able to use it as an htpc kasi gamit ko pa sa work but will be doing so in the near future.  anyways, i sometimes experience "freezing" in the display...minsan matagal ang reaction ng computer especially multi-tasking of various office softwares. i figure na if use this as a htpc, baka mag-hang lalo.  ano kaya ang kulang ko at bakit parang hindi seamless ang dating ng video display? dagdag pa kaya ako ng ram or my video card is not up to the task?
do you have any suggestions on how to improve this system for a htpc set-up including the price for budgetary purposes?  do you have any suggestions for a htpc case na affordable? tia.

agmjr

athlon 64 sitting on k8n neo platinum mobo
1 Gb ram (512x2)
160Gb SATA HDD
20Gb IDE HDD (boot)
lg dvd/cr-r/w combo drive
winfast tv 2000 expert
ati radeon 9600 video card
sound blaster audigy

Actually thats already a good HTPC setup! hardware wise... if you were to convert it to an HTPC I suggest a complete system wipe... re install the os and only install codecs that are nessesary for playback... Otherwise you'll bloat the system.  Also very important if you are using an A64 install the Athlon64 Driver which can be downloaded from AMDs website... I didnt know I was missing so much just because I didnt install the driver.  Performance boost especially when playing HD video clips.  I dont have an form of HD acceleration in my card but I can play TS files and WMV-HD with only 60% CPU usage... before the driver I was hitting 80-90%.

[MAtZTER]

Hi guys,

I have set aside a budget for a CD player. But I am also interested in HTPC, but my priority and budget  is allocated for a CD player.

Is there a way that I can convert a HTPC to a good CD player? Say by using a good PC DAC? Is there such a thing in the local market?

I am seriously considering this option. I think it would save me a lot (depends on the cost of the DAC) and I would get both a good CD and DVD player.

Thanks

[jambam]

Matz,

There are hi -end pc soundcards for proffesional use ( expensive) , but in -itself the pc case is a noisy environment , so the real high end audio stuff is done w/ an outboard analog section .

But another thing you can do is just use the htpc as a cd transport , where you get bit-perfect output by using the appropriate sound card ( around P1.5k)  and just connect via spdif to a external dac or your reciever's decoder w/c ever is better

[agmjr]

@sir jpadua,
as always sir, thank you po sa tips and advice