Topic: Share your HTPC Setup

[dyerds]

It's more in playing games (Xbox Live and PC games) sir since I already have a separate HT setup but I want both to be integrated.

[glacierfrost]

Go with a mid-level graphics card (8-10k) as it will be the most critical factor in playing games. Make sure your get the latest models as there are a lot of older generation graphics card that is priced almost the same with the newer generation cards. One of the advantages of the new generation video cards is h.264 hardware acceleration. It h.264 acceleration will be important if you will be using your htpc for viewing blu-ray or hd-dvd as it will take the processing load away from the cpu and into the video card. Also try to look for a video card with hdmi to make your connections easier, but it is not necessary as you can use dvi-hdmi adapters anyway.

[Clondalkin]

FYI a 7600GT class graphics card is the minimum requirement for HD DVD and BD playback.

[glacierfrost]

I personally wouldn't go with the minimum 7600GT. You should get the 8600GT for the same price. What you get with the 8600GT is a faster card for gaming, DX10 and Full H.264 Decode Acceleration. Although if you're really into gaming you should get the HD 3850.

Here is a nice article on hardware decode acceleration on the HD content.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3047&p=1

Even an old P4 can play blu-ray or hd dvd as long as the video card can decode the HD content on the GPU.

[dyerds]

Ano po ba maganda brand?  And how about for sound card and mobo? What do you recommend. I saw this at tipidpc - AMD X2 4400 + EMAXX EMX-NF7050HD-PRO + 1gb Corsair Value ram ddr2 667 - P6800. Okay na po ba 'to? Or should I go higher?

[glacierfrost]

Ano po ba maganda brand?  And how about for sound card and mobo? What do you recommend. I saw this at tipidpc - AMD X2 4400 + EMAXX EMX-NF7050HD-PRO + 1gb Corsair Value ram ddr2 667 - P6800. Okay na po ba 'to? Or should I go higher?

Any brand will do, just make sure the shop you get it from has good after sales service. The more expensive brands like bfg or evga is usually built better and clocked higher. It will be up to you if it's worth the extra money or not. If your not specially picky about sound then you can use the hdmi out of your video card, all the HD 3xxx has built in 5.1 audio.

Not really sure with the amd 4400. If you can, you should go for a better cpu and more ram. You should have at least 2gb of ram. Regarding the mobo, don't sweat about the mobo. In my experience the mobo doesn't add much performance. It's really the cpu, ram and video card that affects game speed the most.

[ericag_ph]

Out of curiosity, I tried the settings below... worked very well on a .avi animated movie (Gummi Bears) that had very ugly artifacts.

But it softened a non-animated decent quality  divx/avi movie too much.  In the end, I decided not to use the settings below.

FFDShow Settings

[dyerds]

Any brand will do, just make sure the shop you get it from has good after sales service. The more expensive brands like bfg or evga is usually built better and clocked higher. It will be up to you if it's worth the extra money or not. If your not specially picky about sound then you can use the hdmi out of your video card, all the HD 3xxx has built in 5.1 audio.

Not really sure with the amd 4400. If you can, you should go for a better cpu and more ram. You should have at least 2gb of ram. Regarding the mobo, don't sweat about the mobo. In my experience the mobo doesn't add much performance. It's really the cpu, ram and video card that affects game speed the most.

Thank you for the info. Question lang so eventhough hindi ganun kaganda yung bibilhin kung sound card as long as top-of-the-line ang video card card ko I can still enjoy 5.1 audio?

[Clondalkin]

Thank you for the info. Question lang so eventhough hindi ganun kaganda yung bibilhin kung sound card as long as top-of-the-line ang video card card ko I can still enjoy 5.1 audio?

Bro, a  5.1 ch Creative sound card is sooooo much cheaper compared to an HD 3xxxx or 8800GTS video card.   If you can spend hundreds of dollars on the video card, why would you not spend $50-$75 on a reasonably good 5.1 ch sound card?   My point is, it's generally better (and more convenient connection wise) to rely on your sound card for 5.1 ch audio,  than to use the graphics card for both video and audio.  In case of trouble, it's also easier to isolate the problem.

For top of the line video cards, make sure you have sufficient and reliable power supply unit, that your mobo can actually support it and that you'd have sufficient space in your PC case to insert one (those hi-end cards are not only fat, they're also looong). 

[glacierfrost]

Thank you for the info. Question lang so eventhough hindi ganun kaganda yung bibilhin kung sound card as long as top-of-the-line ang video card card ko I can still enjoy 5.1 audio?

You will buy the video card for its 3D performance not for the audio. The audio is just a bonus. Its great if you want the connections to be clean, because you will be using only one hdmi cable for both video and audio.

[dyerds]

I see...how about the dvd drive? Does this matter? Sensya na sa dami ng tanong ko kasi 'tong pc na ginagamit ko bundle,  ayaw ko na kasi mag-isip ng mga specs nung binili ko 'to kaso hindi ko na sya pwede i-upgrade kaya ngayon natuto na ko. Kaya next time na bumili ako kelangan sigurado na.

[Clondalkin]

I see...how about the dvd drive? Does this matter? Sensya na sa dami ng tanong ko kasi 'tong pc na ginagamit ko bundle,  ayaw ko na kasi mag-isip ng mga specs nung binili ko 'to kaso hindi ko na sya pwede i-upgrade kaya ngayon natuto na ko. Kaya next time na bumili ako kelangan sigurado na.

If you're planning to have dual DVD drive bay, one exclusively for DVD playback and another for various recordable DVD format (recommended configuration BTW), why don't you consider the $50 HD DVD Add-On. 

[uvax]

AMD has just released a new chipset with a built-in graphics chip that is capable to decoding HD video without requiring a high end CPU.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/03/04/amd_780g_chipset/

This could be a godsend to HTPC builders as you no longer require an expensive graphics card.

[glacierfrost]

I see...how about the dvd drive? Does this matter? Sensya na sa dami ng tanong ko kasi 'tong pc na ginagamit ko bundle,  ayaw ko na kasi mag-isip ng mga specs nung binili ko 'to kaso hindi ko na sya pwede i-upgrade kaya ngayon natuto na ko. Kaya next time na bumili ako kelangan sigurado na.

Doesn't really matter what dvd drive you get, as long as it can read the dvds there is not much performance gained or lost. You should also consider going for the new hi-def drives like hd dvd or blu-ray. But to really future proof your system go for the blu-ray because hd dvd is already being phased out.

Oks lang magtanong, that's what the forums are for. To help each other.

[dyerds]

@uvax
available na po ba 'to sir?

@glacierfrost
tignan ko kung kaya ng budget ko bumili ng bluray drive baka bluray player na lang kung sakali. thank for the help sir.

[oReOsHaKe]

anybody who can recommend a good cpu to be used only as a dedicated mp3/wav jukebox to be connected to an onkyo 705.  i would prefer a small case for this as i will place this side by side with the avr.. what us the best soundcard and processor for this?  No need for a video card i guess since i will not be using it as a video source..

[glacierfrost]

anybody who can recommend a good cpu to be used only as a dedicated mp3/wav jukebox to be connected to an onkyo 705.  i would prefer a small case for this as i will place this side by side with the avr.. what us the best soundcard and processor for this?  No need for a video card i guess since i will not be using it as a video source..

Any old processor would be enough for mp3/wav. If you have any old pc lying around then you don't even need to buy anything, maybe just a new case. I got a regular atx case that looks small. It goes very well with my HT. Maybe you could look for something like that. I will post pics later.

How do you plan on browsing the files without any video out? About sound card... This is also my dilemma. Right now I'm using my onboard sound, but I'm tempted to get a nice sound card like the auzentech xplosion. I'm just not sure if dropping 5k would be give a dramatic improvement or just a marginal one.

[av_phile1]

Couldn't be dramatic, as all soundcards use the same digital processing chips which have become a commodity these days.  Very little difference in their circuitires.  But the DACs of some soundcards might be better than others.  But still not a night and day difference.   

[glacierfrost]

Here is the pictures I promised. I scanned a chinese pc magazine review instead so that you can see the insides better. Btw mine is in black. Size of the casing is 140x370x450mm.

[oReOsHaKe]

Here is the pictures I promised. I scanned a chinese pc magazine review instead so that you can see the insides better. Btw mine is in black. Size of the casing is 140x370x450mm.

where do u buy this bro?  can any standard sound card and hard drive fit into this casing?

[glacierfrost]

I bought it from hongkong last year because the casings I saw here wasn't very suited for HT setup. Most casings I saw had an abundance of LED lights, that gave it a cheapo feel (think jeepney). Silverstone cases looked great but I just can't justify spending that much for a PC case.

Yup a regular sound card will fit. It even has a front jack connector so that if you have headphones you can plug it through the front. The case uses a regular atx form factor so most motherboards will fit in with no problem. It can fit two regular 3.5" hard drive and two dvd or cd drives.

[uvax]

I see Western Digital Green Power hard drives appearing locally. These drives are supposed to have lower power consumption as well as run cooler and quieter than other comparable hard drives.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/13379

Should do well in an HTPC setup.

[SiCkBoY]

Not to mention 1 terrabyte of hard drive space

[jambam]

Just got the cpu/motherboard and memory this evening ... the antec case was not yet used



Its the new 780g chipset from Ati , hopefully i can assemble and fully test in the next couple of  days and see if it's good enough . I have a couple of 1080p mkv's that would really test it ..

[audiojunkie]

Buy a 3.5mm (M) to RCA (F) adapter like this (usually can be bought at Ace Hardware or Handyman):



then insert the 3.5mm (M) end to the SPDIF port of your soundcard.  Then get a 75ohm cable with both (M) RCA ends and insert one end of the cable to the (F)RCA end of the adapter connected to your soundcard and the other end of the RCA cable to the coaxial input of your receiver. 

Activate the SPDIF out option of your soundcard.  When using a DVD program like PowerDVD in the audio configuration, just select SPDIF or digital out.

Hope this helps! 

Sir, is this compatible to my laptop ACER Aspire 5710 with digital out, also I use the socket for headphone or audio out to my system.  TIA

[glacierfrost]

Nice toys jambam. How much did you spend on your new rig? I'm drooling over the casing, very nice.

[reynold]

Nice toys jambam. How much did you spend on your new rig? I'm drooling over the casing, very nice.

Yeah, same here jambam. Can you tell us how much did you get them especially that receiver type casing?

thanks,
reynold

[jambam]

hi guys casing was 10K... The cpu+mem+motherboard was less than 10k

[reynold]

hi guys casing was 10K... The cpu+mem+motherboard was less than 10k

Wow, medyo may kamahalan pala yung casing, pag-ipunan ko yan
Thanks bro

[Weng!]

hi guys casing was 10K... The cpu+mem+motherboard was less than 10k

saan nyo nabili ang casing sir?