Help Me Build a HTPC

J

jfnirvana292

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Apr 9, 2002
Messages
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I'd like to make a HTPC to hook up to my projector (VGA, Component only, but will probably upgrade soon). I'm new in the HTPC area (and outdated on pc hardware in general) so any explanations on why you choose the specific parts/software would be beneficial to me. Also, I heard new TV tuners cannot do HD that isnt HDCP compliant? Is that true? Thanks!

Case
CPU
Motherboard
Ram Amount
Video Card
TV Tuner Card
Blue Ray Player
HDD
OS
Misc Software
Wireless keyboard/mouse
Remote
--------------------------
Total < $750 please
 
hdcp is for 1080p content, as far as i'm aware. So you would need it to watch bluray at that resolution, but it doesn't have anything to do with OTA HDTV. i don't know if clear QAM has any HDCP requirements, but i wouldn't think so.
 
HDCP is required for things such as Blu-ray/HD DVD, upconverting DVD players, CableCard, or cable/sat boxes using HDMI as well. OTA and clear QAM don't require it.
 
Nvidia 8200 based motherboard, 45w AMD X2, 2GB DDR2-800 ram, LG blu-ray/hd dvd combo drive, small 80gb OS drive + large media storage drive(s) if you need them, nice case of your choice, vidabox wireless keyboard/mouse combo, vista home premium 32-bit.
 
Here is what I built a couple of months ago that plays 1080p content just fine:
Case - Antech 300 $50
CPU - Intel E7300 $115 and a ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro $20
Motherboard - ASUS P5Q SE PLUS $90
Ram Amount - 4GB 6400 $40
Video Card - Asus 4670 $75
OS - Vista Ultimate x64
Misc Software - MyMovies, FFD show
Remote - MS Media Center $35
PSU - OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS 600W $65

Everything else I already had. Total was about $490 with some rebates that brought it down to about $380.
 
He has a 800x600 projector... Unless he plans on upgrading that, even a cheap 1080p capable HTPC will be overkill.

That is unless he is going to just watch 1080p stuff and have the player scale it all down...
 
Yes but he said that he would probably upgrade soon and anything that can play 1080p video will most likely be able to handle his new projector / TV unless they go to 2160p or something crazy like that.
 
w1retap said:
Nvidia 8200 based motherboard, 45w AMD X2, 2GB DDR2-800 ram, LG blu-ray/hd dvd combo drive, small 80gb OS drive + large media storage drive(s) if you need them, nice case of your choice, vidabox wireless keyboard/mouse combo, vista home premium 32-bit.
Click to expand...

To elaborate more on the above setup:
- The onboard video on just about Nvidia 8200 motherboard is more than enough to decode and watch HD content. In addition, it can do 7.1 LCPM audio, almost perfect for HD content like Blu ray
- Since the onboard video does most of the work with HD content, you can go cheap on the CPU. Just about any AMD X2 45W PSU will be enough
- 2GB of RAM is more than enough for HTPCs.
- That combo drive lets you play both HD-DVD and Blu Ray content. Considering that HD DVDs go on sale for like $5 every weekend or so, it's kind of a good idea to get a drive that plays both.
- Vista Home Premium has all of the necessary features for a HTPC like Vista Media Center. No need to get Ultimate.


And here's some specifics:
Antec NSK2480 mATX case with Antec Earthwatts 380W PSU - $100
AMD Athlon X2 4850E CPU - $54
Zotac GF8300-A-E Nvidia GeForce 8300 HDMI mATX Motherboard - $85
Kingston KVR800D2N6/2G 2 x 1GB DDR2 800 RAM - $19
LG Black GGC-H20L Blu-Ray DVD-ROM/HD DVD ROM & DVD Burner- $120
Western Digital WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $55
Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit SP1 OEM - $105
----
Total: $538 plus tax and shipping.

Some TV Tuners that I see recommended here on the forums from time to time:
Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1600 ATSC/ClearQAM/NTSC PCI TV Tuner Card w/Remote 1178 -$80
Hauppauge WINTVHVR1600 Dual Tuner PCI TV Tuner Card w/MCE Remote - $88
Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 1800 PCI-E x1 TV Tuner Card w/MCE Remote - $95
VisionTek TV Wonder 650 PCI-E x1 HDTV Tuner PVR w/Remote 900192 - $110
 
I would go with the Nvidia 9300 chipset and an Intel Core 2 Duo. I use a 2.2ghz chip and it's more than enough. Board also has HD offloading and 7.1 over HDMI.
I also have 2gb of ram and it's plenty.

Then it's just a matter of picking your favorite case, PSU, hard drives and optical drives. I use a enermax liberty PSU as it's modular and seeing as it's in a small case I can improve air flow by removing un-needed cables.
Get the media center IR receiver and remote.
I use a small hard drive I already have for the OS and have it record TV onto a secondary drive.
All of my movies are stored on my WHS machine and streamed across the network.

I use Vista Media Center, Haali media splitter, AC3filter, powerdvd for the codec, ffdshow for everything else.
And the mymovies plugin.

I also use it with a projector.
 
Well depending on what monitor or projector you get you may want to leave room for a small video card. Even the lowest end cards offer better off loading and smoother frame rate. I am not a fan of the Nvidia cards HDMI implimintation on my monitor the contrast ratio is diminished and it doesnt seem to support deep color like ATI and the better blue ray players. Even the newer low end ATI cards supports it though so it is 30-40 if you look for a deal.
 
Smoken Joe said:
Well depending on what monitor or projector you get you may want to leave room for a small video card. Even the lowest end cards offer better off loading and smoother frame rate. I am not a fan of the Nvidia cards HDMI implimintation on my monitor the contrast ratio is diminished and it doesnt seem to support deep color like ATI and the better blue ray players. Even the newer low end ATI cards supports it though so it is 30-40 if you look for a deal.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. You get great offloading with onboard these days. Frame rates are no more smooth with a discrete card than an onboard.
Not that you need much offloading. I can watch HD video with no offloading on my 2.2ghz Core 2 Duo with no problems.

ATI cards have issues with several receivers, namely some yamahas, denons and onkyos and a few tv's. This is well detailed over on avsforums. Though aside from those issues they do make excellent cards.

I have used nvidia on my previous HTPC and now have an Intel G45 board. I see no difference in image quality on a 119" screen.
 
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