Need help in building a high end HTPC

[Mikey]

My uncle is looking to build a theater room in the 3rd floor of his room. I suggested him the idea of an HTPC, and he gave me the go ahead to design him a system. My uncle is a Doctor and wants the best. Price isn't really much of a problem, but I need help in selecting the best parts for a high end HTPC. This will not be used for gaming whatsoever. Please offer me your suggestions for a motherboard that will properly play 1080 content via blueray and etc. Also, my uncle wants a high end 7.1 speaker system to compliment the home theater system. Basically put, my uncle wants the best surround sound and best video quality. As for the tv, he will select one himself. Please offer me your suggestions! Thanks!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

$2000-$3000 for the PC or for everything?

 

[s44]

Speakers depend on the room size.

Also, a separate Blu-Ray player is both cheaper and better than the PC version. Maybe if the next-gen cards provide a Protected Audio Path...

 

[QueBert]

Moneual Moncaso 312B case - best looking HTPC case ever produced imho.

GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP - believe the latest BIOS update gives full 7.1 audio over HDMI (correct me if I'm wrong somebody)

AMD Phenom 8650 - will play back any content you throw at it.

2 gigs of any memory, not really important.

LG Black 6X BD-ROM - somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but with the latest PowerDVD this drive will support any feature found in a stand alone Blu-Ray player. Even if you end up getting a stand alone player, the internal is pretty cheap, and will come in handy if you want to rip any movies. Nothing like a media center where you don't have to switch media whenever you want to watch something

You didn't mention how much media he expects to have on it, butt you did say $$$ isn't an issue. And you can't have too much space in a HTPC, especially if you plan to rip Blu-Ray image to it. Western Digital Green 2tb

Logitech diNovo Mini - for a remote. If he wants an actual remote. for IR reciever + Logitech Harmony One
The diNovo Mini is nice because it has a keyboard, which he'll need to use from time to time.

I would recommend looking into XBMC for the interface. Set up properly, nothing is as powerful, or stunning. Takes some tinkering to set up, but if you set it up right, he'd be able to control it as simple as controlling DirectTV. OS doesn't matter, XP or Vista. Last HTPC I built for somebody all he ever sees is XBMC. XBMC is free and just awesome as hell.

can't give you any suggestions on speakers, but those parts would make a very solid HTPC. You wouldn't even come close to hitting $1k there. But good 7.1 speakers will set you back, and you'll need a receiver too. 3k doesn't sound too far fetched

 

[s44]

Originally posted by: QueBert
GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP - believe the latest BIOS update gives full 7.1 audio over HDMI (correct me if I'm wrong somebody)

Very, very unlikely. ATI integrated chipsets simply lack the hardware capability for that.

But the real issue is that because no current ATI/Nvidia card or chip implements a Protected Audio Path, all Blu-Ray audio is downsampled to 48khz/16-bit (from as much as 96khz/24-bit). The Asus Xonar add-in card was supposed to get around that, but there are issues galore and that's not recommendable now. When the next gen comes out this fall maybe we'll see progress on that front...

Anyway, on crappy systems I doubt you could tell, but on a "high end 7.1 speaker system" (even if you don't really mean the $150K+ that real "high end" 7.1 would cost) there could very well be a noticeable difference. Given that a $200 player will bitstream or decode *all* the audio with no downsampling or any such, it hardly seems worth it.

 

[s44]

For a more modest $20K total speaker budget... An all-Mark Seaton setup would be an awesome HT to consider. You'd get pretty much unlimited headroom and dynamic range.

3x Seaton Sound Catalyst (active crossover, ICEpower tri-amped) -- $10500
4x Seaton Sound Spark (mini version of Catalyst) -- $5600
2x Seaton Sound SubMersive (dual 15" sealed sub, 1000W ICEpower amp) -- $3800

Add a $1000 Onkyo 886 pre-pro, some XLR cable runs, and a lot of power outlets on separate lines and you're in business.

 

[sdifox]

First of all you sure your dad knows what an htpc is? Unless you spend big bucks on integration (touchscreen remote etc) most older folks balk at keyboard and mouse for a tv.

 

[Mikey]

Originally posted by: sdifox
First of all you sure your dad knows what an htpc is? Unless you spend big bucks on integration (touchscreen remote etc) most older folks balk at keyboard and mouse for a tv.

Who's dad are you talking about here? Yes, my UNCLE knows what it is. It's going to be strictly a HTPC for media purposes. We will have a wireless keyboard for cases we need to type something, but other than that, it will be running Media Center Edition almost exclusively.

The $2000-3000 budget I listed is for the HTPC itself and speakers. I need something that will make a modestly large room go bang. The room itself is probably about 300sq feet with the cinema area being around 225sq ft. The shape of the room is more of a rectangle with the TV going to be displayed on the more narrow end. My uncle is thinking about a 7.1 system, but I'm sure 5.1 is more than suffice, right?

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: Mikey

Originally posted by: sdifox
First of all you sure your dad knows what an htpc is? Unless you spend big bucks on integration (touchscreen remote etc) most older folks balk at keyboard and mouse for a tv.

Who's dad are you talking about here? Yes, my UNCLE knows what it is. It's going to be strictly a HTPC for media purposes. We will have a wireless keyboard for cases we need to type something, but other than that, it will be running Media Center Edition almost exclusively.

The $2000-3000 budget I listed is for the HTPC itself and speakers. I need something that will make a modestly large room go bang. The room itself is probably about 300sq feet with the cinema area being around 225sq ft. The shape of the room is more of a rectangle with the TV going to be displayed on the more narrow end. My uncle is thinking about a 7.1 system, but I'm sure 5.1 is more than suffice, right?

ok... as long as your "uncle" is ok with it. I would have gone with a popcorn or something to that effect for that generation.

htpc's don't really have to be expensive, just get the right video card. Both AMD and NVidia make decent mid level htpc purpose video card with hdcp and hardware assisted brd playback.

I am assuming your budget also includes amplification?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Does he have a lot of media that's not in disc form?

If this is just for watching DVDs / Blu-ray / etc., then I would think that buying a nice $200-$300 blu-ray player and then spending the rest on the nicest 5.1/7.1 set would be the best use of the money. I'm certainly not afraid of getting into details of HTPC research and construction, but I decided that I'd rather go for ease of use than have a HTPC.

 

[s44]

Yeah, that budget (~$2000 tops for speakers) barely cuts it for a 7.1. If you're going to be picking speakers out separately, I'd do 5.1. That said, this package would be a pretty good choice, and is 7.1.

 

[Ballatician]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Does he have a lot of media that's not in disc form?

If this is just for watching DVDs / Blu-ray / etc., then I would think that buying a nice $200-$300 blu-ray player and then spending the rest on the nicest 5.1/7.1 set would be the best use of the money. I'm certainly not afraid of getting into details of HTPC research and construction, but I decided that I'd rather go for ease of use than have a HTPC.

This is similar to what I have been thinking about recently in regards to HTPC's. Does he plan on ripping media to storage so he doesn't have to put in discs?

Other than that, the only real use I see is being able to browse on the big screen and maybe watch media from YouTube and Netflix etc. To do that you really have to plan what resolutions you'll be using and all that especially if you want to be able to read text. Am I missing something here?

Isn't it a hassle to use an HTPC to record any premium channels like ESPN etc? I am under the impression that without a box/cable card, you can only get basic cable through a tuner.

It does seem like a fun project to build and tweak an HTPC but I think it depends on your use. For example, if I had a pc connected to my main TV, it would be to browse the internet, watch Hulu, Netflix and the like, and play a few games time to time. I would probably have a small monitor also attached at my desk or something for the times that I want to get some work done on the PC while watching TV. (I'm just dreaming up a scenario here).

Quebert does bring up the good point that a BRD drive comes in handy if you want to rip any content.

All that being said, I'm not trying to derail your thread. If I come across some components that seem worthy of your build, I'll post them.

 

[kalrith]

Ballatican, yes, it's a pain to record premium channels on an HTPC. You can either get something like the Hauppauge HD PVR that is a component capture device, or go with a prebuilt HTPC that comes with a cable card. AFAIK you can't get a cable card for a home-built PC.

Mikey, knowing what your uncle wants to do with the system will greatly help our recommendations. As others have said, and HTPC might not even be the best choice. If he definitely wants and HTPC, I recommend that you visit this avsforum thread from which I am copying the following two high-end HTPC recommendations (I give all credit to renethx for these recommendations):

microATX:

• Intel/Intel
  
  System
  
  * CPU: Core 2 Quad Q8400 2.66GHz LGA775, $183.
  * CPU Cooler: Cooler Master ??? (Geminii S) RR-CCH-PBJ1-GP, $28.
  * Motherboard: ASUS P5Q-EM LGA775 Intel G45 chipset microATX, $135. A cheaper alternative is Intel DG35EC (BOXDG35EC) LGA775 Intel G35 chipset microATX, $85 (there are no overclocking or memory voltage options in BIOS).
  * Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1B16K DDR2-800 2 x 2GB Kit, $44.
  * Graphics Card: HIS H485QT512P Radeon HD 4850 GDDR3 512MB, $130.
  * HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $70.
  * PSU: Enermax PRO82+ 525W EPR525AWT, $101. A cheaper alternative is Corsair VX550W CMPSU-550VX 550W, $70.
  * Case: Antec Fusion Remote Black microATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $143.
  * Total Cost: $834
  
  Intel/NVIDIA
  
  System
  
  * CPU: Core 2 Quad Q8400 2.66GHz LGA775, $183.
  * CPU Cooler: Cooler Master ??? (Geminii S) RR-CCH-PBJ1-GP, $28.
  * Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H LGA775 GeForce 9400 mGPU microATX, $130. A cheaper alternative is MSI P7NGM-Digital LGA775 GeForce 9300 mGPU microATX, $110, which is of better value if you don't need an S/PDIF port and an eSATA port.
  * Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1B16K DDR2-800 2 x 2GB Kit, $44.
  * Graphics Card: XFX GS-250X-YDFU GeForce GTS 250 512MB, $130.
  * HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $70.
  * PSU: Enermax PRO82+ 525W EPR525AWT, $101. A cheaper alternative is Corsair VX550W CMPSU-550VX 550W, $70.
  * Case: Antec Fusion Remote Black microATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $143.
  * Total Cost: $829
  
  Remarks
  
  * The graphics card supports S/PDIF pass-through from the onboard audio codec through HDMI. If you want multichannel LPCM audio, you have to connect your AVR to the HDMI port of the motherboard and your display to the graphics card. Please read Any GeForce graphics card + GeForce 8200 HDMI audio work together perfectly!.
  
  AMD/AMD
  
  System
  
  * CPU: Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition HDZ940XCGIBOX 3.0GHz AM2+, $195.
  * CPU Cooler: Cooler Master ??? (Geminii S) RR-CCH-PBJ1-GP, $28.
  * Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-US2H AM2+ AMD 780G chipset microATX, $80.
  * Memory: G.SKILL F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK DDR2-1066 2 x 2GB Kit, $58.
  * Graphics Card: HIS H485QT512P Radeon HD 4850 GDDR3 512MB, $130.
  * HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $70.
  * PSU: Enermax PRO82+ 525W EPR525AWT, $101. A cheaper alternative is Corsair VX550W CMPSU-550VX 550W, $70.
  * Case: Antec Fusion Remote Black microATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $143.
  * Total Cost: $805
  
  AMD/NVIDIA
  
  System
  
  * CPU: Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition HDZ940XCGIBOX 3.0GHz AM2+, $195.
  * CPU Cooler: Cooler Master ??? (Geminii S) RR-CCH-PBJ1-GP, $28.
  * Motherboard: ASUS M3N78-EM AM2+ GeForce 8300 mGPU microATX, $90.
  * Memory: G.SKILL F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK DDR2-1066 2 x 2GB Kit, $58.
  * Graphics Card: XFX GS-250X-YDFU GeForce GTS 250 512MB, $130.
  * HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $70.
  * PSU: Enermax PRO82+ 525W EPR525AWT, $101. A cheaper alternative is Corsair VX550W CMPSU-550VX 550W, $70.
  * Case: Antec Fusion Remote Black microATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $143.
  * Total Cost: $815
  
  Remarks
  
  * The graphics card supports S/PDIF pass-through from the onboard audio codec through HDMI. If you want multichannel LPCM audio, you have to connect your AVR to the HDMI port of the motherboard and your display to the graphics card. Please read Any GeForce graphics card + GeForce 8200 HDMI audio work together perfectly!.

ATX:

• Intel/Intel
  
  System
  
  * CPU: Core 2 Quad Q8400 2.66GHz LGA775, $183.
  * CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9500A LED, $50.
  * Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA775 Intel P45 chipset ATX, $115.
  * Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1B16K DDR2-800 2 x 2GB Kit, $44.
  * Graphics Card: HIS H485QT512P Radeon HD 4850 GDDR3 512MB, $130.
  * HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $70.
  * PSU: Enermax PRO82+ 625W EPR625AWT, $125. A cheaper alternative is Corsair TX650W CMPSU-650TX 650W, $66.
  * Case: Zalman HD160 Plus ATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $277.
  * Total Cost: $994.
  
  Intel/NVIDIA
  
  There is no recommendation of a high-end system for this platform. A system with the popular ASUS P5N-D nForce 750i SLI chipset motherboard is good for x16 SLI, but not particularly good for HTPC (not enough PCIe x1 slots; its SB is the three-year old MCP51 [used in GeForce 6150 motherboards!] supporting only 4 SATA ports).
  
  AMD/AMD
  
  System
  
  * CPU: Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition HDZ940XCGIBOX 3.0GHz AM2+, $195.
  * CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9500A LED, $50.
  * Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-UD4H AM2+ AMD 790GX chipset ATX, $129.
  * Memory: G.SKILL F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK DDR2-1066 2 x 2GB Kit, $58.
  * Graphics Card: HIS H485QT512P Radeon HD 4850 GDDR3 512MB, $130.
  * HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $70.
  * PSU: Enermax PRO82+ 625W EPR625AWT, $125. A cheaper alternative is Corsair TX650W CMPSU-650TX 650W, $66.
  * Case: Zalman HD160 Plus ATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $277.
  * Total Cost: $1034.
  
  AMD/NVIDIA
  
  System
  
  * CPU: Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition HDZ940XCGIBOX 3.0GHz AM2+, $195.
  * CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9500A LED, $50.
  * Motherboard: ASUS M3N72-D AM2+ nForce 750a SLI MCP ATX, $130.
  * Memory: G.SKILL F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK DDR2-1066 2 x 2GB Kit, $58.
  * Graphics Card: EVGA 512-P3-1150-TR GeForce GTS 250 512MB , $130.
  * HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $70.
  * PSU: Enermax PRO82+ 625W EPR625AWT, $125. A cheaper alternative is Corsair TX650W CMPSU-650TX 650W, $66.
  * Case: Zalman HD160 Plus ATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $277.
  * Total Cost: $1035.
  
  Remarks
  
  * nForce 750a SLI is basically an SLI x8 version of GeForce 8200.
  * The graphics card supports S/PDIF pass-through from the onboard audio codec through HDMI. If you want multichannel LPCM audio, you have to connect your AVR to the HDMI port of the motherboard and your display to the graphics card. Please read Any GeForce graphics card + GeForce 8200 HDMI audio work together perfectly!.

 

[s44]

At that budget, he shouldn't be spending $$$ on a HTPC, he should be spending it on the audio side...

A low-end build, maybe. No gaming, so nothing more costly than a 4550. But I'd get a Tivo HD instead...

 

[kalrith]

Originally posted by: s44
At that budget, he shouldn't be spending $$$ on a HTPC, he should be spending it on the audio side...

A low-end build, maybe. No gaming, so nothing more costly than a 4550. But I'd get a Tivo HD instead...

I agree more with this. For $500 he could have a dual-core processor, 2-4GB RAM, 1TB hdd, and 4550 (maybe push it to a 4670, which does a better job at clearing up poor-quality videos). It might be more with a fancy HTPC case, but that's up to him. Since a 4550/4670 does the video processing, he probably won't notice the difference between a $70 processor and a $500 one. He also won't get better video playback by spending more money on a video card higher than a 4670.

Edit: ...but he certainly will notice the difference on the audio side if he spends $2,500 compared to $1,000.

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: Mikey
My uncle is looking to build a theater room in the 3rd floor of his room. I suggested him the idea of an HTPC, and he gave me the go ahead to design him a system. My uncle is a Doctor and wants the best. Price isn't really much of a problem, but I need help in selecting the best parts for a high end HTPC. This will not be used for gaming whatsoever. Please offer me your suggestions for a motherboard that will properly play 1080 content via blueray and etc. Also, my uncle wants a high end 7.1 speaker system to compliment the home theater system. Basically put, my uncle wants the best surround sound and best video quality. As for the tv, he will select one himself. Please offer me your suggestions! Thanks!

Here you go.

 

[Ballatician]

Kalrith already pointed you to one of the best HPTC threads so that should help a lot.
Also see Anand's HTPC build - http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3301

 

[imported_Mike]

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: Mikey
My uncle is looking to build a theater room in the 3rd floor of his room. I suggested him the idea of an HTPC, and he gave me the go ahead to design him a system. My uncle is a Doctor and wants the best. Price isn't really much of a problem, but I need help in selecting the best parts for a high end HTPC. This will not be used for gaming whatsoever. Please offer me your suggestions for a motherboard that will properly play 1080 content via blueray and etc. Also, my uncle wants a high end 7.1 speaker system to compliment the home theater system. Basically put, my uncle wants the best surround sound and best video quality. As for the tv, he will select one himself. Please offer me your suggestions! Thanks!

Here you go.

QFT

 

[JSt0rm]

guys I would hold off on the purchase of 7.1 right now. The spec from dolby isn't even really done yet. EVERYTHING is mixed at 5.1 and they multiplex it out to the extra speakers based on the panning.

We also mix at 48khz/24bit.

Anyways my point is spend the extra money on the 5.1 dont worry about the 2 extras.

 

[in64tel]

Genelec

 

[otbricki]

Originally posted by: s44
For a more modest $20K total speaker budget... An all-Mark Seaton setup would be an awesome HT to consider. You'd get pretty much unlimited headroom and dynamic range.

3x Seaton Sound Catalyst (active crossover, ICEpower tri-amped) -- $10500
4x Seaton Sound Spark (mini version of Catalyst) -- $5600
2x Seaton Sound SubMersive (dual 15" sealed sub, 1000W ICEpower amp) -- $3800

Add a $1000 Onkyo 886 pre-pro, some XLR cable runs, and a lot of power outlets on separate lines and you're in business.

I agree with this recommendation. An all Mark Seaton system at this level would seriously rock. Literally. In fact a pair of Submersives cranking at high volume have been known to actually crack drywall.

If the room these are going into is big you could up it a notch and go to 7.4, that is 7 Catalysts and 4 Submersives.

For a prepro I'd consider taking it up a couple of notches with the Denon A1HD or the Anthem D2V.