Questions about HTPC Setup

[D4L]

Hoping, I am not posting this question in the wrong forum but I wanted to know why would I want/need to build/buy an HTPC? My general understanding is that I can stream video content to LCD Monitor/TV with this type of setup. Is that it? or am I missing something?

Second, If I do decide to have an HTPC setup then can that machine be used to play games?

Third, would you suggest/recommend LCD TV/Monitor, obviously I want to use one screen for both watching TV & using the PC. I am thinking in the 42" range or below.

Lastly, please suggest possible parts for building such machine, especially the core parts (CPU, Mobo, MEM, PSU, Case, Heatsink, Vid Card etc...)

Thanks a bunch for the reply.

D$L

 

[Chapbass]

hey there d4l...wow a lurker! 2004 and 15 posts. i dont post much myself but lol nice job.


Anyway, first question, yes you can use it to play games. Some people set up htpc's running linux in which case it becomes quite a bit harder, but if you plan on running a windows os, then its a piece of cake.


After that part though, I suppose we need a little more information before we can make some recommendations. What price range are you thinking? Do you want it to perform tivo-like duties? (PVR?) if so, then you'll need at least one video capture card to record the TV signal.

Same thing with the TV. price range will be important. If you can at least ballpark it then im sure we can help you out. Another helpful thing would be the type of room youre in. Is it light? dark? can you control the light? any outside windows? That is mainly going to impact the type of tv more than individual tv's, but at least we can start narrowing. There are currently TONS of tvs in the 42-47" range.


Lastly, check your PM box.

 

[D4L]

yea definately a lurker...

yes, I would like to use it as a PVR and as far as price goes, well I really dont know how much these things cost but I guess in the 500-700 range would be appropriate, obviously the less the better.

Same goes for the TV, don't want to spend too much but in the 500 or so range would be good. The room is kind of dark, only 1 window.

 

[heyheybooboo]

SilverStone SST-LC13 $100
I think the Egg has 'em for $20 more - you should find one for less than $100 w/shipping

GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H AMD 780G HDMI mATX $106
Onboard IGP is an HD2400 chip

AMD Opteron 1210 HE Santa Ana 1.8GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache OEM 65W $60
You can undervolt (and overclock!) - if you do not want to purchase a seperate HSF try the

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Brisbane 2.2GHz AM2 65W $60

Kingston ValueRAM 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 $50

Thermaltake Litpower ATX12V2.2 400W PSU $ 43
$33 AR - 120mm fan

Conventional DVD/CD Player/burner: Add $30
BluRay DVD ROM: Add $130
HDDs: $.20/Gb (The more the merrier)

If you are serious about your gaming - add $40 for a AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+ 2.8GHz Brisbane 65W


$450 - $500 Total
(250Gb HDD - not including BluRay DVD ROM)

Westinghouse 32" 720p LCD HDTV $650
Best Buy has 'em for $700. You might find a coupon for 10% off or wait for 'em to put one on sale.

$1,100 +/-

What are you going to "PVR"? Cable? OTA? Add $100 for an ASTC/cable QAM tuner card. Don't forget an antenna if you are going OTA (an old TV antenna would work great)

You cannot 'PVR' encrypted cable digital content.

The onboard sound is top-notch but we have not accounted for speakers (or a nice SS receiver).

Spend more money!

 

[The Boston Dangler]

you'll really need to clarify what you want.

$500 - $700
audio/video playback and video games

questions:
regular use or just for fun?
do you want to record broadcast and/or unscrambled cable tv?
is the big screen going to be the only display connected?
what is the sound situation?
is everything going to be in 1 room?
remote control or mouse?
a/v style htpc box or tower?


you'll need a real video card for games.
9600GT very good bang for the buck
the ECS (sold out) is only $150 and comes with a large passive cooler worth $25.

 

[D4L]

Thanks for the replies guys, appreciate your help!

As far as money goes I am flexible and wouldn't mind increasing my budget. I guess the question really becomes how much should I increase it by and if it is all worth it? Especially when it comes to LCD TV/Monitor.

Westinghouse 32" 720p LCD HDTV is that any good? Brand name any good? Do I not need 1080p TV?

I am trying to fulfill two different purposes into one solution. I want to setup a nice home theater system, which would include speaker system as well. Now, I also need a new PC which I will be using aside from general purposes (Word Processing, Net surfing, music, etc..) to play games so that's the reason for HTPC, I thought I might be able to fulfill two requirements by building a one machine, not quite sure if that is possible.

regular use or just for fun?
Both, if that is possible

do you want to record broadcast and/or unscrambled cable tv?
yes to record broadcast, not sure if i can record unscrambled cable tv (is there a solution for that?)

is the big screen going to be the only display connected?
Yes, if I possibly can

what is the sound situation?
None as of yet, so I am looking for one as well. Can I get PC speakers and use the HTPC as output?

is everything going to be in 1 room?
Yes,

remote control or mouse?
Both if possible

a/v style htpc box or tower?
want to make it nice and neat so a/v style htpc box

Just another question, I saw this deal and was debating if I should get it or not.
HP Pavillion Elite m9100z PC w/TV/PVR

 

[The Boston Dangler]

the only thing that separates a modern pc from a video game pc is the video card. *flame away!*

from my own experience, i wish i had a 1080p screen instead of my 720p. tv and dvd's are great, but the computer display suffers.

you could do worse than that $366 HP. first the bad news: the included works and norton are trial offers. the video is no good for vid games, and i'm not sure the power supply can handle a modern video card. the pvr card is unkown - some are ok, some suck. the memory included at that price is DDR-667, which is considered kinda slow.

the good news: that's a lot of computer for the money. 4-core cpu, OS, 500 GB HDD, card reader, remote, pvr with FM tuner and a lightscribe dvd burner.

if the ps is up to it, you might drop in a decent video card and call it a day. i don't know if that is possible with that machine, and i don't know what that would mean for your HP warranty or service.

 

[D4L]

Well, the PSU on that HP is 350w and I don't know if that can handle the new video cards. Additiionally, if I do get it, assuming I would have to swap out the PSU and add in a new card I think it'll cost me another $100 bucks or more anyways, so I guess I am better off building my own system for few bucks more as it'll give me options on which parts I should buy. With this being said, any thoughts on parts to look for.

Wondering if there is a guide here for HTPC build?

And also the screen, can I not get a bigger screen maybe 42" or something even bigger and if it can do 1080p would it not be good or it would not work for the casual web surfing and video games?

 

[SpeedEng66]

Guide to Building a HD HTPC

 

[SpeedEng66]

my new SD HTPC POS

PC CHIPS P55G LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 7050 Micro ATX (was 44.99 shipped - $10 mir)

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 ($53 - $5 promocode - $25 mir)

Intel Pentium Dual Core E2160 M0 Stepping Conroe 1.8GHz 1MB L2 ($67.99 shipped (about the same price everywhere but this came with Lost Planet PC Game for free) )

reuse my HD, PVR-150, case and psu
cheap little upgrade (my current htpc is a pentium-m 1.7 and that was plenty for sd and a touch of 720p)

 

[uo7]

If you plan on adding a blu-ray drive I would wait for the new motherboards to come out that do true video hardware acceleration etc. And hdmi pcm output. Not real sure if they will do bitstream yet though.


Intel G45 Motherboard

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Originally posted by: SpeedEng66
Guide to Building a HD HTPC

i forgot that great thread, thx. looks like they've made progress in updating it.

OP, don't forget, regular analog tv will largely disappear next february. any tuner/pvr card you choose will need QAM and 8VSB support for broadcast tv. some analog will be available from cable.

personally, i choose to use a cable box for tv watching. i'm not making tv rips, so the simpler solution is better. the hauppage hd pvr looks promising tho.

soon, all new motherboards will have integrated graphics good enough for hd playback. another plus: when using compatible motherboards and video cards (nvidia/nvidia or ati/ati) the video card can be shut off when not needed.

as always, the longer you wait to buy, the better. do you have a timeframe for purchasing?

 

[D4L]

Ok, there is not a set timeframe when I need to have this all be ready. I am hoping to build on things, so initially I want to narrow down on a TV that I can use for both purposes if I can. On the TV I don't mind increasing my budget and getting something that would be nice as HT setup but also can be used for gaming.

Then, I would buy the necessary components for the PC setup.

I guess the more of what I am interested in now is list of parts & components that I would need or should get for this new build and that way I can keep an eye out for them and if they come on sale I can order it.