building HTPC need a lil help

[cibach]

I am going to build a HTPC for my den so I can watch my movies(Avi and blu-ray) as well as my music I have on an external drive. I most likely will not be playing any games on this

I have the Thermaltake DH101 case. And a couple of 750gb WD drives.

I will get the blu-ray combo player from Newegg.

I need a little help deciding what I really need as far as mobo, video card and sound(if necessary) to do this!!

Thanks in advance for your recommmendations

 

[ther00kie16]

Sweet case first of all, I'm helping build a htpc with that case for a friend's dad.
If you mean blu-ray/hd dvd combo player, it's only $170 at Mwave.
First of all, do you have a preference of either AMD or Intel? Also, what audio setup will you have?
AMD 780G's only downfall is that it doesn't support lossless surround audio over HDMI, which nVidia 8200 and upcoming Intel G45/G43 (I'm not sure about current G35) are supposed to do. Otherwise, AMD 780G is the best choice. For 780G, the gigabyte board has eSata and USB 3.0 so it's the best option since they are all priced similarly except for the cheap, unreliable ECS board. You can pair it with a 45W 4850e CPU. That will take care of all your video and audio needs.

 

[cibach]

Thanks..

I prefer an Intel mobo. I am running on Onkyo 605 recieiver that I would like to hook up via HDMI.

 

[ther00kie16]

I think G35 will do lossless surround over HDMI but it's better to wait for the next generation IGPs that will have full hardware acceleration.
You can wait for Nvidia 8200 to come out for Intel or the Intel G45. Both will come out sometime this summer. Otherwise, you can add a cheap video card like the 3450/3470 or the 2600xt deal going on at buy.com right now.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

have u looked at the 780g?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l2e0mf3CcA


that chipset is great for playing blu-ray and hi-def media. you can optionally add a video card (such as the ATI 2400) and get hybrid cgraphics that give good gaming and will shut down when not gaming

 

[ther00kie16]

780g is great, as I've mentioned but it doesn't do lossless surround (only compressed) sound over HDMI, which OP seems to want.
If intel is desired, there's also the option of the nVidia 7150 chipset, which doesn't do full 1080p hardware acceleration and I'm not sure about its HDMI audio capabilities. Therefore, if Intel is a must, it's best to wait for the nVidia 8200/8300 chipsets or Intel's G45/G43.

 

[cibach]

Thanks for the replies it looks like I will be waiting for the new stuff to come out

 

[Chosonman]

Go with any ATI card with HDMI like the 3850/3870 or the 2k series. They're great since they come with a native HDMI adapter and 5.1 surround sound built in. If you need 7.1 surround I recommend the HT Omega Striker Sound card which comes with coax and optical outputs. As for CPU and MOBO you can go with just about anything. HTPC are really CPU intensive. A nice dual core should work fine. AMD or Intel should make a difference.

 

[Chosonman]

Also for HTPC's i would consider using passive cooling whenever possible to cut down on the noise.

 

[Mango1970]

Speaking of lossless sound, do any boards/soundcards/videocards with HDMI send out lossless uncompressed audio to my receiver, if my receiver is capable of doing TrueHD/DTS-MA (Onkyo 635), and the Blue Ray/HD-DVD has that sound format? I mean do all current computer set ups now for HTPC still only send out 5.1 (lossless or not) or are there ones that can pass the TrueHD/DTS-MA etc out to receivers? That is what made me stop and scrap my HTPC a while back since my audio card connected via Optical to my Onkyo, only sent 5.1 at the end of the day.