Building my first HTPC

[EstoyLoco]

HI all!
Been away for awhile at US Navy boot camp and "A" school.
As a sort of homecoming project, I have decided to put together a HTPC for the living room.
I'm not new to building computers, but I have been out of the loop for a little bit, and this is actually my 1st time building a HTPC. I'm going to be using this to play both games and watch HD content on my TV.
Input is highly requested. All these prices are based on newegg.com, and pre any rebates.

• Cooler Master Cavalier 4 Black ATX Desktop Case, Model "CAV-T04-UKC" -RETAIL - $99.00

• AMD Socket 939 Athlon 64 3500+, 90nm, 2.2 GHz, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor - OEM - $319

• Thermaltake SILENT BOOST For AMD Opteron and Athlon 64 (All Copper) -RETAIL - $29.99

• FOXCONN "NF4UK8AA-8EKRS" NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU -RETAIL - $109.00

• Kingmax SuperRAM Series Dual Channel Kit 184-Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200, Model MPXD42D-2 - Retail - $87.99

• 2xVANTEC IceBerq Copper DDR Memory Heat Spreader, Model "DDR-A1C" -RETAIL - $11.80

• MSI nVIDIA GeForce 6600GT Video Card, 128MB DDR3, 128-Bit, DVI/TV-Out, PCI-Express, Model "NX6600GT-TD128E" -RETAIL - $183.00

• Sapphire Theatrix Theatre 550Pro PCI TV Tuner Card with Remote Control, Model "100104SR" -RETAIL - $79.99

• REFURBISHED: ATI HDTV Wonder Remote Control Edition PCI TV Tuner, Model "100-714127" (OEM, BAREBONE) - $115.00

• Hitachi 250GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model HDS722525VLSA80 Part# 14R9464, OEM Drive Only - $135.00

• NEC 1.44MB Black Internal Floppy Drive, OEM - $8.00

• SONY Black 16X DVD-ROM Drive, Model DDU1613/B2s, OEM - $25.00

• NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive, Black, Model ND-3520A BK, OEM - $53.99

• Remote Control with Receiver for Microsoft Windows XP Media Center - OEM - $38.25

• Microsoft Windows XP Media Center 2005 - OEM - $120.95

Total comes to: $1,430.95

Any comments, suggestions, and etc. are appreciated.
Thanks ahead of time!

 

[wisdomtooth]

Originally posted by: EstoyLoco
HI all!
Cooler Master Cavalier 4 Black ATX Desktop Case, Model "CAV-T04-UKC" -RETAIL - $99.00[/b]

AVOID THE CAVALIER HORIZONTAL CASE LIKE THE PLAGUE.

It uses a non-standard PSU, which runs hot, runs noisy, and you can't change it out for a better unit.

Get a Silverstone or Ahanix case instead.

HTH.

 

[SLCentral]

Originally posted by: wisdomtooth

Originally posted by: EstoyLoco
HI all!
Cooler Master Cavalier 4 Black ATX Desktop Case, Model "CAV-T04-UKC" -RETAIL - $99.00[/b]

AVOID THE CAVALIER HORIZONTAL CASE LIKE THE PLAGUE.

It uses a non-standard PSU, which runs hot, runs noisy, and you can't change it out for a better unit.

Get a Silverstone or Ahanix case instead.

HTH.

:thumbsup:

I have a Silverstone LC-04 and I love it.

 

[wisdomtooth]

Hey, fellow LC04 owner!

I'm trying to figure out how to mod my LC04-B at the moment... Thinking of putting a VFD and IR sensor behind the acrylic veneer on the bottom third of the bezel. I'm still a bit hesitant to put my Dremel to that nice case though!

 

[imported_Kiwi]

Originally posted by: wisdomtooth
AVOID THE CAVALIER HORIZONTAL CASE LIKE THE PLAGUE. It uses a non-standard PSU, which runs hot, runs noisy, and you can't change it out for a better unit. Get a Silverstone or Ahanix case instead.

Ahanix, and Silverstone, like Lian Li, seem to think that they are using platinum or gold to stamp out the parts for their cases. I can't agree that a Silverstone is good enough to warrant the kind of money they want to charge!

Originally posted by: EstoyLoco
AMD Socket 939 Athlon 64 3500+, 90nm, 2.2 GHz, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor - OEM - $319
Thermaltake SILENT BOOST For AMD Opteron and Athlon 64 (All Copper) -RETAIL - $29.99
FOXCONN "NF4UK8AA-8EKRS" NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU -RETAIL - $109.00
Kingmax SuperRAM Series Dual Channel Kit 184-Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200, Model MPXD42D-2 - Retail - $87.99
2xVANTEC IceBerq Copper DDR Memory Heat Spreader, Model "DDR-A1C" -RETAIL - $11.80
MSI nVIDIA GeForce 6600GT Video Card, 128MB DDR3, 128-Bit, DVI/TV-Out, PCI-Express, Model "NX6600GT-TD128E" -RETAIL - $183.00
Sapphire Theatrix Theatre 550Pro PCI TV Tuner Card with Remote Control, Model "100104SR" -RETAIL - $79.99
REFURBISHED: ATI HDTV Wonder Remote Control Edition PCI TV Tuner, Model "100-714127" (OEM, BAREBONE) - $115.00
Hitachi 250GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model HDS722525VLSA80 Part# 14R9464, OEM Drive Only - $135.00
NEC 1.44MB Black Internal Floppy Drive, OEM - $8.00
SONY Black 16X DVD-ROM Drive, Model DDU1613/B2s, OEM - $25.00
NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive, Black, Model ND-3520A BK, OEM - $53.99
Remote Control with Receiver for Microsoft Windows XP Media Center - OEM - $38.25
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center 2005 - OEM - $120.95

There are folks who might claim I'm nutty, but I wouldn't be saying I was a nut as my electronic handle, in any language! But hey, I never thought I'd like to be on a ship in the middle of an ocean with a crew ratio of maybe fifty (a hundred?) men for every distaff crew member.

Right now, the market for horizontally oriented enclosures is pretty soft. There aren't many available, but the demand is small. Look at Casedge, Enlight, inWin, and a couple of others that are also fairly reasonably priced. But be aware that if you consider anything along the lines of mini-ATX, or SFF, you run into the problem of non-standard psu shapes/ sizes. I've had to strip down a 90 Watt and a 250 watt psu to swap parts and end up with enough power in a psu shell that was oriented correctly so it would fit a mATX Enlight box.

I thought I recalled a Cooler Master Desktop box other than a Cavalier or their mATX case; maybe a standard psu was available in that one.

Picking on the components you've named (and there are a couple of good AV-oriented forums you can search out data from, you know) that come within my experience sphere, I have a Silent Boost hsf and like it. The compromise between noise reduction and heat dissipation works out very well.

The Foxconn brand name isn't getting either good or bad press; mostly, it's being ignored. My opinion is to go with something more popular that you can get more opinions about.

Generally, the comparisons of higher-priced lines of memory to the more ordinary lines from the same producer show less variation than there is between brand names known to be high quality generally, and generic stuff. If you buy the "Value" lines from the quality brand names, it is typically better than almost anything from the unknown brand names.

Aftermarket heat spreaders are truly only going to be useful for appearance' sake, and an HTPC isn't intended to be equipped with a window. Forget those.

If you want to be able to record one channel whle watching another, and the TV tuners you are shopping for are single channel units, my own opinion would be to have a matched pair because I'd expect fewer chances of conflicts. I don't know what chipset that Sapphire has in it. Perhaps it's ATI, same as the HDTV Wonder?

My own HTPC has no floppy in it. When I need to boot from one, I open the box up, and temporarily connect one.

 

[SLCentral]

Originally posted by: wisdomtooth
Hey, fellow LC04 owner!

I'm trying to figure out how to mod my LC04-B at the moment... Thinking of putting a VFD and IR sensor behind the acrylic veneer on the bottom third of the bezel. I'm still a bit hesitant to put my Dremel to that nice case though!

. The LC-04 is a great case. You know, that sounds like a great idea, but knowing me, I'd def. screw my case up, so I'll pass . Sometimes, I wish I bought it with the VFD, but since its on the bottom of my AV rack, it would be kind of pointless anyways.

 

[rbV5]

*Remote Control with Receiver for Microsoft Windows XP Media Center - OEM - $38.25
*Microsoft Windows XP Media Center 2005 - OEM - $120.95
*REFURBISHED: ATI HDTV Wonder Remote Control Edition PCI TV Tuner, Model "100-714127" (OEM, BAREBONE) - $115.00
*Kingmax SuperRAM Series Dual Channel Kit 184-Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200, Model MPXD42D-2 - Retail - $87.99
*Sapphire Theatrix Theatre 550Pro PCI TV Tuner Card with Remote Control, Model "100104SR" -RETAIL - $79.99

I have all these components in my new PC (My HDTV Wonder isn't a refurb, however for MCE all you need is the bare card, so if it works at all, you should be good)

They are all working together nicely, so I'd say nice choice of components.

Edit: I'm primarily using the YPbPr output from the X800 XL to drive my TV.

 

[wisdomtooth]

Originally posted by: Kiwi
Silverstone, like Lian Li, seems to think that they are using platinum or gold to stamp out the parts for their cases. I can't agree that a Silverstone is good enough to warrant the kind of money they want to charge!

Right now, the market for horizontally oriented enclosures is pretty soft. There aren't many available, but the demand is small. Look at Ahanix, Enlight, and a couple of others that are also fairly reasonably priced. But be aware that if you consider anything along the lines of mini-ATX, or SFF, you run into the problem of non-standard psu shapes/ sizes. I've had to strip down a 90 Watt and a 250 watt psu to swap parts and end up with enough power in a psu shell that was oriented correctly so it would fit a mATX Enlight box.

Ahanix, "fairly reasonably priced?" Have you seen how much the D.VINE cases go for? on average, $70-80 MORE than a basic Silverstone HTPC case like the LC13.

Not sure where you've been buying your HTPC stuff, dude.

Your struggle with non-standard units is why I'm recommending a Silverstone or Ahanix that WILL take a standard PSU.

Hell, the Silverstone LC13 costs $109 at PC Alchemy. I'd much rather buy that than drop $100 on a Cavalier only to find out later on that I can't change the PSU and have to ditch the whole friggin' thing.

 

[imported_Kiwi]

Yup. I knew Ahanix were high dollar. At least one part of my mind did. Another part turned Ahanix into Antec. Their Cube & Desktop cases use non-standard psu's, but they are quiet and reportedly good quality units, at reasonable pricing. I edited the original reply.

 

[EstoyLoco]

If you want to be able to record one channel whle watching another, and the TV tuners you are shopping for are single channel units, my own opinion would be to have a matched pair because I'd expect fewer chances of conflicts. I don't know what chipset that Sapphire has in it. Perhaps it's ATI, same as the HDTV Wonder?

The Sapphire card is based on ATI 550 chipset, it is supposed to provide Analog > Digital conversion with no loss in quality from the capture. I.e. your recorded material looks near live like feed quality.

Using the HDTV Wonder + Sapphire card, I should be able to record 1 HD + 1 Analog or 2 Analog channels at once, I would assume... Can anyone verify this? Specially rbV5 since you said you have the same setup tuners.

Thank you for the great replys about the case, I didn't consider the PSU at all. I will look into the Silverstone and Ahanix cases. I know I have a Standard ATX Antec TruPower 550W PSU that I can use from my old computer.

Also thanks for the note about not needing the ram heatsinks, so just are just purely cosmetics huh? hmmm... well its less money i have to spend

 

[ribbon13]

I'd consider a MSI board too.

 

[bocamojo]

I would recommend getting a DFI Lanparty mobo instead. Here's a link:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-136-152&depa=0

 

[wisdomtooth]

Originally posted by: EstoyLoco
[Thank you for the great replys about the case, I didn't consider the PSU at all. I will look into the Silverstone and Ahanix cases. I know I have a Standard ATX Antec TruPower 550W PSU that I can use from my old computer.

How important is quietness for your HTPC? If you want a quiet HTPC, it might be a good idea to use a Seasonic 120mm-fan PSU instead. The Antec TruePower550 has two 80mm fans and does not vent quite as well in a horizontal-type HTPC case (which unlike towers needs all the venting help it can get).

The best-value combo right now for HTPCs are the LC10/LC13 with a Seasonic Super Tornado 400 (LC10 if you don't like doors, LC13 if you like doors). Don't bother buying an HTPC case from Newegg-- Their prices on HTPC cases are on average $30 more. Go somewhere else like PCAlchemy.

HTH.

 

[ribbon13]

Seasonic SS-400FB A3

 

[mshan]

Hi ribbon13:

Could you elaborate on why you recommend that MSI mATX mobo? Seems like a nice choice, but I am concerned that the chipset used isn't used by a lot of other manufacturers and wonder if there will be any incompatability issues when you start adding a lot of programs for the HTPC.

Any insights would greatly be appreciated!