HTPC Question.

[Poohbee]

I've started building and piecing together my HTPC. Here are the components I have so far:

Zalman HD160 HTPC case
1 gig DDR ram
Asus p4pe motherboard
Intel 2.53ghz CPU Northwood
Auzuntech HDA X-mystique gold dolby digital live audio card
Hauppauge PVR500 Dual tuner tv card
Seasonic s12-500 PSU
Logitech Dinovo bluetooth Laser Keyboard/mouse combo
No video card yet (waiting for deal)

Well, I tried to put it together, but I quickly ran into a problem. The motherboard only has 6 USB ports (4 outside/backpane and 2 internal pin connector on motherboard). The Zalman HD160 needs 4 Internal pin type headers for USB (1 VFD, 1 IRTrans, 2 front USB ports).

Do you think I should buy a new motherboard such as an Asus p4p800-e deluxe or should I just put a little bit more money and buy an AMD mobo/cpu combo. I have never bought AMD before but I see they are cheaper in price. I don't really need anything that is powerful, just as long as it can play multimedia files (movies, mp3's, etc), act as a DVR/PVR, and maybe some 3D gaming without choking.

Suggestions?

Thank YOU!

 

[krotchy]

First off, the zalman HTPC is such a sweet case, Im planning on buying that as soon as the Samsung LED DLP 56incher comes out as the basis for my home theatre. Id love to hear about your experiences with it once your done.

First off for now, youll have a functional HTPC if you just connect the VFD/IR USB ports and plug things into the back.

Your cheapest option is for getting another internal connector is to buy an Nforce 4 motherboard, Socket 939. ASRock is a good choice here. This way you can keep your DDR ram. Also throwing in an Athlon 64 3200+ should be plenty of power for what you are trying to do, or if you want some power wait until July 24th and Buy an X2 3800+.

Mobo Suggestion: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813157081
Proc Suggestion: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535

Note the mobo is passively cooled, so quieter in a HTPC. Also it has an AGP slot and a PCI-e x16 slot, so you can put an older or a new graphics card in it.

For anything you do, stay away from Pentiums for an HTPC, they just run too hot! Get a Core 2 Duo, Core Duo or Athlon 64/X2 for it.

I personally would hold off for a month and make it a Conroe (Core 2 Duo) based HTPC, this would give you tons of power for gaming etc. But also require a mobo, proc and ram, which may be too much for you.

 

[xanis]

Whatever processor you wind up getting, get dual-core, because it will come in handy when encoding/decoding recorded videos and ripping/burning DVDs.

 

[Slammy1]

Originally posted by: krotchy
For anything you do, stay away from HT-based Pentiums for an HTPC.

That's a better statement. In general, pentiums do have a significant compatability advantage over AMDs for HTPC apps, though the thermal throttling is a very nice feature.

 

[Todd33]

Originally posted by: Slammy1

Originally posted by: krotchy
For anything you do, stay away from HT-based Pentiums for an HTPC.

That's a better statement. In general, pentiums do have a significant compatability advantage over AMDs for HTPC apps, though the thermal throttling is a very nice feature.

LOL. Name one app that has compatability issues. This is not 1992 any more.

 

[Aluvus]

If the USB thing bothers you so much, why not just get a PCI card with internal USB headers? Much cheaper and much easier than replacing the entire motherboard.

Baby/bathwater.

 

[Poohbee]

first off, Thank you all for your replies. Keep them coming. I'll write more on my HTPC build with images in the future. At this time I'm being patient and can wait for deals.

What are the expected price points for Conroes? I'm interested but the thought of getting a whole new mobo and ram and cpu is a bit daunting. I Still have to buy a video card and wS thinking of getting the Auzuntech X-plosion 7.1 dts audio card. So in all i didn't want to spend too much money.. only enough to get a decent computer that will last at least 4 years without upgrading.

Looking at the AMD solutions it looks like it might be better to just get a new AMD Mobo/Cpu. Because the cost of a decent Intel mobo for my P4 2.53ghz cpu is about the same price as getting an AMD CPU/Mobo.

 

[Poohbee]

Originally posted by: Aluvus
If the USB thing bothers you so much, why not just get a PCI card with internal USB headers? Much cheaper and much easier than replacing the entire motherboard.

Baby/bathwater.

Oh... I didn't know they made such a thing.. !!! Thank you for telling me.

 

[Slammy1]

Originally posted by: Todd33

Originally posted by: Slammy1

Originally posted by: krotchy
For anything you do, stay away from HT-based Pentiums for an HTPC.

That's a better statement. In general, pentiums do have a significant compatability advantage over AMDs for HTPC apps, though the thermal throttling is a very nice feature.

LOL. Name one app that has compatability issues. This is not 1992 any more.

VMR renderless. Rather critical for my usages EDIT: or anyone's doing sharpening. This is an aspect of DScaler5, one of the more common and used decoders. /end AMD fan boy rant .

 

[fatpat268]

Originally posted by: krotchy
For anything you do, stay away from Pentiums for an HTPC, they just run too hot! Get a Core 2 Duo, Core Duo or Athlon 64/X2 for it.

untrue, he's using a P4 northwood, and they don't get very hot at all. I have a p4 2.4 ht northwood that idles at 36 degrees with the stock heatsink in a poor airflow case, so heat wouldn't be a problem. There's no point in getting a faster processor for an htpc, as it would be overkill.

just get a pci card with internal headers, it'll save you some money

 

[krotchy]

Originally posted by: fatpat268

Originally posted by: krotchy
For anything you do, stay away from Pentiums for an HTPC, they just run too hot! Get a Core 2 Duo, Core Duo or Athlon 64/X2 for it.

untrue, he's using a P4 northwood, and they don't get very hot at all. I have a p4 2.4 ht northwood that idles at 36 degrees with the stock heatsink in a poor airflow case, so heat wouldn't be a problem. There's no point in getting a faster processor for an htpc, as it would be overkill.

just get a pci card with internal headers, it'll save you some money

My old 3 GHZ northwood was a settling torch at stock speeds . But still, does anyone consider a northwood an upgrade over anything these days?

 

[Poohbee]

Originally posted by: krotchy

Originally posted by: fatpat268

Originally posted by: krotchy
For anything you do, stay away from Pentiums for an HTPC, they just run too hot! Get a Core 2 Duo, Core Duo or Athlon 64/X2 for it.

untrue, he's using a P4 northwood, and they don't get very hot at all. I have a p4 2.4 ht northwood that idles at 36 degrees with the stock heatsink in a poor airflow case, so heat wouldn't be a problem. There's no point in getting a faster processor for an htpc, as it would be overkill.

just get a pci card with internal headers, it'll save you some money

My old 3 GHZ northwood was a settling torch at stock speeds . But still, does anyone consider a northwood an upgrade over anything these days?

It all depends on what you are gonna do. If you are looking for the latest games and rendering and stuff that takes lots of processing power, I would suggest to wait a bit until the new CPU's come out. I'm sure by than all the other chips including amd's will go down in price as well.

 

[Poohbee]

I think i'm gonna go with buying an Addon USB card with internal usb headers. Can anyone recommend me one? I want at least 2 extra internal headers, just in case.