New htpc with leftover parts

[Atherakhia]

Planning to upgrade to a better desktop shortly and I want to try and recycle some of my stuff for an HTPC.

I don't recall the motherboard I have, but I'll find out once I open the case up when I upgrade. But the CPU is a Core2Duo E6600 with 2gig of RAM.

Most everything else I will need to buy new including the PSU, GPU, and Case.

Are there things I need to keep in mind, or will this processor even be sufficient enough for an HTPC? I have XP on this machine, but will probably upgrade to Windows7 down the road for it.

Things I'm concerned most about is if the board will even fit in some of the better cases, especially the cheaper ones. Also the noise level.

Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

An E6600 should be fine for most typical uses. Your board is probably a standard ATX or microATX board, in which case it will fit into most cases without any issues. Things to consider:

1. Go with a passively cooled GPU.
2. What about sound? Does your board have optical or something like that to tie into a receiver?
3. Make sure you get a quiet PS. I ordered a BFG GS-550 power supply for my HTPC refresh I did last weekend, and I am still shocked how quiet it is.

 

[BornStar]

My HTPC has an E6750 with 2GB of RAM on a G35 motherboard and runs Windows 7 x64. I have 2 HD tuners (Hauppauge 2250) and 1 SD tuner (Hauppauge 150) as well as a BD drive and I've had two HD programs recording while I was watching a BD without a problem.

At some point I'd like to add another 4GB of RAM and upgrade the graphics to something faster. The 5450 looks nice because it's passively cooled but I think at this point I'm going to wait until the next generation of graphics card to see if there's something out there that's a little faster. I'm holding off on adding RAM because as soon as I pass 4GB my 150 won't work anymore (no idea why but that's what Hauppauge says) so I'd like the Ceton MOCUR before I add RAM so I don't lose recording ability.

I don't really have any recommendations for you (I don't use a HTPC case) but I thought you'd like to know that someone has had success with a similar CPU and RAM to you.

 

[Atherakhia]

No, the board doesn't have any way to tie into a receiver to the best of my knowledge. I'm not at all knowledgeable about HTPC as I've only just started doing research on the subject etc.

Could you give a couple examples of a passively cooled GPU that I should look for? Especially fairly inexpensive ones.

Also, what would you say are the more popular HTPC cases?

And thanks Bornstar for the information. Initially, the only real thing I want to do with the HTPC is use it to play movies and shows I download as most everything is in a format my consoles and PC can't play without a lot of added work. Most of my anime for example is mkv.

Down the road it would be nice to experiment with things, and I'm sure I'll have the opportunity since I have no idea what I'm doing

 

[Modelworks]

If you are not going to be recording then I would look at something like the western digitial live boxes that sell for about $125 . They play all the popular codecs, H.264, Xvid/divx, mpeg2, mpeg1, wmv, mkv, avi, etc and it is done completely in hardware with full 1080p output. You can play the files over the network or use a local usb drive. It only uses 12 watts of power so you save there too. It is also completely quiet.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

No, the board doesn't have any way to tie into a receiver to the best of my knowledge. I'm not at all knowledgeable about HTPC as I've only just started doing research on the subject etc.

You would likely need a sound card with optical out, assuming you want to connect it to a receiver. Auzentech makes several good ones. In my old HTPC, I had the Auzentech X-Plosion 7.1.

Could you give a couple examples of a passively cooled GPU that I should look for? Especially fairly inexpensive ones.

The new 5450 seems to be king of the hill for relatively cheap and decent passively cooled GPUs:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-339-_-Product

Also, what would you say are the more popular HTPC cases?

There are a lot of options out there for HTPC cases. Here is a link to Newegg's HTPC cases:

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCateg...k=htpc%20cases

Just be careful that you pay attention to the height of the case. If it isn't a full height ATX case, make sure any cards you have or buy are half-height.

And thanks Bornstar for the information. Initially, the only real thing I want to do with the HTPC is use it to play movies and shows I download as most everything is in a format my consoles and PC can't play without a lot of added work. Most of my anime for example is mkv.

Down the road it would be nice to experiment with things, and I'm sure I'll have the opportunity since I have no idea what I'm doing

As Modelworks said, you might want to look at something like the WD Live instead unless you like tinkering and experimenting. Nothing wrong with that if you do like it, however.

One thing you might consider is buying a new motherboard. By the time you add up the cost of a passively cooled GPU and a sound card with optical out, you can probably get a new board with a decent integrated graphics solution, HDMI port, and an integrated sound card with the optical port for equal or less money. Something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131602

or with nVidia graphics integrated instead:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813141015

Or you can eBay your CPU, board, RAM, etc. and get a new AMD setup. I just bought an Athlon II x4 630, this Gigabyte board (HDMI, optical, and a Radeon 4200 integrated), the BFG power supply I mentioned before, 4 GB of DDR3 RAM, and a Cooler Master Gemini II cooler for under $400 shipped from Newegg. Right now, I think the AMD platform has better options for new HTPCs. Fry's is another option with their cheap combos, but you may not get everything you want in one of their boards.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I'm holding off on adding RAM because as soon as I pass 4GB my 150 won't work anymore (no idea why but that's what Hauppauge says) so I'd like the Ceton MOCUR before I add RAM so I don't lose recording ability.

It sucks, doesn't it? I have a perfectly good PVR-250 that I can't use in my new HTPC unless I drop the RAM down below 4 GB. I think I'll end up eBaying it and putting the money towards a second 2250. Even with 4 GB, I have actually run out of RAM on a couple of occasions on the PC so I will probably have to upgrade beyond 4 GB sooner, rather than later. I am hoping the 4 GB DIMM prices drop so I can add a 2 X 4 GB kit for 12 GB total (I want to run VMWare Server and a VM or two on it as well).