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Quiet HTPC Build w/ HDMI out 1080p

GT1999

GT1999

Diamond Member
I haven't been on the PC hardware scene for quite some time. My system is a Pentium4 2.5GHz w/ 1GB RAM, and an old clunky GeForce3. I have a laptop, but am looking to add a HTPC to complement my 40" Sony 1080P LCD TV and HDMI soundbar. The HTPC will go directly into the HDMI in on the soundbar to feed the TV.

I am CLUELESS as to what motherboards, CPUs, GPUs are best now on a budget or otherwise.

Needs: Quiet. Good video card capable of 1080P graphics (at least for some games...?), I am hoping to be able to game off of it. The cheaper the better but I don't want to go so cheap that I don't get bad components. The CPU isn't as important to me as graphics and getting a good gaming experience. Right now I don't own many games but I plan to buy COD MW2, Bioshock, Civ, etc. Bluetooth (for a mouse/keyboard), 802.11n onboard preferably, if not I can buy a card. I'll also probably give it a 1TB drive to store music and sync with my iTunes.

Another question, what are video cards or motherboards that support the HDMI out with both vid/sound? Ive heard some only do video and don't push over sound.

Can anybody give me some options, maybe a budget, middle, and higher end quiet system for this? Most likely I'll need to shell out for Windows 7 Home for it.

If all else fails and there aren't any graphics cards that'll do HDMI out and support gaming at 1080p for modern games, I'd like to go with just integrated graphics or a low end card and use it as a HTPC and probably buy a Blu-Ray player for it and for music/browsing etc.
 
Just did some reading and it looks like I need the ATI 5000 series to get the Bluray Audio. My soundbar is only 3.1 though.
 
Good gaming + HTPC + Quiet usually ends badly with none of the categories being fully realized.

I would look at getting a media player instead of the HTPC. I was a die hard HTPC user for years but have in the last couple months retired the HTPC. If you do not plan to use it for a DVR then a media player is the best option. The one I currently use is the WDTV Live , about $130 , and plays 1080P over HDMI perfectly without having to set up anything. Plug in the box, connect an external drive or network and play your files. It does all this consuming 12 watts of power and making zero noise.

There are plenty of better equipped media players out now and coming soon , though they will cost more. The Popcorn Hour C-200 does everything you wanted for media and for less than any pc could be built.
http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/index.php?pluginoption=catalog
 
Cant give you any input on graphics cards that you can use for gaming. But, if you want to just build a media center/blu ray player Id suggest the Intel DG45ID mATX board. That is what I am using in my HTPC; onboard HDMI does video and audio, and the onboard graphics card has hardware decoding for I think all the Blu-Ray/HD video formats. My HTPC plays everything with less than 50% load on the CPU. Stock heatsink fan is pretty quiet too.
 
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