Thinking of building an HTPC, thoughts/suggestions?

[TheBrandon]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

This will be used in connection with a Samsung 5265, Onkyo 605 powering Polks in 5.1 and some other odds and ends. The main thing this unit will be used for is its movie and music capabilites as well as surfing the web.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

Hoping around $800.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

Good ol USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.

I am not a fanboy. I do believe in quality.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

Nope, fresh build.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

Building is a nonissue. I have a very highend PC for gaming. This unit will not be used for that and I have never built a HTPC before.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

No OCing on this unit obviously.

Thoughts, suggestions, tips? Thanks all!!!

 

[sparks]

AVSForum

 

[heyheybooboo]

Luv that AVS Forum

There's not a whole lot to it. Most depends upon your personal preferences. Small form factor matx up to atx tower. Any dual-core cpu has more than enough juice. A 65w 4200+ @ 2.2 GHz is more than you'll ever need and run cool and quiet.

I run an undervolted Opty 165 at stock 1.8GHz and never peak beyond 25% cpu utilization recording a channel while watching another. Ditto for DVD playback. Just watching I'm at 8-10%. I've even run tuners on Socket A's and Celly D's - can't recall if my cpu utilization ever went above 55% surfin' and watchin' the 'tube' (or panel!) at the same time.

I use a 7600gs because it's only 25 watts and let's me do some light gaming. I've used everything from a Radeon 9600 SE and GeForce FX 5600 up to a 7950gt without any problems. I'll probably upgrade to a 2600xt/8600gt when (and if) I decide to go HD-DVD. When do yah think a sata hd-dvd will get down to $50?

I've used ATI and Haupague tuners but prefer my Divco Fusion RT5 Gold. I do cable clear QAM and OTA with an A/B switch. OTA Hi Def rocks - only have the cable for everyone else. The time-shift function on the Fusion is a little buggy but I disabled it - don't use it anyway. New drivers may have fixed it by now.

I do optical out from my AuzenTech X-Mystique to my receiver. Works like a charm on that DD 5.1 surround sound. I've even used an el cheapo 5.1 card with optical out without problems - never tried it with on-board sound, though.

I've heard good things about Gigabyte 690g's but the little woman would whip me if I built another htpc . . . . I'm runnin' out of roomns to put 'em in.

Save up for a file server for all your media content. Thank goodness hard drives are getting bigger and cheaper