Preliminary HTPC Build - Overclock.net

zaz2102 · 4 Weeks Ago

I've done some research and come up with what I feel is a decent build for a decent price. However, the following components are missing from my itemized list:

TV Tuner
I'm not sure what I want to do here. I really would like a DCT, but can't justify it from my current perspective.
Network Card
I just haven't done the research yet for my needs.
Sound Card
I'll wait until I hear the output of the system before I decide on purchasing one.
Remote Control
I still have to do research on this as well.

My plan is to start with the build and then decide whether or not to migrate to a server. So without further stalling for time, here is my list:

ATX SYSTEM
CPU: Athlon II ADX620WFGIBOX X4 620 2.6GHz AM3 $99.00
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master (Geminii S) RR-CCH-PBU1-GP $32.00
Mother Board: GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM2+ AMD 785G chipset ATX $80.00
Memory: G.SKILL F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK DDR2-1066 2x2GB Kit $65.00
Graphics Card: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4670 DDR3 1GB $70.00
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps $70.00
PSU: Corsair VX450W CMPSU-450VX 450W $60.00
Case: SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum / Steel LC10B-E ATX HTPC Case $100.00
Optical Disc Drive: LG UH08LS10K BD & DVD Rewriter $99.00

Total Cost: $675.00

Please let me know if you have any experiences with any of these parts, any recommendations, or suggestions.

scottath · 4 Weeks Ago

network - wifi or not? - if not onboard should be fine
sound - i just got a Asus Xonar DX - it sounds SOOO good
Remote - look for any ones - i got one but it just died (genuine M$ one too...)
Tv Tuner - i have a Hauppauge HVR-2200 - twin channel HD tuner - works very well here

DuckieHo · 4 Weeks Ago

A Corsair 400CX is fine and is $30 cheaper.

You don't need a performance HD... get a quieter one.

W7 HTPC runs fine on 2GB.

Do you plan to do encoding? If not, a Athlon II X2 235e for $70 is better choice being a 45w part.

zaz2102 · 4 Weeks Ago

This board is truly helpful and fast. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll look into them.

scottath · 4 Weeks Ago

as above - rest of the system is good.
i run W7 MC for my HTPC (overkill rig.....) very well on a 2gb stick (its a q6600 though....as i said - overkill)

Also - i have mine running a Nvidia 8400gs - and that is quite fine for the HD video and much lower performance than a HD4670

DuckieHo · 4 Weeks Ago

Your mobo is powerful enough for 1080p without a video card. If you are getting a video card, get a cheaper motherboard based on the 770 chipset. If you don't need the SB610 or better Southbridge, get a 740 chipset. The recommend HTPC video card would be the HD4350 since it is low power, cheap, and supports UVD2.2

Brutuz · 4 Weeks Ago

With the money you've saved, try to get a sound card like the ASUS Xonar, the non X-Fi are GREAT for media and really do improve the quality.

(X-Fi is great for gaming, but for me at least didn't sound any better)

zaz2102 · 4 Weeks Ago

Thanks everyone. So my updated list based on suggestions is as follows:

ATX SYSTEM
CPU: Athlon II X2 235e $70.00
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master (Geminii S) RR-CCH-PBU1-GP $35.00
Mother Board: ECS A740GM-M AM2+/AM2 AMD 740G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard $50.00
Memory: G.SKILL F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK DDR2-1066 2x2GB Kit $65.00
Graphics Card: GIGABYTE GV-R435OC-512I Radeon HD 4350 512MB Video Card $35.00
Sound Card: ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channels PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card $70.00
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps $70.00
PSU: Corsair CX400W Power supply - 400 W $45.00
Case: SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum / Steel LC10B-E ATX HTPC Case $100.00
Optical Disc Drive: LG UH08LS10K BD & DVD Rewriter $100.00

Total Cost: $630.00

I don't know the complete capabilities of the southbridge, so I went with your suggestion Duckie and I presume you know a lot more than I do. With both of you recommending the ASUS Xonar Sound Card, I expect that it does make a difference.

And I will be adding the Hauppauge HVR-2250 as well. Does anybody have any insight on it?

I'm not 100% on the compatibility of all these components, although they seem to be compatible from what I saw. If it makes a difference I plan on running Windows 7.

Again, if you have any more recommendations to help me update this list, feel free to do so. And again, thanks for all the input.

Ben the OCer · 4 Weeks Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by zaz2102

Thanks everyone. So my updated list based on suggestions is as follows:

ATX SYSTEM
CPU: Athlon II X2 235e $70.00
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master (Geminii S) RR-CCH-PBU1-GP $35.00
Mother Board: ECS A740GM-M AM2+/AM2 AMD 740G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard $50.00
Memory: G.SKILL F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK DDR2-1066 2x2GB Kit $65.00
Graphics Card: GIGABYTE GV-R435OC-512I Radeon HD 4350 512MB Video Card $35.00
Sound Card: ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channels PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card $70.00
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps $70.00
PSU: Corsair CX400W Power supply - 400 W $45.00
Case: SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum / Steel LC10B-E ATX HTPC Case $100.00
Optical Disc Drive: LG UH08LS10K BD & DVD Rewriter $100.00

Total Cost: $630.00

I don't know the complete capabilities of the southbridge, so I went with your suggestion Duckie and I presume you know a lot more than I do. With both of you recommending the ASUS Xonar Sound Card, I expect that it does make a difference.

As for the Hauppauge HVR-2200, it looks good, but two issues. First, can anyone confirm that it'll get more than just OTA and that it is indeed an OCUR tuner? And second, I'm sure I can buy it, but I find it strange it's a little more difficult to find for sell online.

I'm not 100% on the compatibility of all these components, although they seem to be compatible from what I saw. If it makes a difference I plan on running Windows 7.

Again, if you have any more recommendations to help me update this list, feel free to do so. And again, thanks for all the input.

I'd go for the Athlon II X2 regular version (240, 245, or 250). As you can see there is little difference from the e and non-e versions: link. You could always just under volt it yourself. ECS mobo and 740G chipset is a no go for me. I think 740G is kind of an old chipset to be getting now. Get a nice 785G board and forget the video card. Try the onboard HD4200 video card and you can always just get a discreet card if it doesn't have enough power. I don't know about the Gemini. Isn't it kind of big for an HTPC. Get a Western Digital Caviar Green for the hard drive.

Manyak · 4 Weeks Ago

Yeah instead of getting the 740G and a 4350, just get a 785G for the same price. The HD4350 is virtually identical to the HD4200 that's part of the 785G chipset.

4 Weeks Ago	#1 (permalink)
zaz2102 New to Overclock.net Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 12 Rep: 0 Unique Rep: 0 Trader Rating: 0	Preliminary HTPC Build I've done some research and come up with what I feel is a decent build for a decent price. However, the following components are missing from my itemized list: TV Tuner I'm not sure what I want to do here. I really would like a DCT, but can't justify it from my current perspective. Network Card I just haven't done the research yet for my needs. Sound Card I'll wait until I hear the output of the system before I decide on purchasing one. Remote Control I still have to do research on this as well. My plan is to start with the build and then decide whether or not to migrate to a server. So without further stalling for time, here is my list: ATX SYSTEM CPU: Athlon II ADX620WFGIBOX X4 620 2.6GHz AM3 $99.00 CPU Cooler: Cooler Master (Geminii S) RR-CCH-PBU1-GP $32.00 Mother Board: GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM2+ AMD 785G chipset ATX $80.00 Memory: G.SKILL F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK DDR2-1066 2x2GB Kit $65.00 Graphics Card: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4670 DDR3 1GB $70.00 HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps $70.00 PSU: Corsair VX450W CMPSU-450VX 450W $60.00 Case: SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum / Steel LC10B-E ATX HTPC Case $100.00 Optical Disc Drive: LG UH08LS10K BD & DVD Rewriter $99.00 Total Cost: $675.00 Please let me know if you have any experiences with any of these parts, any recommendations, or suggestions.

4 Weeks Ago	#8 (permalink)
zaz2102 New to Overclock.net Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 12 Rep: 0 Unique Rep: 0 Trader Rating: 0	Thanks everyone. So my updated list based on suggestions is as follows: ATX SYSTEM CPU: Athlon II X2 235e $70.00 CPU Cooler: Cooler Master (Geminii S) RR-CCH-PBU1-GP $35.00 Mother Board: ECS A740GM-M AM2+/AM2 AMD 740G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard $50.00 Memory: G.SKILL F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK DDR2-1066 2x2GB Kit $65.00 Graphics Card: GIGABYTE GV-R435OC-512I Radeon HD 4350 512MB Video Card $35.00 Sound Card: ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channels PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card $70.00 HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps $70.00 PSU: Corsair CX400W Power supply - 400 W $45.00 Case: SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum / Steel LC10B-E ATX HTPC Case $100.00 Optical Disc Drive: LG UH08LS10K BD & DVD Rewriter $100.00 Total Cost: $630.00 I don't know the complete capabilities of the southbridge, so I went with your suggestion Duckie and I presume you know a lot more than I do. With both of you recommending the ASUS Xonar Sound Card, I expect that it does make a difference. And I will be adding the Hauppauge HVR-2250 as well. Does anybody have any insight on it? I'm not 100% on the compatibility of all these components, although they seem to be compatible from what I saw. If it makes a difference I plan on running Windows 7. Again, if you have any more recommendations to help me update this list, feel free to do so. And again, thanks for all the input. Last edited by zaz2102 : 4 Weeks Ago at 05:00 PM

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Preliminary HTPC Build

4 Weeks Ago	#4 (permalink)
zaz2102 New to Overclock.net Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 12 Rep: 0 Unique Rep: 0 Trader Rating: 0	This board is truly helpful and fast. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll look into them.

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