This new machine will serve several purposes:


Home file-server
torrent downloader
print-server
Play 1080 content to TV (no foreseeable recording, though)
Some internet surfing.


It needs to be hooked up to the TV (HDMI, Composite, component, whatever). There will be no game playing (outside of goofball internet games) on this computer in the foreseeable future.

I haven't built a computer in years, and I'm doing most of this on hunch, so tell me if I'm overdoing it or underdoing it. The graphics card I know very little about, and am especially open to further suggestions.

I have several SATA drives that will be put into this computer, and I have an existing ATX case and power supply.

Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - $119

Processor: Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail - $73

RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail - $40

Video: SAPPHIRE 100225L Radeon HD 3870 512MB 256-bit GDDR4 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail - $90

Sorry about the lack of URLs - I'm a noob and the forum won't let me. So far, it all comes from newegg.

Thanks for the advice.

My picks-

You want Nvidia video for the time being- see recent threads re: "fixing" ATI video.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1109949

I think you'll get more bang for the buck with AMD CPU's, also.

It is tough to beat the X2 5400BE right now

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103289

This CPU will do 3Ghz minimum, probably 3.1-3.2GHz without trying- i.e. just change the multiplier and CPU bus clock in the BIOs on the Asus board, no voltage changes needed. With voltage tweaking, you can probably do 3.2Ghz+

These motherboards have good video on board, though not VDPAU capable-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131355

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131342

If you have the clearance, use this cooler

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185125&Tpk=freezer%20pro%2064

or for tighter cases use

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186010&Tpk=alpine%2064

You'll probably get by with 1080p x/h264 with the Asus 7050 video and the X2 5400 at 3GHz with the latest Nvidia driver. If you have hiccups with 1080p video files and need VDPAU, just slap in a low cost fanless 8400GS or 9400GT

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121235

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814187036

Good call on the GSkil RAM- that's what I was going to suggest ;)

Changed my list around to reflect almost everything you recommended; I'm saving almost $100 and the machine is faster. How'd you do that??

secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishLists.aspx?WishListNumber=10775686&WishListTitle=HTPC

I'm concerned the fan will be loud. Thoughts?

Do I need VDPAU, or can I get away with h.264 at 1080?

Thank you!

Changed my list around to reflect almost everything you recommended; I'm saving almost $100 and the machine is faster. How'd you do that??

secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishLists.aspx?WishListNumber=10775686&WishListTitle=HTPC

I'm concerned the fan will be loud. Thoughts?

Do I need VDPAU, or can I get away with h.264 at 1080?

Thank you!

I used my Linux Jedi powers ;)

The two CPU coolers I linked are silent.

Just start with the 7050 IGP video on the mobos I linked. If the 3GHz+ CPU with mplayer multithreading doesn't give you x/h264 1080p without frame drops, you can always buy an 8400GS or 9400GT fan-less PCIe card at any time going forward, probably for even less money than today, as prices keep falling.

Personally, I just don't trust any mobo other than MSI or Asus. And why buy an 8*00 video card when you can get a 9*00 on-board? (hardware accel of mpeg2 & H.264) I am real happy with the Asus P5N7A-VM and E8400, although it would be nicer to have firewire. Thermalright XP-120 on the CPU and HR05-IFX on the nVidia chipset wth 40mm Arctic Cooling boxfan. (liquid bearings, PWM, advanced blade design, daisy-chainable) Case fans replaced with AC box PWMs. Silent.

.

While I would have agreed with your MSI assessment a short time ago, I couldn't recommend an MSI board right now. MSI appears to have pulled a Seagate and quality has tanked.

I tried an MSI K9N2GM-FIH last month, and RMA'd it last week due to a bad Ethernet port. In general, the build quality was poor and the BIOs an embarrassment- I had never seen so many errors and misspellings in a BIOs before. MSI's current website support for downloads/etc pales compared to BIOstar or Asus. The manual was poorly written with numerous technical errors, like RAM slot assignments for Dual Channel mode, etc.

This was not the case with the MSI of about 2 years ago, when I got the MSI 6150 board that performs so well for me. The MSI 6150 board is a direct ancestor of the K9N2GM. Maybe I just got a bad model or batch, but be wary of MSI for the time being.

I was an Asus guy exclusively prior to about 3 years ago, and won't stray far again in the near term. I have had good luck in the past year or so with BIOstar, also. DO NOT TOUCH FOXCONN hardware at ANY COST. A simple Google search will show that Foxconn went Seagate some time ago. Foxconn OEM's to many other motherboard brand labels, so watch out. I believe ECS and Epox boards are Foxconn sourced, and others, so buyer beware. Foxconn has has been anti-Linux, too-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn

Good call on the Arctic Cooling exhaust fans. If you are an engineer (Mechanical/Aerospace), you will immediately recognize and appreciate the thoughtful design, build quality, and conscientious engineering physics that Arctic Cooling fans demonstrate.

These are the case exhaust fans I use-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186122

They are very quiet to silent, depending on your case and distance from them during operation.

If you need speed control to slow them down for complete silence, I use these-

http://www.xoxide.com/fanmate.html

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article133-page1.html

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118217&Tpk=zalman%20fan%20mate

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=ATN-TP-02E&cat=CAS

The last fan speed controller above ATN-TP-02E is available at the ebay web store of partsparadiseinc, search "fan controller"

re: 8xxx PCIe video card vs 9xxx IGP

There are no Nvidia 9xxx IGP motherboards for AMD CPU's at newegg.com

I suspect that a 9xxx IGP AM2+/AM3 motherboard would probably cost the same or more than the ASUS M2N68 boards I linked to + 9400GT fanless card, assuming they are from a good non-Foxconn made motherboard label. You get good video to start with on the 7050 and an easy upgrade path with the PCIe slot.

The 8400GS appears to fare very well re: VDPAU according to-

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=nvidia_vdpau_gpu&num=1

on a CPU far less capable than the 3GHz X2 I recommended, so why not save the money and maybe power/heat?

Plus, with the X2 5400BE at 3Ghz or higher, the 7050 IGP will probably do 1080p x/h264 (worst case CPU usage) fine, no VDPAU needed. If VDPAU is needed, it's trivial to add the 8xxx or 9xxx PCIe fanless card anyways.

Yes Arctic Cooling are drastically underappreciated, and so are cheep. I think I was the first to start hollering about them a year ago or so. Although I prefer their boxfans, not cage, because reversible. No need for speed control, as they're PWM; plug one into the CPU fan header, and daisychain the rest off of it. Mobo controls them all, based on thermal load. This is why I monitor fan speed, to make sure it's working.

Link to AC boxfans you mention?

Just another warning- avoid the Nvidia 8200 IGP's for the moment. Another avsforum member, zim2dive, reports that the Nvidia driver for the 8200 IGP has performance issues.

Changed my list around to reflect almost everything you recommended; I'm saving almost $100 and the machine is faster.

So what parts did you settle on?

So what parts did you settle on?
I got the AMD system you recommended:

Processor:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103289

MoBo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131355

RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231148

The CPU fan was out of stock -- will I be okay without it? I don't plan to overclock... It's just an HTPC. :-)

I hope to put this micro ATX in a regular ATX case (for the time being), but if it doesn't work, I'll have to get a new case as well.

Thank you, RGB, for your help! Seeing as how it's a HTPC anyhow, perhaps I'll name it "RGB" on the network, in honor of your saving me $100!

I got the AMD system you recommended:

Processor:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103289

MoBo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131355

RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231148

The CPU fan was out of stock -- will I be okay without it? I don't plan to overclock... It's just an HTPC. :-)

I hope to put this micro ATX in a regular ATX case (for the time being), but if it doesn't work, I'll have to get a new case as well.

Thank you, RGB, for your help! Seeing as how it's a HTPC anyhow, perhaps I'll name it "RGB" on the network, in honor of your saving me $100!

I think 5-5-5-15 DDR2 is more overclockable vs the 4-4-4-12 you linked, if you plan to OC the X2 5400BE, which it's born to do ;) This RAM is $5 cheaper with free shipping vs the GSkil you linked-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

You must buy a CPU cooler, as the X2 5400 BE, like most Black Editions's, doesn't come with a CPU cooler. This one will be more than adequate, is silent, has industry leading build quality and design, is in stock with free shipping-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186010&Tpk=alpine%2064

The Freezer 64 Pro is probably overkill for the X2 5400BE, which runs cool. The Freezer Pro 64 is back in stock, BTW.

re: naming-

I feel honored, even more than if you'd named your first born after me :D

I added the CPU fan:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186010&Tpk=alpine%2064

Unfortunately the RAM is non-returnable, so I'm stuck with the RAM I've got.

Thank you for the added suggestions.

I added the CPU fan:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186010&Tpk=alpine%2064

Unfortunately the RAM is non-returnable, so I'm stuck with the RAM I've got.

Thank you for the added suggestions.

I don't think you'll have any issue with that RAM, plus the faster timings won't hurt- you should get a performance boost.

Just change the CPU multiplier in the BIOs to get 3.0-3.1Ghz. You don't need to change the bus speed, which is 200Mhz. Changing the bus speed changes the RAM speed.

Got this box put together a few days ago.. I *can* play 1080 content without hiccups, though I haven't tried long streams... just a few minutes at a time.

I will say that the old box sounded like a vacuum cleaner, and this one is quiet as a mouse. That alone was worth the $200!

Further updates as the build progresses.

Thanks again,

photomikey