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HTPC setup recommendation needed

post #1 of 6
12/5/08 at 5:56pm
Thread Starter 
Hi all,

I want to build my very first own HTPC. I would like to able to play 1080P contents and blu-ray. Here is the setup i have in mind. suggestions and recommendations are appreciated. Thanks.

Antec Aluminum Veris Fusion Black 430 Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case with IR receiver - $169.

ASUS M3A78-EM AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - $78.99

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Brisbane 2.7GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADO5200DOBOX - $62.99

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL4D-2GBPK - $32.99

LITE-ON Black 4X Blu-ray DVD ROM SATA Model DH-4O1S-08 - $99.99

ASUS EN8600GT SILENT/HTDP/512M GeForce 8600 GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Super Silent Video Card - $77.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3750640AS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $89.99

Grand total is $612.93. It's a bit expensive for me, anyway i could cut some cost?

Feel free to PM me for Newegg wish list at thynamite @t yahoo dot com

Andy.
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post #2 of 6
12/5/08 at 6:15pm
As for video, the onboard graphics is enough for 1080p and BD. Do you play SD contents? The onboard graphics is poor in this regard. How about audio? Do you use HDMI or S/PDIF (or analog)?
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post #3 of 6
12/5/08 at 6:46pm
Thread Starter 
Hi, i do plan to use HDMI for audio.

Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx View Post

Do you play SD contents? The onboard graphics is poor in this regard.

I do have mix SD and HD contents. Could you elaborate poor? Thanks in advance!

Andy
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post #4 of 6
12/5/08 at 7:09pm
If you use HDMI audio, avoid a GeForce card (supporting only S/PDIF pass-through over HDMI). The onboard graphics HD 3200 does not have enough stream processors for proper post-processing for SD, and HD interlaced contents (mostly HDTV programs). My recommendation is

- Radeon HD 4550 or
- Radeon HD 4670 (HIS H467QT512P, H467QS512P or PowerColor AX4670 512MD3-P [you have to buy the ATI DVI-HDMI adapter])

Both are good for HD/SD and support multichannel LPCM over HDMI. The latter is more powerful in post-processing and 3D. I named specific brands because some HD 4670 card fans are very loud.
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post #5 of 6
12/5/08 at 8:22pm
Why not just get one of the new ASUS or Gigabyte integrated boards with the Geforce 9300/9400? Seems to be the best solution right now..

Unless someone can point out an advantage..

Also.. I have noticed in these forums that ATI seems to have more issues then Nvidia with regards to compatibility.
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post #6 of 6
12/5/08 at 8:50pm
HD 4550 edges out GeForce 9300/9400 in SD/HD post-processing. I closely compared them. IGP is just IGP, it can't compete with a good discrete card in post-processing. (24p with HD 4550 is perfect too in my configuration, no stuttering no audio drift with TMT).
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