Assassin's Simple/Beginner HTPC Buying Guide - Page 153

Gigabyte GA-H67MA-UD2H-B3 - $130

Anyone else have some tweaks to offer?

Jim

Ahh, I see. I'd recommend MicroATX with a home theatre style component case. Should give you room for 3-4 PCI-e slots if necessary and plenty of room to add storage or an optical drive down the road. If I could do it all again, that's what I'd do instead of the Mini-ITX route I decided on, no specific regrets though.

Thanks, sounds like the rebates from OCZ are a little shaky but even $55 is a pretty good deal. I am putting together a second computer for editing videos, and as another HD storage since my WHS is running out of space. I recently built a i3 Clarkdale HTPC based on this guide. I am planning on just adding drives to this new PC build which will be located in the office. So far, I have ordered the Antec 300 case, this OCZ power supply, the Kingston 64gb SSD yesterday for the operating system and one of the 2tb Samsung drive to get this PC off to a good start. Looking to get an i5 2500k and one of the new Z68 motherboards and probably 8gb's of memory. This will be a general purpose PC for some light video editing, photo editing and ripping video. I've got a spare DVD drive for now but I will eventually get a Bluray burner or Bluray drive. I can swap the Bluray burner out of my HTPC if I need to.

assassin, your guide is fantastic and has been extremely helpful. I'll be building an HTPC in late August so I can have it for the next school year, and I just wanted to clear up a question I've been wondering about.

Is it ever a good idea to use a PSU that is included with a case? I've read a lot of negative feedback regarding these PSUs.

Just an update on Ceton progress. Still working on recording late night TV to test wakeup functions on HTPC. One issue which I've found is that if the tuner is set to record a non-recordable channel (no signal) then it can't be reused until a full HTPC restart (reboot) is performed. Not sure if this is a driver issue or a 7MC issue.

Also Ceton claims that ClearQAM not fully supported due to 7MC setup not properly completing without a CableCard installed even though it apparently does.

So it seems that testing prior to installing a CableCard may be futile.

I'm taking the risk and calling Comcast today.

Jim

Assassin, what do you think of this ASROCK card? (ASRock Z68 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157250
I know it is more expensive but it has esata and a USB3.0 front panel as well. I like the number of sata connections along with the esata for adding a JBOD later. I know I can get a card but to have everything inboard would be nice.

EDIT** I eneded up ordering it with the following:
Antec 300
Samsung 2TB
Intel Core i5-2500K
G.SKILL Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB (Low Voltage)
AFT PRO-55U All-in-one USB 2.0 Card Reader
OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7
and finally an adapter for the USB 3.0 that comes with the ASRock board Antec 30300 Three Hundred 5.25" To 3.5" Drive Bay Adapter Assembly
I already have Windows 7. Still need to find a nice new monitor around 24" and a bluray drive(hoping for a Fry's special this Friday
I should have everything by next week

Ok, so I might be interested in taking the plunge here. I am currently a mac user, but I previously built a pc with the help of a friend and I think I could do it on my own. I am just wondering a few things about what exactly an HTPC can do for me.

I understand that with a blu-ray drive I will be able to watch my blu-rays and possibly even save them onto a hard drive and create something like a movie jukebox, right?

The Sandy Bridge appears to have 3d capabilities, could this go as far as 2d to 3d conversion? If so, what software would be needed?

Is there anyway to have a dual hdmi output allowing the bitstreaming of HD audio out of one hdmi port and the HD video out of the other hdmi port?

I read that you have the ability to choose aspect ratios, does this include vertically stretching an image (or removing black bars top and bottom) for use with an anamorphic lens? If so, can this be done with 3d blu-rays as well?

Is there a software that can be used as a final video processor prior to sending the video out? Would such a software include a Color Management System, noise reduction, etc.? Would an HTPC with said software be comparable to a Lumagen video processor?

I see that some cases have lcd screens on the front, what benefits do these screens give you?

How do you navigate through the HTPC? Do you need a keyboard and mouse or can you use some sort of remote control?

I read that irule allows you to control WMC, however I plan to do a full irule install using global cache hardware. Is there anyway to control a HTPC via RS-232? If so, would the control be limited to basically just turning the PC on and off?

I'm sure I will have more questions in the near future, and I apologize if some or all of the above have been asked and answered, I just hadn't run across them as of yet. Thanks in advance!

-Sean

Here's a review that just came out of an MSI motherboard with that chipset (granted, it's ATX but will give you an idea of what to expect).

I am no expert on HTPC, but I did build one based on Assasin's excellent guide and I also use iRule so can shed a little light on that here.

You can use a remote for control, several are listed in the guide. iRule can also be used and does not require the global cache hardware. MCE controller will do the trick. Here is the tutorial from the irule site:

http://www.iruleathome.com/tutorials/mce-control.html

The global cache hardware is only needed to control devices that are not controllable by IP. This is most of your other AV equipment though more an more (especially higher end) items offer IP control. For IP control through iRule to be possible the manufacturer must publish their protocol. Some companies do, some do not. Best to check before purchase if buying new.

I am still in the set up phase of my HTPC build so have not implemented MCE yet with iRule though many have with excellent results according to the iRule master thread here at AVS, found in the remotes section.

Are there any concerns of the new z68 mobo having any unforeseen issues?
If they are relatively the same price as a h67 is there any reason not to go with the z68?
Is it worth waiting to see if there are any bugs that come up?

I hope not since I just ordered one

Anyone find a z68 Asus mATX board released today? Time to buy my ram too. Is there a special type to get for z68? Might as well get 8gb if I splurged for the i5 I guess.

Is the PSU SILVERSTONE Strider Plus 500W the quietest PSU in the selection?
Does the PSU vary the fan speed?

I am in love with MSI as a company for their high quality yet inexpensive motherboards and video cards. I'm a full convert to MSI from Asus which I feel has fallen off the wagon lately.

My only regret now with my gaming PCs I just built is I didn't wait a month to get the Z68 boards. Then again I don't overclock so it's not really a big deal.

iRule uses HTTP to control MCE. In essence, MCE becomes as "gateway" in iRule parlance and iRule speaks directly to it. There would be no need for RS232 in that situation. If you need RS232 to control other devices in your theater (such as blu-ray player, receiver, etc.), then you could use a Global Cache as a gateway to translate iRule's IP commands to RS232.

BUT, you may want to consider using the HTPC itself for that purpose instead of a separate Global Cache device. I'm considering this myself. Simply by adding serial (RS232) ports to your PC (and assuming the PC stays on all the time), iRule could use the PC as a "gateway" to translate IP commands from iRule into RS232 commands that your devices will understand. The HTPC would replace the Global Cache in this scenario.

- Ken

I think this is actually no longer true. And I think since they became separate they actually got better. Sorry I have no link to back it up but I am pretty sure they are independent now.

I love asrock though great features for the $$.

OT do you guys pronounce it Ass Rock? lol

This. Pretty sure they've branched off from ASUS since at least last year.

That's what stops me from buying their stuff. Ass Rock = Winger, Poison, Mötley Crüe

...and don't forget about Nickleback. *shudder*