[xXVirusXx]

I'm looking at building a very cheap htpc. For now it will only be playing dvds and my video files(some in 720p and possibly 1080p) and later I may add a tuner. I just wanted to see how well this system would work out. I'm planning on getting Windows Vista so I can use Windows Media Center. Here is what I got so far:


CPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116072


MOBO - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128363


RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820211066


Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811153028


DVD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151188


Thermal Compound - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835100007


HD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136284


I heard the onboard graphics on the mobo are supposed to be pretty good. I will have this hooked up to my 32 inch 720p tv video hdmi. I will also use the digital audio to hook it up the my 5.1 surround sound. So a few questions:


1. Will all of these work together?

2. What would you recommend for a remote?

3. What would you recommend for a wireless keyboard(with build in trackball)?

4. Will surround sound work properly through the digital out?

5. Will everything look in as good of quality as it should on my tv?

6. Do I need the thermal compound or does it come with it?

7. Am I missing any other components?


This will be my first ever computer build besides for in a class. So I want to verify that everything will work. You help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[James_stewart]

Don't bother buying Vista, download Windows 7 and use for free until next year. Functionality is much improved over Vista, and requires less Aspirin.

 

[xXVirusXx]



Quote:
Originally Posted by James_stewart /forum/post/16871573


Don't bother buying Vista, download Windows 7 and use for free until next year. Functionality is much improved over Vista, and requires less Aspirin.

I've never really had many problems with Vista on my laptop but maybe I'll try 7 out on it if I do get it. Can anyone let me know what they think about my questions.

 

[James_stewart]



3. What would you recommend for a wireless keyboard(with build in trackball)?

I am a big fan of the Logitech Dinovo keyboards. The quality is amazing. Probably the best $100 I spent on my HTPC.


4. Will surround sound work properly through the digital out?

It looks as though the motherboard supports optical out, so yes it will work just fine. If your settings are correct, the application you use to play your media will simply pass all digital sound information to your receiver untouched, and let the receiver handle the processing.


5. Will everything look in as good of quality as it should on my tv?

Yes, the quality should be good, as long as your TV supports HD. Getting your HTPC to look good on a TV can sometimes take some patience, but with enough tweaking the quality should be impressive. always remember to have to have the newest display drivers installed on your computer.

 

[stanglx]

I have almost the exact setup for my HTPC with a different case. I chose a mATX desktop form factor. It plays all my ripped blurays and DVDs without a hitch. I have it hooked up via HDMI.. not sure how optical performs but it has the realtek chip which is very good for HD sound. Should all work fine.. I love the setup.


regarding your other questions - Im not using a remote but the keyboard has a track ball.. I am very happy with it..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16823202006


Thermal compound is on the heat sink already. for what your doing it should be fine.. just dont overclock the CPU.


All in all the picture quality is great.. I compared the video and sound to my PS3 using the same movie flipping back and forth and I could not tell...


What you WILL see a difference in is DVDs depending on the quality of your stand alone DVD player. Higher end DVD players upscale.. where your computer will (not very well) IF DONT properly set the codecs.. Dont get me wrong it looks good but as an example my XBOX360 does a better job of upconverting then my PC - I have not tuned my PC to upconvert as good...there are many in the forum that know how..


All in all.. you will be very happy with the setup.

Quote:
Originally Posted by xXVirusXx /forum/post/16871378


I'm looking at building a very cheap htpc. For now it will only be playing dvds and my video files(some in 720p and possibly 1080p) and later I may add a tuner. I just wanted to see how well this system would work out. I'm planning on getting Windows Vista so I can use Windows Media Center. Here is what I got so far:


CPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116072


MOBO - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128363


RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820211066


Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811153028


DVD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151188


Thermal Compound - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835100007


HD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136284


I heard the onboard graphics on the mobo are supposed to be pretty good. I will have this hooked up to my 32 inch 720p tv video hdmi. I will also use the digital audio to hook it up the my 5.1 surround sound. So a few questions:


1. Will all of these work together?

2. What would you recommend for a remote?

3. What would you recommend for a wireless keyboard(with build in trackball)?

4. Will surround sound work properly through the digital out?

5. Will everything look in as good of quality as it should on my tv?

6. Do I need the thermal compound or does it come with it?

7. Am I missing any other components?


This will be my first ever computer build besides for in a class. So I want to verify that everything will work. You help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[xXVirusXx]

Thank you both very much for helping me. I've been trying Vista's Media Center on laptop with MediaBrowser and that thing works pretty slick. I might order this within the next week. I have one more quick question. When using Vista's Media Center I've had some problems playing my videos. I'm just curious what codec pack you use. I've got 64bit and am using shark007's vista codec pack and to play mkv's I need to use Gabest's spliiter. Just wondering what you use. Thanks.

 

[James_stewart]



Quote:
Originally Posted by xXVirusXx /forum/post/16871903


Thank you both very much for helping me. I've been trying Vista's Media Center on laptop with MediaBrowser and that thing works pretty slick. I might order this within the next week. I have one more quick question. When using Vista's Media Center I've had some problems playing my videos. I'm just curious what codec pack you use. I've got 64bit and am using shark007's vista codec pack and to play mkv's I need to use Gabest's spliiter. Just wondering what you use. Thanks.

Shark's codec pack is fine, but simply downloading FFdshow x64 and Haali splitter x64 will do the trick. if you search around AVSforum you will find a thread with the download links.

 

[James_stewart]

here's the thread
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...light=haali+64

 

[xXVirusXx]

Will those play pretty much all .avi and .mkvs?

 

[saukriver]

Do you plan to use a heat sink?


What fans do you have?


Why did you decide to go Intel?


What about power supply?

 

[xXVirusXx]



Quote:
Originally Posted by saukriver /forum/post/16872327


Do you plan to use a heat sink?


What fans do you have?


Why did you decide to go Intel?


What about power supply?

The CPU comes with a heatsink and fan which I think would be enough without overclocking. The case comes with a 300W power supply which I'm hoping will be enough. I decided to go with Intel because of this thread( http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...7#post15994977 ). Seemed like the cheapest that would give me hdmi and optical onboard that was powerful enough. I'm open to get suggestions if you would recommend something else.

 

[hirent]



Quote:
I decided to go with Intel because of this thread( http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...7#post15994977 ). Seemed like the cheapest that would give me hdmi and optical onboard that was powerful enough. I'm open to get suggestions if you would recommend something else.

If you wanna go cheap with equivalent HD performance I would suggest AMD.


Here's what I have:

MB - Asus M3A78-EM (780G) [Open Box] - $50

CPU - AMD X2 4850e (2.5GHz Dual-Core, 45W) - $55

Memory - 2GB (DDR2 800) - $20

Hard Drive - Hitachi 1TB - $75


I didn't list the case (and PSU) since I have a expensive HTPC case which skews the budget. Yours is good enough

But you get my point, the main components can be had for $200. These can handle 1080p HD video without any problems. And the board has all the bells and whistles including Optical SPDIF Out.


MCE remotes are available from ebay for $10-$20.

 

[xXVirusXx]

So does the ATI Radeon HD 3200 chipset handle pretty well? And what does it mean by open box? And that CPU isn't available at newegg. Does this one look nice? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103235

 

[hirent]



Quote:
Originally Posted by xXVirusXx /forum/post/16872631


So does the ATI Radeon HD 3200 chipset handle pretty well? And what does it mean by open box?

Open box are items that have been returned to the seller by previous buyers for some reason or the other. They are much cheaper and usually reliable. However, they don't come with any original accessories and cables.

The HD3200 is one of the best out there. You might want to read through a few posts though, to make sure it will work for your applns.

If you are using Vista or 7 you should be fine. Linux has a lot of problems with ATI (or so I've heard).

 

[xXVirusXx]

Well taking out the mobo, cpu, and ram and swapping it with these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131324
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820161182
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103235


I was able to bring my price down $50. I could probably switch out my WD hd and get that cheaper one and save another $25. Plus I got a $10 mail-in-rebate if I order before July 31. Right now I could be around $360 or so(not including shipping). I'm not really planning on getting the open box one, I'm just going to stick with the one that has the manuals and what not.


Do all these components work together? I checked them and made sure they did but I should probably have someone verify. Also, if you can find something else let me know. Thanks.



Note: Some of the extra money is coming from this keyboard( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16823166094 )

 

[hirent]

Gigabyte has a 780G board for $64.99 AR.

It has the exact same specs and features as the ASUS.

 

[H8nXTC]

I agree with the 5600+ 65W CPU over the other one, but for $5 more you could get the 7850 Black Edition that is much better and since it's a Black Edition, you can underclock it if you want to go less heat. You might also want to wait a week or two for the AMD 785G boards.

 

[stanglx]

You went from recommended to not recommend in my opinion. Does it work yes... Your saving yourself $50 when the system prior is far superior. Did you read this link

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...2#post14239742


Follow this guide above so you dont make the same mistake as others have - its better to buy ahead of the curve then behind at this point the HD3200 is behind the curve. Either stick with the Geforce 9300/9400 or go with a solution that has the ATI HD4xxx chipsets. These boards will guarantee you will have little issues. One thing to keep in mind is that ATI is far more finiky with HD content - in otherwords if it goes above the normal spec ref frames it will not accelerate the video - In otherwords if you plan on downloading content you will most likely hit a movie that was not renderer properly and will not play on that setup. - One thing you will also notice in these forums and this is my subjective opinion is that ATI has far more issues then NVIDIA. Browse around and see how many have DVI/HDMI handshake issues, black color issues, acceleration issues - I have had none of these with my Nividia 9400 (gigabyte MB).


And if you cant afford the right solution now then get an extremer/popcorn hour, etc or some type of media player. It will save you time and frustration that a poorly selected system will give you.


PS - dont waste your time with Vista. Vista is junk in comparison to Windows 7 - Especially if your planning in using Media Center. Media Center is a dog on vista. I love when I hear "why does my movie stutter in Media Center but not in MPC-HC" - its a vista / video card / CPU combination - in my opinion your setup above is a perfect storm for the "why does it stutter in media center but not in MPC-HC"


Read the guide above - go with the recommended system based on your form factor and stay away from Vista.

Quote:
Originally Posted by xXVirusXx /forum/post/16872830


Well taking out the mobo, cpu, and ram and swapping it with these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131324
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820161182
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103235


I was able to bring my price down $50. I could probably switch out my WD hd and get that cheaper one and save another $25. Plus I got a $10 mail-in-rebate if I order before July 31. Right now I could be around $360 or so(not including shipping). I'm not really planning on getting the open box one, I'm just going to stick with the one that has the manuals and what not.


Do all these components work together? I checked them and made sure they did but I should probably have someone verify. Also, if you can find something else let me know. Thanks.



Note: Some of the extra money is coming from this keyboard( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16823166094 )

 

[xXVirusXx]

Maybe I will go with my original. I was just trying to get as many opinions as I can. I'll probably ready through that whole post later today. Do you know if they will put Windows 7 in Microsoft's Ultimate Steal? They have Vista but I was just wondering if anyone knew of plans to add it later. I will do so more research on components today. Thanks.

Quote:
Originally Posted by stanglx /forum/post/16873734


You went from recommended to not recommend in my opinion. Does it work yes... Your saving yourself $50 when the system prior is far superior. Did you read this link

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...2#post14239742


Follow this guide above so you dont make the same mistake as others have - its better to buy ahead of the curve then behind at this point the HD3200 is behind the curve. Either stick with the Geforce 9300/9400 or go with a solution that has the ATI HD4xxx chipsets. These boards will guarantee you will have little issues. One thing to keep in mind is that ATI is far more finiky with HD content - in otherwords if it goes above the normal spec ref frames it will not accelerate the video - In otherwords if you plan on downloading content you will most likely hit a movie that was not renderer properly and will not play on that setup. - One thing you will also notice in these forums and this is my subjective opinion is that ATI has far more issues then NVIDIA. Browse around and see how many have DVI/HDMI handshake issues, black color issues, acceleration issues - I have had none of these with my Nividia 9400 (gigabyte MB).


And if you cant afford the right solution now then get an extremer/popcorn hour, etc or some type of media player. It will save you time and frustration that a poorly selected system will give you.


PS - dont waste your time with Vista. Vista is junk in comparison to Windows 7 - Especially if your planning in using Media Center. Media Center is a dog on vista. I love when I hear "why does my movie stutter in Media Center but not in MPC-HC" - its a vista / video card / CPU combination - in my opinion your setup above is a perfect storm for the "why does it stutter in media center but not in MPC-HC"


Read the guide above - go with the recommended system based on your form factor and stay away from Vista.

 

[stanglx]

Ultimate is a complete waste unless you are a guy who likes to play around with useless (for the consumer) features.. Home Professional is all you will need. You will be able to later on upgrade to higher levels of Windows7. There are no discounts for the ultimate edition.

Quote:
Originally Posted by xXVirusXx /forum/post/16873910


Maybe I will go with my original. I was just trying to get as many opinions as I can. I'll probably ready through that whole post later today. Do you know if they will put Windows 7 in Microsoft's Ultimate Steal? They have Vista but I was just wondering if anyone knew of plans to add it later. I will do so more research on components today. Thanks.