HTPC Design for surfing and video playback

[potatomanakaspud]

So heres the lay out samsung 32" 720P lcd tv logitech 5.1 1000watt speakers and a ps3 for gaming...what i need to complete this little entertainment setup is a htpc for bittorrent downloading (24/7) and high quality video playback and surfing the web... was thinking of going Vista home premium too

what ive got so far is this FROM KOMPLETT.IE

Case:Antec Fusion Media Center Case w/430W PSU € 195.00

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 400GB €112

MB:ABIT Fatal1ty F-I90HD, ATI RX1250 €110

RAM: OCZ DDR2 PC6400 2048MB KIT, Titanium XTC, CL4-4-4-15, EPP €182

OS: Vista premium oem €100

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 €165

Total: €864 + delivery

was wondering if its a bit over kill for what i wanted have been tinkering with the idea of putting one of the low end r600s GPU into it in about 6 months time... im hopefull they will be out by then.. i assume its reasonably future proof and will not struggle to much right??will be waiting for intel price drop before ording i put the site its from up to show my sorely limited selection.. in ireland so no newegg type sites for me
ANY ONE GOT 2 CENTS TO ADD??

 

[illinikevin]

I built my HTPC from leftover parts. AMD 3700, DFI Mobo, and 1 GB of OCZ Ram. The only thing I purchased was a 400 GB HD ($99), Windows media center ($88), and a dual TV tuner ($149). The only thing I can't do is copy a DVD and watch HD TV at the same time. If you are building from scratch look at some of the low end AMD x2's. They use far less power than a C2D and are under $100. You might also want a good sound card unless that mobo had a digital audio out and you plan to plug it into a receiver that can do its own processing.

 

[asgallant]

Unless you plan on overclocking your HTPC, you can save a bunch of money on your mainboard - I saw some socket 775 boards in the €70-80 range that should be fine.

ILLINIKevin is right as well, your choice of cpu is overkill - look for an AMD Athlon X2 (X2 3800 is €85, the X2 3600 is €70). You can get an AM2 mainboard that should be good enough for an HTPC in the €60-80 range.

Also, consider the seagate barracudda 7200.9 series - they aren't quite as good as the 7200.10's, but they're not bad, and you can get an extra 100 GB for only €8 more.

If you don't plan on gaming or heavy multitasking, you can probably get away with only 1GB of ram, which would also save you a pile of money. You could also get away with lower performance ram, as none of your intended uses is memory intensive.

 

[potatomanakaspud]

Cool thanks guys i was thinking of going with an alternative amd build (nvidia 6150 NO HDMI ) but figured with the price drop in intel coming that i may as well go with the new tech

As for the ram it was my understanding that vista eats sys resorces hence 2 gig and ddr2 800 seems to be generally better for responsiveness

The mb was the only one in stock that has hdmi out onboard hence its presence in the line up... im not big on tv capturing so no tv card required...

The over kill in power is probably due to the fact that my current sys for htpc is a 6 yr old laptop that has 256ram and one of the first cellron 1.7 oh yeah and sis igp... it gets bogged down surfing the net and playing avi's and cant play anything over 480p so i wasnt taking any chances this time!!!

Any one know the difference between the pure video and avivo quality for the MB i was looking at which is better???

 

[illinikevin]

I have an ATI 9550 (128 MB) video card in my machine and I got a DVI to component adapter for $15. I run 720p into my 42" plasma with no problems. I think you can get that card now for around $35 and plug it into any mobo you like.

 

[asgallant]

Any one know the difference between the pure video and avivo quality for the MB i was looking at which is better???

I would go with Avivo, as pure video requires you to purchase additional software from nVidia (which is a total ripoff). Quality-wise they each have their positives and negatives, but since avivo support comes with ATI/AMD products at no additional charge, and you have to pay for Pure Video support from nVidia, the choice is a no-brainer.

Going with onboard video should be fine if you can get it to work with your TV. I haven't tried with any of the new crop of TV's, but my understanding is that they are more compatible than the first gen HDTV's.