Lots of HTPC questions

[nkarasch]

Im considering building a HTPC for when I get my new TV and sound setup.

First of all, I dont plan on getting a blue ray drive yet because they are very expensive. When they get cheap I would like to have a processor that can play them. I wanted to go AMD because of the new 780G I think it is sounds pretty good. Their cheapest dual core processor you can find is an X2 4000+, will that play blu-ray? Or does it not matter because the 780G should be able to do it?

What if I got a cheap celeron with an intel board and an geforce 8400? Would that be better? Or do you need a good processor and graphics combo? Im trying to go bare minimum for pure hi-def playback here.


Also, how do you get sound from the PC to a audio reciever without losing the decoding?

And, I noticed Windows Media Center (vista) doesnt really like .avi files. Are there any better media centers that handle everything? Media Player Classic plays everything, if only media center could do that

And lastly, whats a good horizontal black htpc case with a IR reciever and a decent display that says whats playing? Just need somethin to stack with a reciever

 

[HamRadio]

what form factor are you shooting for? micro ATX cases are very popular for HTPCs. Here is a nice one:

Antec Fusion 430

I think if you look around you may find it cheaper on other sites.

Silverstone also has a line of micro ATX cases suitable to be used as an HTPC, but newegg only has the low end model that does not have an LCD display.

What is your budget? If you are looking for <$500, how about this:
CPU: Pentium Dual-Core E2220 2.4GHz Socket 775, $84. An alternative is Pentium Dual-Core E2200 2.2GHz, $84.
CPU Cooler: Scythe NINJA MINI, $35.
Motherboard: eVGA e-7100/630i 112-CK-NF75-K1 NVIDIA GeForce 7100 and nForce 630i chipset microATX, $70. An alternative is GIGABYTE GA-73PVM-S2H, $77, that comes with a HDMI port.
Memory: Crucial Ballistix BL2KIT12864AA804 DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $50 (after rebate at Newegg.com).
Graphics Card: XFX GeForce 8500 GT PV-T86J-UAHG, $65. An alternative is ATI Radeon HD 3470, $65.
HDD: Samsung SpinPoint T166 500GB HD501LJ 500GB SATA, $106.
PSU: Antec EarthWatts EA 380 (included in the case), $0.
Case: Antec NSK2480, $75.
Total Cost: $485

 

[rwpritchett]

Ham has some excellent suggestions.

Check out www.pcalchemy.com and www.quietpcusa.com to find everything you may need. Pcalchemy has that Antec Fusion case for $20 less than newegg ($179). Keep in mind that the case doesn't come with a remote. A case that costs $40 more with a bundled MCE remote might be a better deal.

With the 780G chipset, I do think AMD has the edge for HTPC systems at the moment and I believe a 4000+ would be fine for blu-ray with UVD hardware acceleration. I haven't made the move to blu-ray yet so I cannot confirm. If you go the intel route, a discreet card would be needed unless you get one of the high end CPU's.

What problems are you having with avi's and VMC? If your AVI's are movies, you can install the My Movies 2 plugin for VMC and use it to launch your avi's. I use it to launch mkv's and it works perfectly.

For sending sound to a reciever (S/PDIF I presume?), download and install AC3Filter. From that program, you can set the S/PDIF to passthrough directly to the reciever to be decoded, or select another program to decode prior to sending it on.

 

[nkarasch]

So would the 780G and X2 4000+ be able to play blu-ray smoothly? The 4000+ isnt much of a processor nowadays but wouldnt the onboard video of the 780G take the load off the processor?

I like that Antec case a lot, but it is quite expensive Any other recommendations would be good.

Also, is S/PDIF an optical connection? Is that what you use? Im an audio n00b


Im trying to go bare bones, I have my gaming rig taken care of until the GT200 (or whatever nvidia comes out with) comes out so Im going for just the performance I need. No gaming on this pup

 

[nkarasch]

bump

 

[groo]

I believe I read that the 4000 or 4200 was the minimum for Blue Ray.

I've also read, that at least some of the 780Gs can OC the on board pretty good, and you can add in a $50 card for hybrid crossfire processing power.