NEW HTPC help

[magruder13]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: within a week

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Watching movies off of my HDD, surfing the internet, light weight tasks

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: HDD I have a WD 1TB Green Drive

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg

PARTS PREFERENCES: I prefer name brand, I love Asus, Antec, Corsair, and Gigabyte just to name a few

OVERCLOCKING: no

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 720P

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I want it to be as quiet as possible and as cool as possible, the last thing I want is a fried HTPC. I really really want to be able to stream live antenna (Direct TV too but that's most likely way to expensive) TV and be able to record it. When I go to college I'm not sure what type of conection (cable/antenna) i'm going to have but I want to cover my bases and make sure that I can stream/watch it there too.

Price Range: high 500's low 600's prefered but I can deal with something a little higher.


Wish List:

HEAT SYNC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185129

TV TUNER
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116010

Silverstone Micro ATX Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163158

Asus P7H55 MoBo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131623

Corsair 400W PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008

Core i3 530
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115222

OCZ DDR3 1333 RAM 4GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227478

Conserns: Does the i3 integrated graphics good enough for HTPC? I know little to nothing about them.

Should I go AMD? I was an amd fanboy then got a Core2 duo and fell in love, I had a Phenom II 940.

Will that heat sync clear my RAM? Do I even need a better heat sync over the stock one?

Should i go with the corsair 400W or I was also looking at a Antec Green 380W psu.

FINAL PRICE: 607

 

[xurwin]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: within a week

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Watching movies off of my HDD, surfing the internet, light weight tasks

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: HDD I have a WD 1TB Green Drive

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg

PARTS PREFERENCES: I prefer name brand, I love Asus, Antec, Corsair, and Gigabyte just to name a few

OVERCLOCKING: no

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 720P

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I want it to be as quiet as possible and as cool as possible, the last thing I want is a fried HTPC. I really really want to be able to stream live antenna (Direct TV too but that's most likely way to expensive) TV and be able to record it. When I go to college I'm not sure what type of conection (cable/antenna) i'm going to have but I want to cover my bases and make sure that I can stream/watch it there too.

Price Range: high 500's low 600's prefered but I can deal with something a little higher.


Wish List:

HEAT SYNC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185129

TV TUNER
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116010

Silverstone Micro ATX Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163158

Asus P7H55 MoBo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131623

Corsair 400W PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008

Core i3 530
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115222

OCZ DDR3 1333 RAM 4GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227478

Conserns: Does the i3 integrated graphics good enough for HTPC? I know little to nothing about them.

Should I go AMD? I was an amd fanboy then got a Core2 duo and fell in love, I had a Phenom II 940.

Will that heat sync clear my RAM? Do I even need a better heat sync over the stock one?

Should i go with the corsair 400W or I was also looking at a Antec Green 380W psu.

FINAL PRICE: 607

1.no it will not be good enough. and but its fine as a cpu.for the budget
2.amd? if you want a cheaper price. amd is the way. but like what you said. by brand and quality. so intel, but with your budget go with amd.
3.i dont know.
4.dont know

here my build htpc for you. but i got some of it. from tecmos advice.
mobo:GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H
psu:this
ram:corsair xms3 4gb
gpu:ati 5670
hdd:this or this
cpu:this
case:this
i didnt total ) sorryyy.

 

[rwpritchett]

I'll respectfully disagree with xurwin. The integrated i3-530 GPU is more than adequate for an HTPC. AMD will be cheaper though. For AMD, look for motherboards with the 785G/880G chipsets for the best HTPC experience.

For your tuner (the HVR-1600 is fine, I have one), I will suggest you switch to the HVR-2250. The 1600 can tune NTSC (obsolete) and ATSC feeds at the same time, but the 2250 can tune two ATSC feeds at the same time. What does that mean? That means you can record one HD program while watching a different HD channel at the same time.

 

[xurwin]

I'll respectfully disagree with xurwin. The integrated i3-530 GPU is more than adequate for an HTPC. AMD will be cheaper though. For AMD, look for motherboards with the 785G/880G chipsets for the best HTPC experience.

.

sorry. i didnt really knew that. 785g mobo is the one i posted. but if your going with the i3 maybe a h55 chipset would suffice, i just dont know the right mobo for that.

 

[rwpritchett]

The real decision maker for Intel vs. AMD is whether or not you plan to bitstream HD audio to a receiver. Intel can do it with the integrated HDMI audio, AMD requires a discreet video card which adds to the cost, and noise/heat output of the system.

 

[magruder13]

I have no idea what you mean by bitstream HD audio. I don't use HD much other than watching some home made videos that i usually run with vlc media player.

 

[rwpritchett]

Blu-ray discs come with a new audio format that is a higher fidelity than the standard Dolby Digital or DTS that is commonly found on DVD's. You must bitstream, pass along untouched, these HD audio tracks over HDMI to an HD capable receiver to be decoded.

The HD audio tracks piggyback the older DD/DTS information, so you still get surround sound digital audio if you are not able to bitstream HD audio.

In short, HD audio only applies to blu-ray. If you are happy with DVD quality audio or don't have the home theater equipment to take advantage of HD audio then don't worry about it.

 

[magruder13]

I'm pretty sure it's only going to be hooked up to my 26" 720P Sony Bravia TV.