hi new to this site if this post is in wrong place can someone move it 
Hi there Im new to the HTPC thing and have been shopping around and now I feel I want to build my own as its fun and a challenge, especially pricing parts etc. I wish to build a Media pc for movies and gaming basically but I want high spec.
I wish to keep the noise low and heat down obviously as i wont be able to hear the movie etc.
Things that are must have
1. HDMI capacity
2. At least 4-6 USB ports at rear
3. 2 x Sata Ports
4. Top end processor quad core
5. Top end Video Card possibly 2 ATI radeon XD4850 running crossfire (CRYSIS ETC)
6. ability to mount MINIMUM 5 X 3.5 HD inside case.
7. DDR3 spec
8.Ability to plug in 6:1 Yamaha surround sound system
9. Bluray reader and writer/HD DVD reader.
10.Ability to upgrade components in case and able to fit all my specs inside.
11.ir remote option
What is the best chipset to go with?
I have located some products and will list them any advice on whats not compatible or better setup would be appreciated.
CPU INTEL
Intel C2 Quad 9550 2.83ghz/12mb/1333fsb/emt 64
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650, 3.00Ghz, Quad Core, 1333MHz FSB, 12MB L2 Cache, Socket LGA775
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-EP45T-UD3P Motherboard, LGA775, Intel P45/ICH10R Chipset, 1600MHz FSB, Dual Channel DDR3 2200+, 2x PCIex16, 3x PCIx1, 2x PCI, IEEE1394, SATAII, RAID, Dual Gigabit LAN, 7.1-CH High Definition Audio, ATX
Gigabyte GA-EP45T-EXTREME, LGA775, Dual DDR3-1900, Intel P45+ICH10R, 1600FSB, 6x SATA2, 1x IDE, 1x FDD, 1x PCIe 16x 2.0, 1x PCIe 8x 2.0, CrossFire X, 1x PCIe 4x, 1x PCIe 1x, 3x PCI, 12x USB2.0, 3x IEEE1394a, 2x Gigabit LAN, 7.1ch ALC889A, ATX, DES
Asus P5Q3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP @n Motherboard, LGA775, P45 Chipset, 1600MHz FSB, Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz, PCIex16, PCIex1, PCI, SATA, eSATA, Dual Gigabit LAN, Wireless LAN, IEEE1394, 8 Channel High Definition Audio, Support CrossFireX, ATX.
Asus Rampage Extreme Motherboard, LGA775, Intel X48, Dual DDR3, PCIe x16, PCIe, SATAII, RAID, Gigabit LAN, USB, IEEE 1394, eSATA, SupremeFX X-Fi Audio Card, ATX, CrossFire.
MEMORY
Kingston 6GB Kit, 3x 2GB, 1066MHz DDR3, NON-ECC, CL7, DIMM (KVR1066D3N7K3/6G)
Corsair 4GB Memory Kit, 2x XMS3 2GB, PC3-10600, DDR3 1333MHz, 240-pin DIMM, CL 9-9-9-24 (TW3X4G1333C9
OPTICAL DRIVE
Pioneer BDR-202BK Blu-Ray Writer Drive, 8MB BD Cache, 2MB DVD Cache, BD-RE, SATA, Black, Retail with Cyberlink Software + TDK Media (BDR-202)
LG Electronics GGW-H20 Blu-Ray Burner, BD/HD DVD/DVD/CD Formats Compatible, SATA
VIDEO CARD
Asus GeForce GTX280, 1GB GDDR3, Dual DVI, TV-Out, HDTV, HDCP, SLI, PCIe2.0 (ENGTX280/HTDI/1G)
Asus HD4870X2 2GB GDDR5, Dual DVI, HDMI, TV-Out, CrossFire, PCIe2.0, HDCP, (EAH4870X2/HTDI/2G)
DUAL CROSSFIRE CONFIG POSSIBLY
Asus Radeon HD4850, 512MB GDDR3, Dual DVI, HDTV, HDCP, CrossFire, PCIe2.0 (EAH4850 TOP/HTDI/512M)
HTPC CASE
Zalman HD160 Plus ATX HTPC Case, Aluminum Material, Remote Controller, IEEE1394, Card Reader, No Power Supply, Black (HD160PLUS-BLACK)
SilverStone GD01MX Black ATX HTPC Case, Aluminium front panel Multi-language LCD, Card Reader, USB, IEEE1394, Audio, IR Remote control, No Power Supply (GD01MX-BK)
SilverStone LC16 ATX HTCP with 52 in 1 Card Reader, Aluminium Front Panel, SECC Body, VFD, IR, Remote Control, 2 x 80mm Fans, No PSU, Silver (LC16S-MR)
SilverStone CW02 Silver ATX HTPC with 52-in-1 Card Reader, Aluminium Front Panel and Chassis, LCD, Front USB, IEEE1394, Audio, Microphone, No PSU (CW02S-MX)
Thermaltake DH 101 HTPC case with Media Lab, USB, IEEE 1394, HD-Audio, Black Piano Mirror Finish (VF7001BNS
OPERATING SYSTEM
VISTA ULTIMATE ??
XP PRO ??
(any advice here would be great I have movies on hd stored as AVI/DIVX/ISO/VOB/H264/MP4 so I dont really want any compatability issues, looking for the best system and software to run a media center, or specific media center software ideas most welcome thanks.
TV TUNER
Dont know much in this area advice please would be great thanks. Need for copying tv shows, have HDMI on TV and 6.1 yamaha system already, ps3 aswell.
POWER SUPPLY
Thermaltake Tough Power 750W With Active PFC And Cable Management 14CM Ball Bearing Fan (W0116)
Silent Power 700W Power Supply (FX-700-GLN 700W)
SOUND CARD
?? Big Question mark here dont need i think any ideas thanks.
well thats it if anyone can give me ideas with these specs any incompatibilities etc, feel free tomix and match and throw ideas in id appreciate it, im looking to start building soon, also if there is anything i left out please advise also many thanks everyone.
Hi there Im new to the HTPC thing and have been shopping around and now I feel I want to build my own as its fun and a challenge, especially pricing parts etc. I wish to build a Media pc for movies and gaming basically but I want high spec.
I wish to keep the noise low and heat down obviously as i wont be able to hear the movie etc.
Things that are must have
1. HDMI capacity
2. At least 4-6 USB ports at rear
3. 2 x Sata Ports
4. Top end processor quad core
5. Top end Video Card possibly 2 ATI radeon XD4850 running crossfire (CRYSIS ETC)
6. ability to mount MINIMUM 5 X 3.5 HD inside case.
7. DDR3 spec
8.Ability to plug in 6:1 Yamaha surround sound system
9. Bluray reader and writer/HD DVD reader.
10.Ability to upgrade components in case and able to fit all my specs inside.
11.ir remote option
What is the best chipset to go with?
I have located some products and will list them any advice on whats not compatible or better setup would be appreciated.
CPU INTEL
Intel C2 Quad 9550 2.83ghz/12mb/1333fsb/emt 64
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650, 3.00Ghz, Quad Core, 1333MHz FSB, 12MB L2 Cache, Socket LGA775
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-EP45T-UD3P Motherboard, LGA775, Intel P45/ICH10R Chipset, 1600MHz FSB, Dual Channel DDR3 2200+, 2x PCIex16, 3x PCIx1, 2x PCI, IEEE1394, SATAII, RAID, Dual Gigabit LAN, 7.1-CH High Definition Audio, ATX
Gigabyte GA-EP45T-EXTREME, LGA775, Dual DDR3-1900, Intel P45+ICH10R, 1600FSB, 6x SATA2, 1x IDE, 1x FDD, 1x PCIe 16x 2.0, 1x PCIe 8x 2.0, CrossFire X, 1x PCIe 4x, 1x PCIe 1x, 3x PCI, 12x USB2.0, 3x IEEE1394a, 2x Gigabit LAN, 7.1ch ALC889A, ATX, DES
Asus P5Q3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP @n Motherboard, LGA775, P45 Chipset, 1600MHz FSB, Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz, PCIex16, PCIex1, PCI, SATA, eSATA, Dual Gigabit LAN, Wireless LAN, IEEE1394, 8 Channel High Definition Audio, Support CrossFireX, ATX.
Asus Rampage Extreme Motherboard, LGA775, Intel X48, Dual DDR3, PCIe x16, PCIe, SATAII, RAID, Gigabit LAN, USB, IEEE 1394, eSATA, SupremeFX X-Fi Audio Card, ATX, CrossFire.
MEMORY
Kingston 6GB Kit, 3x 2GB, 1066MHz DDR3, NON-ECC, CL7, DIMM (KVR1066D3N7K3/6G)
Corsair 4GB Memory Kit, 2x XMS3 2GB, PC3-10600, DDR3 1333MHz, 240-pin DIMM, CL 9-9-9-24 (TW3X4G1333C9
OPTICAL DRIVE
Pioneer BDR-202BK Blu-Ray Writer Drive, 8MB BD Cache, 2MB DVD Cache, BD-RE, SATA, Black, Retail with Cyberlink Software + TDK Media (BDR-202)
LG Electronics GGW-H20 Blu-Ray Burner, BD/HD DVD/DVD/CD Formats Compatible, SATA
VIDEO CARD
Asus GeForce GTX280, 1GB GDDR3, Dual DVI, TV-Out, HDTV, HDCP, SLI, PCIe2.0 (ENGTX280/HTDI/1G)
Asus HD4870X2 2GB GDDR5, Dual DVI, HDMI, TV-Out, CrossFire, PCIe2.0, HDCP, (EAH4870X2/HTDI/2G)
DUAL CROSSFIRE CONFIG POSSIBLY
Asus Radeon HD4850, 512MB GDDR3, Dual DVI, HDTV, HDCP, CrossFire, PCIe2.0 (EAH4850 TOP/HTDI/512M)
HTPC CASE
Zalman HD160 Plus ATX HTPC Case, Aluminum Material, Remote Controller, IEEE1394, Card Reader, No Power Supply, Black (HD160PLUS-BLACK)
SilverStone GD01MX Black ATX HTPC Case, Aluminium front panel Multi-language LCD, Card Reader, USB, IEEE1394, Audio, IR Remote control, No Power Supply (GD01MX-BK)
SilverStone LC16 ATX HTCP with 52 in 1 Card Reader, Aluminium Front Panel, SECC Body, VFD, IR, Remote Control, 2 x 80mm Fans, No PSU, Silver (LC16S-MR)
SilverStone CW02 Silver ATX HTPC with 52-in-1 Card Reader, Aluminium Front Panel and Chassis, LCD, Front USB, IEEE1394, Audio, Microphone, No PSU (CW02S-MX)
Thermaltake DH 101 HTPC case with Media Lab, USB, IEEE 1394, HD-Audio, Black Piano Mirror Finish (VF7001BNS
OPERATING SYSTEM
VISTA ULTIMATE ??
XP PRO ??
(any advice here would be great I have movies on hd stored as AVI/DIVX/ISO/VOB/H264/MP4 so I dont really want any compatability issues, looking for the best system and software to run a media center, or specific media center software ideas most welcome thanks.
TV TUNER
Dont know much in this area advice please would be great thanks. Need for copying tv shows, have HDMI on TV and 6.1 yamaha system already, ps3 aswell.
POWER SUPPLY
Thermaltake Tough Power 750W With Active PFC And Cable Management 14CM Ball Bearing Fan (W0116)
Silent Power 700W Power Supply (FX-700-GLN 700W)
SOUND CARD
?? Big Question mark here dont need i think any ideas thanks.
well thats it if anyone can give me ideas with these specs any incompatibilities etc, feel free tomix and match and throw ideas in id appreciate it, im looking to start building soon, also if there is anything i left out please advise also many thanks everyone.
