Any Suggestion for a good HTPC build (1 Viewer)

[Mrctown216]

Wow this looks like the place to be. Hi all well i get right to it . couple months ago i built my first PC and went well nice fast does everything i want . but now i been researching the home theater pc /gaming and hardware and i must say that this looks like the way togo . ok now is it possible to transfer my hardware to and HTPC case . im looking to have everything in one unit internet , cable tv, also to burn and download music and dvds and pc gaming . now i know cost wise can really add up but for me i dont need tip top gear because im on strict budget and the old lady would kill me lol but here a lil about the system i just did my first build - gigyabyte ma785gm us2h , cpu amd athlon x2 , memory kingston 1gb x 2 ddr2 , MB has on board graphics ATI READON 4200 now is there anything im missing or upgrades i need to do or any suggestion i thank you

 

[CB750]

Jon,


I read your post a number of times and it seems that you want to build a home theater/gaming PC to connect up to what? I assume a large flat screen and surround sound receiver and speakers. If this is the case then all you need is a Video card that has a HDMI output that will connect your PC to a HDMI input on your receiver the same way you connect other HDMI components to your receiver. Your receiver will then send your video to your TV/monitor, and process the sound to your surround speakers. With this arrangement you would not have the need to build a whole new system you would just attach your current PC to your HT. Their are other ways to make these connections but this is the simplest as only one HDMI cable is required.

As you know from your first built that putting together a high quality gaming system will break the bank as they are the most expensive to build or purchase retail. I looked at your first build and it's a OK desk top for normal use and some games but doesn't come close to what a serious gamer would want.

1. The #1 weakness of your system is it's on board graphics you are going to want to upgrade to a stand alone card to something in the ATI 5000 or 6000 series. There are so many models in those series it's hard to recommend one without doing a lot of research. Here is a site that has information on gaming cards and links to other gaming information http://internetgames.about.com/od/hardware/tp/tpvideocards.htm .
2. An athlon duel core is now an entry level processor. You want a quad core from either ATI or Intel.
3. Add more memory.

You didn't mention your power supply. Remember when you add more components to your mother board like graphics cards, video cards, more powerful processors, memory, second DVD drives, and hard disk drives you are to generate more heat and use more power so you may have to upgrade your power supply to handle those increased demands. Also don't forget to add some additional case cooling fans.

 

I'll second everything CB750 said - I would say that a 5750 video card will me a perfect mid level card for you. Are you running windows 7 64bit? that would be my recommended OS and another 2GB of RAM minimum.

 

[Mrctown216]

No Win 7 yet - I have to upgrade to win 7 - right now im running win xp

 

[mattCR]

The onboard will accelerate and do bluray at 1080P with no breaks.. you'll just lose out on access to DTS-HD/DD-HD, as it won't output LPCM or Bitstream.

You might look at adding a ATI5450. Why that card vs. a 5750, etc.? Because this is an HTPC, and QUIET performance matters, so the ability to have a fanless card that has very low power requirements and heat means your case will stay quieter, and your livingroom experience will be better.


If you plan on gaming at the same time, then a 5750 is a good option. Athlon Dual Core will handle 1080P fine, though tricore and quadcore are available cheaply, they aren't necessary.

 

[CB750]

Before I would do anything else I would upgrade from XP to Win7 64 bit. It is everything Vista should have been but wasn't. Both Amazon and New Egg have a three license pack of Win7 Home Premium on sale for $129. Get some friends together and go in on a pack it will be the best $43 investment you will make. XP is 10 years old and has too many security issues to keep it around connected to the internet. Don't by the Microsoft BS, they are not providing product upgrade or support for XP, and we have found that some of the so called XP security updates can cause more problems with applications like Internet explorer than they solve.

It seems that it was just after Win7 hit the market that problems with XP started to show up. Take the hint Mr Gates wants you to buy Win7. I kept my old XP machine around because it runs a Microteck scanner that will scan slides and film negatives and has old ATI TV/video capture card but I don't have it connected to the internet.