hey guys this is my new htpc im getting done in the next week or so With the Intel G530 Silverstone LC17 Black Case AsRock Z68M-USB3 Motherboard Intel G530 CPU HIS ATi HD6450 1GB Silent Model Silverstone ST50F-ES 500W 80Plus certified Quiet Power Supply Tenda Wireless N 150M USB NANO adapter Arctic Cooling Alpine 11 REV 2 - CPU Cooler 4GB Ram Setting it up for surround sound 5.1 + trueHD + DTS would be HDMI from 6450 to Receiver output then from receiver output to TV input right ????
Looks good, no objections from my end. Though, the IGP itself should be able to output 1080p video without problems so the Radeon HD 6450 might not actually be needed. For reference, this is my media centre I built in 2008: http://www.kwokinator.com/page/computer-specs#htpc deltatux
Yes, but I just realized, do you really need Z68 for an HTPC? I'd probably go for a H67 chipset instead... deltatux
I also think that Z68 is a bit overkill. Actually, that whole PC might be overkill for that purpose ? Something like this (or similar) should do ? ASRock ION 3D http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856158017 Review: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4081/asrock-ion-3d-a-next-generation-ion-htpc
H67 would indeed be a better choice, i doubt you'll be overclocking a HTPC I would stick with the GPU you've chosen though, as the sandybridge video output can't do 23.976fps, whereas your ATI card can Nice PC - not too different from mine below (yeah i know the PSU is stupidly overkill!) Intel Core i3 2100T Gigabyte GA-H61M-S2V-B3 Motherboard 4GB OCZ Ultra Low Voltage RAM OCZ Vertex 2SE 50GB SSD (OS) 600w Corsair HX600 PSU ATI Radeon HD5570 HDMI Intel Pro 1000CT Gigabit PCI-E being fed media from this using CAT6E and Gigabit:- Intel Core i5 2400s (2.5Ghz) Gigabyte GA-H67M-UD2H-B3 Motherboard 550w Corsair PSU 12 x 2TB Western Digital Caviar Green HDDs (RAID6) 3 x Icy Box IB-554SSK 4 Bay Hot Swap SATA Enclosures with alarm. LSI Megaraid 9260-16i 16 Port SATA/SAS RAID Controller 16GB Corsair DDR3 RAM Intel Pro 1000CT Gigabit PCI-E Steer clear of the ION stuff too. I tried the AMD Hudson board before i went with the i3, and it couldn't de interlace a lot of content. Plus it barely used any less power than the i3 2100T. 2100T is the best CPU for a HTPC, no doubt. Looking to upgrade to 4/5TB had drives once they become affordable maybe end of next year
Wow... i've got this has a HTPC Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200 @ 3.4Ghz Asus Striker Extreme 2x 1GB Hynix DDR2-800 Sapphire Radeon HD 4670 512MB HDMI 2x 160GB ATA HDD 550W Ultra LSP PSU Coolermaster Centurion TP Link Wireless N lol
Go for it, good price. When not playing protected HD audio, you can use a good soundcard for analogue out to give better quality sound (DACs on amps are pretty poor unless the amp is pretty expensive). There is a way of making an analogue soundcard play protected High Def audio btw so you dont need to use HDMI audio at all.
My recently built htpc looks like this: Case: Chieftec FI-02BC, mini-ITX, 200W MB: Gigabyte H61N-USB3, socket 1155 Mem: Dual Channel Corsair 8GB (2 x 4GB), DDR3, 1600MHz CPU: Intel® CoreTM i3 2120, 3.3GHz, socket 115 SSD: Adata 32 GB soon to be replaced by OCZ Vertex 2 60GB No odd, instal win 7 from usb stick, and i have an USB ODD just in case i need it. storage on external a-data hdd and synology NAS
Any sound card in particular ? I do have a forte which is my gaming card.. Thinking the essence stx lol ?
Personally for a HTPC I'd be going with AMD A6-3500, it eliminates the need for an external card as it has a fully integrated HD6530D graphics core. Note that the AMD method of integration is more complete than the Intel Method of just placing the GPU core on the same chip. Note that the A6-3500 and the Intel G530 both have a 65W TDP (CPU and graphics core flat out). Its only the models ending in 'T' of the Intel range which are lower TDP (and slower). The AMD's do have models with 100W TDP, the A6-3650 and the A8-3850. If you can get the A8-3800 (later release than the A8-3850) that would also be a great choice as its also a 65W TDP part. The AMD A series are perfect for using as a HTPC, better than using Intel. Also the A series are great for workstations that don't see much heavy processing use. Intel make great high performing CPU's, but for AMD its the lower end of the market they have got right.
Posting as a separate post so it doesn't get lost with the other post (plus I didn't think of it at the time)... Be careful of the choice Tenda Wireless N 150M USB NANO adapter. Mini USB receivers aren't designed for heavy or distant use, it might not provide the reception and bandwidth you want. Remember that 150MBPS is the maximum theoretical bandwidth, it progressively drops off as reception becomes crapper. Also you won't get the stated bandwidth... A better choice would be something like (this was a 5 second lookup job from the link you posted): http://www.amazon.com/Tenda-Wireless-N-Adapter-Detachable-Antenna/dp/B0058JPY8Q/ref=pd_vtp_e_1 or: http://www.amazon.com/Alfa-AWUS048NH-802-11b-Wireless-Long-Range/dp/B003UVS5BW/ref=pd_vtp_e_6 At least it would give you a much better signal. You can use a USB extension cable and plug the dongle it to that, then you can move it to wherever you want to. You could even have it flush up against the case to save room etc! Unless the receiver is in the same room forget about Nano receivers. Like I said, getting a signal doesn't mean much if its running at 5.5MBPS. Considering the more powerful receivers don't cost any more...
