Howdy guys, I have been inspired by this guy and have decided to undertake a similar HTPC build myself. The only criteria I have is that it must be as cheap as possible and do the job, I already have some of the components that are needed to do the job but im unsure about a GFX card and PSU. What I have, ECS mcp61m-m3 motherboard with onboard graphics (VGA out only) AMD Sempron 145, 1GB ddr3 ram Assorted HDDs, Will probably buy a SSD eventually but at the mo it will be a 5400 laptop drive. What I think I need to purchase DVB-S2 freesat HD tuner card dual input NVidia Graphics card (GeForce 8 series) Anything aslong as it does HDMI and supports Hardware acceleration of Myth TV/XBMC PCI-E x16 remote riser card PCI-E Riser card PSU ? I already have a 400watt PSU that I could use and im pretty sure that it will be more than powerful enough but as I am doing a "Copycat" mod the PSU will not fit in the Sky box with the case. I was looking at a Pico PSU like dynamis_dk used but according to the Termaltake PSU calculator I need over 200watts and I cannot find a 250 watt Pico PSU. What can I do to reduce the need for a higher power PSU or should I be looking to see if a 1U server PSU will fit in the sky box along with the rest of the hardware.
Well I have been doing some thinking and have decided rather than going and getting an add in graphics card just so that I can use HDMI, I have manage to find a motherboard that will take my existing Processor and RAM that has a HDMI port available to it. The Asrock 880GMH/USB3 looks to be a good choice and is cheaper than a new graphics card. With that in place It looks like I could get away with a 160watt or 200watt PSU Cheers for your help guys,.
The TV card you need is the Black Gold 3600. It has twin DVB-S2s AND DVB-T2s. What case(s) are you looking at?
I was looking into making a copycat mod to that linked in my first post using a white sky+ box that I have laying around. But I am now thinking it might be a little ambitious so might end up buying a small htpc case. That tuner looks awesome but outside of my budget, I have been looking at the BGT3595 as they seem to be going for around £60.
The silverstone milo case(from Scan) looks like the most economical htpc case that looks like "hi-fi" kit. I've got a htpc setup in an standard micro-atx case and standard geenric ATX PSU fitted but that's the weak link since its the only audible component at present. I have a blu-ray drive and it's connect to the surround sound via optical out but I don't use a TV tuner card- most TV I watch is on netflix, lovefilm or iPlayer!
@Greentrident and @Sheiken how big is the Milo ML03 case as looking at the picture it looks to be quite large as it takes a full sized PSU. How would it compare in size to say an xbox or a DVD player. Also the good price that I saw on Amazon for the Asrock 880GMH/USB3 is no longer avalable and I have just found out that it is a discontinued board. Any other recommendations for a motherboard with HDMI out.
