Hey Everyone Sorry to do the newbie leach - But I'm very new to the computer building concept as i kind of got pushed into it. Anyway, I am moving into a new apartment, and I dont exactly have the room to store all my DVD's and thought it would be a good opportunity to digitise my collection as well as condense my electronic paper weights (CD/DVD/PC) into a HTPC (Also, I can completely understand if the forum wont help with the concept of personal digitisation of a dvd collection). Budget: Around or below $2200 AUD - High Quality which will last me a long time Main uses of intended build: High quality Home theatre and medium/high gaming. Storage requirements: Most of my storage will be via NAS Extra information about desired system: Quiet / No internal lights (we all know how annoying the LED glow is when youre in a dark room ) Most Recent EDIT: Could i Please have advice on a TV TUNER which provides HDTV (preferably dual)? Could someone also recommend a GFX Card for me please? I currently thought of the XFX Radeon HD6870 1GB at $279 AUD but i have they are fairly noisy for their grade... Essentially what I require is GFX that handles 1080p Video and also can handle high gaming In terms of a PSU would a CoolerMaster Silent Pro Gold 800W be a good choice? Im also looking at a Harmony One ... How do i go about ensuring i can operate my HTPC with it? Will it work with Windows Media Centre? I thought the tuner may be involved in this part so i havent chosen one as of yet. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - So far I have: CPU: Intel i5 2500 Sandy Bridge – - – $229 MOBO: ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Motherboard – - – $325 RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 – - – $145 SSHD: 128GB Crucial RealSSD C300 2.5-inch SATA 6GB/s – - – $299 HDD: 1TB WD Green @ 5400rpm – - – $85 OPTICAL: Lite-On iHBS212 12x Blu-Ray Disc Writer with LightScribe – - – $129 CASE: LUX2 LM300 PRO ( http://www.luxa2.com/product_showroom.aspx?s=4 )* *I am aware this case is obscenely expensive, and I can deal with that - ALTHOUGH if anyone wants to suggest a similar styled enclosure, please do!
1. Hidden or in view ? Pretty cases cost more... 2. A fast dual core is better for gaming than a quad/hex, IMHO. 3. I use four 1 Gb HDD's and manually copy files, so no RAID to fail. 4. On-board graphics will cope with 1080P video, but not games. 5. OC is pointless as it will make more heat = more noise ! IMHO. dunx
Hopefully in view (if it fits in my desk that holds the tv); But i wont get to figure that out until i choose a case - I think its wise to get components and then see what they fit into? (correct if wrong by any means) Thanks - I'll put that into consideration, im still looking into exactly how to do this - VERY helpful sticky on the front page. Thanks for the info on the backingup and the graphics And thank you for the info on OC'ing EDIT: And now i have to look into intels new thing
I'm back, I have looked into all the sandy bridge stuff and have posted a possible build above. If anyone knows/has a Zalman HD503 - I would love to ask them a few things about their case / get specific pictures which i can't find online. Also, if anyone can answer my question on the universal remote and compatibility with HTPC & TV (TV is compatible) that would be HUGELY appreciated Thanks
I have just updated (well, last November) our HTPC. It did have a E6750 CPU, 2GB of DDR2 ram and a GTX 8800 (all now still going strong in step son’s PC), encased in a Silverstone Grandia HT case. I changed the case because, although the HT case looked good under the TV, it was dragged out more times than the rest of the equipment, to be cleaned – this ruined the bottom of the TV, and later, ruined the bottom of an expensive wooden TV stand – no matter how careful you are, you will scrape whatever it sits on due to weight. It now is intended to sit beside the TV equipment, and it doesn’t look out of place. The parts never overheated in the three years they sat in the case, even with the huge 8800 GTX in it (which required me re working the innards of the case for it to fit) What started as a small upgrade (only intended to change the DVD drive to Blu Ray, CPU and memory, as the old motherboard could take both DDR2 or DDR3), but I ended up changing everything!; Lian Li PC-A05NB, Black, Aluminium Mini Tower Case (Replaced Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 (with hindsight, as I updated the motherboard too, I should have gone for the newer CPUs) It is fitted with a ‘Mars’ CPU cooler. Gigabyte GA-EP43T-UD3L, Intel P43 Express, S 775, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR3 1600, SATA 3Gb/s, ATX 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair XMS3 DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600) 1GB XFX HD 5850 Black, PCI-E 2 GPU (longer than the 8800 GTX, and it’s only a mid range card!) Asus Xonar Essence STX PCI-E (Should really have bought a PCI version, as this sits directly below the GPU, and covers the GPU fan) I could always hear a ‘hissing’ noise from the on-board sound, using optical, the soundcard is a huge step up. Linksys By Cisco WMP600N-EU Wireless-N PCI Adapter with Dual-Band Window 7 Pro 64 bit 2x1TB Samsung Spinpoint (one for OS and general programs, one for game programs) – 1x2TB Samsung Spinpoint (Which holds over 200 movies and 80 GB of music files) 750W Antec TruePower New Blue, Modular, 80 PLUS Bronze, 82% Eff' Blu Ray drive iMON front panel with remote control DBT-TV receiver If I were to do it again, I would chose the CPU and motherboard of the OP's specs.
Did you look into putting some cushioned felt and sticking them on the feet of the case? Thanks for the info on the scratching! Dont spose you had a universal remote to operate this?
The legs had rubber bases - but it still managed to deface the base/s on which they were sitting on, when being pulled out (carefully) I must stress that the actual case was fine, and never had a problem with any kind of overheating, even with a huge GPU the case wasn't designed for - it's just that, after three years of it, I realised that a small 'normal' case was better suited and will not damage our furniture..
@chris66 I ended up changing my case for something a little more..... premium. Thanks for all your recommendations and telling me your experience - It was a contributing factor to my change of heart. Sorry to bump this relatively old thread, but Im SO close to getting this all ordered (hopefully only 1 or 2 edits away) and I really really appreciate how helpful and understanding everyone has been with me! So a big thank-you to the community
I'm not sure, ill have to look into it ... It seems to be getting reasonable reviews... Any particular reason you suggest it?
Thanks for the input - but im actually pretty happy to with the optical drive I got - Unless there are any defects with it Im more, at the moment, looking for advice on the Tv Tuner, Graphics Card and PSU
Actually, I'm now looking at possibly Crossfire/SLI Graphics Cards..... Im sorry to keep at this guys - I realise how annoying people like me are. Could someone suggest 2 Graphics cards / One REALLY good Blu-Ray & Gaming Card please I'm having trouble choosing, as I cant find one which does BOTH well.... Either one or the other fantastically and the other well (but not good enough) Also, will the fans on the GFX be going all the time, or only when in high intensity use
A gtx 560 is from what the bittech review say are very quiet and will cope with any games. http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2011/01/25/nvidia-geforce-gtx-560-ti-1gb-review/11 When GPU's and CPU are idle they produce much less heat so the fan speed will be cut, not completely but so low it will be near inaudible. Don't overclock stuff because that=more heat faster fan speeds. Some people even downclock chips in GTPC's.
Personally I would go with something like 6950 or 6970. This is why: UVD 3 dedicated video playback accelerator / MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 /VC-1 /MPEG-2 (SD & HD) /Multi-View Codec (MVC). UVD3 is crucial for Bly-Ray playback. Look for more specification here. I don't think NVIDIA quite there yet and lacks a few features such as UVD3 and playback accelerator. So I recommend 6970 even though it is little overpriced.
I think an NVidia GPU would cope just as well for BR playback. Before I ugraded my HTPC, it had a 8800GTX, and we never had any problems playing BR discs.
