HTPC Help plz!!!

faisalpandu

VIP Member
VIP Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2007
Messages
1,334
Reaction score
28
Hello

I am in need of some help. I have got the urge to build a HTPC. I would like HDTV support and also HDMI connection. Price wise i am o.k to spend up to £400. Could anyone tell me what parts to get and where would be the best place to get them.

Cheerz
 
the LG combo hd-dvd/blu ray drive combo is a good deal as hd-dvds are dirt cheap to buy
 
will be happy with a standard dvd player as got ps3 for blu-ray. more focused on HDTV and recording as well as wathing streaming footy online. And also watching movies.
 
Before spec'ing out, two questions:
  • Are you hoping to get the DVB tuner(s) out of the £400 budget?
  • What type of tuner(s) do you want?
    DVB-S2 will get you Freesat and FreesatHD.
    DVB-C for cable.
    DVB-T will get you Freeview.
    Also sometime after December the DVB-T2 tuners should be available. You'll need one of these if you want to get FreeviewHD when it launches in your area.​
 
already got the tt2100c dvb-c card is it possible to HD content on freeview via this card. And wat abut double tuners
 
already got the tt2100c dvb-c card is it possible to HD content on freeview via this card.
I'm not familiar with DVB-C cards but it's unlikely.
And wat abut double tuners
Unless you have/get a dual tuner card, multiple tuners are the only way of watching one whilst recording another.

You'll be happy to know it's not an issue to mix and match the different DVB tuners. Using two of the same tuner can take some setting up though. The lads in the DVB-C-S-T room should be able to guide you further with regards to software, non-conflicting hardwares etc.

Also there is an issue with the DVB-T2 not being out yet; no one knows how much they are going to cost. Early adopters could well end up paying over £100...

Anyway, as you've got your DVB-C tuner here is a £400 HTPC PC, which should have enough grunt to record 2 channels whilst watching an HD video:
CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 620 2.6GHz AM3 Retail Boxed Processor - Ebuyer
Mobo: MSI 785GM-E51 785G Socket AM3 DVI VGA HDMI Out 8 channel audio mATX Motherboard - Ebuyer
DDR3: Kingston 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz i5 Memory Kit CL9 1.5V - Ebuyer
GFx: XFX 9600GT 512MB DDR3 DVI HDMI HDCP PCI-E Graphics Card - Ebuyer
HDD: Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache - OEM - Ebuyer
Optical: Samsung SH-S223 22X DVDRW/RAM/DL Serial ATA Black Bare Drive - OEM - Ebuyer
PSU: Corsair 400W CX PSU - 12cm Fan 80Plus Certified Efficiency 6x SATA 1x PCI-E - Ebuyer
Case: Coolermaster Elite 330 Black Mid Tower Case - No PSU - Ebuyer

You could probably swap out the graphics card for a blu-ray drive as the motherboard has HDMI out built in. However, you will 'lose' some system memory to the onboard graphics doing so.

Suggested future upgrades:
BD reader - the BD/HDDVD combos have been discontinued.
DVB-T2 tuner
Move boot partition to a seperate (smaller) hard drive.
 
Last edited:
I'm not familiar with DVB-C cards but it's unlikely.

Unless you have/get a dual tuner card, multiple tuners are the only way of watching one whilst recording another.

You'll be happy to know it's not an issue to mix and match the different DVB tuners. Using two of the same tuner can take some setting up though. The lads in the DVB-C-S-T room should be able to guide you further with regards to software, non-conflicting hardwares etc.

Also there is an issue with the DVB-T2 not being out yet; no one knows how much they are going to cost. Early adopters could well end up paying over £100...

Anyway, as you've got your DVB-C tuner here is a £400 HTPC PC, which should have enough grunt to record 2 channels whilst watching an HD video:
CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 620 2.6GHz AM3 Retail Boxed Processor - Ebuyer
Mobo: MSI 785GM-E51 785G Socket AM3 DVI VGA HDMI Out 8 channel audio mATX Motherboard - Ebuyer
DDR3: Kingston 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz i5 Memory Kit CL9 1.5V - Ebuyer
GFx: XFX 9600GT 512MB DDR3 DVI HDMI HDCP PCI-E Graphics Card - Ebuyer
HDD: Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache - OEM - Ebuyer
Optical: Samsung SH-S223 22X DVDRW/RAM/DL Serial ATA Black Bare Drive - OEM - Ebuyer
PSU: Corsair 400W CX PSU - 12cm Fan 80Plus Certified Efficiency 6x SATA 1x PCI-E - Ebuyer
Case: Coolermaster Elite 330 Black Mid Tower Case - No PSU - Ebuyer

You could probably swap out the graphics card for a blu-ray drive as the motherboard has HDMI out built in. However, you will 'lose' some system memory to the onboard graphics doing so.

Suggested future upgrades:
BD reader - the BD/HDDVD combos have been discontinued.
DVB-T2 tuner
Move boot partition to a seperate (smaller) hard drive.

Thanks for reply mate much appreciated. I have decided to for a top of range spec and willing to spend an extra £300 with the 400. I have seen the following motherboard and case what do you think

Case
Buy Antec Fusion Remote HTPC Enclosure, Buy HTPC Cases online at X-Case

Motherboard
Inno3D ION Motherboard with Intel Atom N330 Dual Core DVI VGA HDMI Out Onboard WIFI 6 Channel Audio Mini ITX Motherboard With 80W PSU - Ebuyer
 
That case is not my cup of tea, but cases are always a personal choice.

From what I've read, Atom+ION should be able to give you 1080/24p, but I'm not sure on 1080/60p (not a lot of 60p content around by accounts, but stated as it should appear in the future).
 
i've got the nsk 2480- same case but silver painted plastic front and no vfd.
Its fantastic. plenty of room and with a scythe mini ninja on the cpu and the case fans running at 600 rpm via speedfan it is completely inaudible.
Be warned - it is 43cm deep- so finding a tv stand to plonk it on can be a pain in the arse.

doesnt fit on this
80cm stand

does fit on this
105cm stand


x2 5000 and 9800gt
9800gt has its fan at ~4v.



completely cool and totally silent - and had mine for a year now and there is hardly any dust in it mine
 
Last edited:
Faisal, why do you need the extra fire power at double the cost?
 
Back
Top