Thinking of building a media PC - advice?

daveg

I've been looking through a few threads here and wondered if anyone could advise on my proposed setup. I've just emegrated to Melbourne and instead of buying a desktop I'm thinking of building a HTPC in 2 stages. First stage will be to build the PC to play media files (video, MP3 etc - will install media centre), play games on my TV, surf the web etc. Second stage later down the line will be to add a PVR card to add TV recording functionality.

Here are my proposed components:

Processor:
http://www.i-store.com.au/product/?CategoryID=1&productid=9618
AMD AM2 ATHLON 64 X2 6000+ DUAL CORE CPU 125W

Video card:
http://www.i-store.com.au/product/?CategoryID=2&productid=10303
512MB ATI SAPPHIRE HD 2600XT GDDR3 PCI-E GRAPHICS CARD with HDMI Connector (2xDVI, HDMI)

Motherboard:
http://www.i-store.com.au/product/?productid=9442
ASUS M2A-VM HDMI (AMD 690G Chipset) AM2 M/B with ATI X1250/PCI-E/DDR2/SATA2 RAID 0,1/GLAN/1394a/DVI out

Case:
One of these: http://www.i-store.com.au/product/?CategoryID=9&SubCategoryID=233. Any suggestions?

Mouse/Keyboard:
http://www.i-store.com.au/product/?CategoryID=8&productid=6994LOGITECH CORDLESS BLUETOOTH MX5000 KEYBOARD & LASER OPTICAL MOUSE (RETAIL)

Harddrive:
Will just go for a standard 500GB IDE

RAM:
Unsure what will be compatible with my MB. Will get at least 2GB. Any suggestions from these? http://www.i-store.com.au/product/?CategoryID=3&CategoryName=MEMORY%20(RAM)

Estimate cost will be:
Video card $169
Processor $199
Motherboard $95
Keyboard $209
HD - $150
DVDRW - $49 (Pioneer DVR112D)
Ram - $150
Case - $250

Total $1271 = €758

I have a 1080p LG LCD tv with HDMI inputs.

stevejazzx

QtyPriceLine TotalIntel Core 2 Duo E8200 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 2.66GHz (1333FSB) - Retail£104.99
(£123.36) £104.99
(£123.36)Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GT Silent Zalman 256MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GV-NX86T256H-ZL)£57.99
(£68.14) £57.99
(£68.14)**B Grade** Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB ST3500630AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM£49.99
(£58.74) £49.99
(£58.74)Pioneer BDC-202BK 5x BD-ROM + 12x12 DVD±RW Serial ATA Dual Layer ReWriter - (Black) - OEM£88.99
(£104.56) £88.99
(£104.56)Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-5300C3 667MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT12864AA663)£37.99
(£44.64) £37.99
(£44.64)Asus P5KC Combo Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 & DDR3 Motherboard£72.99
(£85.76) £72.99
(£85.76)OCZ StealthXStream 500w Silent SLI Ready ATX2 Power Supply£39.99
(£46.99) £39.99
(£46.99)Antec NSK 2480 Desktop Case - 380W Earth Watts PSU£57.99
(£68.14) £57.99
(£68.14)Compro VideoMate DVB-T750 Digital TV Internal PCI - Retail£37.99
(£44.64) £37.99
(£44.64)Microsoft Wireless Entertainment Desktop 7000 - Retail£69.99
(£82.24) £69.99
(£82.24)

Live rates at 2008.01.30 15:14:30 UTC 800.00 GBP

=

1,075.16 EUR

United Kingdom Pounds Euro 1 EUR = 0.744074 GBP

Thats for an absolutelty future proof spec with the most exspensive keyboard set available better gpu than you originally wanted a blu-ray dvd player and a tv card....

stevejazzx

Ok I've just seen you'll be buying from melborne, i recommned looking for thep parts I suggeted as they are future proof (or as close as it gets in the industry!), next generation 45nm comapt and ddr3 ready (which you can buy when the prices come down - about 6 months) the wolfdale is cheaper than athlon and is quite simply way faster...an intel based pc is your only option btw!
the intel based build I suggested shouldn't be much more exspensive than the one you've specced but it'll be far superior.

Talisman

Do you have a PC/laptop already? Rather than build a new computer you should consider the TVix 5130 PVR @ $585.00 inc.GST - it'll be cheaper than building a computer, all you need to add to it is a SATA hard drive llike the 750GB Samsung for $251.00 inc.GST. So for $836 you would have a PVR system to connect to your tv but you would need a pc in order to transfer your existing video/music/image collection to the box.

daveg

Hi folks,

Thanks a million for the feedback. Talisman no I have no pc. Left it at home in Ireland so this will be a new build.

Steve thanks a million for all that advise. I will take all those compents on source them here in Oz. Will this system play the latest games as well?

Thanks again.

stevejazzx

daveg wrote: »

Hi folks,


Steve thanks a million for all that advise. I will take all those compents on source them here in Oz. Will this system play the latest games as well?

Thanks again.

No, if you want to play the latest games an not spend a fortune there is quite simply no competition (yet) for the
8800gt 512mb - 200euro
the ati 3870 is not bad and a bit cheaper about 170euro

When building remember the mobo I suggested ddr2/3 supprt and 45nm ready - its the asus p5kc
Any ddr2 ram will for now, it's pretty much stil the standard even though ddr3 has been released. ddr2 800 will do nicely for you for now.

daveg

stevejazzx wrote: »

No, if you want to play the latest games an not spend a fortune there is quite simply no competition (yet) for the
8800gt 512mb - 200euro
the ati 3870 is not bad and a bit cheaper about 170euro

When building remember the mobo I suggested ddr2/3 supprt and 45nm ready - its the asus p5kc
Any ddr2 ram will for now, it's pretty much stil the standard even though ddr3 has been released. ddr2 800 will do nicely for you for now.

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the feedback. Upon further investigation I've realised this is way out of my budget for now so I'm gonna scale back and build in 2 stages.

First stage - Build HTPC which I'll use to watch DivX, play MP3's, surf web, play some games of Far Cry standard - ie not top of the range graphic intensive. To achieve this I've been advised to buy the following:

1. Antec Fusion Black Media Centre case
2. Gigabyte 73PVM-S2H motherboard
3. 1GB OCZ PC2-6400 Ram (will add another 1GB later)
4. 512MB ATI SAPPHIRE HD 2600XT GDDR3 PCI-E graphics card.
5. Western Digital 500GB SATA Hard Drive
6. Pioneer DVR-215 (bog standard DVD-RW until I can afford Blue Ray).

Second stage - Add dvd burner to allow blue ray playback (Pioneer BDC-202BK), add another GB of Ram and add a Tuner for PVR capabilities.

7. Add Pioneer BDC-202BK for blue ray playback.
8. Add another 1GB OCZ PC2-6400 Ram
9. Add Compro VideoMate DVB-T750 Digital TV Internal PCI

Any comments on this system would be much appricated. Sorry for wasting your time on the first system. Should have checked prices in detail before posting

etcetc

save your self the hassle and get a popcorn hour or divx or this

http://www.istarhd.com/

SouperComputer

etcetc wrote: »

save your self the hassle and get a popcorn hour or divx or this

http://www.istarhd.com/

He might save himself hassle, but he will be dropping the ability to game, software/playtform flexibility, abiility to transcode at a decent rate and any sort of easy to setup DVR function! He may also need a US-registered CC to buy it, have it brought overseas and pay duty on it.

Nice unit in theory, but still not really up to the job IMO.

daveg

daveg wrote: »

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the feedback. Upon further investigation I've realised this is way out of my budget for now so I'm gonna scale back and build in 2 stages.

First stage - Build HTPC which I'll use to watch DivX, play MP3's, surf web, play some games of Far Cry standard - ie not top of the range graphic intensive. To achieve this I've been advised to buy the following:

1. Antec Fusion Black Media Centre case
2. Gigabyte 73PVM-S2H motherboard
3. 1GB OCZ PC2-6400 Ram (will add another 1GB later)
4. 512MB ATI SAPPHIRE HD 2600XT GDDR3 PCI-E graphics card.
5. Western Digital 500GB SATA Hard Drive
6. Pioneer DVR-215 (bog standard DVD-RW until I can afford Blue Ray).

Second stage - Add dvd burner to allow blue ray playback (Pioneer BDC-202BK), add another GB of Ram and add a Tuner for PVR capabilities.

7. Add Pioneer BDC-202BK for blue ray playback.
8. Add another 1GB OCZ PC2-6400 Ram
9. Add Compro VideoMate DVB-T750 Digital TV Internal PCI

Any comments on this system would be much appricated. Sorry for wasting your time on the first system. Should have checked prices in detail before posting

Any feedback on the second build? Gonna buy soon so would really appreciate some feedback on this. Thanks in advance.

FrankGrimes

Don't forget a remote and/or decent wireless keyboard with mouse function built in - I find I use more of the PC functionality like browsing and apps given that I have an easy to use mouse built into the keyboard (MS Wireless Desktop 8000, got it discounted).

Admittedly, having used only analogue tuners, I know nothing about digital tuners, but do your homework to make sure that card will work as expected before buying. Are you planning on installing it in your PC and then using it to get NTL digital cable (by inserting the NTL card into the tuner card)?

mathias

Regarding the posts above recommending the likes of Tvix and media hard drives as an alternative to a HTPC ,

Those things are cheap and nasty ,consisting of cheap electronics tagged onto a hard drive.

Output signal quality is very very poor. I wouldnt insult a HDTV by connecting one to it.

If your on a very tight budget , then fine , they'll do , but given the price of the Tivx in particular , an excellent HTPC can be built for that money that will far exceed that toy in both quality of output and flexibility ,

I highly recommend that no-one falls into the trap of getting one of those instead of building a HTPC , anyone I know thats done so has regretted it.

daveg

FrankGrimes wrote: »

Are you planning on installing it in your PC and then using it to get NTL digital cable (by inserting the NTL card into the tuner card)?

More likely Foxtel as I'm living in Australia

I agree with you mathias. I have 2 media players and neither play HD content so thats my main motivation.

I've actually found an online retailer here in Melbourne who builds and sells HTPC's. The following spec comes with 3 year warentee. I did some research and I could save about €130 sourcing and building myself but I think the 3 year warantee and lack of hastle is worth buying from this retailer. So any comments on the spec?

ibuypower.com.au/build.php?products_id=3860

Antec Fusion HTPC Case V2 Black
430w PSU (Coolermaster)
Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 2.2Ghz 2x1Mb Cache 800 FSB Dual Core
Stock Intel Heatsink
Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R
Nvidia 8600GT 256Mb HDMI (Gainward) <-- will swop with a 8800GT
Compro E700 Dual DVB-T TV Tuner
500Gb 16Mb SATA II NCQ (Samsung/Western Digital)
Pioneer 215 Dual Layer 20x DVD+-RW Black SATA
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit DVD
Remote Control for XP/Vista Media Centre (MCE)
Standard 3 Year Warranty

All for $1367.00/€850

Again will be using this to watch DivX/HD content, play MP3's, surf web, play games. Question is will it meet my needs?

bigflause

daveg wrote: »

More likely Foxtel as I'm living in Australia

I agree with you mathias. I have 2 media players and neither play HD content so thats my main motivation.

I've actually found an online retailer here in Melbourne who builds and sells HTPC's. The following spec comes with 3 year warentee. I did some research and I could save about €130 sourcing and building myself but I think the 3 year warantee and lack of hastle is worth buying from this retailer. So any comments on the spec?

ibuypower.com.au/build.php?products_id=3860

Antec Fusion HTPC Case V2 Black
430w PSU (Coolermaster)
Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 2.2Ghz 2x1Mb Cache 800 FSB Dual Core
Stock Intel Heatsink
Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R
Nvidia 8600GT 256Mb HDMI (Gainward) <-- will swop with a 8800GT
Compro E700 Dual DVB-T TV Tuner
500Gb 16Mb SATA II NCQ (Samsung/Western Digital)
Pioneer 215 Dual Layer 20x DVD+-RW Black SATA
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit DVD
Remote Control for XP/Vista Media Centre (MCE)
Standard 3 Year Warranty

All for $1367.00/€850

Again will be using this to watch DivX/HD content, play MP3's, surf web, play games. Question is will it meet my needs?

that is nearly the same setup I have. I have bluray running on it as well and it works great. if you plan on playing games at 1080p the 8600 gt won't cut it. you will need a 8800 gt at least.

http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=290200969985&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=019

bigflause

daveg wrote: »

Any feedback on the second build? Gonna buy soon so would really appreciate some feedback on this. Thanks in advance.

I have the pioneer 202bk is a great bluray drive. you can get it on dabs for cheap. it's silent as well. I had reall prolems with my high speed dvd drive. it made so much noise watching dvd's because of the hight read speeds. now with the pioneer its silent.

the antec fusion only give you rubber washers for the hdd's and not the dvd drive. so the sound from it in the case is a big issue. be careful.

mathias

if you plan on playing games at 1080p the 8600 gt won't cut it. you will need a 8800 gt at least.

One of the compromises of building a HTPC is the noise levels , an 8600 will probably struggle with the likes of Crysis , but does manage to play a good few of the latest games OK , they can be had passively cooled which obviously makes no noise.

An 8800 on the other hand should cover everything games wise but will be noisy as hell unless you mod it with some kind of silent cooling solution.

bigflause

mathias wrote: »

One of the compromises of building a HTPC is the noise levels , an 8600 will probably struggle with the likes of Crysis , but does manage to play a good few of the latest games OK , they can be had passively cooled which obviously makes no noise.

An 8800 on the other hand should cover everything games wise but will be noisy as hell unless you mod it with some kind of silent cooling solution.

yeah my passive 8600 gts plays pes2008 at 1080p but you can forget crysis.

the 8800 can now be passivly cooled. the only company that make one out of the box is sparkle. hard to find though.

the best solution is the new thermaltake passive heat sink. works on the 8800 GTX even.

http://www.quietpc.com/ie-en-eur/products/vgacoolers/hr-03-plus

www.quietpc.com is a great site for all that stuff.

there is a new antec fusion max coming out in march as well that will put you choices in a twist. this will be full ATX and can house a SLI setup.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article796-page1.html