Wondering who here uses a HTPC?

[jvoorhees]

Im thinking about building my own... Im a total noob with this kinda stuff and have never built a PC before... so I have some questions... first is it easy? I mean Im not a total idiot And can follow instructions... as I would love to give it a go... 2) What am I look for in terms or price... and basically what do I need 3) Im wanting to be able to use this PC to stream music/movies etc to my PS3... or be able to play music right off it through our surround sound... can that be done? I guess Im looking for something fairly basic with it... mainly for my music... so being able to surf the net from it would be a bonus....

Are there any websites out there with tips/advice etc...

Cheers in advance!!!

[Blu-Dog]

Originally Posted by jvoorhees

Im thinking about building my own... Im a total noob with this kinda stuff and have never built a PC before... so I have some questions... first is it easy? I mean Im not a total idiot And can follow instructions... as I would love to give it a go... 2) What am I look for in terms or price... and basically what do I need 3) Im wanting to be able to use this PC to stream music/movies etc to my PS3... or be able to play music right off it through our surround sound... can that be done? I guess Im looking for something fairly basic with it... mainly for my music... so being able to surf the net from it would be a bonus....

Are there any websites out there with tips/advice etc...

Cheers in advance!!!

We should have a sticky on this somewhere...couldn't find one...

It's really pretty simple. You'll need horsepower in your graphics card, if you're going to have a Blu player and software; and you should opt for a strong processor (quad core) and 4GB memory. A good integrated motherboard will have on-board SPDIF output from a sound card, such as the Intel chipset, and deliver 7.1 sound.

Nvidia is my graphics chipset of choice; ATI has some good offerings, but generally has higher power supply requirements. You don't need to break the bank to do all this - a basic rig can be as low as $800, a very good one perhaps $2K. I've seen people do it for $600 with hard shopping.

I built two units, about a year ago, with fairly high-end gear. It doesn't need to be that expensive. Mention your budget and all the things you want to do, and I'm sure you'll get some good advice from all.

[jvoorhees]

Cool....

Well basically I just want it mainly for my music... as we do not have CD's anymore... And right now we are streaming FLAC from our PC which is on another floor in the house... so basically we want this with our home theatre for the streaming of the music... so essentially Id love to do something with 1-2 large hard drives... and that we can surf the net the odd time with... and something that can hook up to our recvr via an optical cable.... anything else would just be an added bonus... bluray etc...

Im guessing if I chose I could always throw in the bluray drive afterwards too?

Also a friend of mine recommended SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum front panel, 0.8 mm SECC body LC17-B ATX Media Center / HTPC Case... wondering if that is my starting point... what components would everyone recommend? I have even thought of a budget yet either... and like I said... this would be my first time building any kind of PC...

Cheers

[Blu-Dog]

Originally Posted by jvoorhees

Cool....

Well basically I just want it mainly for my music... as we do not have CD's anymore... And right now we are streaming FLAC from our PC which is on another floor in the house... so basically we want this with our home theatre for the streaming of the music... so essentially Id love to do something with 1-2 large hard drives... and that we can surf the net the odd time with... and something that can hook up to our recvr via an optical cable.... anything else would just be an added bonus... bluray etc...

Im guessing if I chose I could always throw in the bluray drive afterwards too?

Also a friend of mine recommended SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum front panel, 0.8 mm SECC body LC17-B ATX Media Center / HTPC Case... wondering if that is my starting point... what components would everyone recommend? I have even thought of a budget yet either... and like I said... this would be my first time building any kind of PC...

Cheers

A couple of things...

1. Nothing is more convenient than an HTPC for listening to music, especially if you want lossless. You can have bags of space.

2. Asus makes terrific motherboards. I have an Asus, and an Intel, and I give the edge to Asus. Nicer layout.

3. Silverstone makes terrific looking HTPC cases, but just be sure your video card will fit in there (some are fairly low profile, a big card will be a headache - may not fit if it's long).

3. You can get the Blu drive any time, and standard DVD drives usually have faster seek time. If you're not going Blu now, just get a cheapie card and wait for Blu to do both.

4. Get a fast drive, as big as you can that makes sense.


Have fun...

[theviolator]

People in Canada are building HTPC's for around $500 CAD~ taxed in and everything. Not the BEST but of course, will handle everything you throw at it, 1080p etc etc(not literally tho)

PM ME if you need choosing parts.

EDIT: I see your location, shopping for parts would be a piece of cake (NCIX, DirectCanada)

[NewBluClu]

I just got a basic, but great starting HTPC yesterday
It's a Dell Hybrid with 3G Ram, 2.1Gh core 2 duo 5850 and ~200Gb hard drive. You can make this set up with an optional blu-ray, but I wouldn't bother. The graphic card is not up to par, and it is not upgradable. So this is not a gaming or blu-ray watching PC.
This PC is hooked up to my Onkyo via HDMI and carries sound as well. PQ is great for netflix and hulu... and is very fast for surfing. MP3s sound much better then just through ipod, and pictures look sharp. It looks good, is quiet and comes with the wireless keyboard/mouse. All for $400

[DC_Street]

I'm on mine right now as I'm on blu-ray.com using my 40" sammy as a monitor

I have about $1,200 invested in my machine in which you can get cheaper now, I paid the premium last year to get the stuff when it was first released

[jvoorhees]

I dunno even know where to start....

I mean I found the case I like... with what my friend recommended... but from there... I dunno

This was the case Im more then likely going to go with...

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...e%20Technology

But how do I know the size/type of components to get for it????

[Squozen]

I'm going to play devil's advocate and ask 'why not use a Mac Mini?'

They're dead quiet, fairly affordable, have digital out and DVI-out and if you want Windows instead of OS X, hey, go crazy.

[jvoorhees]

I thought about that... but my main thing is that all my music Ive ripped from our CD's is in FLAC format... and I dont wannt go back and re-do it all into Apple Lossless... thats my only thing...

[dadkins]

I use High End VAIO laptops.
Blu-ray(2 machines), Media Center/VAIO Media Server, dlna, HDMI(2 machines), DVI-D(1 machine), remote controls, the works!

XP Home(2004), XP MCE 2005(2006), and Vista Home Premium(2008) on their respective machines.

HTPCs and Media Servers are great!
Watch any video, on any display.
DVD quality video & *LIVE* TV anywhere the wireless will reach, not fast enough for some HD content though.
Being laptops, they(2 of them) also work on battery power... the 2004 XP Home VAIO needs it's docking station for DVI and TV - but can serve up other media from anywhere.

Odd, aint it?
Sony offering up machines to stream their very own media & movies...
Hell, Sony even pre-installed Underworld on my AR190G from the factory!



Yeah, I kinda like my VAIOs.

[obiwopkenobi62]

Originally Posted by Squozen

I'm going to play devil's advocate and ask 'why not use a Mac Mini?'

They're dead quiet, fairly affordable, have digital out and DVI-out and if you want Windows instead of OS X, hey, go crazy.

I use a Mac Mini and love it. Got mine for a little over 500 bucks and got the Logitech keyboard and mouse for it. Works like a champ. For me that was way easier than another PC.

[essinger]

Originally Posted by Squozen

I'm going to play devil's advocate and ask 'why not use a Mac Mini?'

They're dead quiet, fairly affordable, have digital out and DVI-out and if you want Windows instead of OS X, hey, go crazy.

I've got one but don't use it. Would rather have a full pc. A couple reasons:

1. Blu-ray: I won't even bother with explaining the obvious issues here.
2. Drive size and speed: You might think you can get by with 300gb, but it's pretty easy to get to a couple tb and still want more. Access speed really does make a difference in user experience when you are skipping around from scene to scene.
3. DVR: You may think that little usb tuner is gonna cut it, but after you get used a media center pc you are gonna start thinking you need there or four tuners. And recording more stuff leads you back to reason 2.
4. Big Screen Gaming: More and more PC games run fine with the xbox controller. Most Media pcs make great game machines. The games are even cheaper for pc than dedicated game boxes.
5. Upgradability: You will probably start modestly, but adding new, better features to a Media PC is fun and addictive.


BTW, If you are building your own, go ahead and spring for a copper-cooled fanless graphics card. You ears will thank you.

[soundwave628]

why would a 5850 not be up to par for blu-ray HTPC? I have one in my PC that I built maybe two years ago? and it still plays every new game with max or almost max settings at just under 1080P resolution(only because my monitor doesn't do 1080P) could a HTPC with a blu-ray drive theoretically rival an oppo player? I'm using my PS3 at the moment but when I rebuild my main PC/gaming rig I may turn my current one into a HTPC and if it could be a really nice blu-ray player that would be great.

[Slaveknight]

Originally Posted by soundwave628

why would a 5850 not be up to par for blu-ray HTPC? I have one in my PC that I built maybe two years ago? and it still plays every new game with max or almost max settings at just under 1080P resolution(only because my monitor doesn't do 1080P) could a HTPC with a blu-ray drive theoretically rival an oppo player? I'm using my PS3 at the moment but when I rebuild my main PC/gaming rig I may turn my current one into a HTPC and if it could be a really nice blu-ray player that would be great.

An ATI 5850 video card for HTPC is overkill and who said its not as par as HTPC? are you kidding me. lol, If you even compared the PS3 to a mid range HTPC it is overkill. You can play Crysis at max while the PS3 just sits and relax. HTPC + XBMC + MPC-HC with MadVR Filter will make Videophile down to knees. If XBOX 360 just have a blu-ray, now thats good