Which HTPC Hardware???

[Trev]

Hi All

Can anyone recommend a good hardware list for my first HTPC box I have about £800 ish to spend, I see allot about hardware problems like cooling issues, fitment issues in cases and riser cards etc. I’ve seen somewhere that the gigabyte H663 is a good option (http://www.giga-byte.co.uk/Products/DigitalHome/Default.aspx) I really love this slim DVD player look however I would like to get all my kit from kustompcs.

I’m thinking about the Antec Fusion (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1212.html) but now I’m stuck on what to go with it, I know I would like a sleek stylish digital look with a remote keyboard controller like this (http://photos.offline.org.uk/displaypicture.php?returnpage=yes&galleryid=187&orderid=11) or (http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5346628/Trail/C%24cip%3D49550.Sound%2Band%2Bvision%3EC%24cip%3D4 9559.Accessories%2Band%2Bbatteries%3EC%24cip%3D495 64.Television%2Band%2Baudio%2Bremote%2Bcontrols.ht m) any suggestions or hardware lists and links would be much appreciated.

Thanks in Advanced

Trev

[saltynay]

well if you went with fusion I would go with.

cpu: am2 4200x2
mobo: Asus M2NPV-VM
Ram: 1gb ddr2
gfx: a silent heatpipe design 8500 or 8600 if your going to do light gaming you will need to check whether these actually fit they are quite big cards
hdd: seagate barracuda 7200.11 1tb (not currently released coming out late summer) if your not going to wait then a 7200.10 750gb
keyboard/mouse: gyroscope (like the wii controller) http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_3026.html
psu: silent operation then this http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1776.html I don't know if its standard psu size though.
extras:
It will probably be better to replace the fans that come stock perhaps add one or two of your own fan mounts if you don't mind getting grubby. The stock may not be

Slot loading dvd-drives are very cool in my opinion kustom do offer laptop optical drives and a converter from 5.25" to slimline

[Essay @ Kustom]

The Harmony 885 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_5486.html) by Logitech is quite pimp. There are more in the Harmony range (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Home_Media_Devices.html#a5486).

The Harmony 1000 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_5487.html) is simply stunning!

[RazzleUltra]

Second vote for the Asus M2NPV-VM. I've got an X2 3800+ EE with a scythe ninja heatsink, no HS fan, just a noctua undervolted case fan and it runs s..weeet.

[kopite]

Those controller look brilliant essay. very tempted by one..

[Westy5]

Got both the ASUS board and an Abit - M2 nview and i prefer the Abit,

Got a fusion in a box awaiting a new CPU when the prices fall next month!

[LSG501]

personally I would hold off on a few purchases for a few weeks, the below should be due.

then I would go hunting for either an am2 3800+ EE or one of the new am2 x2 BR processors (basically a 45w version of the ee)
Add a biostar ta690g (http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2106) which has built in dvi, hdmi and vga graphics output from a capable hd res graphics card.

sling in 2GB of ram plus the psu, hard drives and optical drives of choice into the chosen case (I like silverstone myself but thats a personal thing)

[Westy5]

personally I would hold off on a few purchases for a few weeks, the below should be due.

then I would go hunting for either an am2 3800+ EE or one of the new am2 x2 BR processors (basically a 45w version of the ee)



You got any info on the BR processors? Knew AMD were bringing K10 out soon... But my Google mojo is failing to bring anything up about BR

Cheers

[LSG501]

oops its be not br (not sure why I thought it was br)
anyways techreport review (http://www.techreport.com/reviews/2007q2/athlon-x2-be2350/index.x?pg=1) - looks promising in my view especially considering the prices (found it from a competitor which I've used in the past and find very competitive for £61)

Considering using the above suggested spec for my server instead of mobile c2d, it would save me a small fortune :)

[Westy5]

oops its be not br (not sure why I thought it was br)
anyways techreport review (http://www.techreport.com/reviews/2007q2/athlon-x2-be2350/index.x?pg=1) - looks promising in my view especially considering the prices (found it from a competitor which I've used in the past and find very competitive for £61)

Considering using the above suggested spec for my server instead of mobile c2d, it would save me a small fortune :)

Now that is sweet.

Thanks for the update

[six5tring]

Antec fusion is a great simple case. Plently of space inside and easy to work with. I'm not going to say it's the best case in the world but for the money you can't beat it! LCD software works a treat with MCE too without fiddling.

I use a AC cooler with mine passively as the case fans are near and provide enough air movement to keep it to a reasonable temp.

gfx I use my motherboards onboard nividia 6250 and it's more than capable for my needs.

six

[redswipe]

Are you planning on upgrading to a HD-DVD or Blu Ray drive at some point? If you are you should make sure to get kit that can handle it. In last months Personal Computer World they tested an HTPC they built with a Core Duo T2600 processor and with the budget graphics cards it simply couldn't play some HD films.

If you are interested in reading it here is the article and the follow up article where they find out what can cope with HD:

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/9712/img008mb5.th.jpg (http://img146.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img008mb5.jpg) http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/4108/img009eo5.th.jpg (http://img146.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img009eo5.jpg) http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/4435/img010hc6.th.jpg (http://img146.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img010hc6.jpg)

[Westy5]

Nice PCW find.

Just waiting to put an 8500 into my fusion, probably with a cast off 4600+ (or might be a 4800+, can't remember!)

[kopite]

I`ve just put my htpc back together.
The spec I think might be a bit overkill lol

DFI lanpart ut Ultra board
AMD 64 3000 cpu
2 GIG DDR 3200 Ram
Saphire x800xt
1 80 seagate drive
1 200 gig seagate drive
Haupage pvr 350 card

All housed in a silverstone lc16m case :D

[chrimbow]

How about this for your mobo? Im looking to put together a fusion aswell so any opinions on this board that was mentioned to me would be good...
Liking the HDMI and spidf

http://www2.abit.com.tw/page/en/motherboard/motherboard_detail.php?pMODEL_NAME=AN-M2HD&fMTYPE=Socket%20AM2