Building a HTPC....

disneyjoe7

I purchased Windows 7 32 bit software, and the tuner Hauppauge Win-TV HVR-2250. I going to do this to an old computer, KN8 AMD 2.2ghz 3700+ with a 6800gt video. The video output has some issues, but I'm ok with for now. I just buy parts here, parts there when I have the money.

disneyjoe7

bknauss wrote: »

Do MAJOR checks on the ATI/AMD onboard graphics cards with HMDI out. I have an Asus with an ATI card built in, and the audio via HDMI works sometimes when I boot up, but generally doesn't.

Also, if you're looking for a fancy case, I purchased a Silverstone and was extremely happy with it. Yes, it costs a bit more, but its built like a tank (and just as heavy).

Thanks for the heads up, what I'm looking to do now is an Itel i3-530 cpu. Silverstone cases are really sweet, but maybe over which I can do now.

disneyjoe7

renowilliams wrote: »

I would rethink the cooler master power supply. I bought the 850 watt silent pro and it died on me in 4 months.

Thanks I change it back to a Corsair HX650w power supply.

Bobsama

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

Thanks I change it back to a Corsair HX650w power supply.

A Corsair CX400 should be plenty. Otherwise, Seasonic. Any particular reason you want modular? I'd generally recommend you stuff all the cables in an unused bay--it may be a tight fit but it should, well, fit.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094

disneyjoe7

My thinking is more of the modular design as the case is a little small, and I liked the variable fan for cooling perhaps keeping fan noise down.

renowilliams

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

Thanks I change it back to a Corsair HX650w power supply.

Good choice...a friend of mine bought the hx series corsair and he has been happy. That is the series I will be replacing mine with.

I think modular is much better for cable management and motherboard power cables are longer. At least in mine backup power supply,the cables are shorter.

disneyjoe7

If I did use a case like the SilverStone, which I like do the fact it hides drives and USB etc. Does this case have an IR sense?


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163077

disneyjoe7

cokewithvanilla wrote: »

If you're gonna save the money, you should hold off on the purchase entirely. Technology will change in that time, and so will what you will purchase. Also, everything will be cheaper when you go to buy it.

I do agree with that statement, but felt I needed a dvr of something for now. Using my old computer with Windows 7, 2250 tuner it works for now. The video issue had was with any HD video stream, using the tuner everything is working for now.


Steve

Bobsama

Sherardp wrote: »

Hey Coke,

Since it's in his budget put a Caviar Black in there or a Samsumg Spinpoint F3. Both are fast drives and are priced very cheap. I would also consider a 60gb SSD for a boot drive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007603%2050001306%20600003340%20600003269&IsNodeId=1&name=1TB%20and%20higher

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231377

To me at least, the reason a WD Caviar Black drive was chosen was because they're known for performance and reliability. I personally love my Caviar Black 1TB drive and it's been going strong and silent for soon 2 years now.

bknauss

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

If I did use a case like the SilverStone, which I like do the fact it hides drives and USB etc. Does this case have an IR sense?


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163077

It says it includes a remote in the "Details" section. That would lead me to believe...

disneyjoe7

bknauss wrote: »

It says it includes a remote in the "Details" section. That would lead me to believe...

Brian, does your case have Imon? I read some issue's with that, and wondered if you had this. If so any work around you may know you may like to share?



Steve

disneyjoe7

Ok I purchased some parts local, Compusa I substituted the motherboard since they don't stock the Asus, P7H55-M EVO they stock the Asus P7H55-M PRO. The only I see different is the USB 3 on the EVO how important is that?

Sherardp

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

Ok I purchased some parts local, Compusa I substituted the motherboard since they don't stock the Asus, P7H55-M EVO they stock the Asus P7H55-M PRO. The only I see different is the USB 3 on the EVO how important is that?

Not important unless your using externals with USB 3.0 connections. USB 3 is supposed to be much faster transfer speeds. You'll be fine with what you have .

disneyjoe7

Thanks Sherardp, I also noticed it doesn't have Firewire. Is that going to be an issue?

Bobsama

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

Thanks Sherardp, I also noticed it doesn't have Firewire. Is that going to be an issue?

Unless you plan to use some camcorders or legacy peripherals, you'll probably never use Firewire. I certainly haven't.

disneyjoe7

Ok assembled it now I'm lost again. (Thank You Sherard and Bob for making feel better with that mother board.)


I can't get the HDMI output to work? All BIOS is updated. It states "Monitor / TV setup is not supported" Ok so let me assume HDMI is now used for a PC screen now. WTF.

disneyjoe7

For now I installed the other Video card 6800GT, I couldn't live any longer with no tv. So component HD and optical works for now.

ryanjoachim

Your tv and mobo should have at least a VGA port to work with. I would recommend using that port with your TV and setting the resolution to a supported number, then shutting down and plugging the HDMI cable in instead of the VGA.

Usually the only reason you won't get any picture is because the TV is being sent an incompatible resolution.

disneyjoe7

Thanks I try that, but my tv doesn't have vga input its a Plasma not LCD. I can place a monitor on the VGA output and set it to custom 1024 x 720 which I think is 720p then remove it to place the HDMI cable.

ryanjoachim

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

Thanks I try that, but my tv doesn't have vga input its a Plasma not LCD. I can place a monitor on the VGA output and set it to custom 1024 x 720 which I think is 720p then remove it to place the HDMI cable.

That could work too. The setting on the computer is what's important. Also, check online for the resolution your TV is compatible with.

cokewithvanilla

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

I can't get the HDMI output to work? All BIOS is updated. It states "Monitor / TV setup is not supported" Ok so let me assume HDMI is now used for a PC screen now. WTF.

This is probably a driver issue... though this is one reason I chose an ATi based motherboard for my build. I have found that ATi drivers/software do better with scaling, ect for TV use than nVIDIA or Intel.

A display panel is a display panel. Those out's should work with projectors, tvs, lcds... I would check the drivers, download different ones, ect.

disneyjoe7

So if I can't get it too work, then put an ATI video card in this HTPC?

cokewithvanilla

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

So if I can't get it too work, then put an ATI video card in this HTPC?

if you want. However, there is no reason it shouldn't work

SolidSqual

I made this and it is fantastic. Zero noise. No moving parts. And, it actually looks like a piece of audio gear, not a computer.

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Computer-Audiophile-Pocket-Server-CAPS

SolidSqual

The Computer Audiophile Pocket Server piece by piece

Motherboard
# Intel D945GSEJT Johnstown Mini-ITX Motherboard - $109.00

Power Supply
# Power Adapter DC 12 V, 80 W - $29.00

RAM
# TRANSCEND 256MSQ64V6U SO-DIMM DDR2 667 Memory 2GB - $73.00

Solid State Drive
# OCZ Vertex Turbo OCZSSD2-1VTXT60G 2.5" 60GB SSD - $219.00

PCI Riser
# PCI Riser Card for D945GSEJT - $10.95

Digital Audio Card
# Lynx AES16 PCI Audio Card - $625

Custom AES Cable
# Lynx AES16 Cable - ~$60

Computer Case
# Origenae M10 - $320

Music Application
# J River Media Center 14 - $50

disneyjoe7

Well to say I'm not frustrated right now would be a lie.

Can't get the HDMI output to work, changed to monitor setting to 1280 x 720 60hz for 720p my Plasma does 720p or 1080i being something like native 1368x768 or something like that. I can't get to work... Operator error, just plain sleepy, who knows for sure. Now I really question why a $80 video card isn't worth the cash? In short back to the 6800GS video card using component cables 1080i and the optical for the audio for now.

The only issue is the computer is really getting quiet but that 6800GS video card is LOUD the fan on that thing.

ryanjoachim

If you're having this much of an issue with your onboard hdmi, then I would recommend getting a $50-$80 ATI card with HDMI.

They're cheap, they do HD very well, and they WORK.

cokewithvanilla

SolidSqual wrote: »

The Computer Audiophile Pocket Server piece by piece

Motherboard
# Intel D945GSEJT Johnstown Mini-ITX Motherboard - $109.00

I would hesitate to use a single core n270 in a media center pc. That said, there are some 'media center' pc's that are about half the size of a netbook that utilize this same system (they cost around $250).... wouldn't be my choice though. If I were to do such a thing, I'd use at least a n470 or one of the new dual core atoms (n550, I believe)

cokewithvanilla

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

Well to say I'm not frustrated right now would be a lie.

Can't get the HDMI output to work, changed to monitor setting to 1280 x 720 60hz for 720p my Plasma does 720p or 1080i being something like native 1368x768 or something like that. I can't get to work... Operator error, just plain sleepy, who knows for sure. Now I really question why a $80 video card isn't worth the cash? In short back to the 6800GS video card using component cables 1080i and the optical for the audio for now.

The only issue is the computer is really getting quiet but that 6800GS video card is LOUD the fan on that thing.

You should be able to get it working. However, I do not like intel graphics. Have you tried changing drivers (even with older ones)? This is one reason I recommended Ati chipsets.

go for something like a fanless (if you're worried about noise, but to be honest, you probably wouldn't notice the fan, unless you have a really crappy case) radeon 5550. if you really wanna do that

Bobsama

I've actually in the middle of building an HTPC right now. I'll rattle off what I'm using...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116264
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856119021
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131339
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152175
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106325
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823201035
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16880101003

Total came to $396 shipped when it was purchased on Sunday.. I am reusing some RAM and an OS license.

2GB DDR2 comes out to $40 or 4GB DDR2 comes out to $125.
Windows 7 Home Premium comes out to $100.
A Hauppauge HVR-1250 comes out to $50 or an HVR-2250 comes out to $125.

I'll be running with just the CPU fan and PSU fan--which should keep it quiet enough. The computer's meant to replace a 5-CD player, DVD player, and Blu-Ray player. A PVR/DVR rented from the cable company will provide a platform with which to watch and record TV at full quality. I'm not a huge fan of the keyboard layout (it has the tall Enter key and downsized Backspace) or mouse (it's small and unbalanced L/R), but it's got very good range (>20') and both have On/Off switches. The keyboard also has LEDs displaying when connected and when Lock keys are on. The remote control seems fine to me.