Please review my new HT Computer

HBombToo

Silverstone LC20M Silver ATX HTPC Home Entertainment PC Case with VFD, Remote Control, Front USB, FireWire and Audio Ports

Ultra / X-Finity / 800-Watt / ATX / Dual 80mm Fans / SATA-Ready / SLI-Ready / Active PFC / Power Supply - Black

Asus Striker Extreme NVIDIA Socket 775 ATX Motherboard / Audio / PCI Express / Dual Gigabit LAN / S/PDIF / Firewire & USB 2.0 / Serial ATA / RAID

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40GHz / 4MB Cache / 1066MHz FSB / Conroe / Dual-Core / Socket 775 / Processor with Fan

XFX GeForce 8800 GTS / 640MB GDDR3 / SLI / PCI Express / Dual DVI / HDTV / Video Card

OCZ Dual Channel Titanium Alpha 2048MB PC8000 DDR2 1000MHz Memory (2 x 1024MB)

NEC Super Multi (AD-7170A) / 18x DVD±R Burn / 16x DVD±R Read / 8x DVD±RW / 8x DVD-R DL / 12x DVD-RAM / 48x32x CD-R/RW / Silver / OEM DVD Burner

Western Digital / Caviar SE16 / 500GB / 7200 / 16MB / SATA-300 / OEM / Hard Drive

Microsoft Windows XP Pro Edition OEM Version & Service Pack 2


Please comment since the parts are on order I may be able to make changes tonight or tomorrow.

or

Please comment if you like or dislike....:o This is my first attempt at a computer build and I'm have the cold sweat:eek:

HBomb

WilliamM2

Looks good. Are you going to be gaming on this rig? If not, it is way more than needed for HTPC.

lomic

WilliamM2 wrote:

Looks good. Are you going to be gaming on this rig? If not, it is way more than needed for HTPC.

QFT. Very overkill unless you're doing heavy gaming, which you possibly are. If not, here's my recommendation:

Lower power, higher quality PSU. PC Power and Cooling etc.

Non-SLI motherboard will be about $100 cheaper.

Obviously video card would be overkill, a 7600 would do fine.


If you're concerned about being able to playback HD resolutions, my Core2 E6400@3ghz and 7900gs plays back Quicktime 1080i without a problem.

Regardless of those suggestions, I highly suggest you drop so coin on a better DVD optical drive. I have an NEC and while it's not as noisy as lite-on, it's still very loud and would be distracting in a HTPC environment. I haven't read any reviews on drive sound levels recently, but you'll probably want to look at Plextor in the $100+ range.

schwarcw

Henry, ditto on the power supply. Don't chintz on that! Also, check the noise level on the fans. The manufacturer's product sheets should provide the noise rating. Stay under 30 dB as a minimum. The lower the better of course. Are you going to do some gaming or is this just for the kid's homework?:D

I'm considering going the other way. Real small, cube on the desk. I don't need all the power in a tower. Plus, I hate my laptop. Nothing wrong with it, just reminds me of work.

schwarcw

Also, throw back a couple of cold ones. That cold sweat will go away.

Carl

BaggedLancer

Insane overkill for a HTPC.

Look into the reviews on those WD 5000ks Hard drives. I was looking for two 500 gb's myself and those had what seemed the highest failure rates.

No TV tuner card?

I just finished my build this week and I'm really pleased with it. If you need any help with anything just ask.

HBombToo

Great feedback and thanks!

I went cheap on the NEC to just kick start the project. This unit will be transferred into a legacy Dell that is near end of life and will also be rebuilt.

I'm not sure why the PS is going cheap? I figured at 800 watts it would be overkill but could take anything else I would throw at it. I'm going to look further into the noise figures but this PS can also be transferred into my old Dell...

I am trying to build a computer that is good for gaming, HT and audio file storage. I'm just trying to future proof it a bit and not have buyers remorse in 3 months after the purchase. I figured i would start off with this HD and it can also be reused in my old Dell.

The tuners/HDDVD, higher end sound cards for recording LP and other features will follow. I also hope to set up some security cameras outside to keep an eye on the neighborhood kids. This is not a need to have but thought it would be cool since I did have my tires yanked last year.;)

I have never built a computer before so many beers will follow my frustration but I am thinking of reuse strategy so my backup computer can be used as a mini hotrod.

I do want to join the world of gaming which I have not enjoyed since the late 80's and the Nintendo craze... I guess my age is showing eh:eek:

Thanks
HBomb

Demiurge

That power supply is overkill. I think someone was mistaken in their comment saying you were cheaping on it. Most power supplies are between 300-400w for regular home use.

Great setup. It's more than you need, but what the hell, it's the American way. Looks good.

PolkThug

Yep, thats a ton of power.

For fast hard drives, go with the Western Digital Raptor series.

Only thing you may have remorse on is the video card, they drop in price faster than any other component. I never buy the TOTL line vid card for this reason.

Where's the audio?

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2005/10/31/creative_xfi/1.html

BaggedLancer

PolkThug wrote:

Only thing you may have remorse on is the video card, they drop in price faster than any other component. I never buy the TOTL line vid card for this reason.

Totally agree with that. I just got a 7600 GT from newegg last week for $92.99. I remember when my 6800GTX's were 360 each :mad:

HBombToo

Great link Toby and Thanks! That is following after I get the computer running....

bdaley6509

I'm one of those idiots who pays top dollar (minus 20% sale at MC) for the best video card. Just bought 2 8800GTX and they look beautiful running games on my new Dell 30" 3007 LCD. You'll love that 8800...amazing card.

Refefer

Yeah, that's a mean machine. It should be able to handle 1080p with no problems, though you might have to drop it to 720p when next generation games come out.

bobman1235

I do love the look of those Silverstone cases, good choice.

Shizelbs

Its a POS. Give it to me.

Are you going to be moving to Vista at any point?

Sounds like an awesome HTPC. Forget the naysayers. Overkill is the way to go. Hopefully PC Bluray drives will be droppiing in price quickly.

HBombToo

If and when I see a true benefit to Vista I'll move in that direction but right now I'm a little skittish of new platforms.

The Silverstone's do have a nice look that can easily fit in my HT racks...

and a bit of overkill is kind of refreshing for me since I have not indulged in buying stuff for a while.

I received an email this morning that some of my parts have began shipping. Life is going to get frustrating pretty soon.

HBomb

MrNightly

Can I bring my games over to your house and play them there 'dad?!?

BaggedLancer

Booted up my HTPC today for the first time to load Vista on that I just bought only to find that the IDE bus on the mobo is defective. Back to newegg for a different board :mad:

Deadof_knight

Wow , Sweet on the puter, but upgrade the power supply quick when they go they take numerous items with them to their death !

Sorry to hear that at least yours was covered Bagged I have taken mine apart many many times upgrading and such over the years and one day I was doing it turned it off and started pulling components one at a time ,,,,and then I seen it I left it plugged in , I freaked so I put it all back in real quick and I fried the memory controller on the board AAAAAAAAAAAAHHh damnit! rassing frassin @#$%$@. You know

ps So I had to upgrade yet again , hehehehe things happen for a reason !

BaggedLancer

Deadof_knight wrote:

Wow , Sweet on the puter, but upgrade the power supply quick when they go they take numerous items with them to their death !

Sorry to hear that at least yours was covered Bagged I have taken mine apart many many times upgrading and such over the years and one day I was doing it turned it off and started pulling components one at a time ,,,,and then I seen it I left it plugged in , I freaked so I put it all back in real quick and I fried the memory controller on the board AAAAAAAAAAAAHHh damnit! rassing frassin @#$%$@. You know

ps So I had to upgrade yet again , hehehehe things happen for a reason !

Yep, sent it back to newegg, piece of junk. Great reviews, came as a piece of crap tho.

I just ordered an EVGA board as a replacement w/ lifetime warranty.

HBombToo

MrNightly wrote:

Can I bring my games over to your house and play them there 'dad?!?

You bet bro and I'll buy the beer:D

BaggedLancer

HBT, how come you ordered such an expensive board?

I noticed it has 6 onboard SATA 3.0 gb/s ports and 2 externals. However, you are only using one SATA 3.0 gb/s hard drive? Seems like a waste to have 7 ports not being used.

Also, you ordered an NEC IDE dvd burner. Why go IDE when you have all those SATA ports? Sata is significantly faster.....

Honestly you could have saved $250 on that board, got a board with 4 ports with the exact same features as the board you bought and then put that $250 toward a seconds graphics card or another hard drive or something.

HBombToo

Since this is my first build and I also want to upgrade my current PC, I'll be kick starting the new and as I add components they will be sent to my current pc. Make sense? I bought the best board I could find so there will be very fiew upgade limits in the future...

BaggedLancer

HBT, hit me up on AIM if you ever go on at DeadPedestrian99

I'm not trying to start an argument, but what exactly are you "sending to your current pc" when you upgrade?

The power supply, ram, video card, and hard drive all be non-compatible with your old pc.

You are attempting to build a very high end latest and greatest machine, but I think you are missing a few key points......

Just hit me up on AIM or PM if you can. Rather try and help than see you frustrated down the road asking why you picked the components you did.

BaggedLancer

Hbombtoo, we need an update!!!! Pics and your review!

MrNightly

Ya, you really should just forget this first setup, send it my way, and have BL set you up properly. That way everybody is happy ok?

BaggedLancer

MrNightly wrote:

Ya, you really should just forget this first setup, send it my way, and have BL set you up properly. That way everybody is happy ok?

No...:p

HBombToo

I finished up the project over the weekend. I had to go back to work and family and I apologize for the delay reporting on my progress.

This thing I built worked out of the box and has simply put a smile on my face. I have much to do, but after I finally got the led screen on the htpc working my fun meter was pegged. Many upgrades to follow.

I want to take advantage of the raid aspect of the system but I need help. In my impression at this point , HD efficiency is the first best upgrade.

Please help with your advice!

Twin:D

dorokusai

It looks like a classic example of an engineer, over engineering something I would build something basic as there is just too much out there in regards to HA and media servers to get cemented.

There are a couple of trade magazines that would be interesting to you Henry, you should subscribe. Residential Systems and CEPro.

HBombToo

dorokusai wrote:

It looks like a classic example of an engineer, over engineering something

and you have captured the EXACT point of what I have tried to accomplish my friend.

as we learn about the possibilities that connectivity can yield from a buisness perspective, I'm all about fun and have the resource to play;)

EVDO and 4G are our future:)

twin