Building a cheap HTPC.

[surinder1508]

I dont really think you understood. Like I said, you may get lucky not to have instability. You may also get unlucky. Kindly stop arguing in order to have the last word.

Why do you need 4gbfor an htpc? If possible get 2x1gb now if available at good price. HD playback requires the benefit of better memory access. For example the 780G chipset boasts of full HD playback at 50% cpu only with 1066mhz memory and not with DDR2 800 RAM. So speed of memory access is important. No point buying a 16 valve dohc engine and putting it on bull-o-cart wheels.



regards

Brother I have assembled more then sixty PCs for myself n for my nears n dears and more then a dozen out of them added more RAM with existing one and neither of them including me facing any issue so there if any luck factor comes in the scenario I think people who got stability issue with that approach might be bit unlucky rather then people not getting any problem are lucky.

Yes he can do with 1X2GB if machine is only going to be used for HTPC but then again he is looking forward for some gaming as well that's where 2X2GB can pay off and brother have you checked the price of 1066mhz DDR II RAM.

 

[jayad08]

well :sad:

then suggest good modo = asus or gigabyte (not the 10k one but a decent one )
and processor too. hyeah:

Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H @ 8.5k
ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO @ 6.3k

cheap 890GX
Biostar TA890GXE @ 6.6k

processor
Phenom II X2 555 3.2GHz B.E. @ 5.2k (best chance of core unlock)
Phenom II X4 965 3.4GHz B.E. C3 @ 8.8k
Athlon II X4 630 2.8GHz @ 4.7k

 

[jayad08]

Brother I have assembled more then sixty PCs for myself n for my nears n dears and more then a dozen out of them added more RAM with existing one and neither of them including me facing any issue so there if any luck factor comes in the scenario I think people who got stability issue with that approach might be bit unlucky rather then people not getting any problem are lucky.

Yes he can do with 1X2GB if machine is only going to be used for HTPC but then again he is looking forward for some gaming as well that's where 2X2GB can pay off and brother have you checked the price of 1066mhz DDR II RAM.

gobble ur turn..
:licklips::licklips::licklips:

 

[vinsks]

Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H @ 8.5k
ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO @ 6.3k

cheap 890GX
Biostar TA890GXE @ 6.6k

processor
Phenom II X2 555 3.2GHz B.E. @ 5.2k (best chance of core unlock)
Phenom II X4 965 3.4GHz B.E. C3 @ 8.8k
Athlon II X4 630 2.8GHz @ 4.7k

thanks friend,

how about asus M4A78-HTPC
ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

another goodone i found

 

[jayad08]

thanks friend,

how about asus M4A78-HTPC
ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

another goodone i found

it is indeed a very good board..
still i wont prefer it for the following reasons..
1) AMD 780G/SB700: chipset and SB both are obsolete.. the 890GX has the latest.. also HD 4290 is antime better than 3200 GPU
2) AMD Socket AM2+ is going to get outdated in a yr or so, when only AM3 wd be available..
3) 2-ch gold plated RCA audio out is a gimmick really.. wont improve any sort of sound quality.. for that u need a XONAR ST/STX or ESI Juli or any other stereo based sound card

The only feature which appeals to me is the remote control, but that also can be had with a added USB device for 700-1000.

Check whether this board supports 7 channel LPCM over HDMI, i suppose none of AMD board do..

Found this:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/asus-m4a78-htpc
but i m too lazy to read the entire article..

 

[vinsks]

it is indeed a very good board..
still i wont prefer it for the following reasons..
1) AMD 780G/SB700: chipset and SB both are obsolete.. the 890GX has the latest.. also HD 4290 is antime better than 3200 GPU
2) AMD Socket AM2+ is going to get outdated in a yr or so, when only AM3 wd be available..
3) 2-ch gold plated RCA audio out is a gimmick really.. wont improve any sort of sound quality.. for that u need a XONAR ST/STX or ESI Juli or any other stereo based sound card

The only feature which appeals to me is the remote control, but that also can be had with a added USB device for 700-1000.

Check whether this board supports 7 channel LPCM over HDMI, i suppose none of AMD board do..

Found this:
Asus M4A78-HTPC/RC: A Complete HTPC Solution? | silentpcreview.com
but i m too lazy to read the entire article..

Thanks for the detail information.
no doubt M4A785TD-V EVO is above than the one i mention before in turms of gpu and ddr3 mem.

i think this work good with Phenom II X2 555 3.2GHz B.E

 

[itarus]

I am interested in buying a basic HTPC and have come up with the following configuration:

AMD Phenom II X2 555 3.2 GHz 5320
Asus M4A785D-M-PRO 16GB DDR2 5375
Corsair 1x2GB 800 MHz 2400
Cooler Master Elite RC 310
(with 500W PSU) 2400
Belkin N150 Enhanced Wireless Router 1850
Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB Sata 3800
Total 21145

Does the config sound good enough? Are the prices reasonable or I am being overcharged?

I don't intend to buy a sound card as of now but will be getting it later (once I have a home theater audio system!).

 

[thevortex]

itarus - it is time to think of the 890GX chipset instead of the 785 or 780.

Moreover the 890GX comes with USB 3.0 support I believe. More incentive.

 

[thevortex]

itarus - it is time to think of the 890GX chipset instead of the 785 or 780.

Moreover the 890GX comes with USB 3.0 support I believe. More incentive.

 

[gobble]

I am interested in buying a basic HTPC and have come up with the following configuration:

AMD Phenom II X2 555 3.2 GHz 5320
Asus M4A785D-M-PRO 16GB DDR2 5375
Corsair 1x2GB 800 MHz 2400
Cooler Master Elite RC 310
(with 500W PSU) 2400
Belkin N150 Enhanced Wireless Router 1850
Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB Sata 3800
Total 21145

Does the config sound good enough? Are the prices reasonable or I am being overcharged?

I don't intend to buy a sound card as of now but will be getting it later (once I have a home theater audio system!).

For htpc please go for 45W TDP cpu.

If you are buying a wireless router, get the NetGear 3700 for 7500/-

Cheers

 

[itarus]

@thevortex: I had read your comment on 890GX posted earlier in this forum and had tried searching for suitable mobos. However, it seems that 890GX mobos are not that easily available in India and even if they are, they will probably shoot up my budget my about 3-4k more. Anyway, I will try to see if its available when I go to the computer shop and will buy one if it just about fits in my budget.

@gobble: I tried to google for 45W TDP CPUs to understand what that means and have concluded that at 45W the CPU speeds are pretty low (2.2 to 2.4 GHz). The Phenom II X2 is rated at 80W and I can get an Athlon II X4 at almost the same price and its rated at 95W. So now I need someone's help to decide which one should I go for - Phenom II X2 or Athlon II X4?

Regarding the wireless router, NetGear 3700 seems a bit of overkill for the kind of needs that I have. However, a Wireless-N Gigabit router definitely seems better than a Wireless-N150 10/100 router. How would you rate NetGear 3500 (without USB)?

 

[surinder1508]

Itarus you can get 890GX from here and along with 1333mhz DDR3 your budget will shoot up just 2K n believe me it's worth every penny out of it.And go for Phenom II X2 550BE as you can save 0.5K n 15W TDP with it against Athlon II X4 as you don't require a quad core for a HTPC.

Biostar TA 890GXE ? Lynx - The Audio , Electronics & Computer Online Superstore In India

Or you can use Bioster A780L3 @2.4K MOBO plus Powercolor PCS HD4670 1GB DDR-III @4.5K along with 1333mhz DDR3 and Phenom II X2 550BE and this board has SB710 with which you can try to unlock other to disabled cores of the 550BE if you ever require (yes luck factor comes here).

Here are specifications of Bioster A780L3

http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/content.php?S_ID=460

 

[thevortex]

On the contrary they are easily available in India, itarus. Surinder has given you one link. But I would see if the Gigabyte version of 890GX could be picked up.

 

[jayad08]

choose the 890GX board carefully if you are looking to unlock the phenom II to 4 cores.. i suppose this feature has been disabled in the BIOS on the 890GX..
only the ASUS ATX board provides this via a button on the board..but that board is over 10k

 

[spirovious]

This intel based MB looks good with 192/24 chip for audio,HDMI out.,IEEE 1394a interface
ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

nvidia based-
http://in.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=8YiUFvK51IergAqY&templete=2

 

[kapvin]

This intel based MB looks good with 192/24 chip for audio,HDMI out.,IEEE 1394a interface
ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

nvidia based-
ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

If one were buying now, without any legacy equipment (cpu/memory), I beleive the way forward is i530 and and H55 Mobo.. You get HDMI, the best intel graphic accelerator till date (integrated in CPU), HD audio bitstream, and also 3D ready (thought this could vary MOBO to MOBO).. (check the powerdvd10 thread on AVS forum)

GA-H55M-UD2H (rev. 1.0) - GIGABYTE - Product - Motherboard - Overview

GA-H55M-S2H (rev. 1.0) - GIGABYTE - Product - Motherboard - Overview

core i5 is now less than 6k, these mobos are about 7k and 6k respectively DDr3 ram is a bit expensive.. but overall the system will be quite a high performer for the money.

for me, this is gonna be the next upgrade on my main HTPC.

 

[spirovious]

Hi kapin,have you compared C2D with i family?

I may need to change MB(not in hurry) as my GC & D2X are close now & heat is causing problem.
Even getting onbrd HDMI is good opt& 3 D ready is boon.

One more Q,can we config audio out as we want?
ie.Via HDMI OR D2X whatever we want?

Any similar MB for C2D?

 

[kapvin]

Hi kapin,have you compared C2D with i family?

I may need to change MB(not in hurry) as my GC & D2X are close now & heat is causing problem.
Even getting onbrd HDMI is good opt& 3 D ready is boon.

One more Q,can we config audio out as we want?
ie.Via HDMI OR D2X whatever we want?

Any similar MB for C2D?

your heat problem is compounded due to the placement of the cpu box. a fan in the front of your cabinet could really help mitigate this (provided your cabinet has a provision for such a fan.

You can always configure audio the way you want..

for c2d you could look at x4500HD (g45) option - i think one of your links was for a similar mB.

cheers

 

[venkatcr]

The Gigabyte GA-H55M-USB3 (GA-H55M-USB3 (rev. 2.0) - GIGABYTE - Product - Motherboard - Overview) is available for roughly 7500 and supports Intel's HD Graphics, a 108dB DAC, HD Audio and USB 3.0. The i3 processor at 2.93 Ghz is available for 5,500. So for roughly 13,000 you have a good HTPC combination using the latest processors.

There is a mention of this in The Best Motherboard for HTPC: Picking the Motherboard for an HTPC Build.

We can add a powerful graphics card at a later date. But at it barest, this system should be a good HTPC as well as a media player.

Cheers

 

[gobble]

See you already have a heat problem and you re going for cpus with 65W or 95W TDP!! find a cpu @45WTDP or lesser and you will find peace of mind.

intel 4500 will not play 1080p forget it.

Regards