Help in building HTPC/Server

Ah virtualization - now those cores make sense:) About downloading - I dont download a lot of FLAC music so I dont know. Movies - I do download a lot.
 
yeap.. pretty much.. need multiple cores when i run 6 virtual servers.. to take the load without being slow ;-)

How do you download movies.. which format do you prefer ?
 
yeap.. pretty much.. need multiple cores when i run 6 virtual servers.. to take the load without being slow ;-)

How do you download movies.. which format do you prefer ?

Torrents are great - I use utorrent as client. Some of the P2P services are not bad. Ares is quite OK as are some DC++ hubs. I have had some excellent picks from DC++ networks. But it is hard to find a good hub. Plus they have strict data requirements.
 
btw.. do you download FLAC.. if yes, which site are you using.. i currently use isohunt.com and thepiratebay.org and also warez-bb.org

let me know if you are aware of any good sites for download

//regards

isn't w@r3z talk banned here ? :)
 
yeap.. pretty much.. need multiple cores when i run 6 virtual servers.. to take the load without being slow ;-)

The OP needs a HTPC system so he should be fine with just two 1 gig sticks. He can always buy more later. Thats 2K saved.

Vortex, the kind of HTPC that the OP is trying to build, he will need at least 50K.
The best 790G mobo + ~3 gigs amd64 CPU + 2*500 gigs HDD (in raid0) + fundoo HTPC casing + coolermaster power supply + bluray + cd player + xonar d2x or hdav1.3 + wireless kbd/mouse will cost around 50K.

I don't think getting the bluray drive is a good idea. You get very good bluray players with HDMI out for as much as the internal SATA bluray player will cost. Moreover, I have seen one guy fry his AMD motherboard while playing a bluray disc, so doing all the HD audio/video decoding in the PC would require getting a GPU as well (better than using CPU cycles and ending up frynig something). Also, there are so many issues with drivers in the HDAV.
 
I was not aware of that. I am sorry.

:) Just that I would refrain from such discussions in public. Several forums bring down posts related to w@r3z talk since most of it is illegal. I am not aware of the site policies and what the admins here think! (do we have any site admin here btw?)

just my 2 cents!
 
The OP needs a HTPC system so he should be fine with just two 1 gig sticks. He can always buy more later. Thats 2K saved.

Vortex, the kind of HTPC that the OP is trying to build, he will need at least 50K.
The best 790G mobo + ~3 gigs amd64 CPU + 2*500 gigs HDD (in raid0) + fundoo HTPC casing + coolermaster power supply + bluray + cd player + xonar d2x or hdav1.3 + wireless kbd/mouse will cost around 50K.

I don't think getting the bluray drive is a good idea. You get very good bluray players with HDMI out for as much as the internal SATA bluray player will cost. Moreover, I have seen one guy fry his AMD motherboard while playing a bluray disc, so doing all the HD audio/video decoding in the PC would require getting a GPU as well (better than using CPU cycles and ending up frynig something). Also, there are so many issues with drivers in the HDAV.

I still dont see why he would need 50 K Bhaskie. I would straight away say he would not need a 3 Ghz AMD 64 CPU unless he intends to use this system for multiple purposes. A couple of 500 GB hard drives are cool. RAID I am not so sure of. Coolermaster powersupply and cabinets - OK they are cool:) and costly. Now everything minus the blu ray player still wont touch 50 K.

But if he does wish to invest, I guess that is OK. It is just that a specialist HTPC does not need too much processing power.
 
I still dont see why he would need 50 K Bhaskie. I would straight away say he would not need a 3 Ghz AMD 64 CPU unless he intends to use this system for multiple purposes. A couple of 500 GB hard drives are cool. RAID I am not so sure of. Coolermaster powersupply and cabinets - OK they are cool:) and costly. Now everything minus the blu ray player still wont touch 50 K.

But if he does wish to invest, I guess that is OK. It is just that a specialist HTPC does not need too much processing power.

I totally agree with you. I got mine for 22K :) + Xonar D2X 8.5K, that's within 30K.

My 50K suggestion includes the bluray (I think the 6x writer will cost around 12-15K in India) and one of those cool HTPC cases from antec that can lie flat like a receiver and is super silent - check the Antec NSK2400 Media PC casing.
 
I totally agree with you. I got mine for 22K :) + Xonar D2X 8.5K, that's within 30K.

My 50K suggestion includes the bluray (I think the 6x writer will cost around 12-15K in India) and one of those cool HTPC cases from antec that can lie flat like a receiver and is super silent - check the Antec NSK2400 Media PC casing.

I actually wanted to get that or one of the Coolermaster ones. It was not available here in Chennai:(
 
Bhaskie, the Antec NSK2400 Media PC is for a Micro-ATX board, Are you aware of similar casing for a full ATX motherboard. My Asus is a full ATX MOBO. I know I cans search, but of you or any other member have knowledge and experience, it will help.

Cheers
 
Bhaskie, the Antec NSK2400 Media PC is for a Micro-ATX board, Are you aware of similar casing for a full ATX motherboard. My Asus is a full ATX MOBO. I know I cans search, but of you or any other member have knowledge and experience, it will help.

Cheers

That Antec is not available in Chennai. Even the NSK2480 is unavailable. I tried sourcing the Coolermaster ones but was told that even they are not available. The only brand I have not checked with the market is the Thermaltake.
 
Did you buy the M-audio with bill & warranty as it is quoted at arnd 15k here.
did you compare the Xonar with M-audio
TIA
Regards.

Hi neo,

i have been using my comp as HTPC for quite sometime now. Have the following config

Intel Core 2 Quad 6600 Processor 2.4 GHZ
Intel DG 33FB Motherboard
Transcend 2 x 2GB = 4GB RAM
1 x 250 GB IDE SEAGATE
1 x 250 GB SATA
1 x 500 GB SATA
1 CD-Writer

M-Audio Audiophile 2496 Audio card
22" Dell TFT Monitor.
Custom RCA - RCA connector cable from computer to AVR ( Denon ).
I dont have the requirement for an extensive graphics card and am using the inbuilt VGA on the motherboard.

I use this setup mainly for music & sometime to watch downloaded movies ( includes DIVX, Bluray RIP - mkv formats)

The system alone costed me 36K and the M-audio soundcard + the custom cable costed me 10K extra..

I would go along with the other guys: dont buy the 1TB disk coz you risk a Single Point of failure, buy multiple disks of 500 GB each and configure them using SATA Raid if you want data protection.

Yep, i am quite happy with the M-audio Performance and I mainly download FLAC format files from the internet and either burn them or listen direcly on the COMP.

let me know if you need more info, could try to help you.. :)

//Regards
 
Thanks a lot everyone!
Loads of questions to be asked my computer guy.

The break up of the cost of the conifg .
Pricing :
Cpu and motherboard : Rs 37000/=
Graphic card Rs : 20000/=
Blu ray Burner : Rs 9000/=
Cooler master with 650 watts : Rs 9000/=
3 Gb DDR3: Rs 15,000/=
1 TB HDD : Rs 10000/=
Wireless kb mouse : Rs 2000/=
Asus Xonar HDAV 1.3 : Rs 15000/=

@vortex, bhaskie approx how much would the processor & MOBO as suggested by you cost?
will it be able to take frequent internet downloads & may be a bit of gaming at times??

If any body is intrested may be we can import the thermaltakes stuff as it does seem to be available in India.Min 6pc required.

Thanks again.
Regards.
 
@vortex, bhaskie approx how much would the processor & MOBO as suggested by you cost?
will it be able to take frequent internet downloads & may be a bit of gaming at times??

AMD Athlon 64 X2 CPU + ATI 790G mobo ~ Rs. 10K

you should check Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-DS4H for 790G based mobo.

IMHO getting an intel CPU for 15K is waste of money for an HTPC.

If you wanna throw in some money, get the Phenom X4's.

The kind of games you play will decide whether you want a GPU or not!
 
Bhaskie, the Antec NSK2400 Media PC is for a Micro-ATX board, Are you aware of similar casing for a full ATX motherboard. My Asus is a full ATX MOBO. I know I cans search, but of you or any other member have knowledge and experience, it will help.

Cheers

you can check the thermaltake tenor chassis for a full atx mobo. it is 4U (7 inch tall) so see if that doesn't put you off.

There are a few thermaltake mozart/bach full ATX chassis that you can look into. They have very good reviews. I guess you should check if you can get these in chennai. If not thermaltake, check for Antec or zalman or silverstone availability.

Also let me know your budget and i will suggest more!
 
Hi Neo,

Yes, the M-Audio card that i purchased is with bill from SP Road in bangalore ( something like Lamington road in bombay ).. I guess 15k is way too much they are charging you for this product. The dealer ( ADITYAINFOTECH ) themselves quoted around 8K for this card and not more.

I did not compare the XONAR, the only thing i checked was EMU 1212 and that was a bit more expensive not sure of the exact cost though.

Regards,
Prashant
 
Thanks a lot everyone!
Loads of questions to be asked my computer guy.

1 TB HDD : Rs 10000/=
Wireless kb mouse : Rs 2000/=

Thanks again.
Regards.

NEO : the price quote for the 1 TB harddisk is a bit too high.
As of today in bangalore the cost is approximately 6500/- for 1 TB Seagate SATA Disk..

open this link Computer Warehouse Online - Build your PC yourself and dropdown the box for Harddisk and see the prices. Even though these are not the most accurate prices, the prices in SP road a tad bit cheaper...

i guess things are much costlier from where you are enquiring.

Just thought u should know about it

Regards,
Prashant

EDIT INFO : -- In fact on the same link check for the 1.5 TB disk which is approximately 8500 /-
 
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