Upgrading OLD PC to HTPC

[vickysami]

Hi All,

Currently I am using my friends PC to connect to TV to watch movies with XBMC. I have not done many experiments with setting and stuff as I did not had much time and was watching movies only on week ends. But now i have to return the PC and i was planning to upgrade my old PC to HTPC and the frequency of watching moving also is increased.

couple of years ago i posted a thread and got some idea but did not change my system as i got one from my friend.


My current setup:
Motherboard - ASUS M2NPVM
Processor - AMD Athlon 64X2 3800 2.00GHz
Ram - Dynet DDR2 1 GB
Power Supply - 450 watts
Harddisk - 1TB Seagate

Current HT system:
LG TV 42"
Onkyo HTS 5100
LG DVD Player DV388

Connections needed:
PC to TV - HDMI for video
PC to Onkyo - Optical for HD Audio

What i need to know is:

1. What type of Graphics Card is supported for my mother board which has HDMI and Optical.

2. which Horizontal Micro ATX Cabinet to use (should run cool and quiet)

3. Will add Dynet 2GB DDR2 Ram so total of 3GB of ram will this be enough ?

by adding a good graphics card will it be good HTPC that can play High definition movies ??

Total Budget - 10K - 12K

need your valuable suggestions.

Regards,
Vikram

 

[vaibhavyagnik]

1. Any graphics card with PCIe connection. For Optical output, i recommend you use your motherboards internal SPDIF header. You will need to buy a header
2. Look for them in market. you will get some local brands
3. Sell the 1 GB RAM and go for 2 x 2 GB DDR2. It will be better in the long run.

 

[koushik]

With this present setup, yu only need a Graphic card. May be GT430/440 (~5K) and a MCE remote control(~1K) and you are good to go.

No need to change RAM in my opinion. Let us know as you progress

 

[vickysami]

1. Any graphics card with PCIe connection. For Optical output, i recommend you use your motherboards internal SPDIF header. You will need to buy a header
2. Look for them in market. you will get some local brands
3. Sell the 1 GB RAM and go for 2 x 2 GB DDR2. It will be better in the long run.

Hi,

what does this mean - "motherboards internal SPDIF header. You will need to buy a header"

if i get an spdif header will i get DD and DTS and pass it to my receiver and then it can decode it. ??

or do i need a sound card that supports my mother board and pass it to receiver ??

 

[Jhononweed]

Vickysami

1.I would say go for AMD 6450 @ ~2500 or GT 420/440 as mentioned above.Though i feel 6450 will be perfect because of low power consumption but is your LG 42" a 3d TV and do you wish to view 3d content through GFX card then grab Nvidia GT 440.

2.Silverstone has very good HTPC cases.Have a look at primeabgb.com for prices.

3.No need to add any further RAM...if you still want to upgrade then grab a single 1GB RAM to make it work in dual channel and your PC will be more smoother if its not now.


Cheers !

 

[ontherocks]

if i get an spdif header will i get DD and DTS and pass it to my receiver and then it can decode it. ??

Yes, exactly so.

But, if you want to get HD audio (DTS-MA, DD-THD, etc), then you would need a card with HDMI out.

 

[vickysami]

Vickysami

1.I would say go for AMD 6450 @ ~2500 or GT 420/440 as mentioned above.Though i feel 6450 will be perfect because of low power consumption but is your LG 42" a 3d TV and do you wish to view 3d content through GFX card then grab Nvidia GT 440.

2.Silverstone has very good HTPC cases.Have a look at primeabgb.com for prices.

3.No need to add any further RAM...if you still want to upgrade then grab a single 1GB RAM to make it work in dual channel and your PC will be more smoother if its not now.


Cheers !

thanks for the reply.

currently its not a 3D TV. its a LCD TV. But planning to upgrade in future, even the receiver but not for couple more years. So for future purpose i will buy a zotac gefore GT440.

i want an horizontal case.. so i was planning for Cooler Master Elite 360 for 2000 rupees. How is this cabinet ?

Silver Stone seems to be very costly..


I planning to use XP / XBMC / TMT 5 (not vista or Win 7), so currently without XMBC and TMT5 the system boots in 20 to 30 secs. i think thats good but cannot play BD movies (i mean 16GB Avatar is sluggish), but i think after adding Graphics card this problem will be solved. later on i will decide on RAM.


Graphics Card - 4500 /-

Cooler Master E-360 - 1900 /-

RAM - if needed.

Power Supply - if needed

Spdif header - For DD / DTS pass thru to receiver. How does it look and Cost. ???

I dont know what it is and how it should be used

 

[vickysami]

Yes, exactly so.

But, if you want to get HD audio (DTS-MA, DD-THD, etc), then you would need a card with HDMI out.

if my mother board capable of passing DD / DTS from Spdif ?? and how does it look and where to connect.

My receiver does not have HD Audio. only DD and DTS. So HD Audio is for future.

 

[Jhononweed]

thanks for the reply.

currently its not a 3D TV. its a LCD TV. But planning to upgrade in future, even the receiver but not for couple more years. So for future purpose i will buy a zotac gefore GT440.

i want an horizontal case.. so i was planning for Cooler Master Elite 360 for 2000 rupees. How is this cabinet ?

Silver Stone seems to be very costly..


I planning to use XP / XBMC / TMT 5 (not vista or Win 7), so currently without XMBC and TMT5 the system boots in 20 to 30 secs. i think thats good but cannot play BD movies (i mean 16GB Avatar is sluggish), but i think after adding Graphics card this problem will be solved. later on i will decide on RAM.


Graphics Card - 4500 /-

Cooler Master E-360 - 1900 /-

RAM - if needed.

Power Supply - if needed

Spdif header - For DD / DTS pass thru to receiver. How does it look and Cost. ???

I dont know what it is and how it should be used

AMD 6450 will be more than enough for 1080p movies..no need to spend on pricey yet power hungry GT 440.People who build HTPC goes for low power -low heat producing GFX so try AMD stable's 6450....its less noisy too.

Silverstone has case around 5500 Rs ...its best bang for money. CM 360 is also good....go for it but do get a good PSU(350W, 80+ rated) will be enough.

 

[vickysami]

ok. thats a nice idea.

what about audio (DD / DTS) - should i use a Asus Xonar DG sound card with optical output.
i have no idea on spdif header and how are its performance.


i think it can pass thru DD/DTS...

 

[Jhononweed]

ok. thats a nice idea.

what about audio (DD / DTS) - should i use a Asus Xonar DG sound card with optical output.
i have no idea on spdif header and how are its performance.


i think it can pass thru DD/DTS...

For that advice you need experience guys suggestions.
Asus DG supports multi channel but i guess its better to wait for experts.

I recently made HTPC with following:

Asus E35M1-M Board.
Asus ST sound card for only music.
Seasonic PSU 430.( Overkill , so will change to some lower W rating )
4 GB DDR3 Ram.

And that's for that.Didn't felt any need for GFX card E350 is right now good enough for my needs.
Power consumption - Should be less then 50 W( Board fetches around 25W )


For your setup , go for lower power consumption card for obvious reason as AMD Athlon 64 X2 is off older die process and will fetch more than 65W plus add on GFX power usage so you will feel the pinch !
Just my views .

 

[ontherocks]

if my mother board capable of passing DD / DTS from Spdif ?? and how does it look and where to connect.

The motherboard manual will tell if it has S/PDIF header or not. It looks like a set of 4 upright pins, but with only 3 pins. Sometimes "SPDIF" is printed in small letters near the pins. It may look like these.

To connect to this header, you will need a S/PDIF bracket. It looks like this

Or you can make one yourself like this

Since S/PDIF header bitstreams audio to the receiver, the quality of the audio output will depend on the quality of receiver.

 

[vickysami]

thanks for the replies guys.

i think building my own spdif header is very trouble some.

did some research on that and found that. spdif header on ebay is 2100. and for 3500 i can get a asus sound card with 5.1 (dts and dd supported). this can used i guess both for movies and games.

sp road in bangalore will be having it for much cheaper. i will try to find out prcies for both from sp road.

hope this is a good choice..

ASUS PCI 5.1 Channel Sound Card XONAR_DG | eBay



there are 2 sound cards with same name and features are different. are sellers trying to cheat ??

http://www.ebay.in/itm/Brand-New-As...4?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_203&hash=item3cc136a188

 

[vaibhavyagnik]

thanks for the replies guys.

i think building my own spdif header is very trouble some.

did some research on that and found that. spdif header on ebay is 2100. and for 3500 i can get a asus sound card with 5.1 (dts and dd supported). this can used i guess both for movies and games.

sp road in bangalore will be having it for much cheaper. i will try to find out prcies for both from sp road.

hope this is a good choice..

ASUS PCI 5.1 Channel Sound Card XONAR_DG | eBay



there are 2 sound cards with same name and features are different. are sellers trying to cheat ??

Brand New Asus XONAR-DG SOUND CARD Home Theater & Gaming National Warranty | eBay

The DG does not support 5.1 over digital. You will have to go the analog way. Its a good card if you want analog. But as far as digital is concerned, it will do only 2 channel PCM.

 

[haisaikat]

check the Zebronics Genesis cabinet which is less than 4 inches high , fits micro atz boards, but power supply required separately but most impotantly it will come in less than 1900 with PSU of 400 watts.

 

[haisaikat]

However keep in mind that because of its low height, zebronics genesis will only fit low profile cards like sapphire HD 6670 low profile

 

[vickysami]

thanks for info. i will check it out in the market on thursday.. as it holiday in bangalore..