titaniumone
n00b
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2007
- Messages
- 63
Hello! I'm parting together an HD HTPC after the July 22nd Intel price drop, and I need your advice. My primary source of content will be downloaded 720p MKV files (x264 / h264, in the range of 5000kbps to 10000kbps -- my 3800+ X2 desktop struggles with the higher end ones).
I'll be sending the video signal to a 720p DLP projector (Mitsubishi HD1000) using a DVI->HDMI cable from Monoprice (which I already have). I've tried this on my roommate's PC which has an 8600GT video card and it works great, so I know I won't have problems here.
I'll be sending the audio signal from the motherboard's onboard COAX S/PDIF to Logitech Z-5500 speakers. I plan on using S/PDIF passthrough so that the HTPC either sends a stereo PCM signal or a Dolby Digital signal to the Z-5500's, and they do all the decoding themselves. Is this right, and will it work OK? I've never used S/PDIF before, and I want to make sure stereo sound comes out in stereo (so I can set the Z-5500's to use ProLogic) and AC3 encoded files come out in 5.1 so the Z-5500's automatically know what to do and don't need ProLogic on.
As for the actual parts, how does this look? I intend to try overclocking the CPU a little bit. I don't need to get it very high since this will be an HTPC only, and not for serious gaming. I wouldn't mind getting a little extra power from it though. I also don't want to spend a boatload of money on it; I just want a sufficiently fast system that looks good in the living room. I don't need to worry about storage because this machine will be networked and I have loads of storage space on my network.
Updated July 22 (prices in CAD):
Antec NSK2400 New Solution mATX Desktop Case 2X5.25 2X3.5INT 380W ATX12V V2.0 Silver Black
$108.63
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB SATA2 3GB/S 7200RPM 16MB Cache NCQ Hard Drive
$99.99
Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400 2GB 2X1GB DDR2-800 CL4-4-4-12 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit
$134.99
ASUS P5K-VM mATX LGA775 G33 DDR2 1PCI-E16 2PCI 1PCI-E4 SATA2 Video Sound GBLAN 1394 Motherboard
$125.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Dual Core Processor LGA775 Conroe 2.33GHZ 1333FSB 4MB Retail
$184.99
EVGA E-GEFORCE 8500GT 450MHZ 256MB 128BIT DDR2 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDTV Out DIRECTX10 Video Card
$83.99
Liteon SHD-16S1S-05 16X Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive OEM
$27.74
Total $847.67
For software, I haven't completely decided. I've tried a lot of programs, but most seem rather unpolished. I'm used to XBox Media Center, and those of you who have used it know how professional and well-done it is.
I'm considering either using Windows XP and MediaPortal (which is similar to XBMC in some ways), or using Windows Vista's Media Center. I'm not a big fan of XP MCE, but Vista's looks nice. I have licenses for both XP and Vista through my school, so cost isn't an issue at all; I just need to find out which I'd be better off using.
Suggestions on my hardware, software, or connection choices? I want to make sure this entire thing goes smoothly and I don't end up hitting my head on my desk trying to make things work. Thanks!
I'll be sending the video signal to a 720p DLP projector (Mitsubishi HD1000) using a DVI->HDMI cable from Monoprice (which I already have). I've tried this on my roommate's PC which has an 8600GT video card and it works great, so I know I won't have problems here.
I'll be sending the audio signal from the motherboard's onboard COAX S/PDIF to Logitech Z-5500 speakers. I plan on using S/PDIF passthrough so that the HTPC either sends a stereo PCM signal or a Dolby Digital signal to the Z-5500's, and they do all the decoding themselves. Is this right, and will it work OK? I've never used S/PDIF before, and I want to make sure stereo sound comes out in stereo (so I can set the Z-5500's to use ProLogic) and AC3 encoded files come out in 5.1 so the Z-5500's automatically know what to do and don't need ProLogic on.
As for the actual parts, how does this look? I intend to try overclocking the CPU a little bit. I don't need to get it very high since this will be an HTPC only, and not for serious gaming. I wouldn't mind getting a little extra power from it though. I also don't want to spend a boatload of money on it; I just want a sufficiently fast system that looks good in the living room. I don't need to worry about storage because this machine will be networked and I have loads of storage space on my network.
Updated July 22 (prices in CAD):
Antec NSK2400 New Solution mATX Desktop Case 2X5.25 2X3.5INT 380W ATX12V V2.0 Silver Black
$108.63
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB SATA2 3GB/S 7200RPM 16MB Cache NCQ Hard Drive
$99.99
Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400 2GB 2X1GB DDR2-800 CL4-4-4-12 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit
$134.99
ASUS P5K-VM mATX LGA775 G33 DDR2 1PCI-E16 2PCI 1PCI-E4 SATA2 Video Sound GBLAN 1394 Motherboard
$125.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Dual Core Processor LGA775 Conroe 2.33GHZ 1333FSB 4MB Retail
$184.99
EVGA E-GEFORCE 8500GT 450MHZ 256MB 128BIT DDR2 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDTV Out DIRECTX10 Video Card
$83.99
Liteon SHD-16S1S-05 16X Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive OEM
$27.74
Total $847.67
For software, I haven't completely decided. I've tried a lot of programs, but most seem rather unpolished. I'm used to XBox Media Center, and those of you who have used it know how professional and well-done it is.
I'm considering either using Windows XP and MediaPortal (which is similar to XBMC in some ways), or using Windows Vista's Media Center. I'm not a big fan of XP MCE, but Vista's looks nice. I have licenses for both XP and Vista through my school, so cost isn't an issue at all; I just need to find out which I'd be better off using.
Suggestions on my hardware, software, or connection choices? I want to make sure this entire thing goes smoothly and I don't end up hitting my head on my desk trying to make things work. Thanks!