[UFC-fan]

Hello,

I have been searching for months and reading countless posts and user reviews on toms, newegg, avs, etc. and it seems the more I read the more confused I am getting.

I will give it to you straight and will pay for the information if need be or donate it to the site or whatever. Im not rich or anything, I am just used to paying for advice or lessons sinec college days.

Here is my set up and my wants/needs:

TV: Sony 60" kds-r60xbr2 (for now)

Receiver: Onkyo 706

Plans: The HTPC will be used primarily for playing Bluray discs, and playing DVD's that have been recorded to the HDD using AnyDVD/Clone software. I am also going to be installing an HDTV OTA antenna rooftop to try and get as many local channels that are available.

I would like a HTPC that can record programs I reach from the antenna and be able to set them up through WMC (I have Win7 Ultimate) to record much like my DVR does now.

I would also like a video card that can playback Bluray with lossless video/audio AND have a seperate desktop on another 24" monitor so I can work while watching a movie. This means if I am using photoshop on the 24" monitor it wont make the bluray movie lag or freeze up on the big screen. (I realize this means I may need two video cards)

I have a pretty good understanding of pc's and will have no problem building it myself. I understand the current technology.

I will have this stored with the rest of my AV gear and I would also like to have the ability to network this system to other tv's in the house via a connection to a TV w/ LAN pugin.

Give me any thoughts or advice as to what you think is the best of the best of the best build.

Thank you in advance.


p.s. No interest in 3D Just really high quality 2D

[eskro]

ok, i'll try my best as i've help'ed a couple of guys so far...

first, there's no need to use 2 videos cards...
using just 1 video card is enough to feed 2 different monitors....

second, to record TV stuff using your PC is easy...
you just need the correct DVR/Capture Card and software that does the recording...

ok, regarding the HTPC itself, i've been suggesting hardware parts
that i think are perfect regarding 'trying' to keep it 'low cost' but 'powerful'
Not to mention, it will record/play 100% of all your 1080P FULL HD video and audio files!!
Even 3D movies!!!

So here they are, and as you wish,
you can change anything in there u may want,
im not pushing you on these at all....
but its a very good start...


[cpu] Athlon X2 3.0GHz AM3 65W ($60 + $0) http://fwd4.me/u0U
[ram] Kingston HyperX 2x2GB 240-Pin DDR3 1333Mhz CL7 ($62 + $0 - $25) http://ow.ly/1s0he5
[mobo] ASUS M4A78LT-M LE AM3 USB2 MicroATX ($65 + $0 - $10) http://ow.ly/1s0hjA
[gpu] ASUS GT430 1GB DDR3 128-bit Low Profile ($70 + $0 - $10) http://ow.ly/1s0hjw
[case + psu] Antec MicroFusion 350w MicroATX ($100 + $15) http://ow.ly/1s0hd0
[ssd] Mushkin Callisto 2.5" 40GB SATAII ($95 + $0 - $10) http://ow.ly/1s0heI
[dvr] AVerMedia HD ($100 + $7) http://ow.ly/1s0hdk
[bluray] LG BD-ROM 10X Combo SATA ($60 + $0) http://ow.ly/1s0hhx

TOTAL: ~ $524 Shipped

[dantok]

It's been so long since i last logged in!

I just built finish a HTPC,
I would highly suggest the ASUS ION 2 boards, they are awesome and fast and the picture quality is priceless.

Do have a look and they are priced really cheap too!

[UFC-fan]

I appreciate the parts youve listed but I am thinking more along the lines of a powerhouse style computer that just happens to handle everything HTPC related. I may not have been clear and I am sorry.

Rendering photos, and other things are pretty memory evasive plus the programs I run for work are fairly intense as well.

Here is the wish list i have been building upon up to now.

-------------------------------------
ASUS Sabertooth X58 LDA 1366 MOBO

SAPPHIRE 100312SR Radeon HD 6950 or Visiontek 900301 RADEON 5750 or Sparkle GTS 450

Hauppauge WinTV HVR 2250 (I like the card you picked but an OTA HD Antenna doesnt have HDMI. I need a regular coax in)

Corsair Pro 750w Gold PSU

Intel i7-950

G.Skill Ripjaw 1600 3 x 4GB (12gb) memory

Western Digital Caviar Black 6.o gb/s 1TB (I will partitioning this in to 4 drives 100GB for OS and Programs, 50 GB for music, 50 GB for photos, and the remainder for DVR recorded TV shows)

Hitachi Deskstar 3TB 6.0 gb/s (Movies)

Cooler Master Hyper 212 cpu cooler

LG BDrom (Like the one you mentioned)
------------------------------------------------------
Add that together with the cable, case, keyboard and mouse, etc. and its around $1500.00

If I use an SSD for my OS and programs then add a bit more....


As far as a case goes I was thinking more of a full ATX over an HTPC case. Somethng like the Antec Twelve Hundred unless I can find an HTPC case that is fairly large.

I know this is overkill for an HTPC but wouldnt this handle everything I need in an HTPC AND still function like a workstation at the same time? I work a lot from home so running grouping algorhithims while playing with my daughter and watching UP would be awesome.

Thank you again.

[eskro]

honestly, its an overkill!!
i think your loosing money actually with your setup,,,
the Capture card you chose is fine since u need it,,

but then,
if your afraid you PC wont handle all the work, which it does already anwyays,
i would simply buy an AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz ($100)
and if you think your running short in RAM, buy G.SKILL Ripjaws 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1333Mhz ($109)

think about it,
add those 2 in the setup i suggested you and its a DONE DEAL!!!


[cpu] AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz AM3 95w ($100 + $0) http://ow.ly/1s0iJ4
[ram] G.SKILL Ripjaws 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 DDR3 1333Mhz CL7 ($109 + $10) http://ow.ly/1s0iJn
[mobo] ASUS M4A78LT-M LE AM3 USB2 MicroATX ($65 + $0 - $10) http://ow.ly/1s0hjA
[gpu] ASUS GT430 1GB DDR3 128-bit Low Profile ($70 + $0 - $10) http://ow.ly/1s0hjw
[case + psu] Antec MicroFusion 350w MicroATX ($100 + $15) http://ow.ly/1s0hd0
[ssd] Mushkin Callisto 2.5" 40GB SATAII ($95 + $0 - $10) http://ow.ly/1s0heI
[dvr] Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 ($130 + $0 - $20) http://ow.ly/1s0iKz
[bluray] LG BD-ROM 10X Combo SATA ($60 + $0) http://ow.ly/1s0hhx

TOTAL: ~ $704 Shipped !! Half-Price !!

Ask anyone UFC-fan, they'll say your setup is Breathtaking & extremely powerful!!!

[UFC-fan]

Out of the three video cards I posted which would be the best for my needs do you think?

[eskro]

** checking, hold on plz

[eskro]

Out of the three video cards I posted which would be the best for my needs do you think?

actually none

you need a low profile card

buy this one --> Palit GeForce GTS 450 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 Low Profile ($130 + $7)

i suggest you stay with NVIDIA.... not ATI....

[bmcclure937]

The GT430 would clearly be the best out of the 3 you suggested! The ATI cards do not have the same driver support, especially in Linux. Hardware acceleration on nVidia is much better.

Also, I agree with eskro regarding your build. No need to drop $1500 on the HTPC. You can build something for around $500 to meet your needs. Drop in that AMD X4 CPU and the RAM to fit your needs. You can use a SSD for the OS drive.

I would keep local storage on the HTPC to a minimum. If you plan to use anything more than 1 storage disk locally, then you may consider using that extra $$ you had budgeted to build a media server.

Actually, you may consider using the dual-core AMD in your XBMC HTPC front-end and then throw some more CPU power into a media server if you plan to do transcoding, ripping, etc. If you do not plan to do CPU intensive tasks on a server then you can get by with an Atom or single-core low power CPU.

[eskro]

true bmcclure937...
but looks like he wants a little something 'more' ,,,
this video card --> Palit GeForce GTS 450 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 Low Profile ($130 + $7)
will give him that peace of mind

[bmcclure937]

Unless he is using the rig for gaming, the GTS450 is overkill. That is double (nearly triple) the cost of a GT430 (I got mine for $53 shipped). Heck, the GT430 is even overkill for HTPCs unless you are doing 3D and HD audio bitstreaming... otherwise a GT220 is adequate for smooth 1080p playback with hardware acceleration. A GT210 would even work and you can land those for about $25-$30.

[eskro]

i know! but looks like he wants a little something 'more' ,,,

heck, its still Half-Price with that GTS450 card added-in!!

remember he was at $1500 without SSD!!!

[live4ever]

Honestly for what you want to do I think you'd be best served with two computers:

Tower:
Blu-ray drive
tuner card(s)
recording software
hard drives
Photoshop software etc.

XBMC Media Extender Box:
pulls all the content from the tower

This is basically what I have setup (except I don't do any OTA recordings).

[eskro]

well notice i did not include a mechanical HDD to act as storage in my suggestion,,,
thats because,
i always say to store your movies/music/pictures on a seperate NAS Rig...

[thildemar]

Couple questions and my take...

Where is the main monitor vs the TV? IS the TV right next to it or across the room? Is the TV really just for you watching at your desk or is this a living room setup?

I understand you want to run graphics apps, but do you want to do games at all on the system?

Hopefully not to add to confusion:

-If the TV is really going to be used by family/friends/etc I would go with 2 boxes: the tower and a mini PC to pull content from it to the TV. This makes setup for controls a lot easier too.

-Whatever you do for video card make it nVidia, ATI drivers are a pain.

-The hardware list you posted mostly looks fine for a tower, and I really like Hauppauge tuners.

-You might rethink partitioning, usually works best to have a OS/Programs drive (faster/smaller, usually 100-200GB is fine) and another drive(s) for data. No real need to partition drives, if you want Tv and Music on the same drive just use folders it makes it easier to grow or shrink one vs the other.

-On the note of a dedicated OS drive as it seems you have some cash for this: SSD = win. I would do a 100-200GB SSD for OS and apps which will make the system boot fast and load stuff like Photoshop a lot quicker. Then use large mechanical drives for the data.

If you get back on those couple questions I would be happy to make a hardware list for whats missing.