# UPDATE HTPC



## Ultimateherts (Nov 13, 2006)

O.k so it's been a few months and because of low funds my HTPC basically finished, just waiting for the rest of the components to arrive. I would like to give the estimate of what I paid for mine. Yes you don't need to spend the amount I did, but I also might add even with mine there is more upgrades to be done at a later time. I would also like to go into some detail of why I chose each component so that if anyone wants to build an HTPC that hasn't or that isn't up on the new technology they will have a better understanding of how all the components really come together to make an HTPC the way to go. So now I will list the components in no particular order:

*CASE: Price: $55 SHIPPED*

*ULTRA ULT33117 *

*Pros:* I chose this case because it allows for a full atx power supply to fit inside it! It looks like a pain to work with, but it isn't because the bottom tray slides out to install and add components to the motherboard

*Cons: *It doesn't really look like a typical home theater component such as a receiver. It really sticks out, however for me it's not a big deal!

*LINK:*

http://www.ultraproducts.com/product_details.php?cPath=13&pPath=439&productID=439

*
MOTHERBOARD: PRICE: $90 SHIPPED*

*MSI K9NGM3*

*Pros: *I wanted a motherboard that had good onbaord video with support for HDMI and component video. The motherboards are so advanced now that for High Def video you can get away with onboard video! The motherboards also come in sizes small enough now where you don't need a lot of space! Think of what a receiver looks like in size and it's about the same as that!
*CONS:* Motherboard only supports 720p for Blu-ray and 1080i for Hd-dvd.

*LINK:*

http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=proddesc&prod_no=1245&maincat_no=1

*POWER SUPPLY: PRICE: $120 SHIPPED*

*CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX* 

*PROS:* One of the ideas with an HTPC is that you want as little noise as possible. I remember when one of my dvd started getting loud years and I replaced it due to the noise. Although it is expense the Corsair power supply has one of the quitest on the market. Also be carefull with power supply's because you have to make it is powerful enough to power the computer. Later on I'll talk about hard drives and you'll see that the power can be drained fairly quick. This power supply is I think only 26db's loud at full tilt which is a very good thing!

*CONS:* No cons as of yet!

*Link:*

http://www.corsair.com/products/hx.aspx

*PROCESSOR: PRICE: 179 SHIPPED!*

*AMD PHENOM 9600*

*PROS:* The reason why I chose this processor is because it is a quad core processor. Basically what that means is that it has four core to pump ot the information. A lot of the processors on the market now are dual core which can be used in an HTPC, however down the road you have to upgrade it anyways. The processors now are also more efficient to where they can run at half the power of a traditional processor! They also have technology built in where they can save more power by turning off pieces of the processor that are not needed at that time.

*CONS:* None here either!

*LINK:*

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_15331_15332,00.html

*CPU FAN: PRICE $35 SHIPPED*

*Zalmon CNPS9500*

*PROS:* Another way to make noise is through a cpu fan! This fan is quiet and keeps the computer. A problem with computers is that they make a lot of heat requiring more fans to cool it. With this fan it should be good enough to cool the whole machine goods enough! This fan has a series of fins which makes the air flow through out the whole machine.

*CONS:* None!

*LINK:*

http://www.zalman.co.kr/Eng/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=162

*MEMORY: PRICE: $75 SHIPPED *

*OCZ OCZ2N800SR4GK*

*PROS:* Four gigabytes of memory might sound like a lot think again! Memory has been increasing because it is needed with all the many programs we have installed on our computers. However the size has increased and the price has gone down! Just like with a processor the speed of the memory matters too. This memory here runs at 800mhz which is very fast and has built in coding so that when I get a video card it work with that to speed things up even more!

*LINK:*

http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/memory/ocz_ddr2_pc2_6400_sli_ready_edition

*OPTICAL DRIVE: PRICE: $53*

*MICROSOFT HD-DVD 9Z5-00013*

*PROS:* This drive was originally intended for the XBOX360 only, but however not long after people realized it shares a standard usb connection and works with windows xp to windows vista! The great thing for me is I only own HD-DVD's and regular DVD's so this drive is perfect. Plus it came with one HD-DVD and had a mail in rebate for 5 more HD-DVD's free!

*HARD DRIVE: PRICE: $190*

*WESTERN DIGITAL WD10EACS*

PROS: one terabyte of hard drive space seems too big right, maybe not! Another way computers make noise is through the hard drive. For High Def material stored on your hard drive you need a lot of space and more hard drives! This is where the power issues and why you need to calculate you power needs accordingly. This hard drive is very quiet 29dbs at full tilt which is the quietest for any hard drive on the market. Hard drive now are also more power efficient as well. This drive runs about 7 watts full tilt which is 40% less than a regular hard drive.

*LINK:*
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=388#jump1212

In conclusion, this is what I intended to be ideal for my needs. Yes I could have maybe spent less on certain items and more on others, but to me this is my ideal system! Now what everyone has been waiting for the price! The total price for this system came to: 

*Around $800!*


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## Ultimateherts (Nov 13, 2006)

Might I add I had two goals with this system. One being discs scratch so I wanted to store all of my dvd's off of the hard drive. Also I wanted to able to play both blu-ray and hd-dvd off of one machine and eventually I'll be able to do that as well!


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## MarkZ (Dec 5, 2005)

Interesting. So how are you storing the video? Compressed or raw?


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## ChasB (Mar 27, 2008)

I really hate to say this, but....

#1 HD-DVD is dead (tobisha has thrown in the towel, blu-ray will be the new standard)

and

#2 Windows XP won't recognize 4 gigs of ram, not a problem if you're planning on running vista

Other than that, looks like a solid build.


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## |Tch0rT| (May 7, 2005)

ChasB said:


> I really hate to say this, but....
> 
> #1 HD-DVD is dead (tobisha has thrown in the towel, blu-ray will be the new standard)


The Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive is like $50 and under now, Blu-Ray drives are over twice that. No big deal that the format is dead. It's a haven for cheap HD media right now. There are still lots of HD-DVD movies that aren't on Blu-Ray yet and some that probably won't make it.

Ryan


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## Arc (Aug 25, 2006)

Well the thing is Vista won't recognize 4gb either. You have to use XP 64bit or Vista 64bit. You will get to about 3gb of recognition in 32bit


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## Ultimateherts (Nov 13, 2006)

I understand that XP won't recognize four gigs of ram, but for that price I couldn't pass up the deal!


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## Ultimateherts (Nov 13, 2006)

Part B of the build, which is where HTPC's lack is in the audio! I purposly did not mention audio because getting the Hi Def audio off of the blu-ray and hd-dvd discs is a problem. I am waiting for the soundcards to offer HDMI so that I can enjoy Hi Def audio as well as the picture too. There are two manufacturers which are going to offer HDMI soundcards:

Auzentech

Link:

http://www.auzentech.com/site/company/press.php


Asus

Link:

http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/36243/118/


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## gaping46and2 (Nov 20, 2007)

Were you able to get that heastink/fan to fit in that case? I had the same case and couldn't fit an Arctic Freezer 64 (roughly the same height).


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## Ultimateherts (Nov 13, 2006)

I will be receiving the cpu next week from Newegg. I have all the other components as the Hard drive and memory came today. I am very confident it will all fit in the case! What were the demetions on youur cpu fan?


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## 8675309 (Jan 8, 2007)

Looks good
Standard XP will work with no more than 4 gig.

You have to go to 64 bit or server based software to go 4 gig or more.



ChasB said:


> I really hate to say this, but....
> 
> #1 HD-DVD is dead (tobisha has thrown in the towel, blu-ray will be the new standard)
> 
> ...


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## Ultimateherts (Nov 13, 2006)

O.k what a furstrated time it has been getting it to work! The cpu was too large so I decided to use the stock cpu fan which is very quite and fine for what I need. The motherboard accepts the Phenom processors, but only after a bios upgrade which you can only do via MSI's website! So now I have to buy an older more compatable cpu just to upgrade the bios!


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## CBRworm (Sep 1, 2006)

Any local friends that would let you use theirs for an hour?

I hate that - I bought an intel board that I had to go through the same deal. Luckily I have older intel processors laying around.


I have heard really good things about the Asus Xonar cards - don't know about the HDMI support - but Asus can make good sound.


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## Ultimateherts (Nov 13, 2006)

No, but it really didn't break the bank because for $29 shipped I ordered a compatible processor.


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## Shplad (Feb 23, 2008)

If I may suggest...

I think you will find over the next few years that because of increasing areal density...the newer, larger drives, are going to be found to be not nearly as reliable as the old ones. I know many people believe this is a myth, but I've done some testing (and so has a small company called Google) and there is significant evidence to support this. I also heard the same thing from an engineer at a hard drive company I cannot name.

In any case, perhaps you may want to consider setting up a simple RAID on two or three drives, if you have room. Or at least do some serious backups.

You might want to also check the temps on those drives after they've been running a while to see if they're still nice and cool. Many diagnostic programs will do this well. (I love PCWizard2007). 

Oh, and I haven't kept up-to-date with what warranty period WD offers, but Seagate used to offer the most reliable drives, and the longest warranty-at 5 years for most of their drives. Most of the other manufacturers are offering 3 years, and <gasp> Maxtor only offers 1 year for most of their consumer drives.

I know how priceless some of my recordings on my HTPC are.

Just a thought. 

Shplad


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