Wags
Standard Member
Hi All,
I've done quite a bit of research on building my own HTPC & put forward my list of components for comments, good or bad, about the compatability & ability of what I am proposing.
Case:
Silverstone LC16S-MR Silver
Mobo:
Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P AMD 770 Socket AM3 6 Channel Audio Out ATX Motherboard - Ebuyer
CPU:
AMD Athlon II X2 250 Socket AM3 3.0GHz 2MB L2 Cache Retail Box Processor - Ebuyer
RAM:
AMD Athlon II X2 250 Socket AM3 3.0GHz 2MB L2 Cache Retail Box Processor - Ebuyer
Hard Drive:
Samsung EcoGreen F2 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 32MB Cache - OEM - Ebuyer
Optical Drive:
Samsung SH-B084L Blu-Ray Reader with DVD±RW SATA Black - Retail Box - Ebuyer
GPU:
Sapphire HD 4350 256MB with 1GB HyperMemory DDR2 VGA DVI HDMI PCI-E Graphics Card - Ebuyer
PSU:
Coolermaster Silent Pro 500W Modular PSU - Ebuyer
CPU cooler:
Scythe Shuriken Quiet Low Profile Socket 1366, 478, 775, 754, 939, AM2, AM3 Processor Cooler - Ebuyer
Case Fans:
Sharkoon Silent Eagle 1000 80mm Case Fan - 3 and 4pin Connectors - Ebuyer
TV Card:
Hauppauge TV Capture Cards
I plan to install Windows 7 Home Premium & throw in a network card as well.
I intend to use this setup primarily to watch TV as a PVR (like the V+ box I currently have & soon will ditch)
& plan to store DVD's, photo's, & capture video from my camcorder.
On the audio side, I intend to take an optical feed straight to my surround sound amp from the on board audio. This is how I take my sound from the V+ box & DVD player & it's more than adequate.
My main query is to whether I need a dedicated graphics card or whether on board graphics is a better way to go considering the heat issue.
Another niggle I have is to the stability of a system like this as I get the impression that HTPC is not quite mainstream yet & I don't really know what to expect. I'm willing to experiment, but I'd appreciate some honest comments. The last thing I want to do is end up adjusting settings & updating endlessly.
Anyway, thanks in advance for your comments.
Cheers,
Wags.
I've done quite a bit of research on building my own HTPC & put forward my list of components for comments, good or bad, about the compatability & ability of what I am proposing.
Case:
Silverstone LC16S-MR Silver
Mobo:
Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P AMD 770 Socket AM3 6 Channel Audio Out ATX Motherboard - Ebuyer
CPU:
AMD Athlon II X2 250 Socket AM3 3.0GHz 2MB L2 Cache Retail Box Processor - Ebuyer
RAM:
AMD Athlon II X2 250 Socket AM3 3.0GHz 2MB L2 Cache Retail Box Processor - Ebuyer
Hard Drive:
Samsung EcoGreen F2 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 32MB Cache - OEM - Ebuyer
Optical Drive:
Samsung SH-B084L Blu-Ray Reader with DVD±RW SATA Black - Retail Box - Ebuyer
GPU:
Sapphire HD 4350 256MB with 1GB HyperMemory DDR2 VGA DVI HDMI PCI-E Graphics Card - Ebuyer
PSU:
Coolermaster Silent Pro 500W Modular PSU - Ebuyer
CPU cooler:
Scythe Shuriken Quiet Low Profile Socket 1366, 478, 775, 754, 939, AM2, AM3 Processor Cooler - Ebuyer
Case Fans:
Sharkoon Silent Eagle 1000 80mm Case Fan - 3 and 4pin Connectors - Ebuyer
TV Card:
Hauppauge TV Capture Cards
I plan to install Windows 7 Home Premium & throw in a network card as well.
I intend to use this setup primarily to watch TV as a PVR (like the V+ box I currently have & soon will ditch)
& plan to store DVD's, photo's, & capture video from my camcorder.
On the audio side, I intend to take an optical feed straight to my surround sound amp from the on board audio. This is how I take my sound from the V+ box & DVD player & it's more than adequate.
My main query is to whether I need a dedicated graphics card or whether on board graphics is a better way to go considering the heat issue.
Another niggle I have is to the stability of a system like this as I get the impression that HTPC is not quite mainstream yet & I don't really know what to expect. I'm willing to experiment, but I'd appreciate some honest comments. The last thing I want to do is end up adjusting settings & updating endlessly.
Anyway, thanks in advance for your comments.
Cheers,
Wags.