Help me build my HTPC (Case and parts advice needed) please?

stu_69

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Hello all

I am looking to build my own HTPC over the coming weeks and months (the plan being to have it up and running in time for Christmas). And as I recently won an MCE remote and a copy of MCE2005 I figured I would go down this route.

I have no problem building my own system as I have built many over the years but I have never dipped into the MCE waters before. Anyway I have done a little research and come up with the following parts (I will not be using this for games so I am not bothered about that part). I am looking to build a machine that will be future proof, fast and the main thing is I want it to be as quite as possible. So here are the parts I have come up with:


Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-K8N ULTRA-SLI
Processor - 1 x AMD Athlon 64 3500+
Gigabyte GV NX66256DP Nvidia Geforce 6600 PCI Express Graphics Card
Zalman CNPS9500
Memory - Kingston 1gb Ddr 400mhz Pc3200 (already have)
Gryation Keyboard and Mouse (already have)
MCE Remote (already have)
MCE 2005 (already have)

So what do you reckon? Am I on the right track? I am also looking for some advice on the case, I have been thinking of either the Accent HT-400 Series or one of the Silvertone cases. I am not really bothered about a VFD but if there is one it would be great. So which would you recommend? Also what PSU would you recommend?

I will not be putting a digital receiver card in the PC during the initial build (already have 2x Sky+ boxes) but I will want to add one of the dual tuner cards in the future do you think there will be any problems with the motherboard I have chosen?

I wanted to get a really quiet HD as I have ample network storage and I will map drives to the storage so I presume a spinpoint HD would be the best option for me?


Thanks for your time

Stu
 
All I will say is be very mindful of noise when choosing components - it will be the focus of the HTPC I promise you that :)

Be prepared to maybe underclock & undervolt the CPU; although the '64s run cooler so this may not be a big problem for you.

If you go the SilverStone route, it would be worth considering this http://www.silverstonetek.com/products-nt01v2.0.htm with one of there compatible cases, plus a manual fan controller - this way the CPU fans will draw the warm air from both the CPU and the system out the back of the machine. I'd also heartily recommend budgeting for a fanless power supply as this makes a big difference.

Apart from that your initial spec seems fine to me!
 
Good spec mobo/gfx card as they're fanless.

As for the case, you won't go far wrong with a Silverstone LC17. I built one recently (moved everything from an LC13 case and the difference in noise/temps is amazing.

Around £65 from http://www.u-sm.com/

The motherboard will be OK to use the dual PCIe DVB-tuner, also it doesn't have Gigabyte's DPS (Dual Power System) so would work with the above case for the CPU inlet/outlet vent.

D.
 
Yup looks good.
The Silverstone LC16m and LC17 and Accent are all pretty decent cases. The LC16m and LC17 have better fan provisions (bigger exhaust fans, + 3 x 92mm fan mounts + PSU cooled by cool external air) and can be quietly cooled easier. PSU wise if you can stretch to it the Elan Vital Greenerger is just about as good a PSU as you will find.
The CNPS9500 is a decent quiet cooler - I find the thermalright XP120 with *good quality* and propoerly managed (Panaflo, Acoustifan, SilenX) 120mm fan just edges it in the noise stakes; but there really isn't that much in it.

SLI is unnecessary if just going the HTPC route; if you want to do a bit of hi-end gaming in the future, then the SLI is a good route; if not then the non-SLI version of the board will give you one more useable slot.
 
Like Skunkpipe I would go for the version without SLI unless you are a hardcore gamer and this setup is used for it as well...You can then use that extra PCI-E slot for one of those dual dvb-t cards and stope giving money to Sky...

Man..two Sky+ boxes, that must cost you a fortune per month to run! With so much crap on TV is it worth it?
 
dejongj said:
Like Skunkpipe I would go for the version without SLI unless you are a hardcore gamer and this setup is used for it as well...You can then use that extra PCI-E slot for one of those dual dvb-t cards and stope giving money to Sky...

Man..two Sky+ boxes, that must cost you a fortune per month to run! With so much crap on TV is it worth it?

I got the second box during their latest special offer. The reason I went for it was because my original was out of warranty and they wanted £65 to renew it for a year. I also can't get freeview where I am at the moment and I wanted Sky in the bedroom so I can watch football in peace and the wife can watch whatever she wants. So I am only actually paying £10 a month more and I recently dropped the movie channels (there is never anything on when you actually want to watch a movie) so I am only now paying £3 a month more than I was before I had 2 boxes.

Thanks for the advice guys, I will have a look for the MB without SLI as I said I never will use it for games so there is no point anyway.
 
That's a good deal for Sky+ second box!

I think the MB you would be after will be the GA-K8N Ultra-9. If I didn't go the Intel route that would have been my choice for MB...They seem to be difficult to find for stock, so be prepared to search...
 
stu_69 said:
I got the second box during their latest special offer. The reason I went for it was because my original was out of warranty and they wanted £65 to renew it for a year. I also can't get freeview where I am at the moment and I wanted Sky in the bedroom so I can watch football in peace and the wife can watch whatever she wants. So I am only actually paying £10 a month more and I recently dropped the movie channels (there is never anything on when you actually want to watch a movie) so I am only now paying £3 a month more than I was before I had 2 boxes.

Thanks for the advice guys, I will have a look for the MB without SLI as I said I never will use it for games so there is no point anyway.

THe K8N Ultra9 is the non SLI version. It's also passivly cooled
 
Skunkpipe said:
THe K8N Ultra9 is the non SLI version. It's also passivly cooled
Would recommend the same graphics card with that Mobo?
 
For HTPC the Gigabyte 6600(GT) 128MB Passivley cooled card (NX66128DP or NX66T128VP (GT Version)) is a better bet
 
Would anyone recommend putting a 2.5" inch drive in a HTPC? I have a spare 60GB 5400rpm laptop HD. I could just get a Ide To 2.5" Drive Adaptor Cable and hook it up in the case. This would be considerabley quieter and cooler than a normal HD.

As I said I will have most (if not all) my media on networked storage so I have no real need for a big HD in the unit.

So is this a good option? Or should I just got with the Spinpoints?
 
I took one out of my laptop as it was just too slow....It was noticeably slow...So I wouldn't consider using one in an HTPC...
 
dejongj said:
I took one out of my laptop as it was just too slow....It was noticeably slow...So I wouldn't consider using one in an HTPC...

Fair enough.

:smashin:

Stu
 
OK I have sourced a K8N Ultra9 and an NX66T128VP so they should be with me in a couple of weeks.
 
Skunkpipe said:
...if you want to do a bit of hi-end gaming in the future, then the SLI is a good route; if not then the non-SLI version of the board will give you one more useable slot.
So is the second SLI slot definitely not useable for non-graphics PCI-E cards when in non-SLI mode? I got the impression from another thread that you could put PCI-E x1 cards in PCI-E xN slots, but wasn't sure whether or not it applied to unused SLI slots too.
 
in the process of building my HTPC but I have a small problem. I have a Gigabyte GV N66T128VP graphics card and a Gigabyte GA-K8N ULTRA-9 MB. The problem is the fittings are quite tight and the graphics card protrudes into the northbrige heatsink. Will this be a problem? It's only the end of the card that clips into the MB that is in the heatsink.

Stu
 
Also is there a decent step by step guide for installing MCE anywhere?
 
Make sure that the DVD drive you buy runs quietly; the drive I got for my HTPC is very noisy (it's a NEC drive, despite the earlier version I have in my main PC being very quiet). I'm thinking of swapping them the next time I have to top of the case off.

I'm using an AMD3200+ with the Zelman CNPS7000B-CU cooler works very well once the top of the case is on. For a case I went for a Silverstone LC03B-V; it has a nice VFD screen for displaying track title and can be had for a good price. It could look a little better. :)

Good luck
 

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