BUILDING NEW HTPC

[g_dario]

Now, I wrote a very nice first post regarding building my HTPC and it was gone, so i must start all over.

Ok who can give me more directions and advice what to build for my HTPC? Its my first time to do it. well done houndreds of pc's used to work in a pc shop before the htpc time... so this is all new to me...

I will use it mainly: watching please smoothly HD videos from my computer, Blue ray discs, you tube also hd videos,

then lots of listening to and editing music,

internet, facebook,

and as someone said here on this forum i like to open lots of tabs...

there is no monitor just 42'samsung plasma hd ready so 720p

internet is high speed 60mbps connected to the routher with my dream box for watching sattelite

and it will be connected to onkyo 7.1 home theatre receiver ( can this be done with a HDMI cable and then hdmi cable to TV for audio and video?)

 

now i am thinking of this casing since it comes with remote control and nice lcd display

 

NOX Live 2 HTPC black or Thermaltake DH-101 with media LAB LCD black,

 

and now what should i actually choose for the inside:

 

motherboard

 

Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H (my preferd one) or

Gigabyte MA790GPT-UD3H ATX Socket AM3

 

these two both have build in graphic card, but i am planning in the near future to buy Sapphire HD5770 1GB GDDR5, now, can i install this card on any of these two boards without a problem or do i need another motherboard.

 

processor is AMD Phenom II X4 955 Quad Core 125W Socket AM3

 

and 4gb memory

 

as for the rest... PSU i dont know if it comes with the case but this is what came as an option

 

Corsair TX650W

 

cooling

 

Zalman CNPS9900A LED

 

and some LG bluray combo...

 

i already have audio card CLUB 3D :: CLUB3D Theatron DD 7.1 PCI DTS + Dolby Digitall and very happy with it

 

I know i am asking too much here but its such a mess with all this products... so much choice so many things so i am really kindly asking anyone who has more knowledge and can look at the things from outside to tell me actually what choice should i do.?

I thank you in advance

[Crazy_Nate]

Looks pretty good on the hardware side. The AM3 platform should work well. I'd probably stay away from the zalman. I have a Thermalright AXP-140 in my HTPC (running passively) and it does quite well. I would probably side with a 890 chipset board (with USB3 and SATA-3).

 

Do yourself a favor and get a modular power supply (I'm putting a Corsair HX-750 in mine when I get around to it). HTPC cases are packed as it is...finding places to put all the wires is a bear.

[sack_patrol]

Hello, welcome to OCC.

 

So, for the motherboard I'd suggest the GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H, and yes you can install any GPU on any motherboard, even if it's nVidia but I like ATI more so I'll suggest you stick with that. xD

Next, the PSU seems fine if you're not going to add additional video cards, plus Corsair is a very good brand so good choice there too.

The cooling could be a bit better though. Depending on your needs of course. If you're going to overclock you might want to get something different. IMO, this cooler isn't that good for the money even if it's only going to be cooling a stock processor. I'm sure there is something of higher quality for the same price but I'll let someone else suggest, and also I'm not sure what exactly you'll be doing with th CPU.

Everything else seems good to me. Only little note I'd add is: if you want, you could wait a bit for the current ATI card's prices to drop a bit and get something a bit more powerfull but if you aren't going to be doing alot of gaming, a 5770 will be excellent.

 

I hope I helped even a little. And if you have any sort of questions at all, don't hold back. That's what the forum is about.

[g_dario]

wow already a reply!!!! THANX SO MUCH!!!

 

Well it slipped me that i really want this one to be quiet pc. remember when i build the last one and the processor cooling.. the noise... OMG , went to the shop and told the guy, 'look i have an old computer, but dont care how much a QUIET cooling will cost me, just find me one"

i bought someting (dont know i think it was zalman ) payed a LOT but it was worth it... good that you reminded me about this to mention.

YES this HTPC must be ABSOLUTELY QUIET :-)

 

thnx again for the quick reply

[g_dario]

Hello, welcome to OCC.

 

thank you.... and good to find ya all :-)

 

So, for the motherboard I'd suggest the GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H, and yes you can install any GPU on any motherboard, even if it's nVidia but I like ATI more so I'll suggest you stick with that. xD

 

i think i am an ati guy, since the first contact with computers back in the 90's... still have my first ati card i ever bought, had tv out....

 

... If you're going to overclock you might want to get something different. IMO, this cooler isn't that good for the money even if it's only going to be cooling a stock processor. I'm sure there is something of higher quality for the same price but I'll let someone else suggest,...

 

overloc, overclo... ok, this is beyond my english language or computer knowledge but fabulously there is wikipedia that has answers to all :-)

 

... and also I'm not sure what exactly you'll be doing with th CPU...

 

if you mean what im gonna do with the computer.. well as i wrote mainly watching hd stuff...if you ment someting else... its again the matter of understanding hehe

 

....Everything else seems good to me. Only little note I'd add is: if you want, you could wait a bit for the current ATI card's prices to drop a bit and get something a bit more powerfull but if you aren't going to be doing alot of gaming, a 5770 will be excellent....

 

I think on this motherboard there is already integreated ATI Radeon HD 4290 so i can wait for the card..

 

I hope I helped even a little. And if you have any sort of questions at all, don't hold back. That's what the forum is about.

 

as they say .every little helps. and you've been very helpful, much appreciated.. thanx a lot again

[sack_patrol]

wow already a reply!!!! THANX SO MUCH!!!

 

Well it slipped me that i really want this one to be quiet pc. remember when i build the last one and the processor cooling.. the noise... OMG , went to the shop and told the guy, 'look i have an old computer, but dont care how much a QUIET cooling will cost me, just find me one"

i bought someting (dont know i think it was zalman ) payed a LOT but it was worth it... good that you reminded me about this to mention.

YES this HTPC must be ABSOLUTELY QUIET :-)

 

thnx again for the quick reply

if you want a quiet PC, then you could get a heatsink for the CPU apart, and then a good quality fan with double bearings. Those can be pretty quiet. Or find a reference to a quiet cooler. I've got a Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer 4 and on the minimum fan speed, it's pretty quiet since it uses some new technology that is supposed to be even better than the dual bearing that most fans today have. Plus, it's well priced for the quality.

 

Though you should note that the GPUs are what gets loudest in the case, in most cases. So if you want a really quiet PC, you might need to dish out some extra cash for an aftermarket cooler for the GPU as well.

 

And then, there's the liquid cooling if you are really crazy about the sound, though even that isn't 100% cuz of the pumps n other gadgets, so good quality fan cooling is the cheapest and most economic way.

[g_dario]

Do yourself a favor and get a modular power supply (I'm putting a Corsair HX-750 in mine when I get around to it). HTPC cases are packed as it is...finding places to put all the wires is a bear.

 

 

thanks for the tip, something new to me :-) anyway found one looks good Nexus RX-8500, think its reasonable price too.

[g_dario]

UPDATE:

 

since i'm gonna go for Antec Fusion Remote Black chasis, anyone has tips for a good mATX? thank you

[Crazy_Nate]

 

 

thanks for the tip, something new to me :-) anyway found one looks good Nexus RX-8500, think its reasonable price too.

 

Don't cheap out on the power supply!! I've had two "cheapo / no name" ones literally disintegrate. If you're lucky, they don't take other hardware with them. If not...you'll be spending even more money. Trust me, not worth it.

 

Corsair is a very reputable brand

 

 

So, which CPU cooler did you purchase? While the zalman may be quiet, it's quite old. It's just not on the same level of performance as newer heatsinks...

[g_dario]

Don't cheap out on the power supply!! I've had two "cheapo / no name" ones literally disintegrate. If you're lucky, they don't take other hardware with them. If not...you'll be spending even more money. Trust me, not worth it.

 

Corsair is a very reputable brand

 

 

So, which CPU cooler did you purchase? While the zalman may be quiet, it's quite old. It's just not on the same level of performance as newer heatsinks...

 

thank you for the tip, and i shall do so, especially since i learned the lesson with my old pc, having psu burned... anyway i am thinking between corsair (and annoying thing is so many models on the market, thank to this forum and people like you too, willing to help there is hope for people like me :-) ) corsair would be ax or hx 750 or higher ( i understand the higher it is its always better or 750W would be sufficient? ) or another one i came across called be quiet also 750w or 850w price range is the same so no problem about that, afterall i decided to put aside some €150 for it)

OMG why i nicely write this answer to you i just realised you asked me about the processor cooling hahah (i'm getting too old for this :-) ) well cpu cooler didnt do anything yet. going on holidays now ( so it all depends whats left after the holidays i can think of buying) i just bought chasis antec fusion black, but thinking to change for Silverstone Crown CW02B-MXR

cause its a beauty, then gonna buy the processor thats gonna be AMD Phenom II X4 965 Quad Core 125W Socket AM3 and then the cpu cooler, which will probably be corsair what you recommend... anyway will be posting the progress of bulding this :-)

thanks a lot once again for the tip

greetings

[Shurman292]

I have a zalman 9900 in my gaming rig with an i7 930 overclocked to 3.8ghz (35% overclock) and it's ultra quiet when the fan speed is less than 70% or so. It keeps my cpu below 68C all the time which is excellent for this kind of overclock. I have always had good luck with zalman fans being really quiet. Just my 2 cents lol. Also, with that HTPC you will need no more than a good 550W supply since everything in there is fairly power efficient, however going with the HX750 is a great option because of the modular design and the reliable corsair brand.

 

I also wanted to comment on your TV choice: although I know it will probably not be upgraded for some time, you will want to look at buying a 1080P HDTV instead of your 720 so that you can take full advantage of the blu-ray capabilities in your system. And as far as those go, I have a 38" Insignia brand from Best Buy in my apartment for school and it performs very well so don't go spending more money than you need to on all the "extras" that HDTVs come with. The high 1080P resolution is usually sufficient to make them look excellent.

 

One last thing, once you do get a blu-ray player, you might want to look at PowerDVD Ultra if your player doesn't come with any software to handle blu--rays. I am noting this because mine did not which cheezed me off and so I found this excellent software to run my Blu-rays. It runs smoothly and allows for hardware upscaling and integrated lighting enhancements. Just something to think about.

 

Good luck!

 

------------------------------------

 

i7 930 @ 3.82 ghz | 1.18v

Zalman 9900

Asus p6x58d-e MB

G.Skill 6gb RAM

EVGA GTX 470 @ 726mhz/1683mhz

Corsair 650W PSU

WD 1TB

Asus BD ROM

Antec 900

Windows 7 Ultimate x64

[g_dario]

so far loads of things have happened. first of all a warning if anyone who reads this lives in the netherlands. however this world has become a little willage so here is for the rest aswell.

 

there is a internet company called multimedia pc. DO NOT ORDER FROM THESE PEOPLE they are unfortunatelly thiefs. they made me waiting for my order almost 2 months, after calling and calling and mailing they were pretending they know nothing about my order. finally i really had it so i engaged lawyers who luckily made them pay the whole amount of my computer case back. the reason to such a bad business was (according to the person who is apparently running this company) he has problems at home!!!

thanx for reading this.

 

and now...

i found another company fast efficient in two days they sent new case (but my partner didnt want to sign the delivery thinking it was coming from multimedia pc) so the package retourned to sender so i am still waiting

 

SO FAR BOUGHT

 

case: Thermaltake dh 202

blu ray burner LG BH10LS

motherboard gigabyte 890 (absolutely beautiful)

and phenom II x4 955 black edition

 

by this last one i received also a big cpu cooler well not that big but ok.... i was wondering if anyone of you who is running on amd did install this given cpu cooler and is it quiet (though it says on the box quiet cooling ???) or is it better to go for someting else?

 

Thanx for reading and posting answers.

Greetings from NL