MY HTPC parts list.

[trev]

I have put together the below part list and would like to hear some feedback/comments/critiques etc.
The parts can be changed and hopefully should be arriving next week.

Intel Core 2 Quad-Core Q6600 G0 SLACR, 95W, S775, 2.40 GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 8MB Cache, Retail £175.65
Asus Striker Extreme NF680i SLI, S 775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 533/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX£171.54
768Mb BFG Technology 8800GTX OC2, PCI-E (x16), Mem 2000MHz, GPU 626MHz 128Streams HDTV/2 x DVI-I £358.25
Microsoft Remote XP Media Center Edition Cordless Keyboard, BackLit Keys, Infrared, Black £32.30
4GB (4x1GB) Corsair QuadX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-18, DHX £160.55
900W Seasonic X900 PSU Quad SLi/CrossFire ATX12v & EPS12v 88% Eff' £129.99
750 Gb Seagate ST3750840AS Barracuda 7200.10, SATA300, 7200 rpm, 8MB Cache, 8.5 ms £105.39
Microsoft Windows XP Media Centre Edition (MCE) 2005 URP2 SP2b OEM Single Pack £68.14
Microsoft Windows Media Center Hardware Kit V2 (Remote/Receiver) OEM £17.97
Zalman HD160XT-B Home Theatre PC Enclosure, Black inc Built-in 7" TFT Touch Screen Monitor w/o PSU £350.14

TOTAL £1,601.82

System will be used for Playback of Blue ray media (drive to be purchased soon), HDDVD (Via Xbox 360 drive), back up all music, films and photo's.
I will game and Fold on this machine.
I won't captor any broadcasts just yet as Sky Plus is present along with a DVD recorder/disk hence no TV cards are needed.
Display panel is Sony 46X2000 1080P.
Have i forgotten anything else?

Thanks
trev

[4-n-zics]

The only thing you have forgotten is to ask for my address so you can send it to me when you finish building it.

[trev]

I have been wanting something like this for ages and finally got the finances together....Hence I will not be posting it to your address or anyone elses ... :o)
A few questions though ....
Should I get a larger harddisk?
Any idea if the power supply fit with the case?
Lastly would I need to consider a better heatsink/fan or water cooling of some sorts?


thanks
trev

[4-n-zics]

According to several websites I just read, this case accepts standard ATX/micro ATX motherboards and standard ATX Power Supplies.

750GB HDD space should be enough unless you plan on recording lots of shows/movies in HD and/or saving HD movies to the HDD.

I didn't see a HSF listed so I am assuming you are going to use the stock HSF that comes with the CPU. For such an enclosed small space I would consider getting a better HSF, but I don't know what to reccommend because I have no idea what might fit in that case. I would wait until you get all of the parts in and assembled to see how much space/clearance you have left before getting a new HSF.

[ValueSize]

I would go with Vista Home Premium or Ultimate (you can get them for about the same price as 2005)

MCE 2005 has no plans on supporting HD-DVD or Blu-ray. Vista on the other hand does plan on adding support for it when things become a little more mainstream. Plus Vista's MCE interface > 2005's

Do you plan on ripping media to your HTPC? If so 750GB might end up being used up quickly. In the future you might want to invest in a nice raid setup, four or five 750GB (I use 500GB as they are a lot cheaper) in a raid 5 setup for speed+ safety

[trev]

Good call on Vista ValueSize, I am going to swap MCE 2005 for Vista Ultimate 64Bit 1Pk OEM (DVD) £111
Didn't realise that was the case with MCE - thankyou.
At some point in the future I do intend my content totally residing on this machine and will invest in a few more drives in a raid 5 setup.
Should I swap the hard drive for this one 750 Gb Seagate ST3750640AS-RK Barracuda 7200.10 costing about £25 more?
Lastly what antivirus should I use with Vista?
Many thanks to all!

[Scubar]

That system is way overkill for a media center.

Something more like a E6350 , Gigabyte DS3 , 2GB Memory, and maybe a 8500/8600GT ( Supports H264 decoding ), Seasonic S-12 530W

That would be more than sufficient for what you want.

[ValueSize]

I believe the free AVG is Vista compatible now : )

I didn't look at the two drives but I'm guessing one is a 8mb buffer and the other 16mb. Depends on what you want to spend. I wouldn't spend that much more for it.

Additional Comment:

Originally Posted by Scubar

That system is way overkill for a media center.

Something more like a E6350 , Gigabyte DS3 , 2GB Memory, and maybe a 8500/8600GT ( Supports H264 decoding ), Seasonic S-12 530W

That would be more than sufficient for what you want.

HA, yeah maybe for HTPC of today... when we start watching Blu-Ray or HD-DVDs while recording in the background HD content either via OTA or someday QAM via cable card it will probably even bring his system down to it's knees. Sounds like he wants it to last for as long as it can and be the best HTPC he can get.

[trev]

I will be watching Blue ray and HDDVD on this machine from the go. Ultimatley will purchase a combo BD/HD drive read/write when such a device exists and is reasonabley priced (not in a rush). The Xbox Elite is just too noisey to watch anything on and drives me nuts.
As soon as SKY broadcasts enough content to warrant the cost the of the HD subscription I will upgrade and get a HD capture card.
Also I fold under Trev for a another Team *ahem*.... hence want to fold on this machine 24/7 (if possible) and bump my score up.

[Scubar]

Originally Posted by ValueSize

I believe the free AVG is Vista compatible now : )

I didn't look at the two drives but I'm guessing one is a 8mb buffer and the other 16mb. Depends on what you want to spend. I wouldn't spend that much more for it.

Additional Comment:



HA, yeah maybe for HTPC of today... when we start watching Blu-Ray or HD-DVDs while recording in the background HD content either via OTA or someday QAM via cable card it will probably even bring his system down to it's knees. Sounds like he wants it to last for as long as it can and be the best HTPC he can get.

The 8500GT is more than capable of playing 1080p content, As for recording that would be down to the capture card and hdd speed. So therefore he doesnt need all of those fancy parts that will only give off alot of excessive heat, especially in a htpc case, that is just plain madness putting all those power hungry heat outputting parts.

[ValueSize]

Originally Posted by Scubar

The 8500GT is more than capable of playing 1080p content, As for recording that would be down to the capture card and hdd speed. So therefore he doesnt need all of those fancy parts that will only give off alot of excessive heat, especially in a htpc case, that is just plain madness putting all those power hungry heat outputting parts.

Read the original post. He is also going to be gaming Also the recording is NOT just down to the capture card and HDD speed. Even the best MPEG2 ones today use around 20-35% CPU usage. It's not that hard to cool a HTPC case...

[Scubar]

HTPC case for that setup is not wise at all. Even the best Zalman cases dont provide good enough cooling for those parts.

[trev]

Any other alternative case to consider?
Or perhaps even water cooling it?
All critiques are welcome, as mentioned earlier I can change components around. Just have to find another space for it in my living room.
thanks to all

[Scubar]

Well ideally a mid or full tower case would be the best option for all those parts you've got listed. Depends where your putting it really. It would be nice if a HTPC case maker did a case with a complete mesh top to let all the hot air rise out. It would certainly be perfect for many of us that have our HTPCs on TV/DVD Stands

[jevans64]

The Zalman case is fine as a base for a HTPC or gaming rig. It is gonna be loud for a HTPC with the stuff you want to put in it. HTPCs are built to be quiet and that is why they use low-power components. If you want a powerful gaming rig, then there really isn't a way around having to put a lot of fans in there to keep things cool.

I would just stick with a Core 2 Duo as that will be good enough for HD and gaming. There isn't much room for a good heatsink and the Zalman 9500 is probably the biggest one you will be able to get in there unless you start cutting on it.

The hard drive cage will have to go if you want to stick an 8800 GTX in there. Since you are planning only one drive, it is probably do-able. It looks as if a GTS will fit.

One large drive ( 750GB ) is fine for around 50 hours of high def. programming. There are always eSATA external drive cases that offer high bandwidth transfers as long as you get a motherboard with eSATA ports.

I posted some pictures of two of my rigs in this ( http://forums.extremeoverclocking.co...62&postcount=2 ) thread. The small box isn't much to look at but it serves well as a portable LAN box for extreme gaming. It measures 15" x 11.5" x 9.5" and does a good job of keeping my Q6600 @ 2.7GHz under 50C and the GTX under 60C after I cut the holes in the cover and meshed them. The side holes are 4" x 6" and the top hole is 4" x 8.75" and it only took me a couple of hours with a Dremel to complete the job. The neat thing about the case is that it clamshells to make installing and removing components a quick job. I did have to Dremel a small hole in the upper ( PSU & drive ) section to allow for easier PCIe power connection for the GTX.

Also see what SilverStone has to offer. Shuttle is coming out with a new P-series case that will house a P35 or X38 motherboard.

[trev]

All the parts arrived (as per the original list) earlier than expected..!!!!
The temptation not to open them up is unreal.
Going to swap some parts around.

Additional Comment:

Had to remove the HDD cage in order to get the BFG card in.
Will have a look at either modifying the HDD cage or installing the HD under the DVD (ODD) cage.
Cables are a complete mess, taking my time over this install.

Additional Comment:

*Update*
I had to mount the KDL46X2000 on the wall as the Zalman case would not fit in the space provided unless I removed the feet wouldn't help cooling with the tight space. Zalman now sits on top of the tv stand. What a nightmare setting this up. Had loads of problems with trying to load OS to the drive. In the end problem was due to old DVD drives sitting in the garage for way too long. Errors everywhere trying to load OS. BSOD with 4GB of RAM , had to remove two 2GB.
In the end I decided with MCE 2005 simply due to touch screen driver issues. Will upgrade when the time is right. Currently using NAV.
Temps are not too bad will provide further details when I close the case up and put it in situ.

Additional Comment:

And its my birthday.....well nearly the end of day :o)