Updated Thoughts on HTPC

[cheshirenoir]

I was going through my old archives and having a quick read.

Found myself starting at my post about building HTPCs.

Thought I'd run through it again.

Okay, so first up, lets look at what we want to build: A general purpose "Home Theatre" box, capable of playback of a large number of formats, able to record live TV and watch DVDs. I'm not going to worry about budget too much here. I'll also assume you have the following:
Dolby Digital compatible Amplifier
"Hi Def" screen with component or DVI input. (HDMI can be achieved via an adapter)

Before we go any further, let me state: THIS IS TO BE A WINDOWS HTPC! IF I USED LINUX I'D NEED LESS OF EVERYTHING I KNOW!

So, lets start on the outside, as the case is one of the most challenging choices. I'd lean towards
Zalman HD160XT (it looks like a modern Amplifier. VERY well designed)
ADVANTAGES:

• Stylish exterior
• Touch screen for control of HDTV functionality
• Quiet and Cool running
• Buttons and Knobs oh my!
• Silver -or- Black
• HDDs audio-isolated
  

DISADVANTAGES:

• Expen$ive: $800aus 

We'll leave the existing casefans in. They are temp controlled by the case, and Zalman fans aren't bad from a volume perspective. We will however add:
Antec PC Noise Killer Kit + 80MM Kit
ADVANTAGES:

• Keeps noise down even more
• reduces vibration across whole system

DISADVANTAGES:

• Costly $55aus
  
• makes mounting a bit more "fun"
  

Next we add a PSU. We want whisper quiet and modular. I'd prefer 400W + just in case. I'm going to nominate:
Flexiglow 500W - THis is a "no name" PSU from AUSPC Market.
ADVANTAGES:

• Cheap n cheerful: $110aus
  
• Modular
• 120mm Temp controlled fan
• More power than we'll need
• Shielded cables (nice!)

DISADVANTAGES:

• Relatively unknown company.
• Has LEDs.
  

So moving inwards, I'll now pick a CPU and Motherboard. I'll be choosing:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
ADVANTAGES:

• Excellent performance
• Excellent Multimedia performance
• Dual Core (Useful in HTPCs)
• Low Temp / Voltage
  

DISADVANTAGES:380+

• Pricey $500aud
• Intel (AMD keeps Intel honest. Their current generation, however, isn't that competitive)

On to the motherboard. We want 3 unblocked PCI slots for later, as well as passive cooling if possible. Some (And two "dead end" choices) digging later I chose:
ASUS P5W-DH
ADVANTAGES:

• Intel Chipset (Tend to "just work", unlike some other chipsets I won't name)
• 3 PCI slots NOT immediately next to the primary PCI Express x 16  slot.
• Passive cooled
• Dolby Digital encoder onboard. (!)
  
• 8 Phase power. 
• 1394 Firewire.
  
• WiFI built in
• "Multimedia Junk" (which I will ignore for now but may be useful in future)
• Neat layout
• GbE 
• "My Logo" allows custom logo - Hey we wanna customise this PC, now don't we?
• Smart Fan controllers built in
  

DISADVANTAGES:

• Cost (But not really. So much integrated on board I'm "saving" $150 on not needing a Dolby encoder or WiFI card)  $380aud
  
• Only 4 internal USB connectors. (We need 5(!) for the case)
  

Okay now we need some RAM:
Corsair 4-4-4 PC2-6400 Twinpack 2GB
ADVANTAGES:390+

• 2Gigabytes!
• Cheapish $390aud
• Good timing / latency
• Reasonable brand
  

DISADVANTAGES:

• Not the fastest on the market (but who cares)
  

And now for a CPU Cooler
Zalman CNPS9500-AT
ADVANTAGES:

• Quiet
• Cheap $70aud
• PWM compatible (4 wire)
  

DISADVANTAGES:

• Could be quieter
  

Right. Onto the Video Card. ATI from personal preference.
Gigabyte ATI Radeon X1600PRO AVIVO
ADVANTAGES:

• Cheap $180
• H264 Acceleration
• AVIVO Video sharpening (nice!)
• Component interface
• Dual Head. (Needed for our touch screen)
• Passive cooling
  

DISADVANTAGES:

• ATI Drivers (Brrr!)

Now it's all coming together! HDTV Card next:
Hauppauge NOVA-T 500 Dual Tuner
ADVANTAGES:

• Dual Digital channels fo PiP and Record while viewing
• Good brand
  

DISADVANTAGES:

• Bit weak on signal strength
• Bit pricey $240aud
  

Now for some SERIOUS storage:
4 x 500GB WD Caviar SE16
ADVANTAGES:

• Two Terabytes of storage, baby!
• Fast drives
• Quiet
• Did I mention TWO TERABYTES?
  

DISADVANTAGES:

• Marketing terabytes. 2,000,000,000,000 bytes
• Cost: $260aud EACH

Moving right along
Pioneer DVR-212BK SATA 18x DVD Writer - OEM drive
ADVANTAGES:

• SATA connector at last
• fast read and write
• Pioneer are a good, quiet drive for the most part
• Cheap $65aud
  

DISADVANTAGES:

• No software with it

Finishing off inside:
4 x 30 Cm SATA Cables:
ADVANTAGES:

• Keep the case neat
• Not too expensive ($4aud each)
  

Now we move "outside" the case
Microsoft MCE Keyboard and Remote Combo
ADVANTAGES:

• The "real deal". This helps when troubleshooting
• VERY compatible with MCE
• IRBlaster included
• Keyboard is TOUGH!
• Keyboard has "off" switch to stop tiny fingers.

DISADVANTAGES:

• A little ugly?
• A bit pricey $140aud

And now for something "exotic".
Corsair 4Gb Thumbdrive (80x Speed)
ADVANTAGES:

• Fast end of the thrumbdrive spec
• Compatible with Vista Readyboost (which is why we are getting it.)
  

DISADVANTAGES:

• Pricey at $100 (but not that bad)
  

Which leads to:
Microsoft Vista Home Premium
ADVANTAGES:

• Has all the HTPC code well integrated (They rolled MCE2005 straight into Vista)
• Runs really well on a high spec machine.
• I know how to tweak and optimize Microsoft.
  

DISADVANTAGES:

• Microsoft
• Microsoft
• Microsoft
• $180 in Microsoft's pockets

TOTAL COST SO FAR: $4266aud

I'll add some "Optional Extras" in another post