HTPC (opinions)

[I-Die-Often]

Some things to consider:

1. Will be hooked up to a 47" 1080p LCD
2. Will not be used for a DVR (yet).
3. Will be used as a media library (my DVD collection) and as our Blu-Ray player
4. Speakers are a set of Logitech Z-5500 already set up in the living room.
5. There will not be gaming on this computer... at least until I can upgrade my main game rig's video card from the 3870 in it now (3870 will go in the HTPC)
6. I was aiming to keep the $$$ under $600 (this one is $633 minus a $40MIR... and then I have $75 in gift cert for Newegg)

Mobo: Biostar TForce TA790GX3 790GX
CPU: AMD Athlon X2 4850
RAM: 4GB Corsair DDR2 800
HDD: WD 1TB Black (32mb cache)
Blu-Ray: LG Blu-Ray/HD DVD drive
Case: Silverstone LC-17 (black)
Case cooling: Scythe Kama Flex 80mm fans
CPU cooling: Scythe SCMJ-1000 "Ninja Mini"
OS: Win Vista Home Premium 64bit

Have I overlooked anything? I have done tons of reading on this... I don't need an overkill box for this... I am still running the E660 on my gaming rig, so I don't want anything more powerful than that.

 

[Jubei]

How are you going to network this thing? If you can swing it, go gigabit ethernet, otherwise go for a dual band N wireless setup.

Get a good media keyboard and mouse/remote.

Set it up for remote administration. It's nice to log into my HTPC from the laptop to fiddle with it and not bother the kids or wife while they watch something.

 

[Havegooda {A|R}]

Looks nice

~Gooda~

 

[I-Die-Often]

Networking? What for? I am not going to hook it up to any network for now because I don't want to waste resources on virus protection and what not. If and when I hook it to a network, I will be using wireless N since I already run an Asus wireless N router...

The computer is going to be a stand alone without network storage or anything of the such... so I wont need to network it very often if at all.

 

[I-Die-Often]

all right... scartch this... I decided to pick up a PS3 and upgrade its harddrive instead... in fact... picked up a PS3 (80GB) with an extra controller, HDMI cable, 320GB HDD, and 4GB of RAM for my computer to install Vista 64 on my gaming rig... Will end up spending less than $500 for everything since I had $75 in gift certs for Newegg... sooo.... this thread can die... LoL>>.

 

[Mustachio]

That looks like a good choice, seeing as a htpc would probably be overkill for your needs. A good HTPC should be one you want to use for media, internet, general PC use and potential gaming. just to use for watching dvd's whether or not they have been backed up and a blu ray player... waste of money.

you could have also gotten a media extender to play any media files, and a cheaper blu ray player and saved money, although i think the ps3 is a good choice, as long as your media files are compatible (I have had a few compatibility issues with ps3)

 

[I-Die-Often]

The big deciding factor for the PS3 is that it is a PS3... there are a handful of games the wife and I have wanted that are PS3 only or PS3/Xbox360... and since we have a Wii, we could not play them. When we found out the Little Big Planet was PS3 only, it kind of made us want the PS3 a little more... and when I started thinking about the overkill/uncertainty of the HTPC, I went with the safe bet (which is rare for me)... and tomorrow, I shall stop by Game Stop to use a year old $20 gift card to buy Little Big Planet. Newegg has already approved my order and it should be shipping out soon...

 

[OODA Loop]

ps3 owns the 360 in everything but price and popularity.

so good choice, have fun yo!

 

[GCrusader]

PS3 ftw! I just need to upgrade my hard drive now. I don't need to yet...but I think i'll have to soon. Have fun with LBP! By the way, what's your username? I have LBP too.

 

[I-Die-Often]

I dont have it yet... I imagine I will try to get the name I use here... hopefully... I just ordered the PS3 last night, so it will be a while before it gets here... I will pick up the LBP Saturday most likely...