Hardware choices
The first thing I needed to decide on was what hardware to use.
Budget would be a primary concern, so I wanted to minimise the number of components - this should prove cheaper in theory. Salvation came in the shape of the Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H motherboard (http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2814) . This board could almost have been designed for media pc use, as it has DVI and HDMI output from it’s onboard graphics, along with an optical audio output for connecting to an extra amp. The other advantage is the onboard ATI HD3200 graphics - this has the ability to hardware-decode HD material meaning a monster quad core CPU shouldn’t really be required. This led to me selecting an AMD Athlon64 X2 4450e - the “e” denoting the low power consumption version. As a result, this dual-core CPU running at a reasonable 2.3GHz consumes only 45W! 2Gb of memory would be coupled to this little lot (2×1Gb DDR2-800) to get things going.
For the harddisk, there seems to be a common choice for HTPC use - the Samsung Spinpoint range. These are regarded as both fast AND quiet, ideal for a PC in the lounge. I picked the 500Gb model - this should be fine (at least for now!)
Next up was the choice of optical drive. I decided on the LG GGC-H20L. This drive has the bonus of being able to read BluRay and HD-DVD in addition to reading and writing the usual DVD and CD formats. Although HD-DVD is technically dead now, HMV have some bargains on HD-DVD movies now, some coming in at around £4.00 delivered, so it makes sense to backwards-proof as well as future-proof on this occasion!
A Media PC for the lounge also wants to look fairly un-computer like. The choice of case ended up being budget driven in the end… there are some lovely cases around that incorporate displays and look like a bit of high-end A/V kit, but the 3 figure cost was a no-go. Instead, I decided on an EV Shiny Piano Black case. For £29.99 this looks smart enough, but cost is minimal. OK - it’s not the last word in solid build but you won’t notice once it’s stuck under the TV. It also has plenty of space inside for storage, and even comes with a decent 400W PSU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/134832
Finally - something to pick up the TV signal. I’ve decided on the WinTV Nova-S2 HD PCI card (2 of them!). Although currently you don’t seem to need S2 compatibility to pick up BBC HD, this may change in the future, so for a small extra outlay I should be fairly future proofed. As mimicking SKY+ was a requirement, I will get two of these so one can record while the other is used for viewing (or two can record).
All done then!
It sounds like an interesting combination of equipment. The motherboard has got to be the most important decision. I’ll watch your blog with interest to see how everything works out. I’ve been thinking about a system similar to yours for some time now. Keep adding more info.
June 22nd, 2008 at 8:06 pmCheers
Jim
Likewise…. I’ll be seeing you (sorry, I’ve got a prisoner mug on my desk). Will watch with interest, esp regarding HD capacity for a song, instead of lining the bickering electronics industires’ pockets.
Andy
June 23rd, 2008 at 10:54 amHi,
I am building a similar system and have found your blog really useful. So much so that I am looking at getting the same motherboard and processor that you have been using.
My friend warned me of using an on board graphics card. How has yours been performing? Does it chug with HD at all? If so, do you think a faster processer and a bit more ram would help or would you advise getting a dedicated video card?
If you were building this system again now, would you use all the same parts or are there any lessons learned that you could pass on?
Thanks,
December 29th, 2008 at 6:02 pmAdam
Hi Adam,
Glad you’ve found the blog handy.
Your friend is right were you looking at playing games. The on board chipsets don’t really have the horsepower to cope with modern games in all their 3D loveliness. However that wasn’t an aim of the HTPC.
The specific chipset on the board I use offers HD decoding - basically the graphics chipset can decode the H.264 video that HD uses within the hardware itself, rather than leaving it to the main CPU and a bit of software. Because it’s designed for a specific job it does it very well, so I’ve never had any problem with HD material. A faster processor/RAM isn’t really needed as the Mediaportal interface doesn’t tax things too much and playing music/movies/photos is all pretty low-tech. A CPU helps with numbercrunching but none of that goes on in the media pc to any great extent.
As to stuff I’d do differently - nothing immediately springs to mind - apart from perhaps my TV. It’s pre-HDMI so I couldn’t use that software and also getting the image centered was a bit of a faff (having to use Powerstrip and so on) - a more recent TV may well be of some use. I’d also be using wired networking at home rather than Wireless, as watching tv on a second PC can be a bit jumpy and HD has no hope.
December 29th, 2008 at 6:48 pmCool, thanks a lot.
I’m not going to be using it for gaming either, just watching and recording HDTV from DVD, Satellite or downloads. So, I’m glad you have confirmed the hardware is up to the task, as I have been considering beefing it up a bit but this would not only be a waste of money but potentially make things hotter and more noisy!
Have you considered adding a CAM and SmartCard in order to access premium channels?
Thanks again for a great blog.
December 29th, 2008 at 9:35 pmNo, I don’t plan on selling this, but good luck if you make your own!
Нет, я не планирую на продажу, но удача, если вы сами!
February 25th, 2009 at 8:45 pm