HTPC Help :)

ChaosMinionX

Hey,

I am trying to build an HTPC around an HD2600XT 512mb, and dont know where to even start in terms of what I need for power for HD stuff. Its probably best to go with an AMD setup rather than core2? Or what?

Any help would be appreciated.

Necrosis

Holy crap someone actually posted in here!

A 6400 or 6600 would be really nice for the job. Plus your new sound card would be great as well. The big question is the tuners which I know jack about.

Tipstaff

If you can find the 6400 pick one up IF it's cheaper than the 6420 by a good margin. Since the 6320 and 6420 are out now some companies have been selling the 6300/6400s off by about $20 cheaper than the xx20s, however some are going further.. like.. $50. If it's the same price, or $20 cheaper.. no contest: xx20 series all the way. If more than that, then I might consider getting those instead. As for going AMD, honestly, given the performance of the Core 2, and the fact that they generate way less heat, and are therefore going to be quieter, I wouldn't even consider them at this point.

One critical aspect you want to pay attention to is noise. The quieter the better. The four main areas: the CPU cooler, PSU, intake or exhaust fans, and the cooler on the video card.

For the video card you may want to look elsewhere, or lower. Pretty much all the 2600 series has a fan on it, but anything lower, such as the 2400s, can be found with just a heatsink on it. For my money I'd probably go with an 8600GT, such as the Asus 8600GT SilentCool (just bought one of these for a client, and it's got a nice huge heatsink on it). Better performance (ie. you can game on it), not expensive (around $130-$150), and totally silent.

CPU wise, if you go Core 2 E6320/6420 it'll be quiet most of the time, so you may be able to get away with the stock cooler. However, depending on the case you could go with a bigger heatsink that supports a quieter 120mm slow RPM fan like the Scythe Ninja Plus or Scythe Mini Ninja, or go completely silent with just a heatsink if it's large enough to dissipate the heat, and you can manage to get enough airflow through the case by other means.

As for PSU, this one is simple. Get a good PSU that has no back fan (or one with a slow fan, or a fan that you can adjust the speed), and has a nice large 120mm fan that sits on the bottom near the CPU. Not only will this be quieter, but it will help exhaust the air out of the case better near the CPU area.

Case fans: go for larger, slower fans, and go with a case that has larger blow holes where those fans will be mounted. The larger the holes, the less restriction of airflow (fans work harder to push air through smaller holes thus creating more noise.. not only by the fans, but by the air going through those holes). If the case is designed right you could have one fan bringing air in, and one exhausting air out, or have one fan coming in, and depend on the PSU fan to draw air out (thus cutting down on the overall noise).

As for tuner cards, Hauppauge all the way. Go with either the WinTV PVR-150MCE (single tuner), or the WinTV PVR-500MCE (dual tuner). Why those two? Not only do both support MCE, but they both fully support Vista Home Premium/Ultimate. This is important, because a lot of tuners that work with Vista may not be fully supported by Vista.. but rather "compatible" with it. That means some functions may not work, or rather, while they will work with Vista you won't be able to use Vistas version of the MCE interface (known as the WMC interface). Those 2 boards in particular are fully supported by Vista with the latest drivers off Haups site, and as such will work be fully functional through the WMC interface.

ChaosMinionX

Thanks for the reply, helped quite a bit... and the only reason for the HD2600 is HDMI and the fact their movie image is better, and it was recently found out that Nvidia drivers were tweaked to cheat in HD

Nvidia cheats in HD HQV test - XtremeSystems Forums


But I will probably go e6600 then and just rebuild from there, I had about a $1000 budget for an HTPC, so I guess that will be within reason... Also what case?

procupine14

oh yeah i have a Hauppauge tuner in my computer for the very few times that i do watch and record TV in my dorm. I have the single tuner version and i love it!

just for the record

Tipstaff

I'm partial to Kingwin's Supernova Aluminum HTPC case. In particular the black one (model number SN-213HTBK). It's not overly as expensive as some case that look like this, however it's not cheap.. running around $125.. with no PSU.. I think.

ChaosMinionX

I like it, will be ordering this stuff once I finalize a build.

Appreciate the help Tip

Tipstaff

Not a problem, Chaos.

Necrosis

I would love to find some digital tuners that will work w/ satellite or cable.

Tipstaff

There was a card I mentioned in another thread that a friend of mine bought, VistaViews Saber DA-1N1-I (PCI), and there is also the Saber DA-1N1-E (PCIE1x). These cards have 2 tuners on them: 1 for analog, and one for digital. One of the reasons why my buddy bought the card was to record HDTV off of satellite, and this was the card recommended to him.

However, I can't vouch for the card, but the thing with this guy is that if it works, he doesn't bitch about it, and so far, he hasn't bitched. If it didn't work... man.. I'd hear about it, so no news is good news.

Necrosis

Do they have any w/ dual digital tuners?

Tipstaff

The saber ones are dual, but I think it's one for analog, and one for digital. I'd have to ask my friend to see if this is the case though. With Haups cards they can only run in analog mode, or digital mode, but not both at the same time, however I'm not sure if their dual tuner cards are the same.

To be honest, at this moment I can't say with certainty yes or no. Sorry.