HTPC journal !

by alexL • 26 Mar 2008, 23:58 • Journals
I am going to buy a HTPC (Home Theatre Personal Computer) that I'll have in the livingroom. I'll use it to watch movies (bluray, dvd, hddvd, listen to music etc). And I'd like to know which components you use in your HTPC (chassis, cpu, gfx, motherboard etc).

Which softwares did you chose to use? Xp Media Center, Vista Media Center, Media Portal or perhaps other programs?

Greets, alexL.
Comments
25
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LavOd 27 Mar 2008, 00:16
Vista Medical Center.
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alexL 27 Mar 2008, 00:17
oops edited :D
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Kristoffersson 27 Mar 2008, 01:24
lol du skrev fel aimbot sköter bara allt du gör i et, i vardagen får du jobba själv
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alexL 27 Mar 2008, 07:03
sluta whina för jag gör minst 100 hs hela tiden !
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dejx 27 Mar 2008, 00:21
Asus P5G-MX LGA775
C2D E4500 2.2 Ghz
TeamGroup 2GB PC6400
GIGABYTE ATI RADEON HD 2600 XT 256MB
Antec NSK2380 - EC + 380W
dunno about OS.. my vote -> vista

around 380€ here in slo..
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h1tmAn 27 Mar 2008, 00:24
Windows Media Center?
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taken` 27 Mar 2008, 00:49
windows media center is included in the more expensive vista versions + there is free/cheaper alternatives (google it)
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frozz. 27 Mar 2008, 01:51
lol,that's almost a gaming pc, not HTPC :X
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Deactivated5924 27 Mar 2008, 03:45
you'll need a decent PC to run bluray, 1080p HD movies, etc.
the videocard is dirt cheap and is good for a HTPC imo
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frozz. 27 Mar 2008, 13:16
well ye...but for that every HD ATi card is fine..
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dejx 27 Mar 2008, 13:35
like fredd said it is recommended to take 2gb, good CPU and a lil bit more powerful gfx (ok i was a bit wrong, 2400xt should be enough) to run 1080 HD smoothly.
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im a tree 27 Mar 2008, 15:46
why the fuck would you need 2gb of ram to play 1080p smoothly...

I have Planet Earth 1080p x264 encodes with an average bitrate of 12mbps (maxes out at 40mbps in some parts)... when I watch them, mplayer uses less than 10% of my RAM in the most intense parts (And I only have 1GB of ram).

All you need for HD playback is a nice CPU... any graphics card that is capable of displaying 1920x1080 is FINE.
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dejx 27 Mar 2008, 16:16
1gb.. 28€
2gb..40€

agree about other
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frozz. 27 Mar 2008, 17:16
every dual core is good for that
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dejx 27 Mar 2008, 17:33
didn't say its not, E4500 was just my opinion
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Ronner 27 Mar 2008, 00:53
take a look in my profile, that's what I use.

oh and I use mediaportal, if only for the awesome TV-Series plugin.
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frozz. 27 Mar 2008, 01:52
I'd take AMD 4000+ / 4200+ X2, Gigabyte MA69G-S3H, 1GB DDR2, Fortron 350W PNF. It has integrated VGA, good enough for HTPC....this cant cost you too much...
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im a tree 27 Mar 2008, 03:37
Could probably drop to 512mb ram really, guess it depends on budget. Also, Core2Duo is far better than the X2's (longtime AMD fanboy)
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frozz. 27 Mar 2008, 13:09
I know that C2D is better, it's better for overclocking, but I took AMD+ because u dont need overclock and it has cheaper MBOs...
Anyway,still dont get why u all prefer E4xx over E2XX...only 1MB cache more but thats not that important in this case...E2xxx goes to 3ghz without a prob. And additional cpu cooler and such good psu like corsair isnt needed in this case...
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ScarZy 27 Mar 2008, 03:29
budget and ill help.
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im a tree 27 Mar 2008, 03:45
I'm building one atm, plan to use Linux with XBMC as the interface, with a "compact" (no numpad etc) wireless keyboard for control.

Gonna be used to playback x264 encodes of television/movies stored on two 500gb drives.

spec outline;
CPU: c2d E4xxx (minimum one that can play back 1080p x264 encodes, need to do some asking around)
Mobo: If possible, one with HDMI output @ onboard, but otherwise, any Gigabyte/Asus board
GFX: Depends on the options of on-board cards, but lowest spec one with HDMI out.
RAM: No more than 512mb probably.
also; "Arctic cooling" cpu fan + Corsair VX psu
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ScarZy 27 Mar 2008, 03:58
How much is your budget?
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im a tree 27 Mar 2008, 03:59
Meh, dunno.

Less than £200?
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ScarZy 27 Mar 2008, 05:10
Msg me tomorrow and ill give you the links to the media suite (home cinema w/e) that i was going to build for someone. was nice.
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