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 Posted: Mon, 21st May 2007 08:32 Post subject: Help me build an HTPC |
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So right now my main PC is hooked up directly to my LCD, I will be moving en of the month and this will no longer be an option, so Im looking into building an HTPC.
As far as I know, so far there is no DVD player or Media player capable of playing x264 videos, If you know any please post links here too.
Now I really have no clue what kind of system I need, Im looking for something cheap that I will build myself, so what type of processor do I need, How much RAM, what kind of Mobo and what about the GPU?
The goal is too be able to play x264 720p, no 1080p or uncompressed HD-DVD/Bluray, also Mobo needs to have a digital out so I can pass sound to my A/V receiver or I think i saw somewhere some GPU with an HDMI out, that can be nice.
Thx for your help guys.
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LeoNatan
☢ NFOHump Despot ☢
Posts: 73196
Location: Ramat Gan, Israel 🇮🇱
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| Posted: Mon, 21st May 2007 09:42 Post subject: |
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I'd go with a E4300 for a CPU (with the appropriate mobo) and a 8600 for the new h264/VC1 acceleration (even 8800s don't have it). For true HTPC, onboard sound won't cut it, so go with a Creative X-FI.
AND DON'T USE COREAVC! Ffdshow only!
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| Posted: Mon, 21st May 2007 09:50 Post subject: |
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| LeoNatan wrote: | I'd go with a E4300 for a CPU (with the appropriate mobo) and a 8600 for the new h264/VC1 acceleration (even 8800s don't have it). For true HTPC, onboard sound won't cut it, so go with a Creative X-FI.
AND DON'T USE COREAVC! Ffdshow only! |
Nothing wrong with coreavc o.0. And going with core 2 duo is a bit more expensive. if he was playing games too it'd be good. |
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| Posted: Mon, 21st May 2007 09:51 Post subject: |
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Hi,
Great thx for the advices, seems I should be able to build a system for cheap, that’s nice.
Actualy case is the only piece of hardware I will go high-end, because I need something dead silent, I use to have an xbox 360 and I bought the HD-DVD addon but the damn thing was so noisy that I sent everything back, I am very easily annoyed by noise when watching a movie, so this will be a big part of the budget.
I need a fanless PSU, Fanless GPU and a case build for a fanless PC, I guess it must get fairly hot in there when playing x264 and It will in between other equipement so I need something working very well with passive cooling.
http://www.hifiatx.com/hfx.php?lang=EN
The HFX mini seems very nice but its expensive, anyway I need something looking good to put in between all my Hi-Fi equipment.
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| Posted: Mon, 21st May 2007 09:54 Post subject: |
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| LeoNatan wrote: | I'd go with a E4300 for a CPU (with the appropriate mobo) and a 8600 for the new h264/VC1 acceleration (even 8800s don't have it). For true HTPC, onboard sound won't cut it, so go with a Creative X-FI.
AND DON'T USE COREAVC! Ffdshow only! |
Well I don't want the sound to be handled by the PC, I just want to pass the signal to my A/V receiver and let it do the job and decode DD+ / DTS.
On my PC i currently use VLC, am i a bad person?
Also I want as little as possible of image/sound processing, I have a very high-end video processor, much more powerfull than any PC, that will do a fantastic job at scaling, color convertion & image calibration, same for the sound.
So I don’t think I need any hardware acceleration cards, I just want to send a "raw" signal to the video processor and I'll settings and calibration from there.
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LeoNatan
☢ NFOHump Despot ☢
Posts: 73196
Location: Ramat Gan, Israel 🇮🇱
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| Posted: Mon, 21st May 2007 10:42 Post subject: |
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I don't think you can send a "raw" video signal, unless you have a directshow decoder for x264 for that high-end video processor, that will send the data as-is and have it decode. If you don't, you are in a need for a good CPU and a good GPU (for the HD content). I don't think you can find hardware strong enough (CPU at least) that will be fanless. Maybe a mobile CPU (it is possible to use them in desktops), but they are still fans on them. I've seen fanless 8600, so I still recommend that for its hardware decoding acceleration. 8600 also has HDMI which is great for the long run.
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| Posted: Mon, 21st May 2007 11:15 Post subject: |
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LeoNatan
☢ NFOHump Despot ☢
Posts: 73196
Location: Ramat Gan, Israel 🇮🇱
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| Posted: Mon, 21st May 2007 15:05 Post subject: |
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You can also go with a laptop that has a high-end sound card (for SPDIF). That would be the quietest machine you can get unless you use water cooling.
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| Posted: Mon, 21st May 2007 15:41 Post subject: |
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I don’t want a totally fanless PC, I want to keep it as simple as possible, one small HDD, one DVD-R and the usual… I will get a fanless GPU - PSU and a good fan for the CPU like a Zalmann, fanless for the CPU is tricky anyway I once bought one of those CPU heatsink thinking it was a great idea, I realized it wasn't the minute I opened the package and realized how big the bastard was.
I really want to keep it as cheap and simple as possible, this is going to be used purely to watch some 720p TV rips so I don't want to invest 2'000$ in it, knowing that I already have an high-end DVD player and a good gamming PC.
But what im really wondering now is if an HTPC is really what I need, there should be a solution not involving building a new machine, can't I send the video with some wireless device connected on one side to my PC and to my TV on the other side with some HDMI connector?
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| Posted: Mon, 21st May 2007 19:00 Post subject: |
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These Hush HTPC's are really nice and most important fanless, but they are also quite expensive. I'm thinking of getting one later this year.
http://www.hushtechnologies.net/
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| Posted: Mon, 21st May 2007 21:14 Post subject: |
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| whoKnows wrote: | These Hush HTPC's are really nice and most important fanless, but they are also quite expensive. I'm thinking of getting one later this year.
http://www.hushtechnologies.net/ |
and the award of the ugliest website ever created goes to...... hushtechnologies... gratz
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| Posted: Mon, 21st May 2007 22:30 Post subject: |
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ya no kidding, they seem more worried about showing off awards and being full of themselves instead of worrying about products.
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LeoNatan
☢ NFOHump Despot ☢
Posts: 73196
Location: Ramat Gan, Israel 🇮🇱
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| Posted: Tue, 22nd May 2007 00:48 Post subject: |
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| [EviL] wrote: | | But what im really wondering now is if an HTPC is really what I need, there should be a solution not involving building a new machine, can't I send the video with some wireless device connected on one side to my PC and to my TV on the other side with some HDMI connector? |
I think there are some wireless players that play over network... Google them to see more info. This should be a great purchase. |
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$en$i
VIP Member
Posts: 3127
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| Posted: Wed, 23rd May 2007 19:30 Post subject: |
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| LeoNatan wrote: | | I'd go with a E4300 for a CPU (with the appropriate mobo) and a 8600 for the new h264/VC1 acceleration (even 8800s don't have it). |
As far as know the 8600 GT (like the 8500 GT) isn't HDCP compatible, while the 8600 GTS is.
"if you plan to buy a 8500 GT or 8600 GT that will function in a Home Theater PC and at one point you'd like to have BluRay, HD-DVD or HDCP-protected content playback on that system, the 8500 and 8600 GT will be a no go."
cf. http://www.guru3d.com/article/content/426/
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