HTPC advice

Hi all,

I am thinking of using an older case I have laying around and making an HTPC out of it.

This is a bare bones, budget build, everything in the case works now.

I am thinking of getting the following,

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-138-195&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo

and http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106300

I have read that the board supports 5.1 audio, but do not see an optical out anywhere on it, so plan on getting a Rocketfish 5.1 Digital Sound Card (pretty cheap, like less than $5)

I guess I am wanting some advice, the onboard graphics claims it can play HD video, so I am going to try that out. If that doesnt work, I could upgrade to http://www.snaggstuff.com/ati-radeon-hd-4550-512mb-ddr2-pci-express.html

So, for less than $150 I think I will end up with a good HTPC. I don't need a case, PSU, HDD, or RAM. The only thing I think I need is a new board/processor a Blu-Ray drive and maybe a sound card. My surround has a toslink input on it, so might need to buy a sound card that can output toslink.


Advice or suggestions on the barest bones HTPC builds?

Thanks, and let me know if any more info is needed.

 

While this sounds like a decent bare-bones build, it will not offer full Blu-Ray HD quality.

Quoting from Lite-On's spec page:

To enjoy high definition BD contents: Pentium D 3.0 GHz or higher CPU with 1GB or Higher RAM required; nVidia7650/ATI1600 or later GPU; HDCP capable graphic card with 256MV RAM, 32-bit color, 1900x1200 resolution support; HDCP capable monitor or TV for high definition digital output.

The AMD CPU in this combo is only a 2.2 GHz single core.

If you afford a bit more, here's a similar setup to one I recently built that uses DDR3 (which is actually less expensive now than DDR2):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131406
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103903

If you want to stick with DDR2 try:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.564801

Either of these options will give you:

• A dual-core CPU that will easily handle Blu-Ray
• Better on-board video with true HDMI out
• Optical audio out (Rocketfish stuff is usually junk)
• More upgrade options: Hybrid ATI Crossfire and 4 memory slots if you want to go crazy later

On the BD-ROM drive (based on my general experience with brands), my advice is spend a few bucks extra and go for a Pioneer or ASUS. They tend to be more reliable than Lite-On. Keep an eye out for sales on these: I have seen LG (still better than Lite-On) BD/DVD+RW drives on sale as low as $59 at Fry's during the past month. Although you may not be burning Blu-Ray discs, it's nice to be able to rip a CD or regular DVD if needed (or, if there's already a DVD drive in the case, being able to do a faster disc-to-disc copy).

Good luck. Hope this helps.