Considering building an HTPC

Captain Vash

And I've got a couple questions;

obviously the goal with an HTPC is to build a system that can handle HD video decoding with a minimum of heat and noise.
My main question is will I experience any trouble using the other computers in my home as NAS to view my videos, including HD videos? pretty much all my networking equipment is 10/100, using CAT5e cable.

the transfer would from the file hosting computer -> wired router -> 10/100 switch -> HTPC



also any hardware recommendations are welcome.

exoplasm

You should get a gigabit switch (they can be had fairly cheap now - I have a d-link 8 port I paid $20 after rebate and it works great) to make sure you don't get any stuttering or network congestion if you're planning on streaming HD videos over your LAN. However, chances are you'll be just fine with 100mbit. Personally I'd rather load up the HTPC with huge drives and put all the videos there in the first place.

As far as hardware, you don't need much. A cheap AMD CPU will suffice, and a cheap nVidia card will also suffice. My HTPC has an AMD X2 4400 or something, and on-board ATI GPU (that isn't supported in Win7 - ARGH!) and has no problems with my blu-ray rips. Depending on what OS/software you plan to use you'll need anywhere from 2-4GB of RAM. RAM is cheap so might as well get 4GB or more.

vonPoonBurGer

10/100 will probably be Ok unless your HD videos are encoded in an extremely high bitrate. If you can do gigabit, though, go for it. It's not very expensive these days and would give you lots of breathing room in terms of network bandwidth

For video cards, you want something relatively modern that includes HDTV and HDCP support but no fan. I'm using an ASUS EN8400GS Silent in my HTPC currently. A few months ago, when my system was using a motherboard with AGP and no PCI-E, I was using a fanless AGP Geforce 6200 card. There may also be Radeon cards with the same features and lack of fan, but I'm not familiar with them off-hand. As long as it has support for HDTV resolutions, support for HDCP (in case you ever need it) and no fan, it's ideal for this application.

In terms of processor, you really don't need much. My current HTPC has a Core 2 Duo E6750 that was a hand-me-down from when I rebuilt my gaming PC, and I'm pretty sure that's way overkill for what this box needs to do. If I was building my HTPC from scratch, I'd probably be looking at something like an Athlon 64 X2 5050E, with its low price and low thermal design power (TDP) of 45W. My previous build of this HTPC was using an Athlon XP-M 2500+, downright anemic compared to the Core 2 Duo, but it still didn't drop frames. I'm not doing on-the-fly encoding using the CPU though, so YMMV.

gigEsmalls

I'm doing the same and ordered a lapboard so I can play games from my couch wirelessly. Below is a link.

http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews.php?reviewid=812

vonPoonBurGer

Oh right, keyboards. I currently use this one. It's branded for the PS3, but it works with any PC that has a Bluetooth adapter. Way better range than the old RF wireless keyboard I had before, and not having a separate mouse is really nice since it reduces clutter in my living room.

The trackpad obviously isn't suitable for serious gaming, but I was never really interested in gaming on my HTPC. If I want to play games on the teevee, I already have a 360 for that. Also, in order to build a sufficiently powerful HTPC for gaming you're probably going to run into heat or noise issues. Either the system will get too hot, or you'll have sufficient cooling fans but the system will be constantly audible. You could put the system in a full-sized case, but then it doesn't really blend into your home theater setup, it's a big PC that happens to be connected to your TV. I'm currently using a Silverstone case that looks nice and isn't out of place next to my AV receiver, DVD players, etc., but the downside is there's no way to cram a gaming rig into that thing without also making it noisy.

Shazkar Shadowstorm

engadget did a good post on a HTPC build recently

i'd look at that

Captain Vash

Shazkar Shadowstorm wrote: »

engadget did a good post on a HTPC build recently

i'd look at that

this is my inspiration actually..

that and the fact that I'd love to try my hand at setting up a pc with a cable card tuner in it.

exoplasm

Good luck finding a cable card tuner that doesn't come with a PC. I'm pretty sure the cable industry blocked anyone from selling those individually.

Captain Vash

hmm?

like this...

http://www.cannonpc.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=234