htpc

[saltynay]

heya,

going to try and build a htpc build and here are the proposed specs (this will probably built around crimbo time):

case:isotope http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=495768
mobo: msi AM2+ micro-atx
cpu: K10.... equivalent to a e6420 or e6600
ram: OCZ 4gb (5400)
hdd: 2x750gb seagate barracuda's in raid 0
psu: around 550W modular by a big name brand worry about that nearer the time
monitor: a 52" plasma (already have)
3.5" bay: a 4 fan controller possibly a 3 fan controller if I do water cooling
tv tuner: a dragon card and tv decoder so I can use sky
gfx: a 8600GT or a 8800gts 320mb
5.25" bay: 2x slot loading drives in mounted in this http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_5482.html
OS: Vista ultimate 64bit upgrade (hence why there are 4gb of ram )
mods:
theme internally will be red and white I will paint the hdd racks' & optical racks and psu & psu mount plate red.
May make it watercooled and then paint the radiator and pump red and have red fluid but only connect to the cpu and gpu
have white fans , 4x12" red cathodes with red fire switch on back to turn on and off, red Ram heatsinks
change the mesh on the sides into mirror acrylic by Ac Ryan so that when the lights are on in the windows are see through but when theyre off it is just a mirror http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2197.html

So what do you think?????

[Flewis]

Far too early to decide on parts for a build in december.

[saltynay]

not really this only a provisional idea and prices just drop over time if you actually looked at the parts you would get why:

the case is always going to be there and if a new model does come out then it will just push down the price of the previous

the am2+ boards start coming out in a month so by crimbo they will be on the cheap, The am2+ processors finish being released late autumn so by december they will be tried and tested aswell

Seagate are rumoured to release a 1tb hdd over the summer this will push down the price in the 1tb market forcing 750gb prices to drop

The ram is just a basic idea doesn't have to be that brand just what happens to be on offer at that speed and capacity at the time of buying

dvd drives hardly ever get updated anymore especially slot loading and you can mod external hd-dvd/blu ray drives if the need arises once the format war is over which I doubt is going to happen soon

the tv tuner is proven to work at the moment but yes sky may change there data encryption method

the gfx card will be mid end by december with the release of the whole 8 series and the new ati's so will probably be around £120 max

vista is just going to be updated with a service pack so no major differences and the mod is just a theme modding parts don't change its just the way in which people use them changes

[SiM]

I think you should go for a K12 CPU with DDR6 ram

Bump this thread in 6 months... until then there will be no advice that wouldn't have changed by then

[DanceswithUnix]

That looks like a nice lanparty gaming rig. It doesn't seem like an HTPC though!

Plasma screens aren't normally that hi-def, what res do you get with that? I suspect that unless you intend playing recent games on this rig a lower end graphics card (8500?) would do fine, and can be passively cooled.

Even an X2-3800 cpu is overkill given the h264 offload engine on the lower end 8x00 cards. Note that the 8800 can't do that so upgrading the vid card to 8800gts hurts for htpc use.

Not sure about the Seagates either, Samsung are my choice for a quiet machine.

[s_kinton]

Far too early to decide on parts for a build in december.

Agreed

[acrobat]

I think its way too early too. Just doesn't make sense to choose stuff now, everything will change so much by then. And not just prices.

[Clunk]

Far too early to decide on parts for a build in december.

Thirded.

[Flewis]

Thirded? Its more like fifthed

[saltynay]

That looks like a nice lanparty gaming rig. It doesn't seem like an HTPC though!

Plasma screens aren't normally that hi-def, what res do you get with that? I suspect that unless you intend playing recent games on this rig a lower end graphics card (8500?) would do fine, and can be passively cooled.

Even an X2-3800 cpu is overkill given the h264 offload engine on the lower end 8x00 cards. Note that the 8800 can't do that so upgrading the vid card to 8800gts hurts for htpc use.

Not sure about the Seagates either, Samsung are my choice for a quiet machine.

Well I would like to have the ability to have recent games even if they're only on middle settings. I didn't know about the 8600gts utilizing quite a lot less cpu power so I will probably aim for one of those then thanks

The plasma displays upto 1080p and It is ok for gaming I hooked it upto my gaming rig in my sig at the weekend and it was fine didn't notice any ghosting

I want this pc to be fast hence all the ram and the newer amd processors I also want to buy a k10 cpu just to see the overclocking ability compared to my e6600.

I was looking at the samsung spin points for a while but with my current seagates they don't make enough noise to be annoying unless you are copying large files.

[saltynay]

I think its way too early too. Just doesn't make sense to choose stuff now, everything will change so much by then. And not just prices.

yes but the previous technology is still available I agree you can't plan exact components for a high end gaming rig half a year before but a htpc doesn't need to be top of the line it just needs to have large hdd spae and be able to manage video playback I could use a pentium M 1.6ghz and have a good htpc. With general outlines for products release you can assume market trends which if you look at my previous posts I have taken into consideration

[s_kinton]

Yes, but 6 months is a long time. Things get delayed, you change your mind, you have to spend money on something else, blah blah.

This thread needs restarting about 2 weeks before buying imo

[saltynay]

I get what your saying but I have thought about this build all week, money isn't really an issue and the only component which isn't currently released are the cpu+mobo and they will start being released in july I doubt they will have a 6month delay although if the R600 is any reference it might be 2010 before we get the k10's lol. Just look at this htpc as if I was buying it tomorrow