Results 1 to 11 of 11

Thread: HTPC - Movies, Basic Gaming & Emulation

  1. #1
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Posts
    27
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    HTPC - Movies, Basic Gaming & Emulation

    Hello all,

    I tried this last week but I really messed up the post (sorry). I'm looking to build a new HTPC capable of playing HD content. Looking at CAT-THE-FIFTHs spec posted on these forums I thought this to be the best:

    http://freeimagehosting.net/image.php?6ce5462da3.png

    ASUS M3A78-EM 780G Socket AM2+ onboard graphics 8 channel audio mATX Motherboard

    AMD Athlon X2 5050e Socket AM2 45W Energy Efficient Retail Boxed Processor

    Maxtor STM3160813AS 160GB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 8MB Cache - OEM

    OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800Mhz/PC2-6400 GOLD XTC Memory Kit CL5(5-5-5-18)

    Shiny Black/Silver Slim ATX/MATX Case - No PSU

    CIT 480W Dual 12V Rail PSU - 12cm Fan - 20+4pin 2x SATA



    I went for the small hard drive because I already have a NAS with plenty of storage.
    I am looking to play HD content, play some old emulation (up to n64) and play one game (Counter Strike Source).

    I just have a few queries.

    1. Do you guys think this will suffice for my needs stated above?

    2. As the case is a slim ATX case I presume it can take full size GFX cards, could you suggest a reasonably priced card that would be better than the onboard graphics (for CS:S).

    3. Could you suggest any media remote controls?

    4. Anyone know where I can get a USB to N64 adapter (in the UK)?
    (It just wouldn’t be the same on a normal joypad )
    Last edited by TrentConstantin; 22-04-2009 at 01:27 PM.

  2. #2
    Moosing about! CAT-THE-FIFTH's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Not here
    Posts
    32,039
    Thanks
    3,910
    Thanked
    5,224 times in 4,015 posts
    • CAT-THE-FIFTH's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Less E-PEEN
      • CPU:
      • Massive E-PEEN
      • Memory:
      • RGB E-PEEN
      • Storage:
      • Not in any order
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVEN BIGGER E-PEEN
      • PSU:
      • OVERSIZED
      • Case:
      • UNDERSIZED
      • Operating System:
      • DOS 6.22
      • Monitor(s):
      • NOT USUALLY ON....WHEN I POST
      • Internet:
      • FUNCTIONAL

    Re: HTPC - Movies, Basic Gaming & Emulation

    I would change the PSU definitely!!

    I would get one of the following:

    http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/350W-...ATA-80plus-Eff

    http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=876036

    http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=876036

    You should be eligible for free postage at Scan after 20 posts.

    I would change the hard drive to the following:

    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/128708

    I prefer the following case:

    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/129891

    The onboard graphics should be fine for older games.

    This is the cheapest graphics card I would go for:

    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/151454

    It is basically a downclocked HD4670.

  3. #3
    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Gateshead
    Posts
    15,196
    Thanks
    1,231
    Thanked
    2,291 times in 1,874 posts
    • scaryjim's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Dell Inspiron
      • CPU:
      • Core i5 8250U
      • Memory:
      • 2x 4GB DDR4 2666
      • Storage:
      • 128GB M.2 SSD + 1TB HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Radeon R5 230
      • PSU:
      • Battery/Dell brick
      • Case:
      • Dell Inspiron 5570
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • 15" 1080p laptop panel

    Re: HTPC - Movies, Basic Gaming & Emulation

    Ditch the 5050e and get an Athlon X2 7750 BE from Scan - currently less than £50 which is unbelievable value! It's much faster than the 5050e *and* your onboard graphics will get a boost from using HT3 instead of HT1 (approx 20% quicker @ 1024 x 768) - so it makes *everything* faster

  4. #4
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Glasgow
    Posts
    1,469
    Thanks
    38
    Thanked
    61 times in 58 posts

    Re: HTPC - Movies, Basic Gaming & Emulation

    Remote wise, not cheap, but the Gyration media remote is pretty excellent. I have had one for a few months now and find it excellent to use.

    I have 4gb ram in my HTPC, and only run 32 bit at present, with 512mb being swallowed up by the ram for the on board graphics card. It works just fine for all HD content, be it from disk or stored on the HD.

  5. #5
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Posts
    27
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: HTPC - Movies, Basic Gaming & Emulation

    Quote Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH View Post

    -I would change the PSU definitely!!

    -You should be eligible for free postage at Scan after 20 posts.


    -It is basically a downclocked HD4670.
    Sorry I can't quote links yet.

    How do you rate PSUs? I mean what makes a good PSU, just brand ergo known for quality?

    The Athlon X2 7750 BE, well worth the small price difference I take it?

    As for the Gyration media remote, £60 sounds a bit steep to me. Wouldn't I be better off getting a tuner with a remote?

    Also with 4GB wouldn’t you have to be at 64bit in order for all 4GB to be utilised or am I imagining that. Thought 32bit caps at... 3.2GB? I could be very wrong (quite likely).

    Anyways, thanks for the prompt responses, much appreciated .

  6. #6
    finding nemo staffsMike's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Posts
    11,498
    Thanks
    197
    Thanked
    794 times in 741 posts
    • staffsMike's system
      • Motherboard:
      • evga 680i
      • CPU:
      • e6600
      • Memory:
      • geil ultra pc6400
      • Storage:
      • WD 320gb
      • Graphics card(s):
      • leadtek 8800 GTS 640mb
      • PSU:
      • ocz gameXstream 700w
      • Case:
      • akasa eclipse
      • Monitor(s):
      • dell 2007wfp and Lg L194WT
      • Internet:
      • pipex homecall

    Re: HTPC - Movies, Basic Gaming & Emulation

    The 7750 BE is a stronger perfomer but the 5050e is a nice low power chip..

    4GB will still run in dual channel which offers some gains, 3.2GB will be useful for multitasking as well.

    Just trust us on power supplies There are many good brands, I generally stick to seasonic or seasonic based corsairs, enermax, or OCZ. I would also get be quiet! these days.

    This is what I would buy for yorurs anyway
    http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...23&subcat=1098
    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152509

    touch more expensive than CATs but modular which is great for small cases.

  7. #7
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Dudley
    Posts
    55
    Thanks
    2
    Thanked
    2 times in 2 posts
    • Gazza's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5
      • CPU:
      • Intel i7 920, Socket 1366 2.66GHz running@3.2Ghz
      • Memory:
      • Corsair XMS3 DDR3 - 12GB (6x2GB) PC3-12800 1600MHz
      • Storage:
      • 60GB OCZ Technology Vertex
      • Graphics card(s):
      • BFG GTX260 896Mb OCX MaxCore216
      • PSU:
      • 1000W BeQuiet Modular
      • Case:
      • Zalman GS1000
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 RC
      • Monitor(s):
      • 24" Dell E248WFP
      • Internet:
      • Virgin Media XL 20mb

    Re: HTPC - Movies, Basic Gaming & Emulation

    Quote Originally Posted by TrentConstantin View Post

    As for the Gyration media remote, £60 sounds a bit steep to me. Wouldn't I be better off getting a tuner with a remote?
    It does sound quite steep doesnt it, but when you have used one with a media centre you'll wonder how you ever managed without it, the air mouse functionality is superb.

    See review here :-

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJfS3p4uDoI

    The review is for the whole kaboodle though which includes nifty little keyboard too, I paid £80 all in a few months ago. Which given the price of buying a new decent keyboard and mouse too anyway made it seem much more reasonable.
    Screws fall out all the time, the world is an imperfect place. - John Bender

  8. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    925
    Thanks
    4
    Thanked
    161 times in 148 posts
    • smargh's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P
      • CPU:
      • Xeon E5450 with 775-to-771 Mod
      • Memory:
      • 16GB Crucial
      • Storage:
      • Intel X25-M G2 80GB/Adaptec 3405 4x 2TB Ultrastar RAID1 / 1x 6TB Hitachi He6 / Dying 2TB Samsung
      • Graphics card(s):
      • GTX 750 Ti
      • PSU:
      • Seasonic X-560
      • Case:
      • Lian-Li PC-A71
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • BenQ G2400WD
      • Internet:
      • Really Crap ADSL2 <3Mbit

    Re: HTPC - Movies, Basic Gaming & Emulation

    You don't need 4GB memory for a HTPC. I just made a Vista HTPC for my mother with 1GB memory (plus Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-D2SH with Intel E5200 DC Pentium in an Antec NSK-2480) and the onboard graphics plays 1080p and blu-ray discs awesomely, as well as Team Fortress 2 extremely well. In terms of electricity, the whole thing uses about 45 watts. Very cool and quiet, aside from when the Pioneer BD-ROM drive is reading audio CDs.

    I'd say that 2GB memory at most would give a lot of wiggle room.

  9. #9
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Posts
    27
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: HTPC - Movies, Basic Gaming & Emulation

    May be a stupid question but won't the size of the TV affact how well it handles HD / gaming?

    It's only 37" so doubt it'll make a huge impact, also would I be stuck with certain resolutions using a HD TV (old cheap one at that).

  10. #10
    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Gateshead
    Posts
    15,196
    Thanks
    1,231
    Thanked
    2,291 times in 1,874 posts
    • scaryjim's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Dell Inspiron
      • CPU:
      • Core i5 8250U
      • Memory:
      • 2x 4GB DDR4 2666
      • Storage:
      • 128GB M.2 SSD + 1TB HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Radeon R5 230
      • PSU:
      • Battery/Dell brick
      • Case:
      • Dell Inspiron 5570
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • 15" 1080p laptop panel

    Re: HTPC - Movies, Basic Gaming & Emulation

    7750 BE vs 5050e: the 5050e is basically a 5000+ with lower power draw (but identical performance). The 7750 BE matches a 6000+ performance-wise, so that's what AMD think of the relative performance - 20&#37; better! On the other hand, fully loaded a 7750 BE will pull 95W, whereas a 5050e will only pull 45W - and that's a massive difference on an HTPC-type platform. So, if your gaming will be very occasional and you'll mostly be watching DVDs / BDs, get the 5050e to save the electricity bill a lot - if you plan to game quite a bit, then it's probably worth getting the 7750.

    The size of the TV won't matter half as much as the resolution. a 37" TV could just as easily have a native resolution of 1366x768 as 1920x1080! The former will probably be rated as 720p compatible, the latter as 1080p. If it *just* says HD compatible, it's probably 720p but you're better off checking!

    The integrated graphics on a 780G board will easily cope with DVD / BD playback at any resolution, but will struggle with gaming at anything higher than 720p. If your TV is an *OLD* HD TV then it's probably only 720p anyway, but you should probably check that. Even if your TV has a higher resolution, you can always set your games to play at a lower resolution - it won't look *quite* as good but you're never going to get ultra-quality in games from integrated graphics anyway - if you could ATI and NVidia wouldn't be able to charge &#163;100s for the latest graphics cards, would they

  11. #11
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Posts
    27
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: HTPC - Movies, Basic Gaming & Emulation

    Quote Originally Posted by scaryjim View Post
    7750 BE vs 5050e: the 5050e is basically a 5000+ with lower power draw (but identical performance). The 7750 BE matches a 6000+ performance-wise, so that's what AMD think of the relative performance - 20% better! On the other hand, fully loaded a 7750 BE will pull 95W, whereas a 5050e will only pull 45W - and that's a massive difference on an HTPC-type platform. So, if your gaming will be very occasional and you'll mostly be watching DVDs / BDs, get the 5050e to save the electricity bill a lot - if you plan to game quite a bit, then it's probably worth getting the 7750.

    The size of the TV won't matter half as much as the resolution. a 37" TV could just as easily have a native resolution of 1366x768 as 1920x1080! The former will probably be rated as 720p compatible, the latter as 1080p. If it *just* says HD compatible, it's probably 720p but you're better off checking!

    The integrated graphics on a 780G board will easily cope with DVD / BD playback at any resolution, but will struggle with gaming at anything higher than 720p. If your TV is an *OLD* HD TV then it's probably only 720p anyway, but you should probably check that. Even if your TV has a higher resolution, you can always set your games to play at a lower resolution - it won't look *quite* as good but you're never going to get ultra-quality in games from integrated graphics anyway - if you could ATI and NVidia wouldn't be able to charge £100s for the latest graphics cards, would they
    Yeah I know for a fact it's 720p, knew that when I bought it... I'm umm frugal... not cheap....

    Thanks for the info. Think I'll go for the 7750 BE as I play CS:S quite a bit (yes I hate myself for it.)

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Basic Gaming Laptop for <£600
    By Dreaming in forum PC Hardware and Components
    Replies: 21
    Last Post: 08-11-2009, 09:55 PM
  2. Sound card for Gaming, Movies AND Music Production
    By Rawkus in forum PC Hardware and Components
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 22-01-2009, 02:25 PM
  3. The Movies 2 Petition
    By OXM_Madman in forum Gaming
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 15-11-2006, 04:16 PM
  4. The death of PC gaming
    By directhex in forum Gaming
    Replies: 64
    Last Post: 23-08-2006, 03:11 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •