HTPC for my family

[nightkhaos]

Right, as some of you may know I am moving to Sydney in early 2010, however services like Sky+ will be lacking. My family have become acustomed to the ability to record programs, and with DVB-T rolled out almost everywhere now, and a bit of research, I have confirmed that an HTPC, with Blu-Ray capablites, will be a good replacement to the current setup in the living room.

By doing this we will add a Blu-Ray player, keep the Sky+ recording functionality, and add the all important features that mum and dad want: the ability to show YouTube videos and photos to large groups easily, something that required me to grab my laptop and hook it up to the TV everytime they wanted to do this.

After a wee bit of research, and finding what is an epic deal on OCuk, I have finally put together (and ordered, sorry guys! ) a machine which I will be putting together on Saturday, hence this post to document my efforts.

Pictures will again be uploaded to Picasa. But first the all important "What did ya buy?" part, which was kind of lacking in my previous build log for Cy (I'll be honest, I threw it together at the last minute using a few photos I'd taken durring the process.)

• Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 'Yorkfield' with 4MB cache bundled with free In-Win BP655 Case with TFX 200W PSU
• Zotec FG9300-D-E ITX motherboard
• 2GB of XMS2 Corsiar DDR2 RAM left over from an old build.
• Samsung EcoDrive F2 1.5TB
• LiteOn IHOS104-37 4x BluRay, 8x DVD Reader
• KWorld PE355 2T DVB-T TV Card (PCIe)
• Logitech diNovo Mini
• Edimax 7718Un
• Windows 7 Home Premium Retail
• 80mm Noctua NF-R8 Fan

There were a few other generic things, like a replacement fan for the PSU cause apparently the current one is pretty loud, and a Molex to SATA adapter, and an DVI-D to HDMI cable.

So there we have it. The OcUK order, that is Windows 7 and the deal with Q8200 and the case should arrive today and everything else should come from Scan tomorrow. Can't wait to build me a Windows 7 HTPC.

Picasa Album Here

[scaryjim]

Can't wait to build me a Windows 7 HTPC.

Not surprised, my HTPC is currently running 7 RC and everyone in the family loves it Looks like a high spec for a HTPC (Q8200? Seriously? ) but that should give it lots of headroom for fun tasks like gaming if you so desire! Interested to see what size the case is: I assume that for a mini-itx it's quite chunky given what's going in it...

[nightkhaos]

Not surprised, my HTPC is currently running 7 RC and everyone in the family loves it Looks like a high spec for a HTPC (Q8200? Seriously? ) but that should give it lots of headroom for fun tasks like gaming if you so desire! Interested to see what size the case is: I assume that for a mini-itx it's quite chunky given what's going in it...

Not really. It's quite a tight fit, but it's a nicely sized and small case. The reason I got a Q8200 is because with that Quad Core with free case deal from OCuk it turned out to be cheaper to get a Quad Core than a Dual Core.

If anyone is building an HTPC get in quick with one of those deals.

[shaithis]

Well, what you have saved on the "free case".....you have then spent out again on the motherboard.

785G motherboard + cpu + case can be at least £50 cheaper then the option you took....although it would be mATX rather then MiniITX....but you would have had a gigantic choice of case styles as well.

Still, it looks like a good spec, I would just be a little wary of heat from a quad in a MiniITX case.

[nightkhaos]

Well, what you have saved on the "free case".....you have then spent out again on the motherboard.

785G motherboard + cpu + case can be at least £50 cheaper then the option you took....although it would be mATX rather then MiniITX....but you would have had a gigantic choice of case styles as well.

Still, it looks like a good spec, I would just be a little wary of heat from a quad in a MiniITX case.

I feel it will be important at this stage to point out that a friend of mine built the exact same build to this with a Xonar DX instead of a Kworld DVB-T and the temps are fine.

Besides, if she gets a little hot I can always underclock her.

[shaithis]

I feel it will be important at this stage to point out that a friend of mine built the exact same build to this with a Xonar DX instead of a Kworld DVB-T and the temps are fine.

Does he live in Australia though?

[jim]

Right, as some of you may know I am moving to Sydney in early 2010, however services like Sky+ will be lacking. My family have become acustomed to the ability to record programs, and with DVB-T rolled out almost everywhere now, and a bit of research, I have confirmed that an HTPC, with Blu-Ray capablites, will be a good replacement to the current setup in the living room.

For the love of whatever, wait for the 9300-G-E (see my thread in the 3XS forum if you don't know already), if it doesn't bother you then fair enough.

And I didn't know that you were moving to Australia - good luck with that!

[s_kinton]

That motherboard does not support wake on USB. Might not be an issue, but its annoying when you just want to use a remote without having to press the power button to wake it up!

[nightkhaos]

For the love of whatever, wait for the 9300-G-E (see my thread in the 3XS forum if you don't know already), if it doesn't bother you then fair enough.

But I want it now... I'm not a fan of waiting for any computer component. I get the best on the market, I do not wait. It's the reason I have a 295, instead of waiting for the 58xx series and buying a 5870. I don't see the point in waiting for new and better technology. I also don't see the point in upgrading for the hell of it.

It means I spend a lot of money in one go, upgrading every system in the house, but then I'm hunky dorry for about 3-5 years. It works quite well. And since I buy high quality equipment I'm rarely unhappy with my purchase. You have to admit, this HTPC is overkill in some respects, and that is kinda the point.

And I didn't know that you were moving to Australia - good luck with that!

No choice. Visa, money... a New Zealander in the United Kingdom will pay five figures for univerity per year. I can't afford that, not with the recession.

UPDATES
The order from OCuk with the case, Q8200 and Windows 7 has come. It looks pretty ace, I'll show ya some pictures of the case when I start the build. Citylink says the Scan order is on track to arrive today, and I can then install one of the two Kworlds I ordered into my main rig to give it a try.

My parents keep asking about keyboard and mouse. I want to surprise them with the diNovo Mini. I've had a few conversations that go something like this:

"So [nightkhaos] what you going to do for a keyboard?"
"You'll see."

[nightkhaos]

That motherboard does not support wake on USB. Might not be an issue, but its annoying when you just want to use a remote without having to press the power button to wake it up!

Considering the (relatively) low power consumption (when compared to other computers in the house) I will likely tell it never to sleep. Besides, it's gonna be doing recording and what not from Windows Media Center, another reason to keep it awake.

Thanks for pointing that out through. That would be a major concern, and a dealbreaker, if it wasn't for the two points above.

[nightkhaos]

Does he live in Australia though?

No, but his flat mate likes it mighty toasty.

[nightkhaos]

So I learned an important lesson over the weekend: if you intend to build a machine for a build log it is important point is to stop and actually take pictures. I unfortunately only have a picture of the empty case, the full case, oh and it in it's final resting place (which I intend to upload later tonight).

I will however endevour to write as much detail as possible when I do upload the pictures to give you a fair idea. My friends and I are getting to good at building computers. This wee system only took an hour to assemble, most of that time was spent managing the cables in the tight space (you will note a LOT of eletrical tape in the build).

I also found out something on Sunday, AHCI mode is not enabled by default on this board. An important caviat if you only have a Wireless G network at the moment and need to transfer large amounts (around 500GiB) of data. eSATA is a godsend in that respect, but it requires AHCI mode cause it doesn't place to nice with IDE mode. Fairly simple to fix, involves one registry chance, and then enabling it in BIOS, more on that later.

Right that's it for the mini-update, as I said, photos later tonight.

[nightkhaos]

Damnit. I discovered I need to remux all my media files because of subtitles embedded. Gonna be fun.

[nightkhaos]

All uploaded. Unfortunately the empty case photo came up a little blurry. See here for the photos.

Almost finished remuxing the required files. Now remember I said AHCI isn't enabled by default on the Zotac? Well I found this useful guide on how to enable AHCI post Windows Install, since it tends to erm... not work if you don't change a registry key beforehand.

We used MX-3 on the Northbridge (reset it) and the CPU, and I apologise for the insane amount of tape, but that's the only way to keep the cables managed.

[nightkhaos]

Anyway, I was planning to give a detailed guide on the assembly. The case is a little tight, so much so that you have to do things in a certien order or it kinda falls apart. First, you take out the DVD/HDD mount and attach the HDD to it, and replace the fan with a better one if required. Then you prepare the motherboard, making sure to reset the northbridge before attaching the heatsink for the CPU, because the CPU will not fit otherwise.

It is important to note that the CPU heatsink does not attach as easily as it would in other motherboards because of the tight clearances involved. You might have to cut a tab of the fan cable mount on the edge of the stock heatsink so that it can actually fit in beside the northbridge. Make sure you use some pilers or something to ensure that the push pins are actually pulled through as they don't slot in to easily compared to other boards I, and my friends, have worked with.

Next, install the motherboard into the case, and wire it all up, including the DVD drive, except the expansion card. You may want to start with the front power button connecter as they are quite close to the mount for the HDD and Optical Drive. I didn't attack the cables for the power and HDD indicator light because they would be rather annoying, flashing all the time.

Now that everything is wired up it's time to screw in the Optical Drive and secure it. The reason you need to do this after wiring it up is the isn't enough clearance to insert the cables when the Optical Drive is secured.

Once the optical drive is secured and everything is all wired up is a good idea to manage the cables. Use the finished screenshot as a refernce to where we put cables, in particular the SATA cables.

Finially, install any expansion cards. And you're all done. It is an idea to consider replacing the PSU fan, I intend to later on, but note the fan plug is glued down within the PSU so you will have to be careful removing it.

Before installing Windows, assuming you intend to install 7 or Vista, I recommend enabling AHCI mode in the BIOS. It will save you a few minutes and possible headaches in future, and will make the eSATA port work as designed out of the box.

That's basicly it, any questions, further details, or pictures you would like? Please note I am not going to detach a heatsink just to show you how to apply TIM, it's attached, it's solid, and I don't want to have to remount it.