I'm lazy can you spec me a HTPC

[happytechie]

hi all,

I am feeling really lazy and I need a HTPC. I suspect that someone here can spec me a more than 1/2 decent one

My requirements:

Quiet, it must be near silent under use.
Small, the actual box itself should be as small as possible
large storage, capacity for a big fast SATA hard disk.
Networked, 100MBit and 802.11g would be nice
Remote KB / mouse, I think I'm goign to get one of the new MS MCE keyboards if that would work.
Folding, it should be able to run folding in the backgraound 24/7
sVideo and 5.1 sound outputs
some USB / firewire ports would be a bonus
if it had a 1/2 decent GFX card that would allow me to play some games on the telly that would be a bonus. It doesn't have to be a killer gaming rig though.

it will be connected to my TV (a 32" CRT widescreen) and a 5.1 surround sound setup.

cost, under £800would be nice, under £700 would be much better.

Thanks in advance everyone and remeber that

cheers ht

[tino]

Preference's? AMD/INTEL? ATI/NVIDIA? Shuttle,Biostar,Aopen? M-ATX?

[happytechie]

wow fast responces thanks alot,

my preferences are for a quiet good looking well performing box. I've always had AMDs at home when I build my main PCs but not for any religious preference. If an Intel box gives me better bang for buck that that's where I'll go.

ATI/NVIDIA, as above.

I presume that Biostar and AOpen are case manufacturers. My preference is for a clean looking HTPC type case, Blue neons and LED fans are definitely not on the shopping list. I need it to sit with my stereo boxes, consoles and sky box and not be noticed.

M-ATX is an option that I've considered but tbh I'd rather have a more modern CPU/memory bus so that it's got at least a chance of running Doom 3 / CS:Source (at low res due to the telly) and getting some folding done before the world ends

Thanks

HT

EDIT: I'll be needing Windows XP MCE I guess, is there a 64 bit build of this yet?

[tino]

Biostar and Aopen are barebone's manufacture's. Same as shuttle

I would personally buy a ST20G5,an AMD64 3200 Venice core, 1 gig of ram, Seagate,Samsung,Western Digital Hard Drive and Buy an ATI Graphics card because then you can use the onboard as well with surround view. Should fit quite nicely under budget.


Although this will stick out abit with your other components as it is more of a cube shape design. The Chemming case might suit you better but there is a lack of good motherboards that work with this i believe.

I don't think there is a 64bit build of Windows XP MCE yet.

[happytechie]

a shuttle shaped PC would be just fine, it's not as though a gamecube, PS2 and XBox fit well together...

Can you use but the internal (on board) graphics as well as an additional PCI-Express card?

HT

[tino]

Yes you can with the ST20G5 as long as it is a ATI PCI-E Graphics card you are using.

[RedPutty]

Is the MZ855-II available yet in the UK, it takes Pentium Ms and looks about half the height of your typical shuttle style SFF case. Its been claimed as "silent" in a review.

You can see them here http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&sku=A457-6006

[colincliff]

A system i am collecting parts for at the moment at the moment. Might be of some use

Case: LC11-m beautiful case - black or silver, with vfd and excellent remote which can run any software inc media centre 2005

Mobo: Asus A8N-VM CSM - coming soon - excellent motherboard with great onboard graphics - tv out, dvi, hd sound

AMD64 3200 Venice core

1 gig Ram

Terratec Cinergy 2400i DT dual dvb-t tv card

Windows Xp with free mediaportal software beats Windows Media centre in my opinion

[nick_1]

This is what I ordered from scan today...
Quantity Description
1x AMD A64 3200 VENICE OEM S939
1x MSI RS482M4-ILD S939
1x Hiper uATX Media Chassis Black
1x Pioneer DVR-K05 DL Slim Slot
1x Compro DVB-T300 PVR/TV DVBT
1x PCI Riser w/o AGP Adapter
1x 250G Samsung SATA2 7200 8MB
1x Cors VS 1GB (2X512 PC3200)C2.5
1x 45CM Akasa SATA Cable Rt Angle
1x MS MEDIA CENTER CONT KIT OEM
1x MS MediaCentre MEC 2005 OEM

I think the total came to about £500 (I added a few extra bits which put the price higher. The only problem was that I had to source the CPU fan from another store. It was on offer as well which convinced me... damn scan and their one day offers

Any help/comments?
Nick

[DavidM]

I really like the new MS MCE Keyboard myself...

The Hiper case isnt bad.

[nick_1]

I really like the new MS MCE Keyboard myself...

The Hiper case isnt bad.

Yeah, I was tempted but my budget wouldn't stretch that far. Stop tempting me scan... I've already been tempted by your one day offer

Nick

[DavidM]

Only problem for me - one of my systems is MCE powered, one isnt - so I cant use the keyboard on both

[nick_1]

Only problem for me - one of my systems is MCE powered, one isnt - so I cant use the keyboard on both

Its also a shame its not a rf keyboard. I really like my logitech as I don't need to fiddle around with line of sight. What is the mouse nipple thing like? I never really liked them on laptops and I can't see if you are meant to use your index finger or thumb on the MCE one.

Nick

[DavidM]

Can't recall to be honest... you're tempting me to consider one again, you swine

[nick_1]

Can't recall to be honest... you're tempting me to consider one again, you swine

Revenge

Nick

[colincliff]

Hey Nick1

What do you think of the Hiper uATX Media Chassis? There looks like theres 2 cd drive slots. Any chance of fitting a vfd or some other display on the left hand side?