New HTPC Setup (DVB-S, BluRay, 3dready)

Hey Guys,

I plan to set up a HTPC. I already built one (about one year ago), but that one was for a friend.

I would like the new one to connect to my Samsung UE55D6500. Main use cases will be DVB-S, DVD and BluRay Playback and perhaps some 3d BluRays as well. Software will be Windows 7 64bit and naturally MediaPortal. I plan to replace just everything near to my TV, except of the Yamaha Receiver. So there will also be some videorecording, slideshows, radio/music, "small" games etc.

After a lot of thinking and discussion I selected the hardware. But as the people in this forum are always very well informed and have a lot of experience, I decided to ask you for recommendations, hints and comments. Are there problems in the setup or just room for improvement?

CPU: Intel Core i3-2100T, 2x 3.10GHz, boxed
MB: Gigabyte GA-H67MA-USB3-B3
RAM: Kingston ValueRAM DIMM Kit 8GB PC3-10667U CL9 (for RamDISK)
Harddrive: Crucial m4 SSD 64GB, Samsung EcoGreen F4 2000GB
Graphic Card: Sapphire Ultimate Radeon HD 6670, 1GB GDDR5, passiv
Drive: LG Electronics BH10LS30 schwarz
PowerSupply: be quiet! SFX Power 300W SFX12V 3.2 (SFX-300W/BN133)
Case: Techsolo TC-400 schwarz, 350W ATX
DVB-S: DigitalDevices Cine S2 V5.5
Cooler: Scythe Shuriken rev. B.

Thanks for your support

AW: New HTPC Setup (DVB-S, BluRay, 3dready)

The graphic card is too largh, you'll have to go one step down and take the Sapphire Ultimate HD6570, which has more than enough power.

I would also recommend you the Scythe Big Shuriken instead of the Shuriken Rev. B and (if you have some money left) the Antec Fusion Remote case, which is on my opinion an excellent case.

You could also take a cheaper CPU, for example a Pentium G620t.

Re: AW: New HTPC Setup (DVB-S, BluRay, 3dready)

You mean by power, and not by size, right?

The graphic card is passive and for the tests that I read it doesn't heat up the case very much. Regarding BluRay 3d playback, I think it's not a fault to have some reserves in graphic power.

It is exactly the same thing here. As I read the 2100T is a gread CPU with a TDP of 35 W only. When it comes to transcoding or some upscaling with FFDshow or something like that it is always good to have some power left.

AW: New HTPC Setup (DVB-S, BluRay, 3dready)

No, I mean large by size, it's too high.

Where do you get this information? I even asked the vendor of the ms-tech mc-400 (which is the same case as the techsolo tc-400), and they assured that normal PCI cards will fit. This is not a low profile case.

Hi there,

The Sapphire 5670/6670 cards are higher than normal PCI cards and will not fit most cases. The 6570 card is low profile with a heatsink, so that does fit in a normal height slot. But these new 6500/6600 cards are 2 slots...where as the older 5600 cards were one slot.

I'm currently having a change around on my setups. I'm making my 5670 passive into a fan based card (to get the height down to fit in a case), but I'm converting a 6670 fan card to be passive... (so its silent, standard height and a single slot) *strange arent I*

J.