Completed Antec Fusion based HTPC (1 Viewer)

[IanJ]

Hi all,

I've had SKY Tv since the analogue days, and a SKY subscription just about all that time. Some may say "what a waste of money", and to some extent I have to agree as some of the channels are a load of rubbish. Besides I probably only watch a select few these days. In addition, there seems to be just too many boxes below my TV, so I decided to do something about it.

I set about trying to find an alternative and came to the conclusion that it is a HTPC that I need, and with the following requisite:

* Satellite / Freeview feed.
* HD.
* SKY+ functionality, i.e. record one programme whilst watching another etc.
* DVD player.
* Media Centre functionality, i.e. photo viewer, juke box & video playback.
* 1-box does all.
* Wife friendly (must be easy to use).

The plan was to replace my existing SKY HD box, DVD Player and TviX6500A Digital Jukebox with this new system, and one which is reliable/robust enough to remain powered up 24/7.

The hardware etc.:

* 2off Hauppauge WinTV NOVA-HD-S2 video capture cards.
* Hauppauge NOVA-S-USB2 - An additional LNB on the satellite dish enables me to pick up HOTBIRD (13E) channels.
* Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-900 - A FreeView box.
* Antec Fusion case (black) c/w VFD & remote control.
* 500w PSU (CIC high efficiency, whisper quiet).
* 1tb 3.5" Sata HD (enterprise spec for 24/7 functionality) - for the OS.
* 1tb 3.5" Sata HD - for the data.
* Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H motherboard (v1.3) c/w Intel Core i7 860 Skt 1156 Cpu & 4gb PC3-10666 ram.
* ATI Radeon HD5570 1gb PCI-E (overkill, but what the hell !)
* Blu-Ray LG BH10LS30 Sata DVD writer.
* Windows 7 Home Premium.
* HDMI interface to my 42" Panasonic Plasma TV.

I did try a few apps but have finally settled with MediaPortal as it is the most complete.

Some photos:-

 

[mbuzina]

The whole system is quite some overkill. Why use an i7 if an i3 could do it? Why add the gfx board if the on-chip gfx could pull it off? 500 W for an always on piece is quite something, please go outside and plant some trees ;-)

I would swap the 1GB OS drive for an SSD drive of 60 GB which should improve overall responsiveness.

 

[IanJ]

The whole system is quite some overkill. Why use an i7 if an i3 could do it? Why add the gfx board if the on-chip gfx could pull it off? 500 W for an always on piece is quite something, please go outside and plant some trees ;-)

I would swap the 1GB OS drive for an SSD drive of 60 GB which should improve overall responsiveness.

Thanks for the tips.....

i7 = Just because!.....Actually, it started life with an i3 but I wanted to speed up the few processor intensive sides that did exist. And, having run both the i7 is definitely a bit sweeter.

gfx board = The on-board Intel GPU wasn't playing ball with my Panasonic Tv (hdmi) despite updating drivers etc. Overscan & recovering from Tv powering down were issues amongst others. The ATI is much better and has more reliable drivers.
Note: Unlike the i3 the i7 doesn't have an internal GPU.

SSD = Possibly, but until I've nailed down what other apps or what else I do with the PC etc I'd rather stick with the HD for now.

Thanks,

Ian.

 

[Klez]

AW: Antec Fusion based HTPC

Sorry, but for me THIS is not a good solution...

PSU: overpowered
i7: overpowered and i guess its 99% of time in idle-mode
Boxed-cooler: wtf?!

 

[wonkyd]

One thing I have wondered about the new fusions is that since they no longer come with a PSU do you have to now mount a normal PSU, but upside down? Surely that would have implications on it's cooling capabilities as it isn't the orientation the manufacturer intended?

 

[porky996t]

Mine didn't come with a PSU - and it was an easy install to place a PSU in there. Just 4 screws IIRC fasten it to the rear plate of the case. Mine has the fan on top. I think it could go either way up really.

 

[Peter2]

Shouldn't the fan be at the bottom?!

 

[IanJ]

Hi,

I've been in & out of my case and it's always pretty cool in there.

Fan must go to top:-

 

[Jay_UK]

Takes me back to when I built mine....

Although I don't have a CPU fan and I only have one case fan (swapped for a noctua) running at 500 rpm.

J.

 

[Fraiser]

AW: Antec Fusion based HTPC

Hi,

i would suggest you to replace the original 120mm cooler on the side. I have changed
mine for a few weeks to 2 be quiet with 4pin connector for the moatherboard fan power
supplie with speed control. Now i can control the speed by software (speed fan) and i can not hear
my system! I have always changed the cpu cooler to an arctic cooling with speed control!

I think also that the i7 is a little bit over powered but that's only a question of time
till it's too slow

Fraiser