Help Needed on Mediaportal Hardware decisions (1 Viewer)

[phillip1983]

Hi All,

after testing media portal and a few plugin's i have desided to use Mediaportal as my Media Centre Software of choice.

I have tested it on some hardware i have around the house and have desided to buy a proper HTPC.

I have been on Ebay and have found a seller who will build me one up, but i would like to know other peoples thoughts on the spec, and if any one has anything like it to let me know of any performance issues?

My initial spec:-

Fujitsu Siemens Scaleo E HTPC Case
P4 3.0Ghz Single Core 2mb Cache CPU
3GB Corsair PC3200 DDR memory
Pinnacle PCTV 2000i Pro Dual DVB-T OR Hauppauge Nova-T 500 dual digital Tuner
20x DVd Rewriter
320GB SATA HDD

Please can you comment on the above and suggest any improvements or any compatability issuses.

Many Thanks
Phil

 

[dcwp]

What sort of motherboard are you using? Graphic card or integrated? And are you planning on using this machine for High Definition content?

This system will probably get you going, but I personally would spend a few extra bucks on a dual core processor. Even a low-power one will be helpful if you're planning to do any high def or upgrading in the future. I'd personally also go for a larger HDD if you're planning to store much media, but that can always be added later and 320 will definitely be enough to get you started.

Welcome to MediaPortal!

 

[jsimmons]

I've been building my own systems since 1986. Building a HTPC is actually quite easy compared to building a gaming rig. Generally, you should buy the best system you can possibly afford. Set a budget and stick to it. However, you should be prepared to spend at least $500 on the parts and an OS (depending on what you're going to use it for). You can probably build your own box (there really isn't any need to have some other guy do it for you). It's almost impossible to assemble incorrectly if you're even just partly self-aware.

I'm a programmer, all of my lists start at "0"...

0) Get at least a dual core system. The dual core chips available today run much cooler than the P4s do. You can save money by going with AMD (they're generally less expensive than a similarly spec'd Intel CPU).

1) Spread out the hard drives. In other words, get a much smaller (capacity) drive to use as a boot drive, and put all of your media on much larger drives.

2) For a boot drive, I'd recommend a 2.5-inch laptop SATA2 drive. They run cool and quiet. You should be able to get one in the 100-160gb range for a reasonable price. For storage drives, I would recommend nothing smaller than 1TB, and highly recommend the Western Digital W10EADS "green" unit. Remember, hard drive speed isn't an issue in a HTPC, and these drives run cool and quiet (notice the recurring theme here?), and they provide a LOT of storage space for less than $90 at NewEgg. I have three of these in my HTPC.

3) Don't cheap out on the motherboard. Get a quality part from a name-brand manufacturer. I have an Asus (check my "My System" link in this message) in my HTPC, and it's a great board. It's got everything you should need for a basic HTPC (bnetworking, HDMI out, and plenty of USB connections and SATA2 ports).

4) Depending on your needs, you may need to purchase an add-on video card. Fortunately, you can get very capable cards for very reasonable money nowadays. I got one that has HDMI, is HDCP compliant, and doesn't have a cooling fan - I think it cost $60.

6) Don't forget about control devices, such as a remote control, and wireless keyboard/mouse. Added up, these things will cost you about $100.

7) Networking - a decent wireless USB adapter will set you back about $60.

8) Memory - get 4GB. Memory is dirt-cheap so there's no excuse not to get this much.

9) As far as OS is concerned, that's a toss up and your selection between XP and Vista should be based on an honest self-assessment of your tinkering skills where software is concerned. You *will* run into problems. Period. That's just the nature of system building.

10) Always perform due diligence where compatibility is concerned (drivers, OS, and hardware). Do NOT be afraid to get exactly what someone else is using if it looks like it works well.


I don't use my HTPC for TV because I have satellite with a DVR, and there was simply less to worry about by keeping the TV discrete. So, my HTPC serves as nothing more than an over-powered "media tank". I have three 1TB drives holding over 400 CD's worth of music, 313 movies, and several TV Show complete sets, and I have room to add about 150 more movies. before running out of disc space.

Because I was careful with my component selection, the system runs extremely cool and makes no noise at all (the cooling fan in my TV is much louder than my HTPC).

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

 

[norjms]

Words of Caution

I would look to offer some words of advice.

1. Avoid wireless at all costs if HDTV or other HD sources are in your future. In most cases a wireless signal is insuffecient for streaming.

Streaming video over a network

2. Also a word about what CPU you will choose for your HTPC rig. Quad cores... Your CPU will be a main compenent for decoding and transcoding the video for you main HTPC and any clients.

3. I would think about the case you use aswell. Unless you happen to have a server on your network. The case you linked seems to only have one hard drive slot. I am just speaking for myself but, storing digital media is like an adiction. You always want more and there is never enough. Consider a case like this one.

LC17

It isn't that expensive and it takes a full size motherboad has plentiful hard drive slots standard ATX power supply and above all looks nice doing it...(helps with the wife factor)

4. Memmory 3GB is enough for XP 32bit anything more is wasted and not addressable by the OS.

5. The tuner of choice in my house is a 3 tuner matrix.

Hauppauge pvr-150
Link

and

Silicondust HDHomerun
Link

One thing I've noticed with HTPC's is once you have started a media collection you want it anywhere you have a TV not just on the one TV you started on. That being said consider you network...think gigabit! Ensure every motherboard you have for the network is gigabit compliant you will thank me later. If you need more suggestions or idea just pm me or post here. Keep asking alot of questions...I'm sure there are alot of us who wish we could make all our purchases over since after you start a setup you find out what does and doesn't work.

 

[Owlsroost]

Avoid P4 CPUs - they run hot (=noisy fan) and any modern dual-core CPU would beat a 'P4 3.0Ghz Single Core' hands-down using just one core - and use a lot less power doing it too...

Tony

 

[Matrix Orbtl]

There is really excellent Feedback here, and i think the comments are Spot on.

as jsimmons suggested, and I can tell you this one from experience, use a seperate drive as your boot/os drive.
That way if anything should happen to that, or you need to re-install your OS, there is no need to worry about your media collection, just format and go.

Also as suggested by another user

Stay away from Wireless, I've experimented with Media Streaming over wireless to get it into some other rooms, but it just doesn't work as good as a wired connection, personally I have gigabit in the house, which is great for HD.

6) Don't forget about control devices, such as a remote control, and wireless keyboard/mouse. Added up, these things will cost you about $100.

This might seem like some selfish promotion, but don't forget to check out a Matrix Orbital Typhoon series
( Matrix Orbital Serial LCD & USB LCD modules, Serial Graphic LCD Interface, Serial VFD & USB VFD modules, Serial PLED & USB PLED displays and Parallel LCD displays )

Good Luck !