HTPC Remodelling Project (1 Viewer)

[TheClaus]

I am looking to gut my old HTPC and upgrade it and was wondering if anyone can see any problems with the following hardware. I looking for my new HTPC to do the following.

• Use of HDMI instead of VGA for connection to TV
• Ability to play 720p content
• Ability to play DivX/XviD content

Here is what I am thinking of getting. I went to newegg for most of my equipment.

• APEVIA ATXB1KL-BK/420 Black/ Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ATX 420W power supply for AMD/Intel Power Supply - Retail
• ECS BLACK SERIES A780GM-A AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
• AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Brisbane 2.3GHz Socket AM2 Dual-Core Processor Model ADO4400IAA5DU - OEM
• COOLER MASTER RR-CCH-P912-GP 92mm Sleeve CPU Cooler - Retail
• G.SKILL 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model F2-6400PHU1-1GBNR - Retail

I am taking from my old HTPC a 160gb PATA HDD and a DVD ROM PATA drive. All my media is stored on on a 1.5TB NAS running FreeNAS.

I am not too concerned about the case looking like a DVD Player. For me functionality is what I want more than style. My HTPC now is an Compaq D530

While it does an okay job I am pushing it over its limits. Playing 720p content via CoreAVC is taxing the CPU as you can hear the fan wind way up.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks

Claus

 

[dcwp]

I'm sure this will do everything you want. If you're worried about noise, the PSU on that case could be a problem. It doesn't list any specs, but my experience has been that stock PSUs run hot and noisy. Might be worth an aftermarket at some point.

Funny, I thought there were AMD boards with integrated HD 4550 graphics, but I don't see one now that I'm looking.

What about audio? Are you just planning to run it through the TV speakers?

 

[TheClaus]

Currently I have been running everything through the TV. When I get a chance I'll be getting a A/V Receiver and use that for surround sound.

Thanks for the information on the power supply i'll keep that in mind.

I had another question since I am going with onboard video should I get another GB of ram so that way the card can use whatever it needs?

 

[dcwp]

Another gig of RAM is probably a good idea. I just started using onboard graphics (a GeForce 9300 chipset) and it sucks down about 512 for graphics processing. You'd probably notice a slowdown with effectively only 512 left for your processor.

If you're hoping to upgrade your audio in the future, it also might be a good idea to find a MoBo with digital or optical audio outputs. I'm still very much a newbie when it comes to audio, but from what I gather SPDIF or some form of digital output is quite useful if you're going to run through a receiver.

 

[TheClaus]

I'll keep that in mind. Audio is one of those things that I am completely a noob about.

Thanks

Claus