Completed My HTPC (1 Viewer)

[christiand]

My objective was to build a small, low power htpc but that can display full HD movies. I think I did quite well and keeping the budget still fairly low.

case: silverstonetek lc19 (black)
motherboard: gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H
cpu: amd athlon x2 4850e (45 watt)
cpu cooler: silverstonetek NT07-AM
memory: Corsair 4GB DDR2 (2X2GB) PC6400 800Mhz CL4
hdd: wester digital Caviar GP WD10EACS 1 TB
dvd: slimline dvd burner
keyboard: Microsoft MCE keyboard (infrared)
remote: Microsoft MCE remote (infrared)
tv tuner: 2x firedtv terestterial

total costs are around 650 euro without the tuners. In america you will probably build it alot cheaper then us europeans.

I just configured everything. Operating is windows vista and as a mediacenter offcourse its Mediaportal. I did some downclocking by undervolting the cpu to 1.0 volt and a cpu multiplier of 10x instead of 12.5x so it runs at 2,0 GHz instead of 2,5 GHz.
Also downclocked the igp towards 400 MHz instead of 500 MHz.

The power readings I did are max 70 watt. It idles around 52 watt. I think I could tune it a bit lower. The case is great, but the powerbrick that converts changing currency to single uses around 9 watt just by being plugged in. Thought they could have made that a whole lot better.

All with all I can recommend this build to anyone. Its a very nice small htpc that will just fit under your tv or on the amp. Also the power usage is well below a normal pc but it will let you play Full HD movies. Also boot time is quite fast.

 

[joystick]

Nice, but how are you controlling yout htpc remotely? Because there is no IR receiver in the front, right?
I am looking for a similar setup for my bedroom atm.

 

[christiand]

Nice, but how are you controlling yout htpc remotely? Because there is no IR receiver in the front, right?
I am looking for a similar setup for my bedroom atm.

From a former build I have a usb ir blaster which sits below my tv almost out of sight. Controlling is done with the mce keyboard or mce remote. I am also experimenting with a Logitech Harmony 1000, but do find myself getting the mce remote faster cause of the more direct buttons.

 

[isnosche]

Hi, first of all, really nice build

I was looking for a very similar setup, Is it possible to put in a e-sata card because i plan to use the silverstone external DS351.
Lost redirect

Also i have a vaio fz 31M with a blue ray player, i'm planning on using that and replacing the one in my laptop with a regular dvd writer.
Will this work properly.

AMD has just released a quad cpu that uses 65 w , will the PSU be able to handle this ? Phenom 9100e

Thank you so much in advance, Greetings from belguim.

 

[christiand]

I think it shouldnt be a problem to use a 65 watt cpu. The PSU is capable of handling 120 watt and the highest my htpc has is 80 watt when full load. When I undervolted everything it wont come above 70 watt. But that is with 2 x firedtv external tuners which take around 10 watt each. With this case you get different riser cards so you can insert a different pci or pci express card.

About the e-sata interface. Just take the gigabyte motherboard cause on its own backplane is already an e-sata interface. You shouldnt have a problem to connect the silverstone external DS351. (corrected sentence. thx isnosche)

Maybe the silverstone cw02 (http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=cw02&area=) is something for you. I have this case also and its big, but I think its somehow the same size as my htpc and a ds351 together. De CW02 can fit in 6 harddisk and it will give you a whole lot more flexibility in placing computer components.

 

[isnosche]

I wont be able to connect the Silverstone DS351?
Why is that ? i was really looking forward to this set.
How happy are you with your external tuners? any specific reason you chose then (kinda new at this)
Thank you for the swift reply

 

[christiand]

Isnosche, I made a type. I meant that you shouldnt have a problem connecting it.

About the tuners I am pretty happy with them. Its the most stable solution for viewing encrypted channels.

 

[Marcusb]

Hi Christiand, from you other post I can see that you want to conserve as much power as possible.
What I do with my Athlon is to use RMClock. It's free and allows you to specify all the power modes your cpu can use. It also allows you to set northbridge low power modes. This way you don't have to be stuck with an undervolt when you may need more power.

Mine runs at 1GHz and I have set %'s that the CPU is allowed to cycle up the speed.
It also gives more access to windows power settings as well.

 

[christiand]

thank you for the tip. Will read up on this tool and probably will use it.

 

[styriaman]

Hi Christand,

I'm planning to build a similar HTPC - and have 4 questions.
How Is the noise level of your HTPC if you play/record contents which needs more CPU power (bluyray?, HDTV content ore else)
Is the case (capable to install a single PCI card - planning to use my Skystar2) without a thermic problems
And is it possible to start the HTPC from the MCE remote?
Do plan to use a slimline blueray drive in the future?

Thanks in advance

Regards

Joe