United States of America
Alright, I figure its about time to post my updated Media Portal HTPC
I started off with the Silverstone LC11B-M case. Its the "multimedia" version of the case with the nifty LCD on the front of it and comes with a iMon remote.
Originally I had a standard microAtx motherboard in there with a silent video card but it kept over-heating and the fans were REALLY loud. so I decided to switch over to using a mobile on desktop solution. A couple other users here on the forum have done this as well.
The board I chose was the MSI 945gt Speedster. It supports the core solo, core duo, and core 2 duo CPUs as well as 4GB of memory. It also has an optional expansion board if you wanted to use it in a desktop system.
I added a core duo T2300 1.66Ghz processor. After updating the BIOS on the board I found that I can use a core2duo processor and plan on upgrading to that in the future.
Along with the processor I chose to go with 2GB of Crucial DDR2 667 RAM on a single stick so I can upgrade to the max. 4GB at a later date.
For storage I have a single 500GB SATA Western Digital Hard drive. After about a month's usage, its now almost full of TV shows.
I think I'll be adding a 1TG drive in here soon.
For video I chose to go with the built-in Intel GMA950 since it will play 720 HD content without a problem. I don't plan on doing much gaming on this machine, but it is hard to resist the temptation to play BF2 on a 42" screen. LOL. Before I had this system, I'd plug my laptop into the TV to play BF2 on. (it has a 7600 go video card and plays BF2 and Gears of War great!) But I digress, no fancy connections to the TV here, simply using the standard VGA cable with a resolution of 1280 x 720.
I chose the same path for audio as I did for video. Go with the on-board. I have the system hooked up to a computer 4.1 surround sound system and it works well.
For disc reading I have an plain Jane black DVD / CDRW drive. I plan on upgrading it to a Blu-ray drive now that the feud between blu-ray and HD-DVD seems to have been settled with BR as the champ.
Since the computer is located on the opposite side of the house as the router, I knew I'd need a wireless card. So off to Best Buy to purchase a $8 Dynex wireless G card. Hey, it works. No need to spend 2 - 3 times that for a card that does the same thing.
Anyway, here's a couple pics during install. I'll post some more pics after I borrow my roommate's camera.
This one's after the mainboard was installed with HDD and optical drive. You'll notice that the optical drive is upside-down. This is because when the case is sitting all put together, everything is flipped. (the panel that's off of the case is actually the bottom of the case)
This is after everything is installed and I was about to button it all up.
Anyway, I've had the computer up and running for a while now without any heating problems at all. It's sitting inside of a TV stand with only the front having access to cool air. But, even so, the system is cool to the touch.
I started off with the Silverstone LC11B-M case. Its the "multimedia" version of the case with the nifty LCD on the front of it and comes with a iMon remote.
Originally I had a standard microAtx motherboard in there with a silent video card but it kept over-heating and the fans were REALLY loud. so I decided to switch over to using a mobile on desktop solution. A couple other users here on the forum have done this as well.
The board I chose was the MSI 945gt Speedster. It supports the core solo, core duo, and core 2 duo CPUs as well as 4GB of memory. It also has an optional expansion board if you wanted to use it in a desktop system.
I added a core duo T2300 1.66Ghz processor. After updating the BIOS on the board I found that I can use a core2duo processor and plan on upgrading to that in the future.
Along with the processor I chose to go with 2GB of Crucial DDR2 667 RAM on a single stick so I can upgrade to the max. 4GB at a later date.
For storage I have a single 500GB SATA Western Digital Hard drive. After about a month's usage, its now almost full of TV shows.
I think I'll be adding a 1TG drive in here soon.For video I chose to go with the built-in Intel GMA950 since it will play 720 HD content without a problem. I don't plan on doing much gaming on this machine, but it is hard to resist the temptation to play BF2 on a 42" screen. LOL. Before I had this system, I'd plug my laptop into the TV to play BF2 on. (it has a 7600 go video card and plays BF2 and Gears of War great!) But I digress, no fancy connections to the TV here, simply using the standard VGA cable with a resolution of 1280 x 720.
I chose the same path for audio as I did for video. Go with the on-board. I have the system hooked up to a computer 4.1 surround sound system and it works well.
For disc reading I have an plain Jane black DVD / CDRW drive. I plan on upgrading it to a Blu-ray drive now that the feud between blu-ray and HD-DVD seems to have been settled with BR as the champ.
Since the computer is located on the opposite side of the house as the router, I knew I'd need a wireless card. So off to Best Buy to purchase a $8 Dynex wireless G card. Hey, it works. No need to spend 2 - 3 times that for a card that does the same thing.
Anyway, here's a couple pics during install. I'll post some more pics after I borrow my roommate's camera.
This one's after the mainboard was installed with HDD and optical drive. You'll notice that the optical drive is upside-down. This is because when the case is sitting all put together, everything is flipped. (the panel that's off of the case is actually the bottom of the case)
This is after everything is installed and I was about to button it all up.
Anyway, I've had the computer up and running for a while now without any heating problems at all. It's sitting inside of a TV stand with only the front having access to cool air. But, even so, the system is cool to the touch.
