What's a Good Spec for HTPC? (1 Viewer)

[KidKiwi]

Hi - I'm wondering what a good spec would be for a HTPC - something that is going to get a resonable amount of longevity without buying the latest, coolest, loudest, wizz-bang thing out there. Not much point spending unnecessary money on overkill hardware when it can be better spent on music or DVD's.

Any reason to buy Intel over AMD (I'm leaning toward AMD at present). What about RAM speed? (Last time I brought a puter there seemed to be only two types). What about dual-core chips - any reason to go for them?

The HTPC will be stand-alone, used mostly for HD-based DVD watching, TV recording (Say 4 tuners), pics and music.

Have I forgotten anything?

Thanks for your input - KidKiwi

 

[vbap]

Well, the MP min. requirements are always a good place to start. You can then always up the specs from there, depending on what sort of priorities you place on things like:

• Noise
  Size/Looks
  Budget

Plus any other contraints (eg want to use a spare Intel socket478 motherboard I have lying around...)

If i was building new now, i would look for something using AMD64 venice core (great for low noise), in a micro-atx format (with all the issues that will bring!!).

 

[KidKiwi]

Well, the MP min. requirements are always a good place to start. You can then always up the specs from there, depending on what sort of priorities you place on things like:

Noise
Size/Looks
Budget


Plus any other contraints (eg want to use a spare Intel socket478 motherboard I have lying around...)

If i was building new now, i would look for something using AMD64 venice core (great for low noise), in a micro-atx format (with all the issues that will bring!!).

Thx for the reply

I don't intend to have the HTPC in the same room as the theatre so don't really care about the noise, size or looks. The budget isn't really that important either - if you want something you just accept what it'll cost - with some shopping around of course. Naturally, I don't want overkill and the latest chips, MB's etc are a lot more expensive than something a little more sane.

The min. specs of MP are a good place to start, however, I've never had a HTPC so I have no idea what sort of resources are needed for various functions. The better capture cards seem to have onboard resources, but what about watching a DVD while recording etc (how much resource do I need to be watching a DVD in one room while wife is listening to music in another - all the while recording two different TV shows?)

As always, just looking for some advice. Thx - KidKiwi

 

[vbap]

When I researched, I read a bit from www.htpcnews.com, esp. the proven hardware list. It's a bit out of date now, but still, some great info.