MY HTPC setup(alpha)

Ok This is what I have so far any recdommendations welcome

motherboard - [/color2df098a934]
http//www.clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=A4803025&cmp=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r

CPU -[/color2df098a934]
e6600 or q6600 - leaning towards the e for less power and heat

HD -[/color2df098a934]
160 gig WD

PSU -[/color2df098a934]
550 W
http//www.pricegrabber.com/rd.php/pg=~~3/r=422/z=11803/m=29561329/q=n/mt=~3~129.60~114.00~122.85~1~1~/k=bba95c7373d9af5d6a4578cbc9343659

Case -[/color2df098a934]
Lian LI
http//www.lian-li.com/product/product06.php?pr_index=78&cl_index=1&sc_index=1&ss_index=34&type=a
http//www.pricegrabber.com/rd.php/pg=~~3/r=422/z=11803/m=27671246/q=n/mt=~3~149.99~134.99~141.33~1~1~/k=b88dcd528c0f05b61e5d458c1939db3b/search=PC-C30

Memory -[/color2df098a934]
http//www.pricegrabber.com/rd.php/pg=p~~1/r=280/z=11803/m=20074758/q=n/mt=~20~235.65~112.00~140.73~1~2~/k=c32d3cfda05f26d021991fead4e344e0/search=6400

Video card-[/color2df098a934]
decided to go with the MSI 7300 with HDMI out as Dmorris recommended.

I was thinking of going with a budget machine but figured I might as well spend the funds to build a mor future proof pc.

I am going cheap on the vc for now and think I should be able to upgrade in the future if I do wish to incorporate gaming into my setup.

Please advise if anything looks wrong or if their are better parts availible

What made you pick that case? I've been looking at Silverstone cases for a while, but am open to other ideas as well.

Bigger hard drive

[quotecd1bcb4a9b="doylnea"]What made you pick that case? I've been looking at Silverstone cases for a while, but am open to other ideas as well.[/quotecd1bcb4a9b]

someone at avs recommended in the low end scale cases. I'm not really looking to spending over $150 on a case right now

[quotecd1bcb4a9b="tylerc"]Bigger hard drive[/quotecd1bcb4a9b]

of course will upgrade with a few 500G in the future but just to get this setup started I think I'll be fine with 160g... partitioning the operating system on one side and leaving music/misc videos on the other. I have like 40+ gigs of basketball games and highlights

[quote5894975ca0="good2speed"][quote5894975ca0="doylnea"]What made you pick that case? I've been looking at Silverstone cases for a while, but am open to other ideas as well.[/quote5894975ca0]

someone at avs recommended in the low end scale cases. I'm not really looking to spending over $150 on a case right now

[quote5894975ca0="tylerc"]Bigger hard drive[/quote5894975ca0]

of course will upgrade with a few 500G in the future but just to get this setup started I think I'll be fine with 160g... partitioning the operating system on one side and leaving music/misc videos on the other. I have like 40+ gigs of basketball games and highlights[/quote5894975ca0]

I'll have to take a look at AVS again for some case recommendations then. FWIW, an hour of SD TV in HQ record mode on MCE is about 8GB. It's pretty easy to burn through HD space. You can buy a 500GB SATA for $100 almost everywhere now - it's a worthwhile investment.

[quote411459bcbc="doylnea"]

I'll have to take a look at AVS again for some case recommendations then. FWIW, an hour of SD TV in HQ record mode on MCE is about 8GB. It's pretty easy to burn through HD space. You can buy a 500GB SATA for $100 almost everywhere now - it's a worthwhile investment.[/quote411459bcbc]

ya I will get the 500g later. I know they are cheap..not waiting for a price drop. Just wasn't expecting to spend so much money on the case and PSU. Also on avs they recommend getting a 160g to store the OS. I will be able to add a 2nd or 3rd drive in the future so it's not of necessity right now, especially since I don't get any HD(cable) for my LCD anyways. Once I want to upgrade with tuners, extra HD's, etc I'll do so later on.

BTW what does one do with a best buy gift card if they don't plan on purchasing anything from that rip off store?

Sell that GC on eBay.

Is there a thread with case discussion, or is everything jumbled up there?

[quoted1dc8215e3="doylnea"]Sell that GC on eBay.

Is there a thread with case discussion, or is everything jumbled up there?[/quoted1dc8215e3]

It's in this gigantic thread

http//www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=710828

just search for this term

There are several factors in selecting a HTPC case form factor, ventilation

how much are you paying for that 160 hdd? I only paid 80 bucks for a 400 gig sata drive the other month

from that thread I linked earlier from avs

[quotee38e0f0b23]Factors to consider when selecting a HDD, besides capacity, are performance, noise and heat dissipation, reliability and warranty period. I picked some of recent models in each drive capacity, in particular from the viewpoint of low noise and low heat dissipation. Currently a 250GB or 320GB drive is the sweet spot and good for the single drive setup (possibly with a partition for OS and the other partition for data). A 160GB drive is good for storing OS, along with separate large drives for storing data.[/colore38e0f0b23][/quotee38e0f0b23]

From this it seems better to have a smaller drive to store OS and a large drive(500) to store other data.

I think 650 gigs for this setup is more then enough. 1.25 TB if I really need it locally.

Otherwise I plan on building a media server later on with 3-4 tb

[quote1837812529="good2speed"]from that thread I linked earlier from avs

[quote1837812529]Factors to consider when selecting a HDD, besides capacity, are performance, noise and heat dissipation, reliability and warranty period. I picked some of recent models in each drive capacity, in particular from the viewpoint of low noise and low heat dissipation. Currently a 250GB or 320GB drive is the sweet spot and good for the single drive setup (possibly with a partition for OS and the other partition for data). A 160GB drive is good for storing OS, along with separate large drives for storing data.[/color1837812529][/quote1837812529]

From this it seems better to have a smaller drive to store OS and a large drive(500) to store other data.

I think 650 gigs for this setup is more then enough. 1.25 TB if I really need it locally.

Otherwise I plan on building a media server later on with 3-4 tb[/quote1837812529]

If you're only going to put the OS on there, just get an 80GB SATA then. I don't follow HTPCs all that closely, but why not just partition a big drive - partition for the OS, and one for everything else?

In the real world, outside of the absolute freaks of high end HT at AVS, I doubt you'll see a difference in performance by having the media stored on the same drive as your OS, and in particular, if you're not trying to break the bank, an extra 340GB for $40, rather than 500GB for $1-- seems a reasonable decision.

sorry for the delay. The 160g is only 54.00. I guess I could go for a bigger drive but drives are a dime a dozen. I can always upgrade later.

Besides the hd issues is there anything in my setup youd recommend against

WD is a good choice for a HTPC hard drive, they are very quiet and reliable. However, I dont know what kind of HTPC you plan on running on only 160 gb. You need about 320Gb MINIMUM. 320 should get about 90 hours of standard def programming.

[quote9f49486d85="JOSHBOX"]WD is a good choice for a HTPC hard drive, they are very quiet and reliable. However, I dont know what kind of HTPC you plan on running on only 160 gb. You need about 320Gb MINIMUM. 320 should get about 90 hours of standard def programming.[/quote9f49486d85]
I believe he had stated he was only installing the OS to the 160GB drive, which I would agree would be overkill. After the OS, the amount left over for media would be miniscule (in HTPC terms) and would force you to split to another drive letter/partition later when you needed more space. I would instead suggest a small but fast drive for the OS, like a 36GB 10K RPM Raptor -- that way you aren't wasting a ton of extra space but have a super fast drive for OS components and temp/swap space. My primary desktop takes a similar approach a fast 74GB Raptor is the boot/OS drive, partitioned with three different OS's. Nothing goes on this drive but OS stuff and perhaps some drivers. Then I have a 640GB RAID0 array as my D drive for everything else.

For HTPC recordings, music, move rips, and other media, I suggest a RAID or JBOD set. That way you can combine smaller, cheaper drives into a single large partition. Lots of drive space that is accessible from a single drive letter/partition is crucial to HTPC happiness. If you were running mythTV or another Linux solution, I would recommend LVM to combine disks which is what I do with my myth box. Windows supports something similar called dynamic disks but I've heard mixed results from using it, so would probably recommend a RAID/JBOD solution for Windows instead. RAID just makes it harder to expand it later, whereas with LVM you just drop in another disk, add it to the LVM virtual partition, and you automatically have X amount more space on the existing partition.

Aren't the raptors kind of loud though? I heard at least the older ones were, maybe they're no longer so...

I think the 160gig HD is fine for what he wants to do right now. He isn't recording yet and when he does he can add on like he says. In the meantime, he can add a decent amount of xvids.

Besides that, I think everything seems good for a nice HTPC (except the mobo is sold out at clubit for now). Hell, I'd take it over my main PC.

[quote5f8fa3b1df="hehehhehe"]Aren't the raptors kind of loud though? I heard at least the older ones were, maybe they're no longer so...[/quote5f8fa3b1df]
Well, that's a good point. It would depend a lot on the case you put it in I guess. Mine isn't noticeably loud at all, but then again it's not in an HTPC either. My HTPC has some fan noise though that I'm sure would be louder than the Raptor. Every PVR I've had (DirecTivo, MOXI, and now SA 8300HD) as well as my Yamaha receiver have fans that run louder than I'd say a Raptor does too. The only way I think you'd notice is if you put it in a fanless rig and didn't have anything else in your setup that made any noise. Then again, some people are more sensitive to that sort of thing that I am.