Need suggestion for HTPC case

karhoe · 30th Jun 2008, 02:22 AM

Hi guys, I plan to get a HTPC to put in the living room with a decent 720p LCD TV(already have) . My budget for everything including wireless adapter, wireless keyboard and mouse is RM1500. So what parts do you suggest?

Below are my opinions

Processor - Athlon 64 X2 5200+ RM240

Motherboard - Asus M3A78EMH RM300 (has onboard HDMI)

Hard Disk - Western Digital 320GB - RM185

RAM - Team Elite DDR2 800 1GB x 2 - RM165

Power Supply - Silverstone ST400 - RM160

DVDRW - Pioneer SATA DVDRW RM110

Logitech EX110 Wireless Desktop - RM125

TV TUNER - Pixel View TV TUNER - RM150

USB WiFi adapter - Belkin Wifi USB - RM90

Total before casing - RM1525

Casing - looking for those which can be put flat down (desktop), if possible with media buttons like this HTPC casing, but I also need them to be cheap, below RM150 if possible.

Thanks guys

Chai · 30th Jun 2008, 08:21 AM

What is the main purpose of the HTPC?

karhoe · 30th Jun 2008, 10:25 AM

Some websurfing, recording astro, watching movies, on9. But I would like to run Aero and have Windows Dream Scene on.

So the OS I would be running is Vista Ultimate.

Chai · 30th Jun 2008, 11:35 AM

I think you need more HDD space.

Adrian Wong · 30th Jun 2008, 12:34 PM

Yeah, I don't think 320 GB will be enough...

karhoe · 30th Jun 2008, 02:02 PM

Hmm, I guess won't store much videos, so I guess 320GB is enough at the moment, but thanks for the suggestion though.

The specs should be sufficient to run AERO smoothly right?

Any of you have experience connecting PC to LCD TV, do I have to set custom resolution cause LCD resolutions have aspect ratios of 16:9 compared to PC 16:10.

Or do I get to NVIDIA control panel and tick the option that sends the signal as HDTV?

Thanks

mikegas · 30th Jun 2008, 03:06 PM

Hmm ... good idea.. my next build after getting LCD TV ..since I got an extra mobo ..

Chai · 30th Jun 2008, 03:13 PM

Most graphics card should support 1280x720 which is the 720p res.

It really depends what do you want from a HTPC.

karhoe · 30th Jun 2008, 04:13 PM

Apparently the mobo is based on AMD 780 chipset, so that means using Catalyst driver.

Is it easy to configure catalyst to work properly with LCD TV?

Why are there different 720 resolutions?

1366 x 768, 1360 x 768, 1280 x 720

Chai · 30th Jun 2008, 04:36 PM

There's only 1 720p, which is 1280x720. And there's only 1 1080p, which is 1920x1080.

30th Jun 2008, 02:22 AM	#1 (permalink)
karhoe I'm a regular Join Date: 29 Nov 2006 Posts: 293 Reputation: 11 Rep Power: 2	Need suggestion for HTPC case Hi guys, I plan to get a HTPC to put in the living room with a decent 720p LCD TV(already have) . My budget for everything including wireless adapter, wireless keyboard and mouse is RM1500. So what parts do you suggest? Below are my opinions Processor - Athlon 64 X2 5200+ RM240 Motherboard - Asus M3A78EMH RM300 (has onboard HDMI) Hard Disk - Western Digital 320GB - RM185 RAM - Team Elite DDR2 800 1GB x 2 - RM165 Power Supply - Silverstone ST400 - RM160 DVDRW - Pioneer SATA DVDRW RM110 Logitech EX110 Wireless Desktop - RM125 TV TUNER - Pixel View TV TUNER - RM150 USB WiFi adapter - Belkin Wifi USB - RM90 Total before casing - RM1525 Casing - looking for those which can be put flat down (desktop), if possible with media buttons like this HTPC casing, but I also need them to be cheap, below RM150 if possible. Thanks guys __________________ My Blog

30th Jun 2008, 08:21 AM	#2 (permalink)
Chai Administrator Join Date: 6 Oct 2002 Location: Maranello Posts: 26,662 Reputation: 3984 Rep Power: 72	What is the main purpose of the HTPC? __________________ Chai (Contributor & Forum Admin) http://www.techarp.com/

30th Jun 2008, 10:25 AM	#3 (permalink)
karhoe I'm a regular Join Date: 29 Nov 2006 Posts: 293 Reputation: 11 Rep Power: 2	Some websurfing, recording astro, watching movies, on9. But I would like to run Aero and have Windows Dream Scene on. So the OS I would be running is Vista Ultimate. __________________ My Blog

30th Jun 2008, 11:35 AM	#4 (permalink)
Chai Administrator Join Date: 6 Oct 2002 Location: Maranello Posts: 26,662 Reputation: 3984 Rep Power: 72	I think you need more HDD space. __________________ Chai (Contributor & Forum Admin) http://www.techarp.com/

30th Jun 2008, 12:34 PM	#5 (permalink)
Adrian Wong Da Boss Join Date: 10 Oct 2002 Location: In front of my BenQ Joybook 7000 notebook! Posts: 29,939 Reputation: 2958 Rep Power: 65	Yeah, I don't think 320 GB will be enough... __________________ Dr. Adrian Wong Tech ARP \| Blog @ Tech ARP \| The Free Trade Zone DYKT : The only offshore account I have is at the sand bank? Keep Tech ARP free! Visit our sponsors! We need PROGRAMMERS and TECHNICAL WRITERS! Contact us if you are a hot shot programmer or technical writer! My items for sale : 50x SD Card \| Memory Stick PRO \| Cyclone Energy Saver \| Seiko SS watch \| Tiger/Carlsberg beer jugs \| Travel Speakers \| Motorola V600 \| Nokia N90 SOLD! \| New Lowepro Mini Trekker AW Other items for sale @ the FTZ : Zalman CNPS9500 LED @ $20 \| Zalman CNPS7700 Cu @ $20 \| Zalman CNPS7000 Cu @ $20 \| Swarovski bracelet watches \| Dell 17" LCD \| Hi-Fi speakers \| English DIVX movies \| HP LaserJet toners! \| Office chairs

30th Jun 2008, 02:02 PM	#6 (permalink)
karhoe I'm a regular Join Date: 29 Nov 2006 Posts: 293 Reputation: 11 Rep Power: 2	Hmm, I guess won't store much videos, so I guess 320GB is enough at the moment, but thanks for the suggestion though. The specs should be sufficient to run AERO smoothly right? Any of you have experience connecting PC to LCD TV, do I have to set custom resolution cause LCD resolutions have aspect ratios of 16:9 compared to PC 16:10. Or do I get to NVIDIA control panel and tick the option that sends the signal as HDTV? Thanks __________________ My Blog

30th Jun 2008, 03:06 PM	#7 (permalink)
mikegas I'm a regular Join Date: 7 May 2008 Posts: 325 Reputation: 206 Rep Power: 3	Hmm ... good idea.. my next build after getting LCD TV ..since I got an extra mobo ..

30th Jun 2008, 03:13 PM	#8 (permalink)
Chai Administrator Join Date: 6 Oct 2002 Location: Maranello Posts: 26,662 Reputation: 3984 Rep Power: 72	Most graphics card should support 1280x720 which is the 720p res. It really depends what do you want from a HTPC. __________________ Chai (Contributor & Forum Admin) http://www.techarp.com/

30th Jun 2008, 04:13 PM	#9 (permalink)
karhoe I'm a regular Join Date: 29 Nov 2006 Posts: 293 Reputation: 11 Rep Power: 2	Apparently the mobo is based on AMD 780 chipset, so that means using Catalyst driver. Is it easy to configure catalyst to work properly with LCD TV? Why are there different 720 resolutions? 1366 x 768, 1360 x 768, 1280 x 720 __________________ My Blog

30th Jun 2008, 04:36 PM	#10 (permalink)
Chai Administrator Join Date: 6 Oct 2002 Location: Maranello Posts: 26,662 Reputation: 3984 Rep Power: 72	There's only 1 720p, which is 1280x720. And there's only 1 1080p, which is 1920x1080. __________________ Chai (Contributor & Forum Admin) http://www.techarp.com/

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