Been contemplating one of these fella's for a while now but not really sure on what to go for and moreover where to look.

These seemed to be in abundance a while back with some really nice looking units but they don't seem so popular now.

Not looking to spend a wedge of money, and if it proved worthwhile more than happy to build one.

Don't need anything fancy but it must have a nice case. Room for plenty of storage and a bit of RAM to keep things moving.

I'll probably be looking to use Windows Media, maybe Vista Ultimate which doesn't necessarily need to be included.

Edited 29 December, 200817 yr by VRStu

I had a Hiper Media PC case which looked very smart amongst all of the other stuff under my TV. Can get a bit hot and you need a very low profile cooler but everything else is just normal off the shelf parts.

This link might get you to the correct place:

HIPER - PRODUCTS - HIPERMEDIA

Some companies pre build you a system with a warranty but you obviously pay a premium over a self build.

We use are pc as a media center.

Case wise I use Antec Fusion Black Remote HTPC Case - Black (No PSU) Mine came with a 350watt psu. Loudest part of the pc is the hard disk unless your playing games them the fan on the graphics card kicks in. As for software. Use Vista home premium and use the media center combined with ffdshow for everything except DVD playback as I find the media center poor quality. Use powerDVD instead.

Spec

Intel DG33TL Micro motherboard

Intel Core2 Duo E6320

500GB (case has room for 2)

2GB DDR2-667

ATI 1950XT (used instead of onboard for games but found the onboard fine for video stuff)

I had a Hiper Media PC case which looked very smart amongst all of the other stuff under my TV. Can get a bit hot and you need a very low profile cooler but everything else is just normal off the shelf parts.

This link might get you to the correct place:

HIPER - PRODUCTS - HIPERMEDIA

Some companies pre build you a system with a warranty but you obviously pay a premium over a self build.

I also built a Media PC into one of the low profile Hiper cases, looked the dogs danglies and it was very good.

Heat was a big problem - I ended up using a 2.5" laptop drive as storage space on the box didn't matter to me due to having loads of storage upstairs that was network accessible.

I definitely recommend using a laptop HD but even large 2.5" discs are cheap these days.

And did I mention how darn good it looked?

Also Stu, have a look at Tranquil PC - Home Page

Heard good things about their systems; well designed and thought out. Perhaps not the cheapest solution though...

Steve

Stu, you are becoming the resident UberGeek.. big telly, fancy router, fancy white car and now media centre!

To be honest i dont see the point of media centre (for me anyway) - anything i want to watch thats digital i can watch via the eggbox

anything i want to watch thats digital i can watch via the eggbox

You see that's why I'll never be as bigger geek as you Col, I keep the eggs in the eggbox, in the fridge :P

After some discussion with my IT Associate (Thanks Hedge) Phase 1 is now complete.

The case has been ordered - Antec Fusion Remote Media Centre HTPC Case - Black - £87.95 - AWD-IT.CO.UK

As has the optical drive - LG GGCH20L Super Multi Blu-Ray ROM & HD DVD ROM & DVDRW - OEM - £58.95 - AWD-IT.CO.UK

The recomended spec for the rest is a follows, although has not been purchased yet -

2 x Maxtor DiamondMax 22 SATAII 1TB 32Mb Cache Hard Disk Drive <11.0ms 7200rpm - OEM : nova : MAX-DM1TBS

Asus P5E-VM HDMI Intel G35 Micro-ATX 775 PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard : novatech.co.uk : ASU-P5EVMH

Intel Dual Core E5200 2 x 2.5Ghz 2Mb Cache 800MHz FSB Dual Core Processor : novatech.co.u : IL-E5200

Geil Black Dragon PC2-6400 800Mhz 4GB Kit (2x2GB) : novatech.co.uk : GEL-BD644G

Clearly there are one or two other things such as a power supply but as yet I'm undecided on that.

Nice choose of case I have the two side 120mm fans set to the lowest speed setting. Have no problems with heat and it nice and quiet too.

Just got an asus G45 chipset board for my new game pc I'm putting together (was planning on upgrading the htpc). Wish I'd got a Asus g35 for the htpc in the first place so I could overclock the chip. :( Still might try the bsel mod on it.

is the 350w psu adequate?

I am a fan of Thermaltake PSU's. The Toughpower I have in my current PC is virtually silent but more than man enough for the job.

I think you would need to check connections to make sure it fits your requirements but a 350W should be up to it after all there's not a lot of components to power.

is the 350w psu adequate?

I've had no probs with 1 hard disk and graphics card. Can't see 1 more drive minus graphics card being a problem.

I've read some people don't like the LCD front panel, have you had issues with yours?

It's purely down to personal taste, but I'd never have a maxtor drive again after having about half a dozen fail on me. I tend to use Samsungs (which are pretty quiet). It's probably worth looking at the Western Digital green HDDs as they are more energy efficient, quiet and generate less heat which are all important factors in HTPCs. You don't need the fastest blazing HDD to record and store media files

Also worth thinking about how you want to setup the drives if you have more than one installed.

Would you want tuners to be able to record stuff directly onto the PC or is it purely for a playback device?

edit: I'd be careful with that motherboard, specifically the G35 chipset and the GMA X3500 GPU fitted. It won't really cut the mustard for all the latest 1080p video formats, particularly it doesn't do full VC1 or h.264 video acceleration.

If you want to use a built in graphics, then if it were me, I'd go for something like an Asus P5Q-VM which has the more recent G45 chipset and GMA X4500HD GPU which handles all the latest codecs in hardware.

Have a look here: Quick Reference Guide to Intel® Integrated Graphics - Intel® Software Network

Alternatively, if you go for an AMD based system, then the 790g chipset is a lot cheaper and offers better bang for buck, especially for HTPC-type activies

Edited 29 December, 200817 yr by tfboy

I was originally interested in a pair of Samsung Spinpoint 1Tb's for simialr money but the maxtors are local to me.

I was considering a raid mirror Xavia but I don't know for sure. I have Sky + so if it were to record tv then it would only be freeview.

I agree with Xavier regarding the maxtors. Never had one personally but in work we had a load fail.

Good point about the 1080p playback. My G33 was find playing back video's but I only play them at 1360x768 due to the lcd.

LCD. Wouldn't say it was brilliant but wouldn't say it was bad either.Had a couple of issus at first were by it would fail work if you turned the pc off at the mains. However the lastest software seems to have fixed that. Think the downside to the lcd is the software as it only seems to work with MS stuff. Doesnt work with itunes.

Edited 31 December, 200817 yr by faboka vrs

Well, if you go down the mail order route, using ebuyer, you can get next day delivery for not a lot extra.

This would be my list based on what you're after

Going down the AMD route for a HTPC makes sense IMHO. Intel is great if you plan to overclock without having to even think about it, but at stock speeds, it's pretty much neck and neck, the AMD CPUs are about the same price, but the AMD 780G-based motherboards offer much better VFM than the decent G45 intel counterparts. If you just want straight forward decent quality video, sound, LAN, etc, the amd one will give you that cheaper than Intel can.

mobo link: GIGABYTE - Product - Motherboard - Specification - GA-MA78GM-S2H (rev. 2.x)

The PSU is a pretty difficult choice. I hate skimping on quality power. Like having a Ferrari and running it on cheapo supermarket 95 RON. But quality PSUs are well over £50 even though you don't need that much power, having the headroom and a well designed, quiet PSU really can make a difference in terms of noise and stability, particularly in a HTPC-style case.....

PSU wise I am running this little baby. ThermalTake Toughpower 750Watt PSU : novatech.co.uk : TT-W0117

Well over specced but very quiet.

I recently had a scare with a Western Digital drive and as I have pretty much always used Maxtor I have reverted back and it now runs flawlessly.

I can't discount an AMD solution as I have used them lots in the past. The theory here was to have something with plenty of headroom that wouldn't be overstresed. The AMD's do like a bit of heat.

Following on from Xav's comments but still staying Intel I though this would suffice. Asus P5Q-EM - Socket 775 - Intel G45 - DDR2 1066(O.C.)/800/667 - SATA - Gigabit Lan - : ASU-P5QEM

Been reading up on the intel vs AMD in this sort of arena and it does seem that they favour the graphics adaptor usually bundled with the AMD based board that Xavier mentions.

I never really was an intel convert so it's good to see an AMD in the running.

Pretty mean looking PSU mind.

I hate buying this sort of stuff and there's rarely the right answer.

You'll be wanting a TV card as well Stu, I use the Compro T-750 as it remote powers on and shut's down as well, has Analogue TV,Freeview and Radio, PIP and remote control, they used to be stocked at Novatech but I don't think they do anymore so you will need to hunt for one if you fancy one, and for video editing, VideoReDo TV suite is the only one to choose if you want the time codes to stay good and edit quick as well.

Compro Technology Global_Home

VideoReDo MPEG Video Editing Software

Compro VideoMate DVB T750 DVB-T Tuner And Analog TV / FMTuner PCI Card ( MCE Compatible ) - DVB-T750 - www.microdirect.co.uk

Edited 30 December, 200817 yr by Supurbia

I hate buying this sort of stuff and there's rarely the right answer.

I would definitely agree there.

I have the same case running a core 2 duo, 2 samsung hard drive and nvidia graphics.

Proccessor is 2x1.83 o/c to 2.00ghz with 2 gig ram.

On my board all be it an old one I have had problems with the northbridge overheating but other than that it has been very stable.

As said if case fans are on low and a good cooler its just about silent. For the cooler I use Thermaltake CL-P0372 Skt 775 TMG I2 CPU Cooler |Specialtech.co.uk - with the Bios set to control fan for silent. Temps have never gone above 45 on the processor and it is silent.

LCD I personally think is pointless and I keep the door shut on the cabinet and don't look at it.

I use the hauppauge WinTV-NOVA-T 500 which has never missed a beat and gets good reception.

For the remote I use this dabs.com - Gyration Media Center Vista Remote - compact suite (E3223)

It takes a bit of getting used to and is not great for surfing but ok for a short while. You can programme the IR so I use it for TV and sound system as well most of the time. Just check the models as I believe there is a slightly better remote out.

Well I've had to cancel the order on the case as the company fecked me about. It might not be a bad thing as I have found what I beleive to be a little gem -

Welcome to Wisdon

Available here -

EV Black MATX Media Center Case With Brushed Aluminium Front Panel - No PSU - Ebuyer

It looks as though it will match my NAD amp perfectly and seems to get good reviews. One downside is the mATX power supply. eBuyer only seem to have a budget one and it doesn't have any reviews -

Extra Value 400W MATX PSU - 1x SATA, 20+4pin - Ebuyer

I'm intending to have a SATA optical drive as well as 2 SATA disks so I'm assuming I need molex to SATA converters, again can't see them on eBuyer so it may be a Maplin job although I seem to remember maybe getting one last time I bought a mainboard.

It also doesn't mention a PCI E supply - Do I need one?

I'd be wary of a power supply with no reviews in case it is noisy.

You should get some extra convertors for sata with the power supply but if not I can post one no trouble.

I suspect you will need a PCI E as most boards have them these days.

Trouble is much as I'd love this case, mATX power supplies seem hard to come by.

This seems to be the same as the eBuyer one and crops up in lots of places -

400W Matx MICRO ATX PSU FOR PC CASE, SATA POWER NEW on eBay, also Micro ATX SFX Power Supplies, Power Supplies, Desktop PC Components, Computing (end time 23-Jan-09 13:51:00 GMT)