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Opinion on HTPC setup...<$1000 set-uo
I've been considering building a new HTPC. At first I thought of using one of several "extra" computers I have lying around, including a PII 400, and a Celeron 600 OC 927mhz (despite being OC'd it's extremely stable and quiet). I'll probably start with onbe of these initially anf then upgrade to a higher speed cpu/mobo as funds permit. I figured deciding what I want my HTPC to do first will make planning it out a lot easier. I want something that will serve as a PVR, region free/macrovision free DVD player/external scaler, Divx burner (other formats too)and audio server. As this computer will not be serving any oyher function (i.e gaming platform etc), I'm planning my hardware equipment accordingly, so a lot of stuff may seem low-end or even outdated (and indeed may be).
Step One:
Celeron 600@927mhz (recycled)
Asus BX mobo (recycled)
512 PC133 SDRAM (recycled)
TV LEADTEK WINFAST "DELUXE" TV2000XP TV/FM ($49)
M-Audio Revolution 7.1 ($99)
TNT2 Ultra (Guilmont) 32Mb (recycled)
20 or 60 gig Mator HD (recycled)
16x DVD rom (I've seen a lot fo various brands) $31 OR
TOSHIBA CD-RW/DVD-ROM -COMBO, MODEL# SD-R1312 BLACK $54
Chieftec Wireless Keyboard and OPTICAL Mouse Combo, PS2($26)
3com 10/100 PCI ethernet adapter
ATX desktop case or atx mini tower (recycled)
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Cost: $205\$228
Step 2
Seagate 120GB 7200rpm EIDE Hard Drive Barracuda V ( I just picked this model because I've heard it's really quiet, but there were several models from WD,Maxtor,Samsung in the 120GB range for $94-$110, I've also founf seriel ATA models for about $110-$120) $101
ATI Radeon 9000 $46
ASUS A7V8X LAN, Firewire IEEE1394, Serial ATA w/ RAID DDR400 AMD Athlon/Athlon XP/Duron Socket A, $82
AMD ATHLON XP 2600 /333 FSB $99/
AMD ATHLON XP 2500 "Barton" 333 $84/AMD ATHLON XP2400 266mhz bus $85 (the only reason I'd consider going with the xp2400 is it actually runs a bit faster (2.0mhz, the 2500 barton is 1.83, I'd have to check thier specs for heat disapation etc.
Mushkin DDR 256MB PC3200 222 - Black Hi Perf Level II. $95 I could cut this cost about in half by going with 256mb but if I wanted to do any video encoding I think the extra 256mb would help. This is pretty fast memory, there was some cheaper 512mb stuff but only by about $10, for the price this was the best deal)
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$409/$423
TOTAL
$614-$651
Optional Step 3
Black 4u rackmopunt ATX desktop case ($69) I've found that these can be a pretty good alternative to HTPC cases which run about $200 or more. I've even considered taking a rackmount front plate and hand making a custom front plate for it to make it look even more like a piece of audio equipment
Holo3DGraph $249
HDTV tuner $200-$350
I tried to get a good balance between price and performance,. It's not the fastest computer in the world but it would handle pretty much anything thrown at it. If you have any opinions on which pieces of equipment you would change please email me and let me know. I've looked at pre-built HTPC's but most were either WAY TOO expensive OR the one that I did find in the $100 range used sub-quality componants. I doubt very seriously that a Via C3 1ghz would be able to handle HDTV or be any where near acceptable performance when burning movies to Divx or SVCD's. On top of that it had a rather smnall HD. For the same price you could have much better componants and even be able to afford that $200 HTPC case....
What would you pick to put together a HTPC for <$1000
Step One:
Celeron 600@927mhz (recycled)
Asus BX mobo (recycled)
512 PC133 SDRAM (recycled)
TV LEADTEK WINFAST "DELUXE" TV2000XP TV/FM ($49)
M-Audio Revolution 7.1 ($99)
TNT2 Ultra (Guilmont) 32Mb (recycled)
20 or 60 gig Mator HD (recycled)
16x DVD rom (I've seen a lot fo various brands) $31 OR
TOSHIBA CD-RW/DVD-ROM -COMBO, MODEL# SD-R1312 BLACK $54
Chieftec Wireless Keyboard and OPTICAL Mouse Combo, PS2($26)
3com 10/100 PCI ethernet adapter
ATX desktop case or atx mini tower (recycled)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cost: $205\$228
Step 2
Seagate 120GB 7200rpm EIDE Hard Drive Barracuda V ( I just picked this model because I've heard it's really quiet, but there were several models from WD,Maxtor,Samsung in the 120GB range for $94-$110, I've also founf seriel ATA models for about $110-$120) $101
ATI Radeon 9000 $46
ASUS A7V8X LAN, Firewire IEEE1394, Serial ATA w/ RAID DDR400 AMD Athlon/Athlon XP/Duron Socket A, $82
AMD ATHLON XP 2600 /333 FSB $99/
AMD ATHLON XP 2500 "Barton" 333 $84/AMD ATHLON XP2400 266mhz bus $85 (the only reason I'd consider going with the xp2400 is it actually runs a bit faster (2.0mhz, the 2500 barton is 1.83, I'd have to check thier specs for heat disapation etc.
Mushkin DDR 256MB PC3200 222 - Black Hi Perf Level II. $95 I could cut this cost about in half by going with 256mb but if I wanted to do any video encoding I think the extra 256mb would help. This is pretty fast memory, there was some cheaper 512mb stuff but only by about $10, for the price this was the best deal)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$409/$423
TOTAL
$614-$651
Optional Step 3
Black 4u rackmopunt ATX desktop case ($69) I've found that these can be a pretty good alternative to HTPC cases which run about $200 or more. I've even considered taking a rackmount front plate and hand making a custom front plate for it to make it look even more like a piece of audio equipment
Holo3DGraph $249
HDTV tuner $200-$350
I tried to get a good balance between price and performance,. It's not the fastest computer in the world but it would handle pretty much anything thrown at it. If you have any opinions on which pieces of equipment you would change please email me and let me know. I've looked at pre-built HTPC's but most were either WAY TOO expensive OR the one that I did find in the $100 range used sub-quality componants. I doubt very seriously that a Via C3 1ghz would be able to handle HDTV or be any where near acceptable performance when burning movies to Divx or SVCD's. On top of that it had a rather smnall HD. For the same price you could have much better componants and even be able to afford that $200 HTPC case....
What would you pick to put together a HTPC for <$1000