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mrintegrity
05-28-2008, 09:13 AM
Hi all,

This is the first time I have built a media center PC and I could use some tips on the hardware, I already bought the TV though:

http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/Samsung-LE40F86BD/ (cant wait for delivery! :))

This is the hardware for the actual media center I am looking at, not selected everything yet but here are the basics:

Motherboard Intel DG33BU uATX:

http://tinyurl.com/6dluxz

Chassis Antec Fusion Black 430:

http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1080.html

Possible psu upgrade Antec EA 650:

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=27650

Graphics card ATI Radeon HD 3650 512MB (not sure if it would fit the case though?):

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=985&num=1

Haven't conisdered RAM or peripherals yet but it will be connected to a 500GB NAS box with gig lan running gentoo (which I already have).

As this is my first media pc, I really am not sure if what I have chosen here is totally appropriate. What I really want is to have Blue Ray capability but as this is a GNU/Linux box, thats going to be limited and a bit of a hassle. Also, is there likely to be problems fitting the graphics card in that box?

Your advise is welcome :confused:
mrintegrity
06-07-2008, 02:51 AM
Nobody knows anything about this subject?
Aradreth
06-07-2008, 03:22 AM
That PSU is overkill the one that comes with the case should provide more then enough power as it is. The 3650 should fit as it isn't much longer then the PCIe slot to my knowledge. The main thing you need to think about it what CPU as it'll probably be doing most the grunt work but I think any Core 2 duo will have enough power for 1080p play back. (Not completely sure)

You can pretty much forget about Blu-ray for the foreseeable future due to the copy protection.
apaige
06-07-2008, 08:45 AM
The sad thing is, you won't get HD video decoding acceleration from IGPs/graphics cards under linux. Thus you need a powerful CPU, whereas you would be able to build a completely fanless HTPC for that purpose… running Windows.
Redeeman
06-07-2008, 03:54 PM
you can also do fanless with linux....
Aradreth
06-07-2008, 04:06 PM
you can also do fanless with linux....
Yeah it's not to hard if you choose the parts carefully, although the need for a more powerful CPU does mean you might need a slightly larger heat sink.
Redeeman
06-07-2008, 04:27 PM
an E8500 or E8400 should do the job nicely, with a scythe ninja heatsink.
Aradreth
06-07-2008, 04:40 PM
an E8500 or E8400 should do the job nicely, with a scythe ninja heatsink.
The ninja won't fit in the intended case as it's 15cm tall and the case is only 13cm tall! (that's the total height not just the height for the heat sink...)
curaga
06-08-2008, 02:51 AM
Since you're buying a separate graphics card, you might just as well choose a mobo without integrated graphics and save 30$. The equivalent to G33 without graphics is P35.
Aradreth
06-08-2008, 09:45 AM
Since you're buying a separate graphics card, you might just as well choose a mobo without integrated graphics and save 30$. The equivalent to G33 without graphics is P35.
Oh very well spotted I had completely missed that point.
Redeeman
06-08-2008, 09:59 AM
even if it were more expensive, you should still go with intel, as the drivers just works(tm).
Aradreth
06-08-2008, 03:35 PM
even if it were more expensive, you should still go with intel, as the drivers just works(tm).
He shouldn't buy TWO graphic's cards as it would be pointless (excluding setups with more then 2 monitors...). Either go for the integrated (intel) or the dedicated (ATI).
yoshi314
06-08-2008, 04:11 PM
i can only give one advice - if you're planning on putting a capture device inside - don't buy hauppage wintv hvr-1300 ;-)

tv capturing works like a charm, but i'm having strange audio problems on this one (it's supported via cx88-alsa driver). hardware mpeg capture works fine though, even with audio.

well, things might change in the future, though.
deanjo
06-08-2008, 04:34 PM
i can only give one advice - if you're planning on putting a capture device inside - don't buy hauppage wintv hvr-1300 ;-)

tv capturing works like a charm, but i'm having strange audio problems on this one (it's supported via cx88-alsa driver). hardware mpeg capture works fine though, even with audio.

well, things might change in the future, though.


You wouldn't by chance be running with the alsa-pulse plug-in would ya? I was having the same issue until I removed that plug-in from the system.