New HTPC build

[noneed4me2]

Well I have made the jump to dual core, and my first personal mobo that can overclock; ordered today so hopefully either by tomorrow or Friday i will have my parts. I was originally going to get a new vidcard also but with Vista and DX10 around the corner i just figured better to wait as my x800 gto@16p is still chugging along and it just didn't seem right replacing it so soon (only had it for about a year). Newegg has the x1900 AIW for 299 which considering that its only difference from the regualar x1900 xt is clocks was a hard choice to make. Here's what i got:

1 XCLIO XClio 450BL ATX 450W Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817189003 $43.99
1 AMD Opteron 165 Denmark 1000MHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model OSA165CDBOX - Retail
Item #: N82E16819103588 $327.00
1 DFI RS482 INFINITY Socket 939 ATI Radeon XPRESS 200 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813136007 $87.99
1 G.SKILL 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model F1-3200PHU2-1GBNT - Retail
Item #: N82E16820231030 $80.99

Subtotal: $544.96
Tax: $39.51
Shipping: $20.14
Printer-friendly Version Total: $604.61

My wife was freaking till I explained that i have all the parts to build another PC but she would rather I get that 400 dollar Walmart Sempron special and she doesn't understand that with the 165 Opty even if I can get even close to 2.6ghz I will have saved a bunch of money and made a much better system for the long run which is more future proof thanks to the Dual core. My current rig sans vidcard is going to my kids room. Last order I made in the evening and got it the next day as I live in socal. I figured that although my current PSU might not be suited to overclocking and the Xclio seemed good for the price and has decent reviews. This Pc will eventually be an HTPC so crossfire is out. Let me know what you think about my choices good or bad. I was stuck with mATX for now so my options for OC boards was really limited. I am an ATI fanboy as they have been good to me over the years and I still have a bitter feel for nvidia over the whole Voodoo fiasco (original SLI). Nothing wrong with Nvidia have helped build systems for others with their hardware its just my personal choice. I will post the stepping once in hand.

 

[Aevum]

if you want a HTPC, you might aswell skip the X1900 AIW, skip that 450watt psu,
and get a CPU you can underclock to produce a quiet envirenment,

the idea of the HTPC is a pc with lower power consumption, low power disipation (low fan noise) that you can put under the TV, and watch a movie or listen to music without the fan noise in the background, its not a gaming rig,

you can get a pico PSU that feeds off a 12v transformer, thats enough to feed a X1300-X1600 AIW card, a DVD drive, and a hard drive, plug in any Creative Emu10K card(live5.1/24bit, any Audigy) or a X-FI, put it all in a SFF case, you have a small HTPC thats strong enough for all audio and video purposes and some console/Arcade emulation to hook up to the TV.

 

[noneed4me2]

thanks Aevum but i have hearing deficiencies and pc noise just dosen't bother me or my wife having grown up in very noisy environments. Are volume levels for TV and music is higher than most. Also ,this machine does have to do some gaming; and your right about the x1900 AIW, i am going to wait till some DX10 cards come out as my GTO@16p is holding up just fine and has VIVO.

 

[zekrahminator]

Get a $40 tuner card, an HIS X1800GTO IceQ Turbo 3, and an X-Fi .

 

[noneed4me2]

Get a $40 tuner card, an HIS X1800GTO IceQ Turbo 3, and an X-Fi .

Believe me I want some version of sm3 card, but I am going to be patient as I think holding out for a DX10 capable gpu would probably be a better avenue. Now as long as they don't outmode pci/e before that happens... thanx everyone for the reply

 

[zekrahminator]

They're not going to kill PCIe x16...well if this really is a HTPC and you're not planning on uber-games, a passively cooled X1300 should work just fine. Or maybe even Darth Flatulence's 6200...cost me $44 shipped. Then you can have something fun for now and save up for a DX10 super-card .

 

[noneed4me2]

Kids are getting the mobo with onboard graphics and my x800 GTO is going on the DFI board. At 16 pipes, able to clock up to 580/540 and cooled with the ATIsilencer 5.2 my GTO has some bite and is still a pretty quiet setup. The loudest part is the hardrive but i am going to fix that with some grommets when i take it apart. When i finally do upgrade they will get the GTO. I still am not bothered by the noise with 4 kids ranging from 8 months to 8 years old there is hardly any silence at home anyway.

 

[zekrahminator]

Point taken . I was under the assumption you were GPU shopping, so I was just trying to help. Have fun with the HTPC man...remember it needs to watch television lol.

 

[WarEagleAU]

Well, I dont know how Vista will work as far as MediaCentric type deals. You could just get the AIW series (Tv tuner built in) and get MCE 2005 prolly for like 190 bucks. Then again, DX10 is important to you from what I read. Be prepared to shell out 400 bucks when they arrive though :wink:

 

[NamesDontMatter]

If I might ask what case did you get or plan to use?

 

[noneed4me2]

Its going into my emachine nexgen case for now (please don't laugh), I have modded the case for a front fan and I added a 92mm back fan, eventually I would like to get this smaller type case called cold box or something I saw an add for in maximum pc, I just have to go through my old issues and find it. The tuner card is probably the way I'll go but I need something that maybe can work with Satellite boxes. For now its just going to copy what I have on my DVR and then saved. Since my wife works long hours at the hospital she would love to be able to watch some of her shows on her laptop and It would save time from downloading off the net if I can just copy from my own source. I am not bothered much by onboard sound but I would love to add a X FI soundblaster, and maybe a physics card later when there supported better.
Also I don't use MCE as XP pro works fine for me and I know all the registry tweaks and can taylor it to my needs. I am also maybe going to add a side fan and a funnel or something like that over the cpu.

 

[NamesDontMatter]

hmmm, cool, sounds like a fun little build. I've done a few home theater systems now and I actually like making/using them quite a bit. It's like a Game Console, Tivo, Stereo System, and workstation all in one.

Even though you already have a case in mind you might want to check out thermaltake and SilverStone they have some really cool Home Theater Cases.

For TV tuners check out hauppauge they have some really nice ones for good prices