Build Your Own HTPC

[Clint DeBoer]

<font color='#008080'>This is a &quot;coming soon&quot; announcement. I will be doing a start to finish, comprehensive piece on building your own Home Theater PC.

I will start with bare components and build the entire box from the ground up, explaining the pluses and minuses of each component as well as providing helpful tips and guidelines for what to look for in a fully functional unit.

My goal? To build a very functional HTPC unit for under $750, not including software. At the end of the article, you'll know how to do it yourself, and where to buy the parts.

If you have no idea what an HTPC is, and would like to &quot;bone up&quot; on some background info, take a look at this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=33122) to get the basic gist of the HTPC craze.

The difference between the Audioholics article and everyone else's take, is that our product will be reproducible by you... step by step, part by part. If you want to build an HTPC, this will be the definitive guide. And as we upgrade, we'll add addendums to the article.

Remember, there are 100 ways to build an HTPC box, and we'll pick just one, but our guide willl enable just about anyone to do it themselves.

Coming in early August!</font>

<font color='#000000'>Way to go !!! <img src="http://www.audioholics.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'>
I can't wait it!
Best Regards!</font>

[Clint DeBoer]

<font color='#008080'>Just an update. The HTPC has been assembled, the photos taken... all that's left is for me to experiment with some additional software and write the lengthy article.

More to come...</font>

[brent]

<font color='#000000'>Excellent! This is most timely for me personally as I am recovering from a devastating house fire that destroyed my modest and ecclectic audio component system and rear projection TV. So I am starting over and unfortunately dealing with the loss of my three beloved dogs while hassling with homeowners insurance over replacing components that are no longer available such as a Micro Seiki DD 40 turntable that they want to &quot;replace&quot; with a plastic $150 Denon turntable- quite another story in itself. As some of you know, I've already replaced the receiver and tv I lost and am leaning toward the Axiom 80 HT speaker system reviewed by Clint(?) I recall. In any event, I await this article with keen and focused interest and will be tuning in frequently. Thanks for a wonderful forum here that has been a therapeutic and informative diversion.

Brent</font>

[gene]

<font color='#000000'>Brent;

I am very sorry to hear about your misfortune. *However, to be positive, I am sure things will only get better for you going forward. *The loss of your animals may be irreplaceable, however if you are looking to replace your vintage audio gear, may I suggest one of the following:
http://www.audiogon.com
http://www.audioweb.com

I am glad you find our forums a good diversion and appreciate your contributions. *Good luck and good fortune for you going forward *<img src="http://www.audioholics.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'></font>

[Clint DeBoer]

<font color='#000080'>My condolences as well. I don't often hear about things like this so 'close to home'. I am very glad you and none of your family was injured in the fire. I'm sure your dogs were like family, though and that must have been tough.

May your future be bright!</font>

[brent]

<font color='#000000'>Thanks to both of you for your kind words. My dogs were very special to me, especially my German Shepher/Blue Heeler mix that I rescued from the streets as a stray when she was 2 months old-she was incredibly intelligent and stopped people in theie tracks with her beauty. I'd trade all my past and future audio equipment and everything else I own to have them back and there's not a day that I don't think about them but I rescued all three and they had a better life than what they had previously experienced-so, life goes on and I'll have to get over it. Maybe hassling with insurance will be a galvanizing and diversionary exercise. In any event I do appreciate the empathy that only dog lovers can fully understand and communicate.

I look forward to computerizing my HT so this future article will be a great learning experience. I am about 95% certain I will purchase the Axiom 80 HT speaker system in the next few months and probably a Dell laptop PC to replace one that disappeared in the fire so I will be soaking up this article like a sponge.

Thanks again for the kind words.

Brent</font>

[gene]

<font color='#000000'>Brent;

Glad to hear you are getting back on your feet. *Don't forget to mention Audioholics for a discount should you choose Axiom Audio as your new speakers. *We are working with other online audio manufacturers to get our members discounts as well. *Stay tuned...</font>

[Khellandros66]

<font color='#000000'>First off Brent I and my family are very sorry for the lose of your three dogs. And no piece of audio equipment or money can ever replace such loyal companions.

Coinsidering that I go to a technical institute for multimedia, this is right up my alley.

Righ now if I were to put together an HTPC for I'd use these components.

CoolerMaster ATC-61-GX1 Case $100
Enlight ATX 300w PS $30
Biostar M7NCG Motherboard $110
AMD Athlon 2200 $80+
Maxtor 80GB ATA133 HDD $100+
Micron 512MB PC2700 DDR 333MHz ($134 for0 2 chips = 1GB), $60+ (1 Chip)
Samsung Black DVD-ROM/CD-R/RW (48x24x48x16x) $70+
Samsung Black 3.5 Floppy $10
MSI TV @nywhere 125ch Tuner $50+

Sub Total=$684

Prices are from New Egg.com, Directron.com and MS4ME.com

Hows That guys?

;)~

Bob</font>

[Clint DeBoer]

<font color='#000080'>Not bad, though wait until you see the HTPC case I am using! I would actually have to say that the most expensive component could be the case. If, you want a truly stunning device, that is!

There will be two kinds of people who build HTPCs - those who want the functionality for the lowest possible cost, and those who want the functionality with a really cool look. I try to appeal to both in my article.

It's coming along and should be out in a couple weeks.</font>

<font color='#000000'>Just a thought but you could use a modded XBOX as a HTPC along with xboxmediaplayer http://www.xboxmediaplayer.de/newweb/info_project.htm

That would be a much cheaper route, plus you get a gaming console all for $299 + some effort on your part.

=)</font>

<font color='#000000'>Although the old Sound Blaster Lives are a good value for coax digital out, the Audigy2 has had some fairly bad reviews. &nbsp;At least from what I've heard from knowledgable people, the card downmixes to 44kHz, then upconverts back to 96kHz... not exactly the true 96kHz that were stated. &nbsp;The price is pretty terrible for what is offered by the card. &nbsp;The software and drivers provided by Creative are very taxing on your computer also.

Another option would be the M-Audio Revolution. &nbsp;It offers almost all of the same options, but at a lower price point. &nbsp;There were some driver issues, but with a new release, it seems as though all of those problems have been fixed.</font>

[Clint DeBoer]

<font color='#000080'>Good advice. I've added the M-Audio Revo to the article as an upgrade option.</font>

[Khellandros66]

<font color='#000000'>You were right about the case it sweet looking, found another for a little less but not the quite same :( Its made by Ahanix and its called the D-Vine

I am in school right so I will read the article more closely later on tonight.

:)~

Bob</font>

<font color='#000000'>where is the article posted?</font>

[Clint DeBoer]

<font color='#000080'>It's posted here (http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/setup/avhardware/DIY_HTPC_1.html).</font>

[Unregistered]

I just can't wait :)

[dan_wilkinson]

I would like to point anyone who is interested in HTPCs (or just hates computer noise) to a website which i have been recently enlightened to.
http://www.silenx.com/

This company provides "silent" cooling solutions such as fanless PSU, Passive GPU cooler, HDD cooler/silencer, and very quiet fans of all sizes (14dBA @ 1 meter according to their specs), which are utilised in their PSUs with active cooling, and also sold coupled with the most efficient heatsink availible from Swiftech.

...Coupled with a Zalman Reserator (i do realise most of us have a budget to stick to ;) )http://www.pccasegear.com/prod1345.htm (provided the case has the space to accomodate a water cooling system) would be the ultimate in silent PC cooling.

[jaxvon]

Ah, yes SilenX. I would also like to make a note that for anyone building an HTPC, make sure you get a big, solid power supply. Many people skimp on this crucial component and then end up with problems down the line. SilenX is a pretty good company, although I would get one of their larger ones to be safe. Also, if you're looking into passive CPU cooling, you may want to check out stuff by Scythe (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-185-109&depa=1). Provided you have enough room in your case, then it looks like it'd be the ticket to silent cooling.

Also, a list of high-quality power supply makers:

-OCZ
-CoolerMaster
-Antec
-Enermax
-SilenX

And of course, the Best of the Best,

-PC Power and Cooling

If I were to recommend in order of quality, it would go PCPaC, OCZ, CoolerMaster, SilenX, Enermax, and Antec.

[Aslan]

New poster here, but keep in mind that SilenX tend to underrate their fans in terms of noise, and overrate them in airflow. SilenX fans are basically relabelled ADDA fans with a thermistor added onto them and the price jacked up. Although they are very silent, I'm not sure if they are worth the money, especially when compared to 80mm and 92mm Panaflo L1A's (the 120mm Panaflos have more motor noise).
If you wish to blow more money, there's always Papst or Verax as well. :)

As for other PSU manufacturers, also check out Fortron, Sparkle (both the same), and Seasonic. The Fortron and Sparkle PSU's are extremely high quality, low cost, and with their 120mm fan models, quite silent as well. Seasonic are more expensive, but also extremely silent.
SilenX do not manufacture their own PSU's, but they take Fortron models with 80mm and swap the fans with their own.

I'm not sure if I would trust a Coolermaster PSU as well. Their internals look extremely weak for something that supposedly puts out 450W.

http://www.systemcooling.com/images/reviews/PSU/CM_Real_Power_450W/inside2_lg.jpg

[dan_wilkinson]

G'day clint,
i would like to point out (in the most humble fashion possible) some things which could be improved in your article "Building Your Own HTPC" http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/setup/avhardware/DIY_HTPC_1.html (incase you forgot where it was ;) )

Normally i would not dare contest the advice given by such a well-respected and knowledgable person as youself, but since it is in my current area of study i thought it was my place to contribute to the topic of building HTPC.

I figure it may be the case that you were trying to prevent the article from being all about how to build a computer but i feel that you left some important details out. for example one thing that alarmed me was your advice to populate the motherboard AFTER mounting it inside the case which as i have seen first hand can easily lead to flexing the PCB enough to crack circuit paths.
I believe that the following is a very thorough and well writen article, which perhaps you would like to read and 'borrow' a few tips from to include in a revision of your article?
http://www.tweak3d.net/articles/howtobuildapc

I also have a couple of other suggestions, if you are interested.

I hope to see a revised edition of this guide for the benefit of other readers :) ,
Dan

[Cygnus]

Where are the other parts, clint?

[brian32672]

For some who are looking to build their own. Here is another good place to start.
http://www.modthebox.com/htpc.shtml

I used to be really into modding computers. And I got a lot of ideas from some of the pics of the Canadian based web page.

Here is another good one that goes in depth on using a HTPC with upsampling dvd's.
http://www.firingsquad.com/guides/building_home_theater_pc/

[Spiffyfast]

Looks like a really good start to the project, for the DVR portion are you going to go with a HD Card or something like the ATI TV Wonder, just curious, b/c I think the new Tv-Wonders come with an IR remote that can be used with multiple media programs like Windows Media Player, Win Amp, Power DVD, also can function as a mouse.

[Clint DeBoer]

your advice to populate the motherboard AFTER mounting it inside the case which as i have seen first hand can easily lead to flexing the PCB enough to crack circuit paths.With modern motherboards and the typical mounting points I've never seen this as an issue, though Athlon does remain a pain for the inexperienced, but in the interest of 'best practice' procedures I think that prepopulating the processor and RAM is good advice.

[brian32672]

With modern motherboards and the typical mounting points I've never seen this as an issue, though Athlon does remain a pain for the inexperienced, but in the interest of 'best practice' procedures I think that prepopulating the processor and RAM is good advice.

Never had this happen to me even once with about being done at least 45 to 50 times.....
Now removing the HSF after its been on a year can sometimes be tricky...