Hardware

05-03-2010 : HTPC Build

Ok let me start with the first thing you will notice about a home theater computer, the case. I also want to let you know that the appearance will have no benefit to the performance as you.....

Follow Article

05-03-2010 : Latest News

HTPC Cases

Ok let me start with the first thing you will notice about a home theater computer, the case. I also want to let you know that the appearance will have no benefit to the performance as you can get more bang for your buck with a standard PC case.

If you are like me and like to have your entertainment setup look as good as it sounds then you will be looking to get a nice and well built case. As with the picture above I have the Antec Fusion V2. I must say I love this case but I did have a few issue's when I bought it. The first isssue I had was a grounding issue that I fixed with reconnecting the chassis ground from the front panel (not sure if antec has resolved this issue yet) if you are having an issue where you are shocked when ever you touch the front of the case you too have a ground issue.

Ok back to the HTPC case subject, the things I would consended are:

1. Will your case be on display?

2. what do you have room for?

3. Would you like it to look like a stereo component?

4. What is your budget?

5. I could go on and will add more questions you might want to consider over time.

Once you have made a decision about the kind of case, you then need to consider what you want for hardware.

The new Antec Fusion caes is now $199.00

Remeber that there are alot of companies making HTPC cases. When you make a decision on what case you will be using, try googleing the case model to see if there are any issue's.

Motherboards

Now the motherboard, I have really grown attatched to Asus motherboards as they have never let me down. Please don't think I'm dissing any other brands as they all have pro's and con's. For me when I find a brand I like I tend to sick with it. Ok so now you need to consider what kind of prossesor you want so we know what socket to use. At this time I would look to an Intel Core i5 650 Processor - 3.20GHz processor by Intel. They have good performance and the cost is pretty good as well, just look for the sales ($214.00 Canadian).

So if we know we are using LGA1156 socket we have also narrowed our choice of motherboards. Check out this Asus board for only $119.00 Canadian.

* LGA1156 socket for Intel® Core™ i7/Core™ i5/Core™ i3/ Pentium® Processors

* Intel H55 Chipset

* Dual-channel DDR3 2133*/1333/1066 Support

* 1 PCIe X16 slot

* 6 SATA II

* 1 Gb LAN

* 8-CH High Definition Audio.

Processor

This is the heart of your computer the processor. I have not talked about or use AMD, for the same reason as before I like to stick to things I know. My current HTPC has an Intel core 2 Duo 2.2 GHZ processor and has been great with no issue's for the past 2 1/2 years. Yes I know my 2.2 GHZ processor is old and that's why the new Intel processors get me excited. I have been looking at the benchmarks of the new i5 line of processor and they look to me as the best choice for a HTPC. they are fast, good front side bus, use less energy and are not that expensive relatively speaking.

You may be asking why such a new processor, all I want to do is watch movies, listen to music and watch TV. The simplest way for me to answer that is with a senario.

You just started to watch a movie, your wife is in her office streaming music to her notebook and you forgot about the scheduled recording of lost (in HD).

So for all this to work without any hic ups you need a good processor. Now with that in mind I can guarantee you that you can find someone that say's this is overkill and they have an old setup that is working great with a pentium 4 processor. As this is true why build a new old computer?

If you are new too this and are contemplating where to start, do it right the first time, you will be grateful in the end.