HTPC Newbie - need advice!

[number17]

Hi folks,

I'm trying to put together my first HTPC ... the HTPC will serve primarily as a PVR (with my Hauppauge PVR-150MCE card and beyondTV s/w) and a wireless multimedia server in my home wirless LAN.

Here's the list of components for my HTPC :-

case: Silverstone Lascala SST-LC03
PS: Enermax Whisper 350W Dual 80mm fan PS
CPU: AMD Athlon Sempron 2600+
MB: ASUS A7N8X
Memory: 512MB DDR400
HD: Seagate 200GB S-ATA
Video card: ATI Radeon 9250
Video capture: Hauppauge PVR-150MCE
DVD-RW: NEC 3520A dual layer
Sound card: use on-board for now
I/O: Gyration Ultra wireless keyboard + mouse

The whole setup is a little out of my budget so I'm trying to cut some corners and maybe save some $$.

First of all, any advice on this configuration? Is there anywhere I can save some $$ with cheaper component? Or, anywhere I should spend the extra buck on for better performance / more future-proof?

Second of all, as much as I like the Silverstone case, it is pretty expensive ... yes it is a high quality case but at the end of the day it's just a case. I've been trying to look for alternatives but haven't been able to find any other desktop case that I like. I also like the cheaper CoolerMaster Cavalier case but don't like its proprietary PS. I looked at the Antec Overture but don't like it. I am not considering a tower case at this point, because of space limitation. I have a slot in my AV rack that's why I'm looking for a nice desktop case that blends in with the rest of my AV equipment.

Thanks in advance,

[aud19]

Looking pretty good equipment-wise and you're already going with the Sempron processor and onboard audio so there's not really any good, effective way to go down from there. You could investigate getting an ATI A-I-W card and skip the Hauppauge for now to save a few bucks. Other than that, for cases, try a search and see what others are using and check out some of the bigger brands HTPC-styled cases. I think Chenbro makes some affordable ones but they're not as nice. Ahanix make quite a few different ones that are gorgeous as well but again they're a bit more $$$ but you get what you pay for....

The only other thing I'll suggest as a possibility, (though not saving you any money) is a smaller (80Gb?) drive for your OS and a seperate 160Gb-200Gb drive for A/V etc files. It will help for defragging etc

[number17]

thanks aud19.

I've already got the Hauppauge PVR150 MCE so there's no additional cost there ... BTW the MCE version is pretty cheap (Cdn$99!) for a H/W encoding card and works great in WinXP OS... I highly recommend it to anyone who's considering a PVR card.

I like the Ahanix cases too but they're even pricier than the Silverstone ones ... but I guess you gotta pay for the look.

I thought about getting a smaller HD too but then it doesn't save THAT much $$ in the grand scheme of things ... and with video files getting bigger and bigger these days, I figure it's not worth the $70 or so saved.

[aud19]

thanks aud19.
I thought about getting a smaller HD too but then it doesn't save THAT much $$ in the grand scheme of things ... and with video files getting bigger and bigger these days, I figure it's not worth the $70 or so saved.

As I mentioned it won't save you any money, infact it's likely to cost more but I do reccommend the smaller drive for your OS and a second, larger drive for data (video files etc). This will actually give you more space as that second drive can be fully utilzed for data as well as both drives will function faster with the OS being on a seperate channel/drive. As I mentioned it aslo makes defrag's and other general maintenance faster as well. Plus in the future you can upgrade to a Raid 5 array with a series of 200Gb drives for your data while keeping your OS on the small, easily maintenced HD :P :T

[number17]

Well I can logically partition the 1 physical HD into different logical drives ... so even with 1 physical 200GB HD I can partition it into C: drive of say 80GB, F: drive of 120GB, which like you said makes it easier to defrag and maintain.

[aud19]

Well I can logically partition the 1 physical HD into different logical drives ... so even with 1 physical 200GB HD I can partition it into C: drive of say 80GB, F: drive of 120GB, which like you said makes it easier to defrag and maintain.

But then you lose the performance gains from utilizing two drives on seperate channels