Victor Chan Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 Hi HTPC Gurus, I want to set up a HTPC as well after reading about the benefits of having one. Is there a place/shop where I can go spec and purchase one? I know about the HTPC-Gear website but unfortunately I am not very good with IT and technical assembly. Can someone help me or recommend me somebody/shop who could assemble the htpc for me? Thanks a million. ;D
Quest88 Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 you can try htpc-gear.com... but IMO better for you to spec yourself if you are particular. although they are helpful, they don't stock everything. not sure what's process of getting whole PC built by them though i asked. ??? i am in process of planning for mine too. buying this month as C2D makes heatsinks like the ninja viable (i hope)! waiting for vista which is releasing next week. :)
civicguy Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 I am also keen but just worry about how a HTPC looks in the living room. Plus with Windows, I am not sure how to stream stuff from my server in the study room to the HTPC in the living room. Use what ? Media Centre Extender ? That's why i still using Xbox XMBC.. except recently like a lot of problems.. ah... Quest.. when free, we should meet up and talk :)
Quest88 Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 can. feel free to discuss. :) Briefly, problems with HTPC I find are: 1. good audio output - need good bit-perfect external usb soundcard with good power supply. can make do with a good internal card if not too fussy. 2. making your HTPC silent - lowest i read about for a HTPC is 20~dbA. If only we could have a HTPC that can be stowed away like server.. Main pros of the HTPC are convenience, video processing and upgradability to me. Another con is that it takes time just to setup the system. Those who tinkered with meedio and HIP will know what I mean.. I guess another thing is cost. For the same amount of money, although a lot less flexibility, you can buy a dvdp that probably can do a better job with PQ and SQ. For the convenience aspect, you may also need to spend a lot more like on a NAS to achieve the same effect.
Quest88 Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 Add: I think I forgot one very important thing, cos I don't use this feature. :) HTPC still can be used for tv recording, with EPG - and output with the same fantastic quality. I don't think there's a solution currently that does a good job of this. Even if there is, why pay more for another separate device? So if you ever need more devices than a single dvdp, HTPC is probably better. If you implement the soundcard well, can probably replace up to a mid-range separate cd transport too.
freeman Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 My 2 cents here. ;) I've been looking into HTPC as well to maximise the 1:1 pixel mapping for my LCD TV. Many LCD TV have 1366 x 768 but these resolution can only be generated by HTPC or high end video processors. Normal DVD players do not support these resolution, highest is 1280 x 720 which will cause the TV to resize the picture or have black borders appear on the side of the image. So far the best picture I have seen on my LCD TV is from my HTPC connected via the VGA cable. image clarity is great ! Only catch is my HTPC casing is butt ugly... self assembled mid tower casing... blah... ::) Some more pros for HTPC: (1) Can perform deinterlacing of image, for example your Starhub signal (2) Can fine tune video noise (3) Can also act as personal video recorder Anyway here are some great HTPC you can look at... best of all some are totally Fanless ! http://www.hushtechnologies.net http://www.mini-itx.com/store
Victor Chan Posted January 14, 2007 Author Posted January 14, 2007 yes I am aware of the pros/cons of having a HTPC. From an asthetic point of view, I have seen some very nice set-ups from the htpc-gear forum. In fact, I thought some of the casings looked like Wadia cd players'. Now, besides the hardware, we also need to buy the software to run the htpc. Is there a shop at Sim Lim that can provide the hardware and software set-up services for us? Thinking about the amount of work, it would still be more feasible to get someone to execute the htpc. we basically tell them the specs and pick the casing that best works for our home decor.
mcmaranello Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 Ha ha I'm also looking out for a nice casing, these are my favourites for their clean looks: Silverstone LC17 Silverstone LC16 with remote Origen (Fastlogic & htpc-gear sell this) I'm asking a friend to check if the silverstones got discount coz he knows the supplier ;D Can also consider water pump to minimize fan noise. ;)
mcmaranello Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 Now, besides the hardware, we also need to buy the software to run the htpc. Is there a shop at Sim Lim that can provide the hardware and software set-up services for us? Thinking about the amount of work, it would still be more feasible to get someone to execute the htpc. we basically tell them the specs and pick the casing that best works for our home decor. You could try Fastlogic, not sure they customize specs to your liking though...
SiriuslyCold Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 it was ok until you came to this... Can also consider water pump to minimize fan noise. ;) now that, is a slippery slope ;D
longman Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 come to htpc-gear chatroom look for us, we're happy to advise/help you...
mcmaranello Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 now that, is a slippery slope ;D oh yeah...and a long one too, don't blame me ;D
freeman Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 Although I know this helps to cool down the CPU and GPU, but personally I find most HTPC casings rather large... like a full size AMP ;) Resorting to water cooling system is a rather expensive solution, if going to get a large casing, I think it's better to get a larger passive heatsink to reduce the noise level. Else you can also look at Mini-Itx boards... some of them are passive cooled and have built in MPEG2 decoding to reduce the load on the CPU. ;D
longman Posted January 15, 2007 Posted January 15, 2007 not all htpc are full atx, u can have slim type, and htpc no need powerful cpu, most of us run on p4 3.0 w 1gb ram n N6600 only. some even use 1/8" HDD just to reduce noisy....HTPC not gaming machine, no need hardcore system...
Quest88 Posted January 15, 2007 Posted January 15, 2007 agree. most HTPC no need to be so highly spec.. but since i use mine for gaming also, its a challenge. :) GPU can go for passive cool. CPU is more challenging for sure. most challenging is getting a passively cooled PSU without need for case fan! if not water cool, check out these type of casing. designed to be totally fanless: http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/products/fanless/hfx-classic-bundle the whole casing itself is a heatsink.
sonofdbn Posted January 15, 2007 Posted January 15, 2007 Check out Silentpcreview for their "own brand" PCs, and in particular the media centre one. While it's probably not worth shipping to Singapore, you can build a similar PC using the same components. It's not silent but it claims to be quiet enough for HTPC use.
civicguy Posted January 16, 2007 Posted January 16, 2007 Interesting article. Read for fun.. http://www.denguru.com/2006/05/16/confessions_of_a_serial_htpc_builder/
louco73 Posted January 16, 2007 Posted January 16, 2007 Interesting article. Read for fun.. http://www.denguru.com/2006/05/16/confessions_of_a_serial_htpc_builder/ Good article. Covers a lot of things that first timers might not think of and explains the compromises that come with building a HTPC.
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