Upgrading my old PC, to make it a HTPC

[TheLetterD]

What I WANT to get:
1. A PC Case (Mini Tower)
2. PSU (A basic BUT good one would be fine)
3.(Please tell me IF I should get one) Entry level Graphic Card

1. What is the purpose of the computer? What all applications and games are you going to run? (Stupid answers like 'gaming' or 'office work' will not work. Be exact. Which games? Which applications? Avoid the word 'et cetera.')
Ans: HTPC

2. What is your overall budget? If you can extend a bit for a more balanced configuration, then mention this too.
Ans: 4-5K (Will extend it to 6K IF a Graphic Card is needed)

3. Planning to overclock?
Ans: Nope.

4. Which Operating System are you planning to use?
Ans: Windows 7(With XMBC on top)

5. How much hard drive space is needed?
Ans: - already have a HDD

6. Do you want to buy a monitor? If yes, please mention which screen size and resolution do you want. If you already have a monitor and want to reuse it, again mention the size and resolution of monitor you have.
Ans: Nope

7. Which components you DON'T want to buy or which components you already have and plan on reusing?
Ans: 1. CPU (Core 2 Duo E7200 2.53 GHz)
2. Mother Board (Asus P5N MX)
3. Ram (2 GB DDR2 667MHz)
4. KeyBoard + Mouse (Logitech Wireless)
5. TV(If possible please suggest me a good TV too. I need a 46 inch, full HD, good clarity TV(3D or Smart Tv not really needed))
6. HDD (WD 500 GB)

8. When are you planning to buy the system?
Ans: September

9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
Ans: Assembler.

10. Where do you live? Are you buying locally? Are you open to buying stuff from online shops if you don't get locally?
Ans: Chandigarh, nope, will buy it locally.

11. I have some questions: Should I buy an entry level Graphic Card if my onboard NVidia 7050 chip handles 1080p? Should I get a new PSU , I already have a desi Intex 450Watt, and If I wont be getting a new Graphic Card, I (think?) I wont need a new PSU, right?

[Utkarsh Sharma]

Cooler Master Elite 361: 2.4k
FSP Saga II 400W: 1.8k
Zotac GT 520 1GB DDR3: 2.5k
Total: 6.7k

[ArjunKiller]

Your current PSU is fine. Buy a 5670 for around 5k and invest the left over cash in a cheap zebronics mini ITx cabby

[Utkarsh Sharma]

It's a cheap PSU that OP's having. These PSU's are harmful and when they blow up( 95% of them blow up ) they take the rest of the components with them. So it's not recommended to use any local or desi PSU.

[whitestar_999]

buying a 5670 or above card for htpc is worth only if person has a good level of expertise in configuring system/software settings & intend to use madvr renderer.GT520 is good enough for 1080p & much better than outdated 7050 onboard graphics.

[TheLetterD]

Hmm. I think I will go for the GT520 then. What about ATI's HD64/65XX? Arnt they less power hungry? And would I need a new PSU for these Graphic card? Do these actually BLOW UP? And I will be getting a cheap 5.1 sound card too! my Mobo only has a 1 Aux port for Audio Out.

[reniarahim1]

Whats your budget on the TV? Sadly all the TVs above 40" are smart TVs with unnecessary features.

[TheLetterD]

well I guess 80K ?

And yeah!! What about the cabby? which should I go for http://www.flipkart.com/browse/computers/components/cabinet-20282?filter=type_fa%3AMini+Tower&ref=14856b56-0972-4543-9e4d-6c1144fea17e?

[avinandan012]

you can look into

1. if you want complete slim cabinet choose this

2. if you want to have a beautiful little box choose bitfenix prodigy white

see silverstone @ primeabgb

[aloodum]

For an HTPC, you'll be good off with a 520 as others have suggested.Has enuff juice to slice through most formats, unless you get creative and put a lot of filters

Some pointers when building the HTPC:
Depending on your case choice, you may have to opt for a low profile/half height video card.Most of the htpc/low end card now-a-days come in this particular size.Make sure that whne you buy one, GPU Brackets for both Half height and full height are included in package.

PSU front:That generic smps would do fine. Its true that cheap smps's have a high failure rate, but a large number of those failures result from ignorant users themselves. For a PSU that can supply at max 14-17A on the 12V supply, users have attached power hungry video cards which need 26A. Naturallythere will be faulires. Blowing up here would be blown capacitors, burnt insulations...not literally blowing up

Ironically,theres an advantage with cheaper smps

Most HTPC cases would be cramped . Most decent off the shelf smps have loads of wires, that too with heat shrink shielding. Tucking away neatly all those wires can get on your nerves Some Higher end HTPC cabinets come in with their own power supply's with different form factor, like flex power supply's which are smaller not only in size but output also, avg being 250W, which is more than enuff for a genuine htpc.


Cases: Well you dont have too much of a choice. The actual high quality HTPC's from silverstone will make you bankrupt
Incase youre settling for something less costly, you may look at the cooler master series, though im not too updated with the offering from competition.
But stay away from the CM 100 slim cabby..theres just too much restriction on HDD size

I had actually my older htpc on a slim cabby with a c2d 7300,an asus p5 mobo and a half height 9500GT. The case was of chinese origin but was quite decent for ventilation with ample fan mountings..allowing me maintain proper airflow with just two fans. The only gripe was the smps was front mounted and it threw all the hot air on me

All the best for ur HTPC

[Kunal_Mehta]

You could perhaps opt for the Cooler Master Extreme Power 650W. Also I'd recommend the Kingston HyperX LoVo. It consumes less power and is ideal for an HTPC.

[panwala95]

650w is over the top for a htpc that too a crappermaster (yuck)
you should just go for a fsp saga ii 380w or even a local psu will do (for gt 520)

[TheLetterD]

Hmm. I guess Ill just go with my Intex for now, then whenever I collect the money Ill gwt the Corsair VS450(FSP Availability in Chandigarh is poor).
Now I need to decide which one should I go for out of these?
Zotac NVIDIA GeForce GT 610 Synergy Edition 1 GB DDR3 Graphics Card vs Zotac NVIDIA Geforce GT 520 Synergy Edition 1 GB GDDR3 Graphics Card: Compare Graphics Cards: Flipkart.com
I know the performance is almost the same, but what about the power consumption? And Temp.?
I wont get them from Flipkart because(I think) they are overpriced over here.
And I know there are no TVs today which have the resolution of 2560 x 1600, but in the future if I do get a TV which supports this Res. will I be able to play 2560 x 1600 Video on it?
I know thats thinking way ahead, esp. when even buying a blueray player and Blueray movies cost an arm and a leg.
But I do want to use this PC for as long as possible.
AND My Asus Motherboard only has a PCI E 1.1 slot. Will I face any problems/performance drop ?
Thanks in advance!

[panwala95]

you should go for the gt 520
it will perfectly suit your needs and will be slightly better than the 610 because of the gddr3 memory
good luck!

[whitestar_999]

gt 610 is simply re-branded gt 520.another equivalent card is ATI Radeon HD6450.

[TheLetterD]

Hello, so Im bringing this thread back as Im going to buy all the components this sunday. So I need to know the following things:
1. If I get a Mini-Tower Cabby will I have to use a different type of small PSU or will the regular corsair vs450 work?
2. Which graphic card should I go for? the HD6450 or the GT 520 or the GT 610 or HD 5570. I want low pwer consumption and the best bang for buck. For eg. if there will be a substantial performance bump if I spend 500 bucks and get a better one please let me know. My MAX budget will be 4K. Please note that all I need is an HTPC and light gaming for a few months before I get a proper gaming pc!
Thanks

[TheLetterD]

Umm hello? BUMP

[whitestar_999]

depends on cabby since local ones don't have standardized sizes.
if you are going to get a proper gaming pc then no point in spending extra on this setup.just buy the cheapest & easily available one.

[TheLetterD]

I created a new thread but Ill close that down and continue from this one. Sorry MODS!

Recently my RAM failed and I got it replaced with some el cheapo brand of DDR2 RAM cuz my local assembler didnt have any! Its 667 2GB single Module. I am re-purposing this old PC to use it as an HTPC cuz my processor and motherboard and HDD still work well and I will be getting a new Gaming PC next year. But I want to play a few games every now and then, and I want flawless HD content playback. SO I wanted to know that if I get an HD5570 DDR3 Graphic card, will it bottleneck my Game performance? I want to play Batman Arkham Asylum, NFS Hot pursuit 2011, and Far Cry 2, The Walking Dead: Episodes 1-6. If it will should I buy new RAM? :/
Please Help!

Here is my conifg:
Windows 7 32 bit Home Basic
Intel Core 2 Duo E7200(2.53Ghz)
ASUS P5N-MX
El CHeapo 2GB 667 Mhz RAM
500 GB WD HDD
(Getting these soon): Cooler Master elite 361 PC Case, Corsair VS450 PSU

Also How is 1400 for a Transcend 2GB single Module DDR2 800 Mhz RAM? SHould I go for it? :/

[TheLetterD]

*BUMP* Help please? :/

[whitestar_999]

i am not a gamer but as far as i know 6670(or equivalent) is minimum recommended for playing most games at low settings.

[The Incinerator]

If you use the PC to surf ,downloading, game and watch movies its a different story then get a HTPC or whatever that is!
But if you just watch movies just get a media player like Asus Oplay WD live or better and attach your HDD and watch movies without paying high electricity bill for no reason. HTPC are archaic.

[TheLetterD]

No thankyou. I want to get a HTPC cuz:
1.Its up-gradable
2. I can get a Blu-Ray drive when prices fall. I wont have to get a HD Media Player + BluRay player
3. I can play a few old racing games at low settings
4. The Video quality would be amazing
5. I have this old PC and ill get a Gaming PC next year, And selling this PC would hardly get me 4-5K. So this is why I am re-purposing it.
6. No format problems. Media Player Classic will play em all.
7. Ill use it for downloading too.
And a media player which gives me all the stuff I listed will cost me somewhere around 8-9k. so why not spend 7k on my old PC? to save 200-300 rs. of electricity? Please.

[The Incinerator]

Its your wish if Rs 300 to 500 just for electricity is nothing for you to watch movies. That Rs 500 will be Rs 6000 at the year end just for watching movies alone. So if you are comfortable with that go ahead. That Rs 6000 and some more months will get you a separate Blu Ray player and still save from next day for electricity space and wire clutter mess. When these Media Players and the LED/LCD like Samsungs were not there the a HTPC did make somewhat sense but now no more. For example a 43 inch Samsung Plasma for Rs 36500 can recognize a externally Powered HDD of 1TB and can play any format,any dam format. That is the way forward. But Im not telling you to go and pay Rs 36500 for a true Movie experience but to get a Media Player which plays all formats, support flash drives to Ntfs HDD,has WiFi streaMING OPTIONS and makes life simpler and better.


WD TV Live - Rs 6000
Seagate Freeagent Goflex TV - Rs 8200
Asus O!Play Mini - Rs 4400 (New Firmware)
Amkette Flash TV HD - Rs 3990 (Entry Level)

Those are MRP ,could be had for less. I think the first two are with 500GB HDD,not sure.

[whitestar_999]

^^just like audiophiles can't be content with Rs.15000 speakers from logitech,F&D,altec lansing,..... similarly those who pursue video quality can not rely on anything other than a HTPC.when one needs custom video renderers,frame rate manipulation,audio clock rate deviation using reclock,deinterlacing algorithms,fancy video codec like 10bit H264(which no hardware player supports at the moment as far as i know & no hope for at least 1-2 years) & such PC/HTPC is the only option.this statement that "HTPC did make somewhat sense but now no more" is completely wrong as far as a videophile is concerned.

[TheLetterD]

I am no Video-phile but I thought re-purposing my old PC would be better than getting a new HD media player+Blu Ray player! And I cant stand the pathetic video-quality from my old DVD player and the Intergrated Graphic chip on my PC. ANND as far as my power consumption goes using many Power calculators even at LOAD the power consumption is roughly 250w. And If i get a good efficient PSU like a Corsair VS450 , lets say it will consume 250w all the time. (I know the actual power consumption is higher but then again it wont be on 100% load all the time). And say I use it 10 hours a week, 40 hours a month(one hour every week day and 1.5 on Saturday and Sunday) and in 4 hours it consumes 1 Unit of electricity which lets say will cost me 5 rs. So Rs. 50 a month? And that is 600 a year. So if I use a media player for 10 years I may be able to buy a blu ray player. LOL
No offence bro but I made the decision AFTER thinking a lot about it! DW! And I needed something to play games on for 5-6 months before I get a good PC! Ill upgrade it to an A4 and Crossfire the 6450/or if I get a 6570 Ill get a AMD A6 when my motherboard stops working. And btw the Video Quality on those TVs which can play Videos from a USB drive, is pathetic.

[The Incinerator]

^^just like audiophiles can't be content with Rs.15000 speakers from logitech,F&D,altec lansing,..... similarly those who pursue video quality can not rely on anything other than a HTPC.when one needs custom video renderers,frame rate manipulation,audio clock rate deviation using reclock,deinterlacing algorithms,fancy video codec like 10bit H264(which no hardware player supports at the moment as far as i know & no hope for at least 1-2 years) & such PC/HTPC is the only option.this statement that "HTPC did make somewhat sense but now no more" is completely wrong as far as a videophile is concerned.

A videophile even in wildest of dreams wont buy a HTPC he would rather buy something like Lumagen Radiance XE-3D and a transport or Ill put it simply, something like a Denon DVD-2500BT/Oppo BDP-95EU.An HTPC is laughable when you compare the picture quality with these mentioned. A videophile with respect to the term will never ever use a compressed format to begin with. I think you mixed up the term Videophile.
Videophile - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[virajk]

Sorry to Hijack this thread, I am having no suggestions on my Post in this forum. I would like some attention to be given to it as well, since Ill be purchasing a PC within two days.It happens to be my second post suggesting recommendations on a config.
Here is the link : New Gaming Config @ 30k - have PSU & GPU

[The Incinerator]

I know the performance is almost the same, but what about the power consumption? And Temp.?

Since power consumption was one of your valid concern hence I put up my post and an alternative that addresses power consumption to a large extent.

I am no Video-phile but I thought re-purposing my old PC would be better than getting a new HD media player+Blu Ray player! And I cant stand the pathetic video-quality from my old DVD player and the Intergrated Graphic chip on my PC. ANND as far as my power consumption goes using many Power calculators even at LOAD the power consumption is roughly 250w. And If i get a good efficient PSU like a Corsair VS450 , lets say it will consume 250w all the time. (I know the actual power consumption is higher but then again it wont be on 100% load all the time). And say I use it 10 hours a week, 40 hours a month(one hour every week day and 1.5 on Saturday and Sunday) and in 4 hours it consumes 1 Unit of electricity which lets say will cost me 5 rs. So Rs. 50 a month? And that is 600 a year. So if I use a media player for 10 years I may be able to buy a blu ray player. LOL
No offence bro but I made the decision AFTER thinking a lot about it! DW! And I needed something to play games on for 5-6 months before I get a good PC! Ill upgrade it to an A4 and Crossfire the 6450/or if I get a 6570 Ill get a AMD A6 when my motherboard stops working. And btw the Video Quality on those TVs which can play Videos from a USB drive, is pathetic.

You use your PC 10 Hrs a WEEK .....!!! You should upgrade and get a HTPC immediately. Forget all the advice I ever gave you.LOL.Actually I went by your Rs 300 or some more calculations of electricity.
Nevermind mate,Get a reliable PSU and add a little bit more money and get a worthy GPU since you are gonna play games in the HTPC !
And about USB playback quality by TVs a lot has changed.Carry an USB with HD material to a store and you will know.But if you playback non HD material on an HD device yes the results would be more than pathetic.

[whitestar_999]

A videophile even in wildest of dreams wont buy a HTPC he would rather buy something like Lumagen Radiance XE-3D and a transport or Ill put it simply, something like a Denon DVD-2500BT/Oppo BDP-95EU.An HTPC is laughable when you compare the picture quality with these mentioned. A videophile with respect to the term will never ever use a compressed format to begin with. I think you mixed up the term Videophile.
Videophile - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

i guess you are not familiar with madvr:
madVR - high quality video renderer (GPU assisted) - Page 513 - Doom9's Forum

I've also had a Lumagen Radiance XE (overpriced junk) and iScan Duo, neither of which has stayed in my system too long either.

when it comes to picture quality nothing can match madvr.as you can see some of the people posting in that thread have knowledge about video processing/rendering which can put to shame many so-called professionals/experts.i suggest some light reading only though.