windows 7 ready htpc

[nihu]

hi,
I want to build pc in next 10 days.My requirement is as under:
1. It should support HDDVD,BLURAY format display & encoding.
2.should support vista aero theme.
3.DDR3
4.Intel platform
5.motherboard of any make that can take care of my 1 & 2 requirement
6nvidia onboard chipset motherboard
please suggest me lowest possible price spec
Thanks!

[desiibond]

what is your budget. for budget HTPC, AMD has lot lot better bang for buck. and DDR3 aint cheap!!!

First let us know your budget and then we can help you.

[nihu]

Thanks Desibond!

My budget for processor, motherboard, RAM, HDD, Cabinet is up to Rs.17,000.
Further I have kept Rs.4000 aside for entry level PCI Graphics card(directx10 supporting, with HDMI port)

I have monitor,keyboard, dvd writer,mouse,speakers of my old system,so I don't plan for that component.

I am not game lover.I want pc for WINDOWS7/VISTA AERO, SMOOTH HD & BULERAY DISC PLAY.

I can think for ddr2/ddr3 both supported motherboard & at present install ddr2. In future when ddr3 price drops I will replace it.

If motherboard supporting both ddr2/ddr3 are costly then can I opt for G31PR Intel original motherboard? Does it sufficient for my requirement after adding PCI e Entry level graphics card?

Other friends here also are requested to help me.
Thanks.

[desiibond]

if you are not a game lover, here is the confi for you:

1) AMD Phenom II X2 550 BE: 5.5k
2) Gigabyte MA78GM-US2H: 4.2k
3) 2x2Gb DDR2 800MHz Corsair XMS2 RAM: 3k
4) Seagate sata 2 7200.12 500Gb HDD: 2.5k
5) Zebronics cabinet that you like with 500W PSU: 2k
6) ASUS Xonar Dx :4.5k

Total 20k. 780G is more than enough for blueray playback and it is better to concentrate on audio aspect. That's why I added soundcard. if you want a pure HTPC, consider this:

1) Intel E5200: 2.9k
2) Gigabyte G31 chipset based board: 2.5k
3) 2x2Gb DDR2 800MHz Corsair XMS2 RAM: 3k
4) Seagate sata 2 7200.12 500Gb HDD: 2.5k
5) Zebronics cabinet that you like with 500W PSU: 2k
6) ASUS Xonar Dx :4.5k
7) Palit 9400GT: 3k-3.5k

[nihu]

Originally Posted by desiibond

if you are not a game lover, here is the confi for you:

1) AMD Phenom II X2 550 BE: 5.5k
2) Gigabyte MA78GM-US2H: 4.2k
3) 2x2Gb DDR2 800MHz Corsair XMS2 RAM: 3k
4) Seagate sata 2 7200.12 500Gb HDD: 2.5k
5) Zebronics cabinet that you like with 500W PSU: 2k
6) ASUS Xonar Dx :4.5k

Total 20k. 780G is more than enough for blueray playback and it is better to concentrate on audio aspect. That's why I added soundcard. if you want a pure HTPC, consider this:

1) Intel E5200: 2.9k
2) Gigabyte G31 chipset based board: 2.5k
3) 2x2Gb DDR2 800MHz Corsair XMS2 RAM: 3k
4) Seagate sata 2 7200.12 500Gb HDD: 2.5k
5) Zebronics cabinet that you like with 500W PSU: 2k
6) ASUS Xonar Dx :4.5k
7) Palit 9400GT: 3k-3.5k

Realy THANKS!
some que:
1.which model of gigabyte MB for 31 chipset?what is the advantage you see over Intel original MB? Why you have not suggested INTEL original motherboard?
2.with config you mentioned for Intel, smooth flow of HD VIDEO will definate?
3.GA-EG41M-US2H Gigabyte motherboard may I use?It is having 6chanel sound.so no need of sound card.please look into matter.
I think you will guide me for my clarity.
Thanks once again!

[desiibond]

a 9400GT is more than enough. my pick would be MSI N9400GT for 2k-2.5k. It comes with DVI, D-Sub and HDMI, which means you will have enough connectivity for a HTPC and it runs pretty cool. I always pick Gigabyte for the feature set that they offer (been using gigabyte mobos for past 9yrs).

for example check these two motherboards:

1) Intel DG31PR: 3.2k
2) Gigabyte GA-EG31M-S2: 2.6k

Gigabyte's is 600 bucks less in price, comes with UltraDurable 2 design (good for powersaving and longer life).

Do remember that if you need a HTPC, a dedicated entry level GPU and soundcard makes lot of difference.

for cabinet, look for slim cabinets from Zebronics. or you can also check Cooler Master's new entry level cabinet, which should be available under 2k if I am correct.

[nihu]

Thanks for guidence.
Is DDR2 1066Mhz RAM available easily in market?At what price?If so I Would like to go for P31 chipset MB (Gigabyte) as some p31 chipset MB supports 1066Mhz DDR2 RAM withoute overclocking.If DDR2 1066 will be available easily I would go for pentium dualcore E6300 2.80 Ghz processor.
Rest I have considered all yourl recommandations.
I know that i am asking too much que to you.But no dealer at my city know aboute it.

[desiibond]

DDR2 1066MHz is not widely available and is a bit costly. stick to 800MHz and for day to day work, you won't find much difference in speed.

btw, Intel Released E6500K processor with unlocked multiplier for overclockers. it comes without CPU cooler. Wait for this if you want to do some overclocking. But you need to buy a good cooler (It seems this one goes beyone 4GHz when paired with a 2.5k rupee cooler)

[nihu]

yes, getglng DDR2 1066Mhz. Is very difficult at my city.Now I have given up that idea.
You have mentioned 2*2=4gb corsair DDR2 RAM. It Is rs.1000 more costly than kingston.what are advantage I Will get when I buy corsair RAM?
should i buy dual channel architech set RAM or simple arch.?
Now, I also want to buy new DVD writer,that should be SATA or normal?

Thanks in advance.

[desiibond]

it comes with a heatsink and hence will be more stable. Also, you will have less chance of damaging it (static charge) as the chips are shielded by the protector.

[nihu]

what aboute Sata DVD writer? sata drive howmuch beneficial over normal drive?
you are truely genious!

[desiibond]

get sata writer. small cables means better airflow. no difference at all in terms of speed for sata writer when compared to pata.

[nihu]

At my city I could not find dealer who can supply me cabinates as your brand suggestion zebronics or cooler master.Here I found dealer offering vIP, please suggest me two models best suited for gigabyte MB that you have suggested.Thanks.

[desiibond]

I think VIP is a decent brand. Go for something that has good airflow and option to add side fan.
-----------------------------------------
Posted again:
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Since you are not going to have any component that generates too much heat, go for cabinet that looks good and that is strong.

any ATX mobo is compatible with any ATX cabinet and you need not worry about mobo&cabinet compatibility.

[nihu]

512 Mb 9400 GT OR 1Gb 9400 GT Graphics card is required for my requirement?

[desiibond]

1gb doesn't make any difference for 9400GT card. what's the price for the two?

[nihu]

512 mb:rs.3100
1gb rs.3600

[nihu]

Hi,
From your various suggestion for motherboard I have finalised some.Please arrange them in best prority order so I can pick from the list.I have also given web add of respective motherboard so you can help me withoute more strain.
1. Gigabyte: GA-EG31M-S2 (rev. 2.0) AVILABLE AT RS. 2600
add: http://www.gigabyte.in/Products/Moth...ProductID=2891

2.zotac: nForce 610i Value AVILABLE AT RS. 2500

http://www.zotac.com/index.php?optio...198&Itemid=227

3.ASUS: P5KPL-AM/PS (DESIGNED FOR INDIA) AVILABLE AT RS. 2625

http://in.asus.com/products.aspx?mod...11&l3=563&l4=0

4.INTEL original Dg31-PR AVILABLE AT RS. 3300
This MB spec you better know.

Almost price are equal it is fetures that to consider.So please help!

[desiibond]

there is no difference between gigabyte and asus. get the brand that you think you will be comfortable with.

since you are opting of PCI-E graphics card, you can ignore the onboard graphics part.

[nihu]

Now I am in final stage of selection.
1. I have to encode many time HD/DVD to various formats.
Is dualcore 2.6ghz processor more than enough?
or
Should I go for core2duo processor?
2. 512 mb or 1gb graphics card required?
From 512mb 9500gt or 1gb 9400gt,whichone is better in perfomance?

[Psychosocial]

Dual core is out-dated now. You will be better of with a C2D. The Intel E5200 suggested by desii is a C2D. From the 9500GT and the 9400GT, 9500GT is a better performer but for a HTPC, 9500GT is a little too much. Get the Galaxy 9400GT 512MB which passively cooled and performs decently. It hardly costs 1.8k now .

[desiibond]

^^true.

@nihu, if you can increase your budget, go for Core2Quad+P45 chipsetbased rig. cheapest Quad I think is Q8200 (for 8.2k).

[Psychosocial]

Q8200 + MSI P43 ? Seems good.

[nihu]

what aboute my graphics card?
i will now go for core2duo.

[Psychosocial]

^Already told you.. a 9400GT is a best bet. Galaxy 9400GT 512MB or the Sparkle one. Even the MSI N9400GT is good. If you plan on doing some casual gaming then go for the Zotac 9500GT.

[nihu]

Thanks psychosocial & desibond.
Now as per both members suggestion for quadcore I am rethinking for upgrading my budget too!

For reducing my budet I will buy GPU in future.

But now as I am going from entrylevel pc to higher configured PC, I wish my valued pc should not become obselate when DDR3 RAM comes in main stream.I can also remember hype created when RD RAM was introduced, but in few months later it has became flop show.Considering all facts & my inncreased budget too I would like to go for Mother Board which supports both DDR2 & DDR3.At present I will like to go with DDR2 & after reduction of DDR3 price I may upgrade my RAM.

Coment pl.

[desiibond]

if you want to buy GPU in the future, you may have to go for AMD setup and onboard GPUs in Intel are really bad. for Intel, atleast get G43/G45.

[nihu]

What aboute my query above for combo mother board?
If any member can suggest me DDR2 & DDR3 both supported for quadcore I can finalised.

[desiibond]

mobos accepting DDR2 & DDR3 were kind of failure as they were having too many issues. It's your call whether to go for DDR2 or DDR3. But DDR3 mobos price starts at around 9k for AMD and above 10k for Intel and performance DDR3 is still costly.

[Psychosocial]

Actually you cant call a PC with a quad core, DDR3 RAM and a high-end mobo a HTPC.

HTPC's are supposed to be compact, light, small, power efficient and silent.