Building a Home Theater Computer

[shizzzon 461]

I've always thought about doin this so i don't have to keep replacing dvd players to hd players to blu ray players to whatever else comes out next.

The capability of playing back movies on a pc that only needs the right ROM drive is cheaper than buying a whole new home unit. Plus the fact that the home theater pc can do a LOT more things than a home unit player can.

I want some people's feedback on some features that they think would be cool or necessary to make it perfect for using it as intended.

Thermaltake is pretty set on home theater cases.

Gotta have a remote with a readable screen on front. Without that, it's a pain in the ass.

So other words- it has to look just like a typical dvd player- readable lcd screen with controls on the front and remote.

Thermaltake makes units like this so that's covered.

It also has to accept All forms of video playback via disc which is easy as there are drives out there that can now for pcs.

Next - there are motherboards out there that will let you playback music from a disc without even turning the pc on! I can't remember the feature but i know ASUS has it on some of their boards so i know i can find that technology.

Motherboard-wise, is there any other feature required to get this thing workin perfect?

I know for HD video, i will need dual core system so for longterm durability, i was thinkin about using a Quad-Core setup so i don't have to worry bout it slowin down on me.

If this can playback HD video, it'd be nice to play PC games as well. So.. i was also thinkin about getting a motherboard that accepts quad-core and dual vid cards. that way the ability to run 1 card or 2 lower end cards can help keep the setup lasting longer preventing it from being labeled as "old" as quick.

Thermaltake's cases come with Medialab so it's ready to do all the movies\music and whatever else there is.

The system needs to be able to playback IPODs...

Does anyone know of hardware\software that can instantly control an IPOD? I dont know how this would work on a home theater pc?

Must have media card reader for access to songs from there as well. These chassis have front USB ports so other mp3 players can hook up to them as well.

Quad-core pc would need a silenced cooling solution. I don't keep up with tech everyday but i do remember seein some of thermaltakes heat-piped heatsinks effective enough to be used without a fan. Do not know if they work with quadcore or not but if they dont, i'm sure i can find a quiet fan for the heatpipes.

Anything else anyone can think of?

Probably RAID 2 SATAIIs together for faster performance. TV Tuner card. Maybe if SSD drives ever come down, i'll use one of those for the main drive and all SATAIIs for AUX drives used for tv capturing.

[///M5 2,833]

Need to do this myself someday so real interested in what you find. I haven't really started looking yet though.

[MKader17 332]

I didn't really have time to run through your needs and compare with its features but maybe this will fit your bill?

Edit: Guess I should post the link

http://www.alienware.com/products/hangar-1...ode=SKU-DEFAULT

[lilblacky 0]

i wouldnt really go with a quad core system as it is basically useless if you are just playing a movie

the way it works is that each processor handles a different process and they dont ever work on the same one SO the best option which is also more cash efficient is a dualcore 64-bit system, if you are running windows on it the system then you can have one proccessor running windows and the other for the video playback.

for this application I suggest that you use windows media edition because its made for what you want.

also instead of running a monitor you could look into a tv that accepts an input form a comuter. In that case you would also have to make sure you had a suitible graphics card for that application.

The case that you want should have the ability to hold more than one disc drive so you can have multiple formats on the same system.

RAM is a big must in this application and you are going to want to make sure you have ALOT of it for the video playback... maybe around 4 gigs or so and if you go with a 64-bit system you should be able to go with up to 8gigs i belive but not exactly sure.

When choosing a motherboard make sure that it accepts the processors that you pick out and has the ability to use specific types or RAM that are faster than some of the others.

If you have any more questions about it feel free to drop me a line I know quite abit about computers so I should be able to answer all the questions you have

[vladd 26]

x64 will allow much more than 8 gigs of ram, but the MB has to support it.

ditch the quad-core as stated above with the prices of dual-cores there's no reason not to.

[lilblacky 0]

ummm or that lol but idk if that would be able to switch out the drives as easily with that than if you custom built your own

[shizzzon 461]

oh i repair and build pcs but i just havent been in the newest realm fo technology lately because i don't need to until i started thinkin about this again.

I have heard to playback HD video that i need a minimum of a dual core system... I don't know exactly why though?

Is it because of what u say, one processor for video, the other for windows? Is HD that demanding?

Quadcore chips arent expensive. I can get the quad 2.4 with 8mb of L2 retail for $208.

If you have experience with multi core chips then you can help me understand them better,

For one, why is it that HD playback required dual core minimum?

2 - with multi core, does the system itself choose what core to use to process information? IE - watching a movie, system tells it to use core A, running AutoCAD and rendering graphics would use core B, etc... does it go the most efficient way?

3 - when multiple cores are used, what controls what core processes what... the OS or the motherboard.

4 - the OS really doesn't matter since the cases from TT come with Medialab that is a new shell basically just for media. If i didn't like it, i can use others made for carputers.

And, i WILL be using a TV, no monitor. I want this thing to be as real as expected.

Nah, i customized that alienware box and it came out to be $2199, hehe, and i priced my design at being ~$1,500 with a LOT more than what they offered because i can get things a lot cheaper than what they charge.

One thing that was interesting is that ASUS has some boards now that bootup in 5 seconds flat into a multimedia environment... but i don't know if it's some cheesy layout, i'm assuming it is but could be wrong.

If it's better to boot directly up to windows, what type of BIOS or hardware would yield the quickest bootup times?

Here is a list of things that i know that slows bootup-

Ethernet - during Windows loading screen, it will look for a connected internet service if you have ethernet capabilities. What i do not know is if you disable on board LAN and use onboard WiFi if it still slows bootup, anyone?

BIOS - set quick POST and disable search for any hardware that you either do not have or do not need verified during each bootup.

What BIOS boots up hellafast or what boards do?

Does RAIDing 2 HDDs together for faster performance speedup bootup time?

Anything that will speed it up?

Any Registry tweaks or *.ini files i can edit out contents or remove checks to speed up bootup?

[vladd 26]

look up the dual core you could get for $209, i think i paid less than 150 for a 3.x dual core.

[Darkhunter139 1]

Hit up hardforum.com the guys there are very knowledgeable.

I am going to grab a blu ray drive for my PC I got a quad q6600 processor and the 8800GT 512MB video card

[mikecdm 0]

Well cpu's have dropped in price a lot recently, as they always do. A good dual core cpu is the Intel E8400 which now costs around $180 or maybe even less. The Q6600 was around $200 but I'm not sure where it's priced at now.

I'm not completely positive but I think the interpretation of how a dual core works is a little off. Some applications are made to use multi cores while some only run on one core. So you might be using 80% of one core while the other only is using 5%. You can manually set affinity on each core so that some apps run on a certain core while others run on the other.

I don't really see the need to have dual gpu's on a htpc, and it's not completely needed on games unless you play at very high resolution or you max the settings on the most demanding games. I feel that one good card is better than two average cards. There is also more potential for driver errors when running dual gpu's. Since it's main purpose is HTPC, dual GPU's also put out a lot more heat.

A good idea to keep heat down, which really means noise would be to buy a MB that has a decent amount of options in the bios and undervolt the CPU to produce less heat. You could still have a dual or quad core at 3.0ghz running less voltage than stock while being 100% stable. Should be plenty for a HTPC and HD movies.

[BKOLFO4 29]

www.avsforum.com is another good source.

I built one for my projector, but the newer processors in the projectors actually do such a good job decoding that I am not even sure if I will use it in my new HT.

Brian

[dem beats 1,223]

Shizzon.

I just went through this for my pc build. I have a few questions that will REALLY help us help you. I had some big pitfalls when building, I think I can help you out. All the parts for mine were around 2500, but 550 of that was a 28" LCD. I also had custom silent heat sinks and pipes and really performance based parts that maybe you won't want to go so wild on.

#1 are you willing to peice it together or do you want someone else to put the peices together.

#2 this could be the most important but who knows. How silent do you want this machine? Do you want a graveyard or do you want just quiter than your super loud POS build?

#3 you mentioned playing games and dual gfx cards. What kind of games are you thinking how hardcore are you? Are you going to try to run crysis at 64 anti A. with quad filter on top settings, or are you gonna play WoW and want it to look real pretty?

#4 you mentioned blue ray and HD, when you get to that level you really really need to ask yourself a few things. After the source do you use a receiver that can process 1080p. If you go from source to TV can your tv REALLY process 1080p. Also a few other things that can save you money. How big is your TV, how far away are you? The human eye isn't really sharp enough to tell from 720p to 1080p, at anything past I think 16 feet. I will look that up, but I beleive it's right around there. It's usualy not worth it to go 1080p unless you are willing to upgrade every link in your chain and you will be close enough to the display to see the difference.

Why did you want an LCD on the case itself?

I would NEVAR run a system without active cooling on a processor, there are so many silent and cheep enough that it's worth it. The noctura I have is quiter in free air than many rooms, mine is in a dampened case. completely silent.

I would recomend a tower, a larger one in fact for so many reasons. Based on how you answer some of those questions I can tell you why, but I almost paid a huge premium for something that wouldn't have worked at all. One example is that my ASUS motherboard would nearly not fit in a HTPC box. If you want ANY performance at all I can only recomend a tower.

Other things to concider. Do not get pretty LEDs or screans on the unit. It's a PITA. I unplugged all lights on the case pretty much because it helps in the viewing room. I'm also in a darkened room with a screen and projektor, but that is one of the small touches that no one thinks about untill you have a carnavall next to your display taking away from the experience. Also no shiney cases, they are hell in a darker room.

I am really big into home automation/HT/media integration, I'm no expert, but boy oh boy have I spent DAYS on the whole HTPC research part.

The toughest thing will be to get only what you need. i.e. dual graphix cards, 2 times the card = 2 times the processing power right? Nope it actualy ends up becoming much much less effecient, and you get a 10-15% increase. If this is for gaming.. it won't even mean it looks prettier. All it means is that you might get a few more FPS.

Sean, if you ever want help you can check my unit out, and my roommate can price and build you a michine for about less 33% of the cost of boxed up. If I wanted to get a machine even close to the same power from say alien or voodoo or even thunderbird, it would take 6,000+. He's a computer Dr. Fraenkenstien, who finds deals.

28" lcd for 550 BNIB. Yes please. They have better black to white times and brighter display power than most TV's the same size that are 1500 bucks, and even at 1080p it would be shitty resolution compaired to what I have.

[shizzzon 461]

Oh I build everything, nobody builds or repairs any of my pcs but me.

Here is the purpose behind this build-

I run 2 pcs 24/7 nonstop side by side and 1 laptop when those pcs are maxed out processing-wise.

None of these pcs are suited for newer games. What I mean by that is I can't even play call of duty 3 at 30fps near the end, it drops to 7fps.

I never wanted to supe it back up nor build just a gaming pc because I got a Wii but if I want a HTPC then I might as well make sure it can play games too or I might as well just buy a bluray palyer, know what I mean?

Ok now to your qestions-

1- I build.everything myself.

2- as long as the cpu, case and psu fans are quieter than the HDDs and optical drive then I'm fine with it.

3- games? I don't or am not eager to play games on it BUT DO want to have the capability and upgradeability for a long time to come. This is why I was interested in mobos that support 2 or 4 video cards and up to quadcore chips.

4- TV

I currently use a 51" 540p HDTV.

I sit 8-10ft from it. I will be purchasing either a new 26" lcd for 450 or a new 28" for 540 for my current dual pc setup. Whichever one I choose are both 1080p so I can use it for HD experience. Once I ever replace the 51" I will most likely go with a 50-60" range 1080p or 1600p tv depending on when I buy.

[Jmac 24]

I've always thought about doin this so i don't have to keep replacing dvd players to hd players to blu ray players to whatever else comes out next.

The capability of playing back movies on a pc that only needs the right ROM drive is cheaper than buying a whole new home unit. Plus the fact that the home theater pc can do a LOT more things than a home unit player can.

I want some people's feedback on some features that they think would be cool or necessary to make it perfect for using it as intended.

Thermaltake is pretty set on home theater cases.

Gotta have a remote with a readable screen on front. Without that, it's a pain in the ass.

So other words- it has to look just like a typical dvd player- readable lcd screen with controls on the front and remote.

Thermaltake makes units like this so that's covered.

It also has to accept All forms of video playback via disc which is easy as there are drives out there that can now for pcs.

Next - there are motherboards out there that will let you playback music from a disc without even turning the pc on! I can't remember the feature but i know ASUS has it on some of their boards so i know i can find that technology.

Motherboard-wise, is there any other feature required to get this thing workin perfect?

I know for HD video, i will need dual core system so for longterm durability, i was thinkin about using a Quad-Core setup so i don't have to worry bout it slowin down on me.

If this can playback HD video, it'd be nice to play PC games as well. So.. i was also thinkin about getting a motherboard that accepts quad-core and dual vid cards. that way the ability to run 1 card or 2 lower end cards can help keep the setup lasting longer preventing it from being labeled as "old" as quick.

Thermaltake's cases come with Medialab so it's ready to do all the movies\music and whatever else there is.

The system needs to be able to playback IPODs...

Does anyone know of hardware\software that can instantly control an IPOD? I dont know how this would work on a home theater pc?

Must have media card reader for access to songs from there as well. These chassis have front USB ports so other mp3 players can hook up to them as well.

Quad-core pc would need a silenced cooling solution. I don't keep up with tech everyday but i do remember seein some of thermaltakes heat-piped heatsinks effective enough to be used without a fan. Do not know if they work with quadcore or not but if they dont, i'm sure i can find a quiet fan for the heatpipes.

Anything else anyone can think of?

Probably RAID 2 SATAIIs together for faster performance. TV Tuner card. Maybe if SSD drives ever come down, i'll use one of those for the main drive and all SATAIIs for AUX drives used for tv capturing.

Uh ...

[JimJ 11]

I've been wondering about this. I bought a Dell server last year, so I'm fucked for universal socket parts and such, but I'm wondering if there's any way to make things quieter...the CPU fan is a big producer of noise in my system, and unfortunately is the only thing that's not easily replaceable with universal parts

[Jmac 24]

I've been wondering about this. I bought a Dell server last year, so I'm fucked for universal socket parts and such, but I'm wondering if there's any way to make things quieter...the CPU fan is a big producer of noise in my system, and unfortunately is the only thing that's not easily replaceable with universal parts

What socket ?

[JimJ 11]

I'll post more info tomorrow, I'm rather drunk at the moment so I'm not very useful

[dem beats 1,223]

Oh I build everything, nobody builds or repairs any of my pcs but me.

Here is the purpose behind this build-

I run 2 pcs 24/7 nonstop side by side and 1 laptop when those pcs are maxed out processing-wise.

None of these pcs are suited for newer games. What I mean by that is I can't even play call of duty 3 at 30fps near the end, it drops to 7fps.

I never wanted to supe it back up nor build just a gaming pc because I got a Wii but if I want a HTPC then I might as well make sure it can play games too or I might as well just buy a bluray palyer, know what I mean?

Ok now to your qestions-

1- I build.everything myself.

2- as long as the cpu, case and psu fans are quieter than the HDDs and optical drive then I'm fine with it.

3- games? I don't or am not eager to play games on it BUT DO want to have the capability and upgradeability for a long time to come. This is why I was interested in mobos that support 2 or 4 video cards and up to quadcore chips.

4- TV

I currently use a 51" 540p HDTV.

I sit 8-10ft from it. I will be purchasing either a new 26" lcd for 450 or a new 28" for 540 for my current dual pc setup. Whichever one I choose are both 1080p so I can use it for HD experience. Once I ever replace the 51" I will most likely go with a 50-60" range 1080p or 1600p tv depending on when I buy.

I would suggest a higher end dual core. They are still blazing fast compaired to what it sounds like you are talking about and can be OCed with relative ease.

make sure your case accepts 120mm fans. You can upgrade to liquid bearings if you want. The aren't cheep but they are silent. Cooling for processors have come a long way. I will post the cooling fan I use, and an article if I can find it. It keeps my quad core verry chilly. I say an aftermarket CPU fan is the best bet.

Shiz, for a case I would look at the Hush by nzxt. I recomend to anyone looking for full atx and quiet. Comes deadened from the factory. I don't even put in new fans.

I would only go dual gfx cards if you want to have several different displays in operation at the same time. And more over only if one or more will be doing some pretty tough math. The top of the line OCed single chip evnga I have, runs my 28" with no problem. It's amazing resolution. I am not brilliant enough to explain why dual cards are not that amazing and how the resources get chewed up doing other things, but when you look into high end machines, somehow gfx card xyz scores 100 for processing, but 2 of the same card will only get you a score of 110-120. That relates to maybe 1-2 fps. Research on oclockers.com and such. It's a big money sink and I promise you can run call of duty nearly maxed with good frame rate on a newer high end signle gfx card.

[dem beats 1,223]

I use this cooler

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/noctua_nh_u12p/5.htm