[drues]

Hi guys,

Back in 2007 you guys were a great help and gave great advice on an HTPC build. The finished product was awesome but is now ageing, noisy and unreliable. It's now time to upgrade but unfortunately my lack of IT knowledge is the limiting step.

I'd like to recycle some components from the old unit and start afresh. I have;
- 2 x SATA HDD 500GB
- Dual tuner card
- DVD drive

The rest I can just let go I guess. AMD chip, G-force 8500, mobo...I've been told to just chuck them and start afresh.

It's not going to need a lot of grunt. I'd only use it as a media centre, live TV, and have it networked with other PC's in the house. It does need to be quiet though. The old unit sounds like a jet taking off and is very annoying.

So can you guys suggest a cheapish build and specific parts recommendations for me? I would be forever in your debt, again!

Cheers guys!

[turbodewd]

this never got a reply? well my 5yo HTPC just got replaced. I recommend the Intel i5-2500k as it runs the graphics as well now. You dont need a seperate video card! I also recommend Seasonic fanless power supplies! My HTPC only has 1 fan, the cpu cooler and its pretty quiet. my old HTPC was 53dB, new one is 41dB.

power supply fans can be noisy!

and get Windows 7, its better by Vista. Built in EPG! u dont need IceTV anymore.

This post has been edited by turbodewd: 14 May 2012 - 12:00 AM

[bigdonk]

turbodewd, on 13 May 2012 - 11:57 PM, said:

this never got a reply? well my 5yo HTPC just got replaced. I recommend the Intel i5-2500k as it runs the graphics as well now. You dont need a seperate video card!

this is a very poor recommendation, given that the Intel GPU cannot do 23.976 Hz refresh rate, a requrement for true cinema video quality experience.

Ivy bridge is no better.

A better recommendation is the AMD A8 with IGP 6550D, does all the Intel GPU does, plus 10 times more.

This post has been edited by bigdonk: 14 May 2012 - 12:50 AM

[dwebkombi]

bigdonk, on 14 May 2012 - 12:48 AM, said:

this is a very poor recommendation, given that the Intel GPU cannot do 23.976 Hz refresh rate, a requrement for true cinema video quality experience.

Ivy bridge is no better.

A better recommendation is the AMD A8 with IGP 6550D, does all the Intel GPU does, plus 10 times more.

+1 for bigdonk. Intel is a poor choice.

It beats me why people continue to recomend Intel :blink: when it is proven to be crap for bluray (23.976)
AMD A8 is a proven top performer, cant see why you would consider anything else IMO

[vbap]

dwebkombi, on 14 May 2012 - 03:35 PM, said:

AMD A8 is a proven top performer, cant see why you would consider anything else IMO

...although you do get to enjoy driver roulette with AMD :)

Is it worth considering an A6 for lower power usage (still does VA de-interlacing I believe)?

[bigdonk]

vbap, on 14 May 2012 - 04:51 PM, said:

...although you do get to enjoy driver roulette with AMD :)

Is it worth considering an A6 for lower power usage (still does VA de-interlacing I believe)?

there is at least 1 x AMCC forum member using the AMD HD 6530D IGP, using vector adaptive de-interlacing, see here

[dwebkombi]

bigdonk, on 14 May 2012 - 06:27 PM, said:

there is at least 1 x AMCC forum member using the AMD HD 6530D IGP, using vector adaptive de-interlacing, see here

And a heap of members using the A8 :P
Actually, you dont really hear much from them on the forum after switching to W7 and the A8 :lol: :lol:

This post has been edited by dwebkombi: 14 May 2012 - 08:48 PM

[turbodewd]

How can Intel be lameo?! I have zero intention of ever buying a Blu-ray disk and rarely download the rips. Depends on what the use will be of the HTPC.

[logifuse]

I've had confirmation of someone using an A6 with VA in MediaPortal. In a passive heatsink case too!

AMD driver roulette - yeah, it's a problem (not that Nvidia is immune), but there's no need to chop & change drivers, so once you find the one that suits with you, stick with it.

Justin