Writing magazine article on ultimate HTPC - need XPMediaCentre's help

[AdamTurner]

I'm an Australian IT journalist and I'm writing a big feature for a tech magazine on building the ultimate Windows HTPC. I've put together a draft list of specs on my blog;

http://www.hydrapinion.com/index.php...pc_is_a_fusion

I'm not a newbie, but I'd be happy to take some input from the XPMediaCentre community. When I say "ultimate", remember I mean ultimate HTPC, not ultimate PC - I'm not trying to build a $5000 gaming rig. I'm interest in people's opinions as to whether I've over or under spec'd in any department, or whether any of the components will clash. Tips for things to keep in mind during the build, or tweaks to squeeze the most out of it, would also be appreciated.

If people are able to offer some constructive criticism I'm happy to credit XPMediaCentre in the article as a good source of info for those looking to build a HTPC.

[philzgr8]

Well I left a comment on your blog. Most will tell you you can get quieter HDD's

You can search here for particulars.

[merovingian]

Well I left a comment on your blog. Most will tell you you can get quieter HDD's

You can search here for particulars.

I guess people need to hear with their own ears to know, but Silent PC Review certainly have the WD Caviar SE16 right up there as amongst the best:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article29-page2.html

[philzgr8]

I guess people need to hear with their own ears to know

I agree and from my experience WD just don't cut it. Mostly I have had WD and Seagate and you can hear the WD over just about anything! Of course it might just be my bad luck but then I'm only here to relate my experience.

[merovingian]

If people are able to offer some constructive criticism I'm happy to credit XPMediaCentre in the article as a good source of info for those looking to build a HTPC.

One thing I would say it that I don't agree with the spec as being an "ultimate HTPC", at least not in absolute terms, because lots of things could still be upgraded there. However, in terms of a being a high-end system without paying stupid premiums, I would agree that it's at a sweet spot.

I definitely reckon you need more than 500GB (and 400GB drives generally give a better price per Gig), and an "ultimate" machine might even have 3 drives (or more) in a RAID 5 configuration?

Also, getting back to that word "ultimate" again, you aren't living up to the label unless you go with an 8000 series video card. IMHO of course.

[merovingian]

I agree and from my experience WD just don't cut it. Mostly I have had WD and Seagate and you can hear the WD over just about anything! Of course it might just be my bad luck but then I'm only here to relate my experience.

Well I just received my three 400GB WD Caviar SE16 drives yesterday, ready for my build over the weekend. Went with those because my chosen supplier didn't stock Samsung, and SPCR said the WD's were the goods anyway. So your experience is not exactly music to my ears. So to speak.

[philzgr8]

One thing I would say it that I don't agree with the spec as being an "ultimate HTPC", at least not in absolute terms, because lots of things could still be upgraded there. However, in terms of a being a high-end system without paying stupid premiums, I would agree that it's at a sweet spot.

I definitely reckon you need more than 500GB (and 400GB drives generally give a better price per Gig), and an "ultimate" machine might even have 3 drives (or more) in a RAID 5 configuration?

Also, getting back to that word "ultimate" again, you aren't living up to the label unless you go with an 8000 series video card. IMHO of course.

Hey Mero, without wanting to sound argumentative I have to disagree about the number of drives and about the video card. Personally I don't believe you need anything special in a video card for a HTPC. Remember it's not for gaming so if it's MCE compatible and can be configured appropriately then it should do but my feeling is if you're talking Vista you need to look at ATI due to the incompatibilities and shortcomings of Nvidia for now. Further I would say that as a HTPC for MCE you don't need mountains of disk space as you would be way better to store media on a NAS or other box to avoid the overheating and noise problems commonly associated with multiple drives.

Just my 2c

[philzgr8]

Well I just received my three 400GB WD Caviar SE16 drives yesterday, ready for my build over the weekend. Went with those because my chosen supplier didn't stock Samsung, and SPCR said the WD's were the goods anyway. So your experience is not exactly music to my ears. So to speak.

To be fair these things are fairly new but the issue might just be about the type of noise. If you read the comparisons you'll see that the vibration of the WD is an issue. I'm guessing if you found a good silent housing you'd probably have no reason to be concerned.

[ExtremePC]

The case you've chosen fits in the mid range category. To earn the Ultimate moniker your going to have to go for a no fans, heatpipes and heatsinks style of case.

Something like this.

http://www.atechfabrication.com/

[vlad]

If I was building new system it would be microBTX.
Have a look at this case:

http://www.thermaltake.com/product/C...vc9320sns.asp#
And this motherboard: http://www.intel.com/products/mother...5PAW/index.htm
I think that given the fact that NVidia is not supporting lots of HTPC functions in Vista then ATI 1650 PRO SilentPipeII will do better.
Samsung HDD is quieter.

[merovingian]

Hey Mero, without wanting to sound argumentative I have to disagree about the number of drives and about the video card.

Hey we're not arguing, we're debating. And besides, it's a nice way to kill time before my lunchbreak.

Personally I don't believe you need anything special in a video card for a HTPC. Remember it's not for gaming so if it's MCE compatible and can be configured appropriately then it should do but my feeling is if you're talking Vista you need to look at ATI due to the incompatibilities and shortcomings of Nvidia for now.

Well I definitely won't argue, I mean debate, about the NVidia drivers; the problems there are well known. However, the low end 8000 series cards are great value cards for HD playback. The 8500GT cards for example go for sub $200, have HDCP, and do 100% of the H.264 decode (and likewise for other codecs). You can also get passively cooled 8500GTs. So if we're talking about an "ultimate" HTPC, which in my mind would definitely mean H.264 playback of high bit-rate 1080p content, then the 8000 series should be seriously considered IMO. However, I do agree that most folks don't need it just yet.

Further I would say that as a HTPC for MCE you don't need mountains of disk space as you would be way better to store media on a NAS or other box to avoid the overheating and noise problems commonly associated with multiple drives.

Yeah fair call there. I considered the NAS route for myself, and it's definitely appealing, but that meant getting budgetary approval for two boxes in one go. Anyway, I think it gets back to that phrase "ultimate HTPC" again: HTPC plus NAS might be a better overall solution but if someome is building just the ultimate HTPC, I think 500Gb is too little.

Yeah you're right about the HD noise, but SPCR's figures are so low that all of the different noise types should be inaudible from across the room. Should.

[vlad]

Well I definitely won't argue, I mean debate, about the NVidia drivers; the problems there are well known. However, the low end 8000 series cards are great value cards for HD playback. The 8500GT cards for example go for sub $200, have HDCP, and do 100% of the H.264 decode (and likewise for other codecs). You can also get passively cooled 8500GTs. So if we're talking about an "ultimate" HTPC, which in my mind would definitely mean H.264 playback of high bit-rate 1080p content, then the 8000 series should be seriously considered IMO. However, I do agree that most folks don't need it just yet.

More and more TV/Movie content available in matroska but there are 2 problems here. 1. Most of people are like me and have a panel where is no real difference if you are watching SD or HD
2. H.264 is big and Australian broadband market is not mature enough to propose 200+ Gb per month.
I can play H.264 on my gear, it takes ~50% of my P4 CPU

Yeah fair call there. I considered the NAS route for myself, and it's definitely appealing, but that meant getting budgetary approval for two boxes in one go. Anyway, I think it gets back to that phrase "ultimate HTPC" again: HTPC plus NAS might be a better overall solution but if someome is building just the ultimate HTPC, I think 500Gb is too little.

Yeah you're right about the HD noise, but SPCR's figures are so low that all of the different noise types should be inaudible from across the room. Should.

There is no such a thing as just HTPC. You have to connect it to the internet, it means that you have to have home network. Then why not to have NAS?

[philzgr8]

All great points guys. The key here being what someone might define as an ultimate HTPC. What works for me isn't necessarily going to cut it for you and vice versa. Therefore IMHO the article should start out by defining the desired outcomes and then construct the architectures accordingly. Something like a decision tree to see what the user finds important!

[merovingian]

More and more TV/Movie content available in matroska but there are 2 problems here. 1. Most of people are like me and have a panel where is no real difference if you are watching SD or HD

True. However I personally don't see why anyone would want to pair an "ultimate HTPC" with a display or screen that's far from ultimate.

2. H.264 is big and Australian broadband market is not mature enough to propose 200+ Gb per month.

True again, but you don't have to download all of it. Adam's article is already forecasting adding a Blu Ray drive in the immediate term.

I can play H.264 on my gear, it takes ~50% of my P4 CPU

Fair enough. But not all H.264 is created equal. X-men: The Last Stand blu ray reaches around 40Mbps. From what I've read, your system probably won't be able to play that without an 8000 series card.

There is no such a thing as just HTPC. You have to connect it to the internet, it means that you have to have home network. Then why not to have NAS?

I take your point of course. However, I don't quite agree that you have to connect it to the internet, or that you have to have a home network. Also the NAS adds cost (not massive amounts, but non-trivial), and offers marginal benefits if you will have, at most, two PCs in the house (which is probably the case for most people).

[merovingian]

All great points guys. The key here being what someone might define as an ultimate HTPC. What works for me isn't necessarily going to cut it for you and vice versa. Therefore IMHO the article should start out by defining the desired outcomes and then construct the architectures accordingly.

This is probably the best point made on the whole thread.