HTPC Help.

[KJamesJR]

Had some questions about HTPCs'... I figured they'd be somewhat practical with the right setup. Would just like to hear some thoughts on bare minimum specs for storeing BlueRays/Music. Not a internet or gaming rig. HDMI ready with great sound... Thinking of maybe throwing a AMD Semphron (spelled correctly?) in it.

Thoughts on case styles/cooling? Does it need adiquate cooling? I would rather the case be slim>boxy... Kinda how the new 360 is, possibly smaller... if possible.

Sound cards... Not familiar on what to look for with these. I'm sure I could figure it out eventually. Just some thoughts would be nice. Also, Intergrated graphics, or video card. If so, is there a specific kind for video output only (not gaming, or workstaion).

Thanks for the read.

 

[MindoverMaster]

It's Semperon.

You need ample airflow. A front and/or side fan should be fine. No doubt you need a low profile heatsink.

If you are passing sound through HDMI, it uses the sound on the GPU. Unless you want to hook up external speakers.

I believe that an onboard graphic card, they have onboard HDMI now, hould be enough.

 

[Yami]

It's Semperon.

No, it's Sempron.

 

[MindoverMaster]

Semprons are fading out though. Go for like an Athlon x2

 

[KJamesJR]

Will onboard graphics handle BlueRay? And should I be looking into something else other than the stock heatsink? Need something that will be able to handle 1080p.

Also I was wondering on what OS I should be using... And will the standard Media Player work fine? And for the PSU? Or do those generally come with the case?

Maybe someone could just put together a basic build for me so I can get an Idea... I'll try coming up with a few things later on and post them as well.

 

[MindoverMaster]

You can use this Linux OS: XBMC

 

[Yami]

Onboard graphics are unlikely to be good enough to play back a 1080p Blu-Ray.

 

[Brinson]

I think a Sempron would struggle with most HD sources.

 

[KJamesJR]

There's an inexpensive Biostar with Radeon 3000 on board graphics... Says it can handle BlueRay. I was told about Ubuntu today, I may look into that as a OS. I'll just post what I've come up with.

Case/PSU
Newegg.com - hec Black 0.7mm Thickness SECC Steel 7K09BBA30FNRX Micro ATX Media Center 300W Power Supply / HTPC Case

CPU/MOBO
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!

HDD
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

RAM
Newegg.com - Pareema 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model MD313C80809L2

ODD
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!

 

[MindoverMaster]

I wouldn't get that PSU, even to keep the costs low. Get like an Antec Earthwatts 380W.