Getting your HTPC together is a little bit different from setting up a regular old PC.
When you are setting up the HTPC, you want to think about saving yourself energy, socket space, and the risk of tripping over the wires.
While you are building your media center PC, you want to consider what you are actually going to use it for. Are you going to use it to watch movies? Are you going to have a killer music library selection? Or maybe you are just going to have it set up to look good for guests to admire?
At the beginning of your project, it is a very good idea to research what are the most popular HTPC components. This way you will make sure that you use computer parts that are proven to work well.
In general, people use their HTPC for the following tasks:
Follow these steps and not only will you be familiar with how to assemble an incredible piece of technology, but you will also gain the knowledge to keep it as silent as possible.
When it comes to an HTPC case form factor, it is the motherboard size that determines the size of your case (or the other way round). There are three main form factors to choose from: mini-ITX, microATX and ATX.
The mini-ITX is the smallest one, but also offers the least expandability and has a limited cooling options. The best decision is that you go with a micro-ATX or full ATX cases as there you will have a wide range of options, and you do not need to make too many compromises in terms of heat generation. Make sure you have room for the PC to vent, also.
A black micro-ATX case, such as the SilverStone GD05B or Antec Fusion Remote Black could be a good solution instead of the standard white case that is sitting on top of your desk.
Case recommendations:
The two processors you should even consider using are AMD and Intel. The AMD processor is more popular with PC builders because of the simple fact that they are cheaper and perform just as well as an Intel processor.
The AMD E-350 Zacate brings you faster performance than the 1.8 GHz dual-core Atom processor at a very low price. Graphics-wise, you can expect performance similar to the dual-core Atom system’s NVIDIA Ion 2 chip, but with much lower power consumption. Basically, for the price it’s a slam-dunk.
However, the leaders are still the Intel Core i3 and i5 which have become the standard choice of many builders. Intel Core i3-2100 and i5-2500K are based on the Sandy Bridge architecture with integrated graphics and low power consumption.
Processor recommendations:
The main purchase you should focus on is the motherboard because it will make or break the performance of all the components that will be attached later. Also, the type of motherboard you choose will depend on the processor chipset you choose.
ASUS is known to have the most powerful micro ATX motherboards and it could be the best producer of HTPC motherboards. Another good alternatives are Gigabyte and ASRock motherboards that are very popular among HTPC users.
Keep in mind that if you are planning to use the on-board graphics with the Intel Core i3/i5 Sandy Bridge, you need either H67 or Z68 chipset. The P67 chipset does not support on-board graphics.
Motherboard recommendations:
The higher the GB an HDD has, the better. But, the higher the rpm of the HDD and the louder it will be. Most importantly, choose the right HDD for your main board: SATA or IDE. There is a definite difference in connections and you will be extremely disappointed if you don’t catch this.
Luckily, today’s technology has allowed newer main boards to be manufactured with both interfaces integrated into the board.
HDD recommendations:
The only thing to remember in this area is to make sure the memory is compatible with the main board you purchased previously. Some main boards have two slots for RAM, so make sure the RAM match.
The DDR abbreviation means Dual Data Rate and the numbers are the MHz that the RAM operates at. This can be very confusing to a newcomer; so just remember that the higher the RAM you have, the more memory you have.
Memory recommendations:
The graphics card you choose will be the deciding factor in how awesome your system is at displaying a flawless picture on your television. If the motherboard you’re eyeing has an on board graphics card and you don’t plan on playing video games, then stay put.
If you do plan on doing some serious gaming, pick a graphics card with an HDMI output. Keep in mind that once you start getting more powerful video cards, the hotter your system will get and the louder those fans will blow. We want to be quiet, don’t we?
Graphic card recommendations:
If you plan on watching any DVDs or saving anything via compact disk you’ll need a DVD drive. The best DVD drives to choose write Dual Layer +R and -R formats. The main thing to remember when selecting a DVD drive is that they get more expensive the faster they write data.
Optical drive recommendations:
In order for your system to keep cool, it will have to be equipped with fans. The problem is that fans can be extremely noisy. The noise can be caused by the case fan, CPU fan, graphics card fan and power supply fans.
The best route to take is to go with a large (120mm) and slower RPM case fan and see if any other components that come with fans have a fanless alternative. This brings me to a good point; the more fanless components you have means there will be more heat building up in the case.
Purchase a decent case fan to eliminate build up of heat once you go fanless on components that normally come with a fan. When choosing a CPU heat sink, go for the largest cooler possible that will fit in your case.
Cooling recommendations:
Under normal conditions, power supplies are pretty loud because they are very busy powering all the components in your system. Please be aware that larger supplies (over 500W) are usually louder and not suited for HTPC environments. They also tend to consume a large amount of power.
For Intel Core i3 build with on-board graphics, you should not need more than the 380W. I would recommend getting the Antec EarthWatts EA-380D. It is an excellent HTPC PSU and have been used in many home theater PC builds over the years.
The best option is to choose a power supply that is deemed silent by the manufacturer, advertises a large power rating, and sports a 120mm fan.
PSU recommendations:
In order to watch live TV, you’ll need a tuner card. What’s cool about tuner cards is that if you have two installed, you can watch one thing while recording another.
Some manufacturers are now offering a four slot digital cable tuner such as the Ceton InfiniTV 4, which lets you record up to four different digital channels simultaneously.
TV tuner recommendations:
Here, you will find the latest recommendations for three kinds of systems, budget, value and performance systems.
Still not sure what are the optimal components for your build? Check out here what parts other people are using in their home theater PCs.