Htpc?

wiwazevedo

wiwazevedo

Member
So my parents want to stop paying for cable. They asked if there was a way they could stream the shows off of hulu and similar sites on their tv, stream netflix instant view, play dvds, and movies off of a harddrive.

Ive never built an htpc but it doesnt sound all that hard. can anyone recommend a video card to use for an htpc build?

they would be watching on a 42" flat screen and I'd like the quality to be as good as possible. The tv box does not support a digital hdmi input, how would I go about hooking up an htpc to the tv without loosing too much quality?

Mythbuntu?
 
get an onboard gpu. for just watching movies, an onboard 4xxx gpu would be perfect (especially since it is going to be an htpc). don't bother with a discrete gpu. what kind of a budget do you have for it?

i'd start with this board.

and this ram.

edit: are you looking for recommendations on the individual parts?
 
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I toyed with the idea of building a HTPC for awhile, but haven't yet got around to it. At the time, my research seemed to indicate that for maximum compatibility of streaming HD audio that either an i3/i5 CPU, (with CPU onboard video), coupled with an H55/H57 chipset MB (which supports the CPU video), OR an ATI 5000x card was the way to go.
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HTCP.jpg

(from Guide to Building a HD HTCP).

I hung around on the AVS Forum for awhile. Seemed like most there went with a simple i3/H55 setup, which provided good HD video and audio performance in a small package, (if they didn't game). Those that gamed added a 5450, 5770, 5870, etc, depending on the video demands of their gaming.

Here's the i3 & i5 Clarkdale Lineup, and here's H55 & H57 Chipset Motherboards
 
Well you'd want a nice HTPC case, quiet components and a graphics card that can do video/audio HDMI out. Take a look at some Silverstone HTPC cases, I've built with a grandia one (~$120) and it's very nice for the money.
 
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