Opinions on an HTPC build. Purchasing in the next couple of hours.

dak125dak125
edited August 2007 in Hardware
Hola,

This is an HTPC build I'm doing for my sister. It may seem like overkill for her needs but I'm looking for longevity and the eventual addition of an HD-DVD player (perhaps an Xbox HD-DVD player so some power is necessary). I will be running Vista Ultimate. In regards to the sound, I'm using the onboard sound card due to it having S/PDIF out.

Case: Eagle Tech Ca-EC2
Motherboard: MSI P6N
CPU: Intel E4300
RAM: OCZ 2x1GB Platinum PC2-6400
Video Card: Gigabyte 8500 GT 256mb
Hard Drive: Seagate 320 GB SATA
DVD ROM: Liteon LH-201H with Litescribe
Speakers: Logitech Z-5500
Mouse: Logitech MX Air

Uses:
-Music
-DVD's
-Video Files
-Basic Internet Usage

Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

Comments

  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    If your looking for power the 8500GT isn't what you want. Even a 8600GT isn't all that great. But if I had a choice I would spend the extra buck on a 8600GT. especially if you plan on HD play back.

    Everything else looks great :)
  • dak125dak125
    edited August 2007
    Sledgehammer70 wrote:
    If your looking for power the 8500GT isn't what you want. Even a 8600GT isn't all that great. But if I had a choice I would spend the extra buck on a 8600GT. especially if you plan on HD play back.

    Everything else looks great :)

    Hehe, I actually changed the system notably since I posted this. New specs:

    -SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD403LJ 400GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
    -GIGABYTE GV-NX85T256H GeForce 8500GT 256MB
    - AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 4800+ Socket AM2 (65W)
    - Asus M2N-E nForce 570 Ultra
    - Liteon LH-20A1H-185 20X

    Any reason why you would not recommend the 8500 GT? I bought it specifically for HD playback. Apparently (mind you I'm a super-noob when it comes to this type of build) but this card will aid the CPU in processing HD playback. I also picked that card because it is passively cooled.

    Everything's ordered at this point but I'd love to hear your opinions regardless :). Thanks!
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    If your looking for silent you can get a nice 8600 from MSI for $20 more..

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127293

    To give a card a good break down for $20 more you can get almost a 100% increase in performance. Just in 3Dmark 06 the 8500GT marks around a 2500 and the 8600GT gets 4900+ along with that the 8600GT sports GDDR3 clocked at 1400MHz which is almost double the 8500GT's memory clock which is only at GDDR2 800MHz and the core is clocked a bit higher at 540Mhz which from the 8500 you choose stock clock is 450Mhz.

    With increased memory speeds and core clock it is worth the $20. You mentioned longevity so I just wanted to make sure your getting the best bang for her buck :)
  • dak125dak125
    edited August 2007
    Sledgehammer70 wrote:
    If your looking for power the 8500GT isn't what you want. Even a 8600GT isn't all that great. But if I had a choice I would spend the extra buck on a 8600GT. especially if you plan on HD play back.

    Everything else looks great :)
    Sledgehammer70 wrote:
    If your looking for silent you can get a nice 8600 from MSI for $20 more..

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127293

    To give a card a good break down for $20 more you can get almost a 100% increase in performance. Just in 3Dmark 06 the 8500GT marks around a 2500 and the 8600GT gets 4900+ along with that the 8600GT sports GDDR3 clocked at 1400MHz which is almost double the 8500GT's memory clock which is only at GDDR2 800MHz and the core is clocked a bit higher at 540Mhz which from the 8500 you choose stock clock is 450Mhz.

    With increased memory speeds and core clock it is worth the $20. You mentioned longevity so I just wanted to make sure your getting the best bang for her buck :)

    Thanks for the info. One person reviewing that 8600 GT said it refuses to work with Vista Media Center (what I plan on using). That's only one report though.

    Unfortunately it's too late to change the order I placed at the Egg :(. We'll see how the 8500 works out. Thanks!
  • Lucky219Lucky219
    edited August 2007
    the spinpoint is a great choice for a hdd. i got the 500gb version. hope you used the coupon from the newegg newsletter. good luck with the build
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    even if he didn't use the coupon yet, he could call Newegg and they would give him the discount. Newegg is awesome that way :)
  • dak125dak125
    edited August 2007
    Any more details on this coupon? I'm a deal junkie and while this sounds vaguely familiar I'm not finding details at my usual spots. I know of the $20 off $100 coupon that's been dead for awhile but what are the details on this one? Thanks!
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