New HTPC Mythbuntu setup

I am very new to the HTPC concept. I had been looking around to purchase a solution that can record live TV, access media (videos, pictures, music) via a network share or NAS, record/play in HD, access online media sites (Hulu, BBC iPlayer, youtube, etc), provide program data, display weather, show RSS feeds,and provide a media center interface. I found three main solutions, none of which meet all or even just the major requirements. They are:

http://www.sage.tv/hd_theater.html (Can't access Hulu or Netflix "Watch Now"

http://www.neurostechnology.com/neuros-link (Doesn't record Live tv)

http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/index.php?module=onlinestore&pluginoption=catalog&task=info&item_id=10&main_id=0&category_id= (Doesn't record live TV or access Hulu)

So I decided to investigate building a HTPC that can do just that. However, I went way over my budget. I wanted to stay below $500

Here is what I have:

Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133060&Tpk=Thermaltake%20VF7001BNS%20DH101%20HTPC

Motherboard -

1. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130159

1. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131232

1. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128363

Processor - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

Hard Drive - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148261

Video Card - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121267

Tuner 1 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116010

Tuner 2 - I already have a ATI TV Wonder 650 that I don't use.

Not sure if this will work or not but I wanted to get some input on getting the price down. Mostly, this will be used to record TV while I am watching other shows. Occasionally browsing pictures, downloaded video, and music via wireless to a network share or NAS. My two main concerns are I want it to be SILENT and not overheat. Please, any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi,

You don't really need a 3GHz CPU, have a look at a E5200. I have one in my frontend and it's enough for HD content (h.264).

A small tip, if you want people to help you, make it easy for them. Just including links to a website means that someone has to click on the link, open the page, read it, remember the info and then start writing a post.

Something like:-

Intel Core2 XXGHz (web page link)

would be alot easier to read.

Regards Ian Dobson

Sorry, I will keep that in mind for next time. What about the motherboard, video card, and TV Tuner? Are they able to accomplish the things I wanted? Are they overkill? I don't want something that is too much overkill but I would like a little extra power for the future.

A couple of suggestions:

Case $80 - SILVERSTONE Silver Aluminum front panel, 0.8 mm SECC body SST-LC17-S ATX Media Center / HTPC Case - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163054

I use a Silverstone HTPC case and like it a lot.

Graphics Card $33 - ASUS EN8400GS SILENT/HTP/256M GeForce 8400 GS 256MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121240

$30 - XFX PVT72SWANG GeForce 7200GS 512MB (256MB on board) 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Low Profile Ready Video Card - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150255

For an HTPC, I much prefer a fanless graphics card. Cuts down on the noise! I also like a graphics card that has numerous options for connectivity (D-sub, DVI, S-video, etc.). I use a GeForce 6600 256 Mb AGP and it does very well.

CPU $83 - Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072

$84 - AMD Athlon X2 5400B 2.8GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADO540BDOBOX - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103267

Eh - Which ever tickles your fancy.

Motherboard $60 - BIOSTAR TForce TG31-A7 LGA 775 Intel G31 ATX Intel http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138121

$70 - BIOSTAR A770 A2+ AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138106

I have built two MythTV systems with Biostar motherboards and haven't had a problem. These aren't performance motherboards, but they have been dependendable (2+years so far) and price is good. Be sure to get a motherboard that does not have a fan on the North bridge. These motherboard fans tend to fail or cause noise.

Hard Drive $50 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148261

RAM $22 for Intel - Kingston HyperX 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104012

$21 for AMD - Patriot Extreme Performance 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model PEP21G6400LL - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220142

The price of the above components for Intel is ~$325. The price of the above components for AMD is ~$335.

It might be possible to reduce the cost by further $30 by selecting a similarly priced motherboard with integrated video if available.

I can't believe you're willing to spend $250 on a case but spend only 50 bucks on a HDD. If that's gonna be your Backend machined, you should at least get 1TB, your 250GB will last a month :)

Thanks for the suggestions...a few things

1. The case you suggested is fine but I like the one I had originally better. I realize to get the cost down I should go for something less expensive. I found the following Thermaltake case that I like (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133169). Do you have any knowledge of them and how they are for HTPC's. Will this case be quiet?

1. I will be hooking this HTPC up to my Panasonic Viera 42" Plasma TV and it only has component, S-video, and HDMI input for video. I would love to get a cheaper video card without HDMI but need it because of that. Does HDMI for video work in Mythbuntu? Is it hard to set up?

1. If I purchase the setup I had originally or I do the items that you said will they display good HD 1080 video? What do I need to look for to accomplish this?

I appreciate all of your help. I just want to make sure I am getting the best bang for my buck, everything will work, and it is quiet and doesn't over heat.

You can get a motherboard with built in video and HDMI. I've had mine for few months and it works great. I have 50" Plasma TV connected via HDMI and get 1080p with no problem.

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128354 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128072

Case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811121068

Thanks for that. Personally, I'm not a big fan of that case as I like the ones that sit flat instead of upright. But I had seen the two motherboards you listed before. Is the video just as good on the motherboards as it would be from a dedicated card? Since the video is integrated onto the motherboard does it run off system RAM instead of dedicated video RAM? Also, can you recommend any full ATX boards that have HDMI?

If one of the above motherboards with integrated HDMI doesn't work (great finds by the way!), then perhaps the video card below will work for you?

$67 - MSI NX8500GT-MTD256EH GeForce 8500 GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready Silent Heatsink Video Card - Retail On-board HDMI port http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127301

I agree that $250 for a case is expensive. Whether to go with a slim case or a full case will depend on number of expansion slots and hard disks that will be added.

I am pretty amazed that a complete system can be built for quite a reasonable amount of money. I am sure there are other ways to reduce cost.

JawsThemeSwimming428 said: Thanks for that. Personally, I'm not a big fan of that case as I like the ones that sit flat instead of upright. But I had seen the two motherboards you listed before. Is the video just as good on the motherboards as it would be from a dedicated card? Since the video is integrated onto the motherboard does it run off system RAM instead of dedicated video RAM? Also, can you recommend any full ATX boards that have HDMI?

That case sits flat too, that's how i have it. I don't like it sitting up either. It's a small and slick looking, everything is covered, including USB, Firewire ports, DVD drive, etc. It fits 2 standard hard drives, i have 2x500gb. It has 2 fans plus one more, the one on the CPU and that is enough cooling. I have 2gb PC6400 RAM with Intel E8400 CPU. The whole set up cost so cheap. I also have the HDhomerun Dual HD tuner, it is network attached and you don't have it inside the computer. It also has a hardware encoder and you can watch/record two channels at a time. The miniATX is not an issue then since you don't need any extra PCI cards. Everything you need is on the board. It also has SPDIF sound output with 7.1 channel audio. That's all you need for a good HTPC :)

just a small point, but unless you must have your audio going through HDMI, you could get a DVI board as well und use a DVI-HDMI connection...

You could also get a VGA board that suppors VGA->Component and go that route too, but I've seen more people have problems with this way.

I personally use DVI->HDMI on a couple of frontends, and I use spdif out for digital audio.

bmwman said: I can't believe you're willing to spend $250 on a case but spend only 50 bucks on a HDD. If that's gonna be your Backend machined, you should at least get 1TB, your 250GB will last a month :)

The reason for this is because I will not be using the internal HDD for everything. I am going to have a NAS device that has 2TB total storage. There is no point to add more HDD space if I have the NAS.

bmwman said: That case sits flat too, that's how i have it. I don't like it sitting up either. It's a small and slick looking, everything is covered, including USB, Firewire ports, DVD drive, etc. It fits 2 standard hard drives, i have 2x500gb. It has 2 fans plus one more, the one on the CPU and that is enough cooling. I have 2gb PC6400 RAM with Intel E8400 CPU. The whole set up cost so cheap. I also have the HDhomerun Dual HD tuner, it is network attached and you don't have it inside the computer. It also has a hardware encoder and you can watch/record two channels at a time. The miniATX is not an issue then since you don't need any extra PCI cards. Everything you need is on the board. It also has SPDIF sound output with 7.1 channel audio. That's all you need for a good HTPC :)

Is it quiet?

One thing I'm not able to figure out is what software to run to actually schedule record tv shows with. What will you be using?

Any suggestions...anyone?

jschodde said: One thing I'm not able to figure out is what software to run to actually schedule record tv shows with. What will you be using?

Any suggestions...anyone?

Mythtv is the software used to schedule tv recordings. What Mythtv won't have is tv schedule data. Thus, on a fresh install, Mythtv won't know what channels you have or the programs channels provide.

To obtain schedule data, and because you are in the US, sign up for a [[COLOR="Sienna"]SchedulesDirect[/COLOR]]("http://www.schedulesdirect.org/") account.

If you haven't installed Mythtv yet, I recommend reading and a basic understanding configuration Mythtv

[[COLOR="Sienna"]Mythbuntu Manual[/COLOR]]("http://www.mythbuntu.org/installation_manual")

[[COLOR="Sienna"]Mythbuntu Wiki[/COLOR]]("http://help.ubuntu.com/community/MythTV")

Hope this helps.