New HTPC

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Blakey0

Member
Hi All.

So today I took the plunge and ordered a new HTPC to replace the clunking dual core model I currently have at home.

Here's my spec. The system will be used primarily for watching movies and encoding video. Please tell me I've ordered wisely :)

Case
Antec Fusion Remote HTPC Case + 350W PSU

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-2400S Quad Core (2.5GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics

Motherboard
ASUS® P8H61-M LE/USB3 (NEW REV 3.0): M-ATX, USB 3.0, SATA 3.0Gb/s

Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)

Graphics Card
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD + Clear Video HD Technology

2nd Graphics Card
NONE

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

2nd Hard Disk
NONE

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
10x LG BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£65)

Memory Card Reader
NONE

Sound Card
ONBOARD 10 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs

USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD

Firewire & Video Editing
NONE

TV Card
NONE

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)

Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)

Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Monitor
NONE

2nd Monitor
NONE

DVI-D & HDMI Monitor Cables
NONE

Keyboard & Mouse
NONE

Mouse
NONE

Speakers
NONE

Webcam
NONE

Headsets (VOIP)
NONE

Surge Protection
NONE

Printer
NONE

External Hard Drive
NONE

Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

Home Installation
NONE

Data Recovery
NONE

Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
 
W

Wozza63

Biblical Poster
yes it will, integrated graphics is plenty for 1080p, especially on sandy bridge, i think i saw a benchmark for the i5-2500 (think its the same integrated graphics) and i think it got like 50fps on medium, and video is much much lower requirements, it will be plenty

infact it will probably be ok to play a few games if you wish, although heat may be a problem if you do
 
B

Blakey0

Member
Wozza365 said:
yes it will, integrated graphics is plenty for 1080p, especially on sandy bridge, i think i saw a benchmark for the i5-2500 (think its the same integrated graphics) and i think it got like 50fps on medium, and video is much much lower requirements, it will be plenty

infact it will probably be ok to play a few games if you wish, although heat may be a problem if you do
Click to expand...

Phew, thanks for the reassurance on 1080p video. It's one of the main reasons I'm replacing my current HTPC.

Not planning to use it for any gaming to be honest, I have the Xbox for that :)

I think my only remaining concern is the much talked about 24p hardware bug. I'm going to see if I notice it and can always add a low profile card at a later date if it's annoying me.
 
W

Wozza63

Biblical Poster
24p? what is that?

just as extra reassurance, i have an old intel pentium with pretty bad integrated graphics (i cant game at all apart from small lightweight games, even then it struggles) and it manages to run 720p movies very smoothly, and it runs 1080p although quite choppy, but half the reason is probably that its optimized for a lower resolution of 1366x768

im not 100% if they will do this, but on integrated graphics, manufacturers usually set up the amount of memory graphics cards use, and PCS may have to set theirs up, and you could easily ask for them to set it up to like 1.5GB if you so wish seeing as you have 8GB (mine is set to about 54mb and i cant change it)

also there probably isnt much chance of you adding a proper graphics card as your case only has a 350W PSU and you would need like 600W to allow for any sort of graphics card
 
B

Blakey0

Member
Wozza365 said:
24p? what is that?

just as extra reassurance, i have an old intel pentium with pretty bad integrated graphics (i cant game at all apart from small lightweight games, even then it struggles) and it manages to run 720p movies very smoothly, and it runs 1080p although quite choppy, but half the reason is probably that its optimized for a lower resolution of 1366x768

im not 100% if they will do this, but on integrated graphics, manufacturers usually set up the amount of memory graphics cards use, and PCS may have to set theirs up, and you could easily ask for them to set it up to like 1.5GB if you so wish seeing as you have 8GB (mine is set to about 54mb and i cant change it)

also there probably isnt much chance of you adding a proper graphics card as your case only has a 350W PSU and you would need like 600W to allow for any sort of graphics card
Click to expand...

Apparently the 24p bug is a framerate issue affecting Blu-ray playback.

Another quick question for the group if I may?

I'm hooking the HTPC up to my Amp which only accepts HDMI. The PC's motherboard only has a DVI socket so the guys at PCS are providing a DVI-HDMI adapter.

Will I still be able to output video in 1080p in this way?
 
W

Wozza63

Biblical Poster
yes DVI supplies the same video quality as HDMI, although it does not send sound, so you will need to link up sound through a different port, you may have an optical cable port which are very good for HD audio
 
W

Wozza63

Biblical Poster
just checked, the H61 board does not support optical cable, so how about the board up from it, its about £20 more and has HDMI and optical

it also has USB 3.0 on the back incase you were considering getting a USB 3.0 external HDD anytime soon
 
B

Blakey0

Member
Wozza365 said:
just checked, the H61 board does not support optical cable, so how about the board up from it, its about £20 more and has HDMI and optical

it also has USB 3.0 on the back incase you were considering getting a USB 3.0 external HDD anytime soon
Click to expand...

OK this has totally flummoxed me.

How am I supposed to output sound then?

Thanks for looking into it though, much appreciated.

Just got the mail to say my system is built, so now worried I can't change the board.
 
Last edited:
W

Wozza63

Biblical Poster
you do have audio slots, they are just the usual ones that are usually on the front of a case, im not sure what the quality on them is like, i imagine its fine, i think its just the normal headphones slot, so you will need to buy an AUX to AUX lead (if that exists) that should then be your audio covered :)
 
B

Blakey0

Member
Wozza365 said:
you do have audio slots, they are just the usual ones that are usually on the front of a case, im not sure what the quality on them is like, i imagine its fine, i think its just the normal headphones slot, so you will need to buy an AUX to AUX lead (if that exists) that should then be your audio covered :)
Click to expand...

OK but my amp only has HDMI and optical inputs. Pretty sure it won't accept anything else, or maybe I'm missing something obvious here?
 
W

Wozza63

Biblical Poster
there may be such thing as a AUX to optical adapter, its a bit difficult though considering optical transmits data through light
 
B

Blakey0

Member
Wozza365 said:
there may be such thing as a AUX to optical adapter, its a bit difficult though considering optical transmits data through light
Click to expand...

Hmmm doesn't sound ideal. My current htpc is connected via HDMI so really need to replicate that set-up. If I try and amend my order though it doesn't allow any mobo alternatives.

Starting to worry :(
 
B

Blakey0

Member
After all my concerns and worries, I put a call into the guys at PCS and found a solution.

It was close because my PC was almost finished so it was my absolute last chance to make any alterations to the spec.

Got my dispatched email this morning so all being well with the world I should have it tomorrow :D
 
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