Building a BTV HTPC

[Henk99]

Hi all

I am a total n00b when it comes to the hardware of a PC. However, i would really like to start building a HTPC of my own.
I already read a lot of posts i could find in here about the subject, but still i would like a more basic approach.
Does any of you know of a good site that starts at the beginning and mentions the actual 'how to'.
When i read here or when i simply google around, the info is simply too overwhelming for me to really get a good starting point.
I would need basic tips on cases, fans, mother boards, graphics cards etc. How to connect it to a network and TV. What software is best used, what remote, etc, etc.

At this point i have a normal PC with Windows XP and a Hauppauge PVR-150MCE. I have it set-up with XMLTV for programming and everything is working pretty well i think.

Just in case anyone is considering helping me a bit , please mention WHY you choose certain components or approaches.

Thanks a bunch already for everybody on the forum, it's a great place for BTV info!

Henk99 (living in the Netherlands by the way)

[mojo69]

It is actually MUCH easier than you think. Here is one guide that helped me when I first started out a couple of years ago:

http://www.motherboards.org/articles/guides/924_1.html


That's probably the best guide I have found. Although it is not HTPC specific, it will help tons. Also, make sure you read your motherboard guide thoroughly, as there are some gotchas with jumpers, and FSB settings sometimes.

[ejdriscoll]

Go to htpcnews.com and check out some of the guides there.

[Henk99]

Thanks! It is a good starting place i think. It will surely help me, as the actual building is a first timer for me. I added and removed some components before, but never started from scratch.

However, I am more concerned about specific features and software i would need and pay attention to when building a HTPC. What minimum specs i would need in terms of memory, processor speed, HD speed and capacity. What connections from the HTPC to the outside world i would need.

Cheers,

Henk99

[Henk99]

Originally Posted by ejdriscoll

Go to htpcnews.com and check out some of the guides there.

Yeah Baby!

That's exactly the kind of site i'm looking for. This helps me a great deal. It has a lot of Hardware discussion. I think i'm gonna spend some time there in the next days to make a list


Thanks a bunch!

[nanook105]

Not to overload, but avs.com is also a good site:

http://www.avsforum.com/

[ejdriscoll]

Glad to be of service. htpcnews also has a very active set of forums as well. Obviously I come here first for anything having to do with SS products specifically, but htpcnews is a great resource for other topics.

[ejdriscoll]

I agree with mojo69, assembling a system from scratch isn't really a lot more complicated than adding/removing PCI cards. If you're skilled enough to do one, you can probably do the other.

Of course, you can go REALLY crazy with modifying your case, adding LCD displays, experimenting with sophisticated silent cooling solutions, etc. I'm not personally that hard-core.

[Henk99]

Thanks a bunch all for helping me out. Those are great links that will keep me busy for a while. I am first going to read it carefully and then slowly i will start building a HTPC.