Question about parts for HTPC

[CrazyScott]

This my first post but i tend to stalk the forum everyday

I have some pair parts laying around and was wondering if i could use them for a HTPC....i have a P4 3GHz proc would this be fine for a HTPC?

Also i am getting Eastlink Digital cable soon...well a TV Tuner work on this. Currently I have bell expressvu and no TV tuner will work for that right?

Another question, what do you guys think about this case:
NCIX.com - Buy Silverstone Lascala LC17B Black HTPC Case 2X5.25 1X3.5 6X3.5INT W/ 2X80MM Case Fan - LC17B In Canada.


thanks
CrazyScott

[49-parallel]

A p4 @ 3ghz should be more than fine for that….2G of ram goes without saying

Your tuner will work with east link Eastlink Digital cable

And that is a nice HTPC case

May I as what board and Ram did you plan on using?…Did you have any peculiar tuner in mind as well?

[CrazyScott]

Originally Posted by 49-parallel

May I as what board and Ram did you plan on using?…Did you have any peculiar tuner in mind as well?

I will be using a cheap MSI RC410M mobo that i just have laying around with the CPU

for memory i will be using
Buffalo Select 2GB 1X2GB PC2-5300 thinking about upgrading this as well not sure

The tv tuner was the next question i am not sure what to get any suggestions?

Also i need a video card and hard drives what do u suggest for those?

thanks

[lowfat]

I have that case.

PROS:
looks nice.

CONS:
optical bays hang over mainboard.
have to remove a hard drive bay if using longer videocards
having the other hard drive bay next to the psu makes things VERY difficult to wire.


Make sure you have all your usb/front headers on BEFORE putting the HDD bays in, or else they'll need to come out. Same goes with the 24pin connector before the optical drive. Getting the front 92/80mm fans on is as far as I can tell impossible. As you need to do it with the front bezel off, but once you put the HDD bays in, you can't put the bezel back on. Will try to find a way around this next week if I have time.

[CrazyScott]

Thanks for the info...is there another case u suggest or should i still go with this one?

[lowfat]

Also forgot to add the corners are insanely sharp. I sliced my hands to shreds on this thing. And unfortunately I can't recommend anything else as it was the only HTPC case I've owned.

[CrazyScott]

Originally Posted by CrazyScott

The tv tuner was the next question i am not sure what to get any suggestions?

Also i need a video card and hard drives what do u suggest for those?

thanks

Can anybody answer these question?

thanks

[CMetaphor]

#1 - For the TV tuner I personally use a Theater 650 Pro (PCI version) and have not had any issues using it with either MCE of MythTV.

#2 - For a graphics card, assuming you have PCI-express on that motherboard, I'd suggest the new ATI 4670 (basically a 3870). It runs very well for the price, has HDMI and 8.1 audio outs as well.

#3 - You might want to consider the 7200.11 series from Seagate for your storage. I have 4x of these in my system (500Gb each) and can barely hear them at all. Best of all, they're always one on special @ NCIX for around 60-70$.

Hope it helps!

[lowfat]

I use an Hauppauge HD-PVR & BeyondTV. It is a rather expensive combo, and you would also need a digital cable set-top-box but quality is absolutely perfect.