What should I expect from a HTPC?

[Koggit]

It's been months since I've really wanted to play a console game. I'm an audio and videophile, and I'm really just not satisfied with the Xbox 360's DVD/HDDVD playback.

I currently have an 80 hour HD DVR through Comcast.

I want to sell everything - PS2, Wii, X360, HDDVD add-on, Gamcube, +about 200 games and 15 HD DVDs - and build a really good HTPC, with a BluRay and HDDVD drive. I want to use it as a DVR and also play video games on it. My living room TV is only 720p, but hopefully I'd get enough cash from the liquidation to put toward a 1080p set. Also, of course, I'd be playing music on my sound system pretty often.

My question is really: should I do it? Is it worth it? Is HTPC software on par with the stand-alone devices? Will I be able to have full DVR functionality (guide browsing, season pass, etc)? Are HD optical drives on par with PS3 and stand-alone HDDVD players?

I'm also curious about using a HTPC as a cable decoder. How's that work? It'd be nice if I could simply not use a cable box at all. Then I'd only have my receiver and HTPC under my TV.

This is something I'd likely do around the end of August. Still tons of time, but since this will probably cost thousands, I don't want to regret it.

I guess a good question to field is, if you had nearly unlimited funds (I'd cap it around $3,000), what would you build, and why?

[Vinny]

HTPCs do have some advantages... but they're still computers at heart. You will still get software issues, viruses, etc.

If you don't want to play console games anymore then it might be worth it for you. Me, I wouldn't since I still play more console games than PC games.

I say keep at least one console.

[gunm]

HTPCs still have the same power/heat issues working against them as when they first appeared. And that alone will prevent you from getting the kind of performance you'll need to future-proof yourself enough to justify wiping your entire collection. In fact, I'd say selling all your games and consoles for one is sheer lunacy at this time.

Beyond the small footprint, you're far better off getting a high end gaming PC if you're going to give up consoles all together.

IMO, HTPCs are wayyyy overrated. Kudos to the marketing guys for making you want one that bad, though. You've already got HD-DVD and a 360. I'd rather trade that for a PS3 (though in reality I'd never do that) then give up everything for an HTPC.

[Koggit]

I don't see any downsides to a large tower, so long as I can keep it somewhat silent. I'd probably go with a mid tower, maybe full though, four HDs could be nice.

Wouldn't it basically be a high-end gaming PC, but with a ton of storage and a tuner? I don't see any reason to go micro-ATX or anything.

HTPCs do have some advantages... but they're still computers at heart. You will still get software issues, viruses, etc.

If you don't want to play console games anymore then it might be worth it for you. Me, I wouldn't since I still play more console games than PC games.

I say keep at least one console.

I don't think I'd mind the occasional crash and cleanup, but now that you mention it, I will probably keep my Wii. That shouldn't cut into my funds too deeply. Life without Smash Brothers would be pretty sad.

[Vinny]

I don't see any downsides to a large tower, so long as I can keep it somewhat silent. I'd probably go with a mid tower, maybe full though, four HDs could be nice.

Wouldn't it basically be a high-end gaming PC, but with a ton of storage and a tuner? I don't see any reason to go micro-ATX or anything.



I don't think I'd mind the occasional crash and cleanup, but now that you mention it, I will probably keep my Wii. That shouldn't cut into my funds too deeply. Life without Smash Brothers would be pretty sad.

If you're ok with a mid/full tower then it'll definitely be a lot better and you have the right idea, it would basically be a gaming PC with a lot of storage. Those mini/micro PCs suck if you want a HTPC that'll game.

But yeah, now that you know what you want, it's time to start figuring out the most important part: budget. Set up a budget you know you'd be happy with- that's the most important part. If you don't have a budget set in stone, you're likely to go all over the place and regret spending as much as you did.

Otherwise, start thinking about a few things:
1. Dual graphics card or single?
2. How much HD space is enough?
3. Overlocking (now or in the future)?
4. Wireless keyboard/mouse? Bluetooth?
5. Will you need a seperate PC monitor or will you be using your current HDTV as your display (I'd recommend going with a PC monitor, they're pretty cheap these days).

Also, make sure NOT to sell that 360 HD-DVD add on drive as you can use that for your computer. Also keep in mind that Blu-Ray drives are rare and expensive since they're relatively new.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2000100005+1036522425&Configurator=&Subcategory=5&description=&Ntk=&srchInDesc=

[Koggit]

For the video card, I don't really know what I need. Are there video-in ports on a tuner? Are there video cards with built-in tuners? I know ATI, at least used, make All-In-Wonder versions of their Radeons, which I think had video-in and built-in tuners. I don't have the slightest idea what I'm looking at for a HTPC video card, though.

Storage is another thing.. I don't really understand RAID. I know one way stripes and one way mirrors, either increasing speed or creating a back-up, depending on the setup. At least, I think that's right. I think I could benefit from striping, but I won't have anything important enough to need to back up. I was thinking two fast HDs, either 80 or 150, for programs and then about 500GB for media (DVR, music).

I doubt I'll have the need to overclock. I know how and have before, but I'd rather get a good CPU/GPU and suitable RAM and run everything at stock speeds, both to increase the longevity of the hardware and also to get by with more silent cooling.

I'll probably get Microsoft's 7000 series wireless desktop. The keyboard is great, bluetooth (10 meter range), and has a trackpad on the top right to use instead of a mouse. It also comes with a mouse, though, which I can use on my coffee table when I decide to game.

#5 is a huge question, which I don't think I'm prepared to answer yet. If I move out soon, which I might, I'll probably get a second, 1080p TV. Otherwise, I might use my current 720p DLP, but at 56" the low resolution would be a bummer. Definitely not a monitor though, since I'm going to be ~15ft away from this... the high DPI of a computer monitor would be a waste.

Good to know about the HD DVD drive. I might do that, and then add the BluRay drive later when the price reaches $250ish.

[Vinny]

There are cards that have a built in tuner but those aren't generally good (they basically give you a half ass graphics card and half assed tuner).

But you might want to seriously reconsider a computer tuner. They're not that great.

For the graphics: I'd say a 320MB 8800GTS. The 8800GTS is probably the best bet for you now because it does an excellent job of decoding HD videos (like from BD or HD-DVDs) and takes a lot of stress off of the processor. And for games, it'll get you plenty of performance at most any resolution.

The problem starts when and if you get the 1080p TV and what to game at 1080p resolution (1920x1080) which would require a high end graphics card.

For the processor: I'd say an E6600 should suffice well.

Memory: Any good branded DDR2 800 should do, 2GB should be plenty. Memory is really cheap now so you can pick up some good performance ram for under $100.

Power Supply: Lots of options, should consider last to make sure it does all you want.

Storage: Another easy area, you can get 500GB HDs for under $100. I wouldn't worry about RAID too much in your case. I don't know which is which either but since you have no need for backing up your data and I don't see any need for performance. As for space, this is up to you and it looks like you know what you want, which is good.

Another thing I forgot to ask, you said you want a quite PC. I'm not sure how quite you want... but water cooling is nearly silent but I think is overkill for most people. My system has two high performance, low noise 120mm which move tons of air plus the PS, CPU, and (after market) GPU fans and it's quieter than than an X360- just to give you an idea.

Now start doing research!:)

[Koggit]

I don't really know anything about PC tuners. I mean, what exactly do they do? I know if you want your HTPC to function as a PVR you need it. Do they replace your cable box, or does the input come from the cable box? Does the CPU then handle the video decoding, or does the tuner? It seems like having the computer handle the decoding would run into rampant piracy, which makes me somewhat skeptical that a tuner could replace a cable set-top box.

But if I do go with a tuner, won't I need a beefier CPU and more RAM, for smooth HD playback and/while recording? I don't want any problems and I'm not afraid of paying a premium. I'm definitely going to want a dual-tuner (that's what my Motorola is) and I want to be able to do whatever I want while recording those two HD streams, including HD playback (from DVR or physical media). Going quad-core with 4GB of RAM isn't out of the question.

Without a tuner it wouldn't be much of a HTPC. Mostly just a PC that I watch movies on.

[Vinny]

A tuner is just that, a tuner. It'll accept a feed and show it to you. I actually think you might be stuck with that cable box if your cable company requires it. If your cable box does the decoding then you'll definitely need it even with a PC tuner.

There are tuners that have built in decoders so they handle the largest load of the recording and what not and then there are tuners without built in decoders which use your computer's resources.

This is the kind of stuff you need to research on since I don't know anything about your set-up beyond the cable box. And I'm honestly not a huge expert in this field since I've only used a PC tuner with standard cable (meaning it went directly from my wall to my TV).

[grendel19]

Good to know about the HD DVD drive. I might do that, and then add the BluRay drive later when the price reaches $250ish.Actually, there's a Pioneer BSC-202 (or 2202 or something) bluray read only drive supposedly coming out later this month that has a MSRP of $299.99. That means it should be sold for around $275ish.

It is bluray read only though, so if you're interested in writeable bluray drive, the prices are still way too exorbitant. But it does write dvd single and dual layer.

I'm keeping an eye on this when released, see how the reviews are.

[daminion]

I recently setup a HTPC but didn't push it to the extreme that you're looking for.

My HTPC allows me to:
1. Play games on my 42" LCD
2. Browse the Web
3. Play movies that I have backed up to the hard-drives (I've ripped my entire kids movie collection because small children destroy dvd's)
4. Play my entire MP3 library
5. Play DVDs

I still use my Cable Box and the DVR because I didn't want to go through the extra hassle for mimimal gain.

I personally could care less about HDTV or BluRay -- the quality isn't worth the premium IMHO.

This is my case:
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=202473224&SearchEngine=PriceGrabber&SearchTerm=202473224&Type=PE&Category=Comp&dcaid=15890

Although I didn't buy it from there.