Digital Home - HTPC - Stage 1

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countrock

Forerunner
Hi guys,

I was planning my digital home from ages. When ever I start to plan things the list goes so long that it’s not really possible to do them.

So I have divided the project into stages.
Stage 1: HTPC and Gaming console
Stage 2: File Server (Windows Home Server), get a 47" TV
Stage 3: Get proper speakers, receiver and sound proof my living room!
Stage 4: Media Extenders throughout the house
Stage 5: Home Automation (Lights, AC, etc)

Finally Stage 1 is complete. Well sort of.
I have got the Omaura TF5 case in December of last year. Also got a MINIX 780g mobo which I screwed up while trying to upgrade the BIOS. (Was not my fault :P) Till today I have not got it back. So temporarily I got a Gigabyte 780g mobo with an AMD 4850e processor.

Got a PS3 last week so basically stage 1 is done!

Current HTPC Config:
Case: Omaura TF5
CPU: AMD 4850e (2.5GHz) EE 45W CPU
CPU Cooler: SilverStone NT07-AM2 Nitrogon Series Low Profile Heatsink
Mobo: Gigabyte MA78GM-S3HP
Ram: Corsair XMS II 2 GB 800FSB (With sucky timings)
HDD: WD Scorpio 320GB
Optical Drive: Dell OEM Slot loading DVD burning (Was very very difficult to get)

Other Stuff:
Linksys gigabit Switch 5 port
Creative Inspire 7.1 speakers (Currently only using them as 5.1)
32" Philips LCD TV
Logitech Dinovo Mini
PS3 (80GB)
Sony PS3 Bluetooth headset
Windows 7 Beta

Things left to go:
Still to get TV tuner, IR blaster/receiver, Universal Remote (Getting a harmony soon, mostly the Harmony One :hap2: )
Integrate TV tuner with Media Centre properly
Setup online streaming (So I can watch TV in Office)
Setup DXVA and re-encode MKV files

Finally some snaps:
img3134ozn.jpg


img3136e.jpg


img3139x.jpg


img3141d.jpg


Will post some more snaps soon!
 
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stalker said:
suhweet!

is this in Bombay or Pune?
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Its in Pune. I took a job in Pune cause no good net available at my place in Mumbai :P Here 1mbps Airtel! :hap2:

killerduck said:
Amazing stuff dude... that case is Awesome ...how much did it set you back by ..??
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H2O said:
Brilliant dude how much was the case....
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The Case and SMPS was for around 15k. It is a 250 watts 80+ PSU.
Got it from UK.
PS: the case looks like crap in the pics.. it looks much better actually:P Slot loading heaven
 
For the stage 5 (Home Automation), have you thought of anything? I mean, will you be getting it done though someone or will you be doing it on your own? Are there any companies doing it in India?
 
SumitB said:
For the stage 5 (Home Automation), have you thought of anything? I mean, will you be getting it done though someone or will you be doing it on your own? Are there any companies doing it in India?
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There are companies who do it. But they are way too expensive and not that fexible. Planning to do it myself with the help of some friends

The Stage 5 will only be done when the recession is over:P
 
Very nicely done. How well does the AMD 4050e handle 1080p?

That's a sweet case! I need something like that available locally! :E Is there no 780G mini-ITX board in India?
 
cyberjunkie said:
Very nicely done. How well does the AMD 4050e handle 1080p?

That's a sweet case! I need something like that available locally! :E Is there no 780G mini-ITX board in India?
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There is no Mini ITX mobo available anywhere :@ trying to find a minix, everywhere its out of stock :(

Opps.. its a 4850e.. my bad :P

img3144a.jpg
 
Nicely done. Its raining HTPC setups in TE nowadays. :P

The X360 isn't connected? :lol:

PS: that sculpture on the extreme right of the table - Mirabai?
 
Nice cabinet there man. I see you are planning plenty of stuff's, it will be interesting to see how you arrange them all together. All the best!
~LT
 
It would be great if you could put the prices along with the products ...helps out the others in buying the stuff too ... anyway ..great setup ....I'm totally jealous
 
killerduck said:
It would be great if you could put the prices along with the products ...helps out the others in buying the stuff too ... anyway ..great setup ....I'm totally jealous
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The case cannot be bought now! The company closed down and started with another name. They no longer export out of China :(

I paid around 15k for the PSU and the case.
Had got a MINIX for 11k, but thats still in the air! Also have 2x2GB (800fsb laptop rams) BAH!
The gigabyte mobo around 4.5k
corasir XMS II - 850 each
Gigabit switch aorund 1.8k (From singapore)
Creative speakers around 7k (I got these from Malaysia around 4 years ago)
Logitech Dinovo Mini was under 8k got locally.
The Harmony One if i get it, will be around 10-11k
Slot loading dvd burning from Dell at around 3k.(dont remember the exact rate)
Hdd dont really remember, I think it was for around 5k then, is cheap now!
PS3 was 24k :bleh: DS3 for around 2k.

have I missed anything?
 
cyberjunkie said:
Very nicely done. How well does the AMD 4050e handle 1080p?

That's a sweet case! I need something like that available locally! :E Is there no 780G mini-ITX board in India?
Click to expand...

I have a 4850e/J&W Minix board in a small case. Some 1080P encodings stutter, even when overclocked by 10%. I think the X2 arch is becoming a bit long on the tooth and a Phenom is definitely needed to provide headroom for video, if anything (not possible with any mini-itx boards AFAIK).

I have stopped using this for my HTPC and have put together a MSI 7411 based system with an amp card in a micro-atx case (too lazy to put up pics; maybe some other time). I think mini-itx should be used for low power rather than mainstream because of increased cooling effort and limited scope for expandability, both on the board and in the case.
 
Thats odd.. I have no problems so far. The CPU while playing 1080p runs around 70-80%. Which codec are u using? I run HD stuff through Media Centre only
 
countrock said:
Thats odd.. I have no problems so far. The CPU while playing 1080p runs around 70-80%. Which codec are u using? I run HD stuff through Media Centre only
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It was a Matroska encoded file and I am using Media Player Classic whose native codec relies on the 780G chipset to do the decoding. That caused stuttering. After some research I tried the CoreAVC codec within Media Player Classic which improved things a lot as it uses CPU cycles to decode but some jerkiness exists still.

For those with no access to AVS Forum, here a few shots of my build:
 

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