I am currently in the process of building my HTPC. Below is my hardware list:-

1. Silverstone SG-01B Evolution (bought)
2. Coolermaster 350W PSU (bought)
3. Gigabyte MA78GM-S2H (bought)
4. Kingston 1Gb DDR2 RAM 800Mhz - X2(bought)
5. AMD 4850e cpu w/ stock HSF
6. WD 500Gb SATA HD Greenpower
7. Lite-On SATA DVD Writer

I am still looking for the perfect wireless keyboard (w/ trackball/touchpad). Any recommendations? Please don't recommend Logitech diNovo ($$$$)

Look at item (5)

Skylinestar,
It's not complete yet. I've only bought about half the items on the list. Will definitely keep you all updated on the performance once everything's in and built up.

The one Bluray drive I saw for PC was advertised at RM1299 At that price, I might as well get PS3

Not unless you're planning to do recording. If you're doing all playback, no need tv tuner card.

Update: Just heard from my Penang retailer that the AMD 4850e cpu I ordered will arrive on Thursday. Woohoo

Wow. I've not heard of the Riva TNT2 being mentioned for the longest time. All you probably need to do is get a video card upgrade. I can't confirm if the Nvidia 7300GT AGP card will work on your setup though.

Wow... how to you keep it dust and fingerprint free? i'll go crazy maintaining a casing like that

Westthen,
Welcome to the club! I had originally planned to build one below RM1500 as well.

This is my setup for RM1700.

1. Silverstone SG-01B Evolution Casing <-- Budget Destroyer! (RM529)
2. Coolermaster 350W PSU (RM60 bundled deal with SG-01B)
3. Gigabyte MA78GM-S2H Motherboard (RM310)
4. Kingston 1Gb DDR2 RAM 800Mhz - X2 (RM160)
5. AMD 4850e cpu w/ stock HSF (RM288)
6. WD 500Gb SATA HD Greenpower (RM250)
7. Lite-On SATA DVD Writer (RM95)

I believe you can do it under RM1500 if you go for cheaper casings like Inwin or Icute. I haven't taken into account the cost for a wireless keyboard, but it is considered a luxury item if you're on a budget.

There are 2 main competing chipsets today (AMD 780G or the Nvidia 8200 chipset) that will work well for HTPC. Up to you read reviews and compare each motherboard manufacturer's offerings for each of these chipset to see which one suits you the best.

This post has been edited by boonhoong: Jun 26 2008, 05:21 PM

Problem is a DVD player (read only) cost only around RM20 cheaper than the writer.

cheaper SFF casing (Inwin) will only set you back around RM270 and it comes with power supply already!

Whoa, that kind of pricing is really hard to come by nowadays. Unless you don't mind the casing not being SFF but more towards mini tower lar

Maybe a Coolermaster Elite 330 for around RM130 may suit your needs. It's a Mid-tower though.

Update on HTPC Project.

1. Silverstone SG-01B Evolution
2. Coolermaster 350W PSU
3. Gigabyte MA78GM-S2H
4. Kingston 1Gb DDR2 RAM 800Mhz - X2
5. AMD 4850e cpu w/ stock HSF
6. WD 500Gb SATA HD Greenpower
7. Lite-On SATA DVD Writer

Finally have all 7 items in hand today. The first step was to lap the stock heatsink that came with the cpu (the surface finish on the unit that AMD shipped out was unacceptable to me). I bought some sandpaper grade 320, 600, 1000 and 2400 and finally completed lapping the stock heatsink that came with the AMD 4850e cpu tonight. Thank God it only took 1 1/2 hours.

This is the first time I've actually taken the effort to lap a heatsink and I am very pleased with the results


I shall continue with the full HTPC assembly tomorrow.

2nd Update on HTPC Project.

1. Silverstone SG-01B Evolution
2. Coolermaster 350W PSU
3. Gigabyte MA78GM-S2H
4. Kingston 1Gb DDR2 RAM 800Mhz - X2
5. AMD 4850e cpu w/ stock HSF
6. WD 500Gb SATA HD Greenpower
7. Lite-On SATA DVD Writer

I completed the installation of VISTA Home Premium on Monday with the latest CATALYST Drivers and klite mega codec pack. Installation was smooth with no hiccups whatsoever Yesterday, I hooked up a HDMI cable to my Sharp 32" LCD TV, and watched a 720p h.264 movie. I must say that I am extremely pleased with the performance of this rig

I am happy to report that I did not detect any stuttering or audio sync issues, and the picture quality blew me away. Definitely money well spent.

ericmaxman,
Below is the price breakdown of my config. I've included the OS as it wasn't fair not to have it in the list.

1. Silverstone SG-01B Evolution Casing <-- Budget Destroyer! (RM529)
2. Coolermaster 350W PSU (RM60 bundled deal with SG-01B)
3. Gigabyte MA78GM-S2H Motherboard (RM310)
4. Kingston 1Gb DDR2 RAM 800Mhz - X2 (RM160)
5. AMD 4850e cpu w/ stock HSF (RM288)
6. WD 500Gb SATA HD Greenpower (RM255)
7. LiteOn 20X DVD-RW SATA Super AllWrite Drive (RM95)
8. VISTA Home Premium (RM340)
9. Microsoft Wireless Mouse (RM0 free with VISTA)
10. HDMI cable (RM85)

Total = RM2122

Skylinestar,
Can I leave it to you to test the 1080p sample? I do not have any 1080p media yet (Not motivated to get as my LCD TV only capable of 720p)

Can't really advice you on codec enabling/disabling as well as audio setup. I just install kLite Mega Codec Pack to settle everything for me. You should be able to output AC3 through the SPDIF out on the Gigabyte mobo.

I have no regrets getting this combination of mobo and cpu. This is actually the first PC I've put together that is almost silent (no detectable fan noise, and only the occasional clicking of the HD). Be sure the lap the bottom surface of the stock heatsink if you intend to use it though, it's not really flat and a bit rough

---

Added on July 10, 2008, 10:44 amcpu usage while playing 720p media is averaging around 32%

This post has been edited by boonhoong: Jul 10 2008, 10:44 AM

Ericmaxman,
Planning to do recording of ASTRO programs? I guess it beats getting ASTROMAX...

I am quite sure the Sony 29" TV was probably not cheap when your dad bought it either (above RM 1k). I can understand the reluctance. Besides, if your dad was to upgrade to a 32" LCD TV (cheapest on the market), the screen height is actually smaller than your 29" TV which may be a downgrade if you watch a lot of 4:3 ratio content (eg. ASTRO).

A quick calculation using hypothenus will show that a 29" 4:3 ratio CRT TV has a screen height of 17.4" while a 32" 16:9 radio LCD TV has a screen height of 15.7" so you lose about 1.7" through an "upgrade". A true upgrade is to move to the 37" or higher LCD TVs which cost upwards of RM 3k.

Sorry... off topic already...

Still need an OS if you use MediaPortal right?

Hey... advertising already ar... Cheap, but a bit to Ah Beng for my taste...

Just added a Dlink Wifi G PCI adapter to my HTPC. Now can surf net on my LCD TV

This wireless keyboard from Ortek is so tempting


Luckily not available in Malaysia or will be tempted to get it

Read through the thread and you should be able to see my setup somewhere. It can be accomplished with <2k