I have always enjoyed watching movies. Well, to be honest, movie might be my only hobby lately. I always want a home theatre PC that I can just hid under the cabinet and watch movie from the PC. Here is my recent project of converting a second hand PC to a Home Theatre PC (HTPC).
1st question is, what are the basic requirements for a full HD playback machine? I read many online posts where most suggest you need at least a 3 GHz CPU to handle those movie files. Some even suggest a dual core processor is preferable since decoding media file is CPU intensive. Having thought the options available. I opted for a core 2 processor.
Core 2 processor is an Intel X86 64 bits microprocessor that was first introduce in 2006 (I know this is a pretty obsolete technology). This processor comprises of solo, duo and quad cores subfamilies, CPU clock speed range from 1.06 GHz to 3.5 GHz. It has two types of feature sizes where early CPU introduced is 65 nm, later has gone down to 45nm. Core 2 processor socket is LGA775, so if you are still a Pentium D processor user, you might be able to upgrade for cheap with significant performance boosts. This processor has been famous among the over-clock enthusiasts where some manage to push it safely to 4.0 GHz with additional cooling elements.
As mentioned early, this project is meant to convert an old computer to a HTPC. If you have an old PC, you can just use it and do some minor upgrade to become a decent HTPC. If you don't have any old PC, like me, go for a second hand PC. I manage to get my hand on a HP DC7800 small form factor unit for AUD100 (E6750, 2GB DDR2, 160GB HDD). The reason why I choose the small form factor over its sibling ultra small form factor is, small form factor usually comes with empty slots while ultra form factor is not upgradable.
From the left: tower, small form factor and ultra small form factor
DC7800 small form factor has one empty SATA slot with extra hard drive space, two PCI-E 1x slots, one PCI-E 16x, and one PCI slots. In addition, it comes with four DDR2 memory slots that can support up to 2GB per slot. The beauty of having a PCI-E 16x slot is, you can add a graphic card for better graphic performance in the future. Integrated graphic card is GMA3100, some claim this graphic card is sufficient for a full HD playback. I have not tried it myself. But I will tell you the reason for having extra graphic card.
As mentioned early, movie file decoding usually is very CPU intensive. However, recent advance in graphic card technology helps to move this tedious job to Graphic Processing Unit (GPU). I am not a gamer, this obsolete machine is not meant to be anyway, but I just want a smooth HD playback, so I decided to spend extra to get a graphic card that has DVI and HDMI outputs with video decoding capability. This however proven to be a headache for a small form factor computer. I have limited choices of graphic cards since small form factor PC only supports low profile graphic card (half size) with low power drawing. Bear in mind that a small form factor power unit is between 230-300w where most graphic card recommendation for power is 400w.
I did some searches online and read many posts and come to a conclusion, a 400w recommendation video cards should work fine in a low-powered small form factor. The reason is, most graphic cards I recommended below have maximum drawing power of 60w. Under normal circumstances where you just watch HD movie, internet or documentation, it will not even consume half of this number.
Here are some choices you can consider:
Ge force: GT440, GT430, GT240, GT220, GT520, GT210, 9500GT, 9600GT
ATI: HD 6570, HD 5570, HD 6450, HD 5450
These are the few I have seen people install in a weak PSU (230w-300w) with stable performance. Anyway, please install it on your own risk.
Top of the line should be GT440 and HD6570 that are priced between AUD60-70
Basic one like GT210, GT520, HD5450 and HD 6450 are priced between AUD30-40
If you just want a HTPC, a basic graphic card will be alright. If you are a light gamer, GT440 and HD6570 will give you more flexibility. I bought a fanless HD6570 1GB DDR3 for AUD60. The graphic card comes with a low profile bracket. Make sure the graphic you buy is bundle with a low profile bracket otherwise you need to spend extra dollars.
Its fairly easy to install this card. First, you need to replace the normal length bracket with a low profile bracket. Second, open the DC7800 cover by pressing two release buttons sitting on both sides of the box. Slide the cover backward and lift it to unveil the motherboard. Remove the low profile cover on the back of the DC7800. Plug in the graphic card and lock it. Close the cover and it is ready to go.
One of the frustrating things about this video card is, it automatically disables the audio jack once you install it. To fix this, you just need to enable the AUX in bios setting.
Install the ATI driver and the PC is ready to go. Worth to mention is, ATI graphic card is supporting Eyefinity, so HD6570 theoretically can support 3 displays. I will test after buying a new DVI splitter cable.
Software
Since this is a new set up. I have not tested with any new HTPC software yet. Briefly tested with Window Vista Media Center, was disgusted, so not going use it at all. Instead of using VLC player that is highly recommended by many, I recommend two media playback programs: The KM player and Baidu Player. These two are the most stable and reliable media players I have tried. Just give you an idea how many programs I have been through: VLC, GOM, Real Player, Baidu player, The KM player, Window Media Player, Window classic Media Player, PPS player and etc.
Movie Database
I have used Movie Monkey and Eric's Movie Database before. I quite like the Movie Monkey simple yet beautiful interface, so most probably will get it set up when I have more free time.
Hope you enjoy your new HTPC.
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