HTPC Recomendations

**waynezo** · April 18th, 2010, 10:21 AM

My Rig

Windows 7 Pro
Quad Core Intel Core i7 920
Overclocked @ 3.67 Ghz Stable
Prolimatech Megahalems CPU Cooler
Asus P6T Deluxe V2
2 ATI Radeon HD 4770 Video Cards
6GB OCZ Gold DDR3 1600
Intel X25-M 80GB SSD HD
Antec True Power Quattro 1000W Power Supply
Sunbeamtech UV Acrylic Ultra Tech Station Open Case
ATT Uverse 18 Mbps DSL
2 HANNS-G 28" Monitors
2 Hyundai 19" Monitors
Hauppauge 2250 TV Tuner

I want to build a HTPC for the living room and network it to this PC.
It will only be used to playback DVD rips, Recorded TV and various media files with Windows Media Center 7. I am budjeting $500 to $1000. I want it to be able to play HD. I understand a dual core may work just fine, an i3 or AMD. I'm looking for opinions/recommendations to maximize power and minimize cost. Any encoding/heavy lifting will be done with the main PC. I'm leaning toward a cheap AMD dual core, but I don't know those MB's very well.

**Steve R Jones** · April 18th, 2010, 10:40 AM

What is your current machine? Wouldn't it work as the HTPC?

**JLK03F150** · April 18th, 2010, 10:56 AM

IMO look at AMD with the latest AMD/ATI chipset. Here's a couple high-end models at the egg.
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!

My HTPC has an E6600, 2x1GB DDR2-800 RAM, and an HD4650. It can play Blu-Ray fine, so a dual-core AMD, 2GB of DDR3 & onboard video should more than meet your needs.

**waynezo** · April 18th, 2010, 12:12 PM

Originally Posted by Steve R Jones

What is your current machine? Wouldn't it work as the HTPC?

I want to use the PC in the living room as an extender for WMC7, since none of the extenders on the market function as well as a dedicated HTPC

**waynezo** · April 18th, 2010, 02:04 PM

Originally Posted by JLK03F150

IMO look at AMD with the latest AMD/ATI chipset. Here's a couple high-end models at the egg.
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!

My HTPC has an E6600, 2x1GB DDR2-800 RAM, and an HD4650. It can play Blu-Ray fine, so a dual-core AMD, 2GB of DDR3 & onboard video should more than meet your needs.

So I wouldn't even need a video card, Hmmmm sounds interesting!

**waynezo** · April 18th, 2010, 07:14 PM

What chip will work with the hardware core unlocker

**JLK03F150** · April 18th, 2010, 09:03 PM

I think there are certain tri-cores that can be unlocked to quad-core. I've only read about it being done though. Ultima unlocked his tri-core IIRC.
I suddenly have a 4th core :)