New to Sage - need some advice please

[restorick]

Hello all,

I'm new to Sage, but from all I've read it seems to be the best option to build an HTPC that really works.

I'm going to build a new PC for my HTPC and have a couple of questions. Thanks in advance for any and all feedback.

1. Quiet is very important, but pretty is not. I'm looking at the Antec P150 case - anyone have experience with it?
2. Most likely I will end up with 3 tuners. I'm leaning toward the Hauppauge 500 for SD, and I'm undecided on the OTA HD tuner. MyHD has a great rep - does anyone have feedback on them or other options?
3. I will most likely control the PC using Remote Desktop as well as the remote control. Will I be required to hook up a video connection to my TV as well as the tuner connections?
4. With all the goodies in the box, will 2GB RAM be enough? Too much?
5. Will I have any challenges using a Dish 211 as the input?

Apologies if these questions seem basic or if they may have been answered before. I'm still in "wonder" mode and at times overwhelmed by all of the options.

Thanks again,
Rick

[Jesse]

Hi Rick,

1. Never heard anything bad about the P150-everyone seems to like it. Check out silent pc review for more info on how to really silence this case.

2. I ditched my pvr500 for two ATI Theater650pro cards. Huge PQ improvement for me. I have no experience with the MyHD card, but I do like my vbox usb HD tuners. Only thing is that they seem to perform better when used with a powered usb hub.

3. Yes. Without connecting the vid card to the tv you will get no video playback. You will also need to attach your dish set top box to the tuner card(s), preferably via svid. If you will be buying a new vid card I would buy nothing less than a 7600GT that is HDCP capable (or the ATI equivalent). An HDCP enabled card will set you back $75 - $100 more than a non-HDCP card, but sooner or later you will need it and wish you had bought it from the start.

4. Two gigs is overkill, one is more than sufficient. That said, if you have the extra buck$ then more is always better .

5. Dish boxs are not serially controllable. That means you will need some sort of IR blaster to change channels on the box. I would go for the usbuirt. It is supported natively in sage and can be used as both the IR receiver for your remote and the IR blaster for channel changes.

Since you are going HD I would not skimp on any of the hardware. A good nvidia or intel based mobo--no via chipsets! --along with a nice dual core processor. Either an intel E6300 on up or an AMD X2 4200+ on up should work out great and will give you the horsepower for HDDVD or Blue Ray playback if you should decide to go that route as well.

HTH

Jesse

[restorick]

Hey Jesse...

Originally Posted by Jesse

Hi Rick,

1. Never heard anything bad about the P150-everyone seems to like it. Check out silent pc review for more info on how to really silence this case.

Excellent, thanks. I've been lurking at SPCR for a couple of weeks and doing a lot of reading. The P150 seems to be a nice compromise of silence and price, and still gives me a full size ATX case.

Originally Posted by Jesse

2. I ditched my pvr500 for two ATI Theater650pro cards. Huge PQ improvement for me. I have no experience with the MyHD card, but I do like my vbox usb HD tuners. Only thing is that they seem to perform better when used with a powered usb hub.

Thanks for that feedback. I had been looking at the 550 line as well, wasn't sure the 650 was available. Originally I was concerned about losing a slot, but its not a huge problem if performance is that good.

Originally Posted by Jesse

3. Yes. Without connecting the vid card to the tv you will get no video playback. You will also need to attach your dish set top box to the tuner card(s), preferably via svid. If you will be buying a new vid card I would buy nothing less than a 7600GT that is HDCP capable (or the ATI equivalent). An HDCP enabled card will set you back $75 - $100 more than a non-HDCP card, but sooner or later you will need it and wish you had bought it from the start.

Jesse, I'm a little confused here. I would need to hook up the video card *AND* the PVR cards to the TV? Or I just don't hook up the PVR cards to the TV? I've built PCs before (too long ago to admit, I'm afraid), so perhaps the information saturation has gotten the best of me...

Originally Posted by Jesse

4. Two gigs is overkill, one is more than sufficient. That said, if you have the extra buck$ then more is always better .

Yeah, I kinda thought that too. But in my experience with any MS OS, it always seems to breathe better with more RAM. Like everything else, I can always add more later...

Originally Posted by Jesse

5. Dish boxs are not serially controllable. That means you will need some sort of IR blaster to change channels on the box. I would go for the usbuirt. It is supported natively in sage and can be used as both the IR receiver for your remote and the IR blaster for channel changes.

I'm currently using a passive IR blaster to control all of my components located in a closet. Sounds like I'll need to get a USB based one so I can use a single remote with the PC and the components. The USB-UIRT seems to be the most widely used (and best working) blaster. Any other alternatives to look at?

Originally Posted by Jesse

Since you are going HD I would not skimp on any of the hardware. A good nvidia or intel based mobo--no via chipsets! --along with a nice dual core processor. Either an intel E6300 on up or an AMD X2 4200+ on up should work out great and will give you the horsepower for HDDVD or Blue Ray playback if you should decide to go that route as well.

I've been looking at doing a Pentium D system with an Intel 945 or 965 based mobo that can be upgraded to Core2Duo when appropriate. No HD-DVD or BlueRay for me for at least a year - I got burned many years ago when i chose Beta over VHS!

Originally Posted by Jesse

HTH

Jesse

As always, a huge help. Thank you for helping me break down the info and sift through the info clutter.

Rick

[restorick]

Originally Posted by Jesse

3. Yes. Without connecting the vid card to the tv you will get no video playback. You will also need to attach your dish set top box to the tuner card(s), preferably via svid. If you will be buying a new vid card I would buy nothing less than a 7600GT that is HDCP capable (or the ATI equivalent). An HDCP enabled card will set you back $75 - $100 more than a non-HDCP card, but sooner or later you will need it and wish you had bought it from the start.

Jesse,

Will this card fit the bill?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130017

Thanks again!
Rick

[ke6guj]

Originally Posted by restorick

Jesse, I'm a little confused here. I would need to hook up the video card *AND* the PVR cards to the TV? Or I just don't hook up the PVR cards to the TV? I've built PCs before (too long ago to admit, I'm afraid), so perhaps the information saturation has gotten the best of me...

Rick

There are two steps, needed. First you need to get the signal into the PC. That is where the PVR tuner cards come in. YOu hook your inputs from the Dish, OTA antenna or cable to the tuners. Now that the signal is in the PC, you need a way to get it back out. That is via the video card. It can be output to a PC monitor, or if you have the right connections between the video card and the TV, out to the TV.

[Jesse]

Hi Rick,

Jesse,

Will this card fit the bill?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130017

Thanks again!
Rick

Yes, it will do HD very nicely. Just remember that there is a good chance you will end up needing to replace it with an HDCP card. HD is like a drug.....

A note on the Pentium D. These processors are a great value right now, just keep in mind that it may be a challenge to cool it silently.

Have fun.

Jesse

[restorick]

Originally Posted by Jesse

Hi Rick,

Yes, it will do HD very nicely. Just remember that there is a good chance you will end up needing to replace it with an HDCP card. HD is like a drug.....

A note on the Pentium D. These processors are a great value right now, just keep in mind that it may be a challenge to cool it silently.

Have fun.

Hi Jesse,

Thanks for the tips. One more question if I may - do you have a specific suggestion for an HDCP compatible card? There doesn't seem to be an easy way to search for such compatibility on Newegg.

Thanks again!
Rick