I considered the Silverstone LC11. The big issue with this case is that it is supplied with an AGP riser for the video card. This will not work with the ASUS A8NVM motherboard since the video is PCI-E. (A PCI-E riser may be available as an option.) Also, only certain motherboards will allow use of both the the video and PCI riser. It looks like the ASUS A8NVM may be Ok here. Careful planning is required with this case. If the PCI-E video riser is not going to be used or the PCI-E riser can be obtained, it is a nice case option. I would plan on upgrading the video at some time in the future.

BTW, nice choice of motherboard. ;)

Jes...

That is a sweet case. It is the upgraded and fancified version of the NSK2400. If I redo my downstairs system, I will likely use a fusion case.
What sort of info can you get on the display if you use Vista (or MCE)?

I take it with the volume knob I could use it like an analog A/V pre-amp?

What sort of info can you get on the display if you use Vista (or MCE)?

Not entirely sure but I am sure that it would look cool no matter what one gets to run on it. :p

I bought an nMedia 280 & I'm very happy with it. Lots of fans, quiet, the MCE IR receiver can be mounted inside, came with a display & looks pretty good. Black, too. I paid under $200 from DirectCanada. If you're getting parts from NCIX, you could get it from there & save on shipping.
I had to use my old PS, though. The 400w PS that came with the case is a high-efficiency & my system doesn't pull enough amps on startup to get the PS working. I don't have a video card, so that would've helped.

Wanted to say hello to everyone, and compliment this forum, alot of good info.

I just need some advice on MB and CPU, there seems to be so many differant opinions out there, can someone limit it down for me and my requirments??Thanks ahead of time.

I will be using the HTPC for ......
1. Surfing the net
2. playing downloaded movies from the HDD to my 1080p Sharp Aqous LCD


Those are my main uses. My parts list so far.....

Memory------ Kingston 1GB PC2-6400 DDR2 Memory 240-pin DIMMs

HDD---------- Seagate 300GB Serial ATA/300 16MB Buffer

Power--------Coolermaster RS-430-PMSR/P eXtreme Power 430W

Video card----EVGA e-GeForce 8500 GT 256MB PCI Express Video Card w/DVI



I know I need a Dual core but would this be a good choice?

http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop/details.aspx?opn=ADA5200IAA6CS

I also need some motherboard advice. A lot of these can be overclocked effiecently from what I have been reading too. For the MB I was thinking of getting one that supports 5.1 surround and has optical out to run to my reciever.



Let me know what you guys think, This is the only section that I dont completely understand yet. Thanks Fern

So you want to surf the net and watch movies...why do you want such a fast processor? Dual cores are cheap these days but not required for what you want. I'd get one anyway because they are cheap. Same with the video card. The one you quoted would certainly do the job but it's overkill. I'd save the money and get a bigger hard drive and nice HTPC case.

As for motherboards, I read a review on an ASUS model that has onboard video with HDMI out and SP/DIF via coaxial out. Seemed quite nice and only 90 bucks CDN on average.
Check it out below.

ASUS MB (http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=101&l3=496&l4=0&model=1585&modelmenu=1)

I have a basic Gigabyte MB with component video out with an AMD64 3000 and 1 gig of RAM. THis works fine for me and I'm watching movies and surfing the net. I can also play a few games but nothing intense.

Good Luck,
Congo

The M2A-VM HDMI should work fine. I would use an AMD X2 EE series processor. These have significantly lower power requirements than earlier single processor CPUs. I have an AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ EE (65w) processor. It is fine for an HTPC but some HTPC software could be a little faster. They are now available in 4200+ and 4600+ versions. Current prices are about $90-$150.

You might want to read this thread (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=66466), this thread (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=63296) and this thread (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=66594).

I have just recently gone to a M2A-VM HDMI with a X2 EE 4000+ and I am very happy.

I will add my experiences to my "My HTPC Building Adventure" thread but I simply have to say that this is a great mATX board and with a bit more powerful CPU, it would easily make up for any shortcomings of the onboard video that may crop up. (Not that any have hit me yet but I don't have a 1080p TV or HD-DVD/BD.)

Why do HTPC cases cost so much.

I am trying to find a cheap case for a HTPC system that I built out of spare parts.

I need it to fit an AXT board and power supply sit horizontally with the DVD drive sitting the proper way and would prefer black.

I'm not being to picky but can't find a cheap one. I can find all kinds of cases that would work for $50 as long as I don't need it to sit horizontally but as soon as you add that to the mix everything jumps way up in price.

Does anyone know where to find a cheap case?

Does anyone know where to find a cheap case?

I hate to be so helpful, but nope. HTPC cases, even cheap ones, are still no less than about $100.

I struggled with this issue for over a year and simply gave up. I went sorta cheap on one case and I paid for it in that the custom to that case power supply died. I replaced it with a good mATX case from Antec that does not have a custom power supply and I am a LOT happier all the way around.

My other HTPC system has stayed in a classic beige tower as I am just too cheap to spend the nearly $200 on a good full ATX capable HTPC case.

Why do HTPC cases cost so much.

1. HTPC cases tend to be name brand products, not cheaply made no-name knock-offs. Lower priced desktop cases are available but they are not suitable for HTPC use.

2. It is a specialized market so volume is lower, which keeps prices higher.

3. HTPC cases tend to be higher in quality. Comparable tower cases are expensive as well. Some manufacturers, such as Antec, provide lower priced HTPC cases with quality and prices comparable to their tower cases. nMedia also offers cheaper HTPC cases.

4. Higher priced HTPC cases often offer extras such as VFD displays and remote controls. These items can easily end up costing over $100 to add later.

I would caution anyone considering the M2A-VM HDMI for a 1080p panel. For some odd reason, my new rig with this very mobo and a 4200+x2 doesn't play any HD stuff without stutter and artifacts when I set it to 1920x1080 (D-SUB) and apparently I am not the only person with this problem. The results is really quite disappointing so far. I'll research more and hope it is not a hardware limitation.

Found this. (http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/BIOS/Asus/ASUS-M2A-VM-HDMI-BIOS-0603-Beta.shtml)

It's the beta bios update. Read the section on the integrated graphics. It says the limitation is the HD player???

The exact wordings are in the manual as well. My BIOS is v.0503

Actually v.1001 is already out :~)

Yes, PPL4GOLF, I would upgrade to 1001 and then see how it acts.

Also, you need to keep in mind that playing 1080p on this board using the integrated video is always aided by using the more powerful CPUs. And if you look on the active product info page for either of the M2A-VM boards, you will see that ASUS is actively claiming issues with the playback software as the source of the problem.

For reference, I have yet to play an HD video or video clip that studders on my X2 4000+ setup.

I yanked out another 2x512MB of DDR2 667s to make it 4x512MB, believe it or not, things are a little smoother, still some horizontal artifact lines when looking really hard. I just find it odd the M2NPV-VM with a much lesser CPU did better. The codecs are the same as well. I might upgrade the BIOS.

What OS and codec are you using? If you are using the NV Purvideo codec and are comparing an ATI based board to an NVidia based board, then that is why it is likely doing a lot better.

Also, to the boost in RAM, that is a good idea. Where the onboard video gets its RAM from system ram, I would not run with less than 2 GB so one can go into the BIOS and assign a large amount of RAM to video and still have at least 1 GB for your OS.

And to the experience with a lesser CPU, how much lesser was it? If it was only a couple hundred MHz slower, that is trivial. If it was say X2 3600 vs. X2 5000, well, then I would be confused.

Here are the specs :

1. Sempron 2800+ (OC to 2GHz)
M2NPV-VM (6150/430 onboard graphics sharing 128MB)
1GB Kingston Value RAM @ 800MHz X1

2. Athlon64 4200+x2 (OC to 2.4GHz)
M2A-VM HDMI (690G/X1250 onboard graphics sharing 256MB)
512MB Kingston Value RAM @ 800MHz X2 or X4

System 1 isn't even good enough to use Live TV (ATSC) with GBPVR but playback on the recorded HD clips is excellent.

I don't have PureVideo, just MPV and regular Cyberlink

I am running M2A-VM HDMI board using DVI output but at 1920x1080i and I get zero problems with HD OTA.

The manual says for HD playback you need 2x 1GB of DDR2-800 dual channel

I am using 2x DDR2-667mhz

1. Sempron 2800+ (OC to 2GHz)
M2NPV-VM (6150/430 onboard graphics sharing 128MB)
1GB Kingston Value RAM @ 800MHz X1
Most likely issue is the processor.

2. Athlon64 4200+x2 (OC to 2.4GHz)
M2A-VM HDMI (690G/X1250 onboard graphics sharing 256MB)
512MB Kingston Value RAM @ 800MHz X2 or X4
Definitely not enough RAM. As previously suggested, 1GB is probably minimum and 2GB is a good idea. At today's prices for 1GB DDR2 sticks, it's silly to go with anything less than 2GB.

Either of these systems would work well with a moderately priced video card. The built in video is low powered and hampered even further by slow access to motherboard memory. They may work at 1920x1080 with the right configuration and software but will most likely remain marginal and have problems under some circumstances.