Home Theater PC (HTPC) Build

I've worked with a lot of computer hardware over the years, but I've never had a need to build a computer from "scratch" .... until now.

I finally gave in and decided to get cable so Rachel can watch HGTV. So I had to get a CableCARD and cable tv tuner so that we could continue to use the Windows Media Center DVR system I had setup to watch Netflix and record over the air high definition broadcast television. I just couldn't stomach paying even more money to the cable company each month to rent cable boxes from them so that I could watch the service I was already paying them for!

Unfortunately, the 6 year old dell desktop wasn't powerful enough to record 5 HD shows at once, so it was time to build a new machine. It is quite a bit more cost effective to build your own computer if any of the following apply: you already have some components, you have a special application in mind, or you need above average performance. All three apply here as I already had a good power supply, blu-ray drive, and several hard drives. Home Theater duty has some special requirements beyond the typical desktop. And, though not as demanding as a gaming enthusiast, HTPCs are working 24/7 and need to respond the instant you press the remote.

So I selected a quad core processor with good integrated graphics, 8 gigs of dual channel RAM, a motherboard with plenty of 6 Gpbs SATA ports, and an attractive enough case. I moved the power supply, remote control, and various drives and TV tuner over from the previous computer.

We've been very pleased with the results. It is quiet, responsive and goes weeks without needing a restart or exhibiting any quirky behavior. It has a 3 TB drive that holds waaaaaay more hours of recorded HD television than we'll ever be able to watch. We can watch/record up to 5 channels at once (3 cable, 2 OTA broadcast). We can ff/rw/pause/commercial skip just like commercial DVR systems, except I own the system and don't have to pay rental fees or monthly charges to anyone. Blu-Ray, Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, etc. are all there too.

You have to be willing to do a little work at the front end. If you don't have a computer geek in your house, it may not be the best option, but it works pretty well for us.

Except for the case, here are the 3 essential parts of a system build/upgrade that usually have to be matched together: Processor, Ram and Mother Board. The technology doesn't evolve as rapidly in cases, drives, etc.

 AMD is still using pins on the bottom of the processor. Intel has moved to contact pads that are less likely to be damaged or bent. But Intel is the innovator, AMD the bargain.

 Here's the (almost) finished machine. Getting this far only took about an hour. And to my dismay, it actually booted right up on the first try! In the old days, you would get it all put together, then spend several hours troubleshooting why it wasn't booting. Invariably it would be because a jumper or dip switch wasn't set properly. These days it is pretty much plug and play. Software work of course took several hours getting windows and all the drivers and other software loaded and configured.