# Replacing FIOS TV with HTPC



## vimnjicki (Aug 1, 2008)

I first posted this in the Home Theater forum, and it was moved to the video card support forum, but now that I think of it, I think it belongs here.

Replacing FIOS TV with HTPC
First time I have even tried anything like this. I didnt even remember I was a registered member here. Anyway, my wife wants me to make it possible to watch her TV shows from the internet on my 46 inch HDTV in the living room rather than from Verizon. I already have a blu ray player in there and Roku, both going through an HDMI equipped receiver then into the television. the htpc needs to connect via HDMI also. Not sure if I need an additional optical drive for the HTPC or not. I will be ethernet-connected to the internet. So what do I need to watch high definition content from the internet through my receiver into my HDTV? And, oh yeah, is it even possible to think about for less than $500 or are you guys already laughing at me? Thanks. Oh, and by the way, I do not already have an HTPC. I need help in building one. I hope this time its clear.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

ATI Video cards have HDMI outputs to run the TV, for a 46" probably a HD4850 will power it.> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102824
A 650w or higher PSU to power it> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005&Tpk=650tx
I'm not sure where you would find TV stations on the internet however there is some content around but the legalities of it can be touchy.


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## vimnjicki (Aug 1, 2008)

I really do appreciate your reply, wrench, but I need more information. Which OS should I get? how much or what type of ram? hard drive size? MOBO? I see some systems available, but can I build a better one, cheaper, with you guy's help? Thanks again.


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## Dblanchard1278 (Jun 18, 2009)

since you are ysing your pc then list the pc you have motherboard, ram, video card. Wrench listed what you need provided that your pc is a few years old. there isn't much diffrence in an htpc then a desktop besides the better graffix cards and maybe more ram and optical drives


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Are you planning on using it as a DVR to store recorded programs? if so any idea of how many?

Windows 7 Home Premium for the OS.

This setup includes a Blue-Ray burner which you may or may not need?
Link	Disc	Price	
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387 GA-MA790X-UD4P $109.99	
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103680 Phenom II X2 550	$102.00	
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209 ram	$89.99	
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102837 hd4850	$119.99	
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005&Tpk=650tx 650TX	$99.99	-$20.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068 Cent 5 Case	$49.99	
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319 WD 640	$74.99	
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136175 blueray Burner	$179.99	
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116677 Vista 64	$109.99	


$936.92	-$20.00
$916.92


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## vimnjicki (Aug 1, 2008)

I want to use a pc for it but I dont have one. Thats why I want to know well, everything. Wrench, I dont need to record shows, and I wont need a blu ray player.


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## vimnjicki (Aug 1, 2008)

All those components sound great except for the case, which is too long to fir where I need to put it. anything longer (deeper) than 15.5 wont fit. I appreciate everyone's input and I will let y'all know how it works when I get it built and set up. Thanks again!


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Then a standard CD/DVD burner will be all you need in place of the Blu-Ray> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289


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## Dblanchard1278 (Jun 18, 2009)

If you are making a htpc I would go for the blu ray drive for the movies since it will be connected to a large display. A blu-ray combo brive should run about a hundred bucks on new egg, you can read blu-ray and burn cds and dvds. Since your not burning blu ray disk I feel one of these would be a good idea. Here is a link for the drives on newegg http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=598&name=Blu-Ray-Drives . Depending on your choice you can save about 80 bucks by getting the blu ray drive or 140 bucks by getting a standerd dvd burner drive.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

If you go much shorter on the case the video card will be an issue.


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## vimnjicki (Aug 1, 2008)

How much shorter than 15.5 can I go or is that way too short? how much of a video card can I get away with and still get HD?


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## vimnjicki (Aug 1, 2008)

Will this card (Sparkle GeForce 9800 GT Video Card - 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express 2.0, Dual Link DVI, HDMI, VGA Support, Low Profile Bracket, model number SX98GT512D3L-MN) fit into this computer ( Acer Aspire AX3200-U1790A Desktop PC - AMD Athlon X2 4850e 2.5GHz, 4GB DDR2, 640GB HDD, DVDRW, TV Tuner, Vista Home Premium 64) ?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

This would be the lowest I would use, it's about 7.5" vs 10.5" the length of the case will depend on where the hard drives mount if in front of the video card then the longer card can be an issue in smaller then ATX sized cases. If it's a mini case then a low-profile card is needed that will drop performance a lot on a large screen.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102842
And you could then drop the PSU to this.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004&Tpk=550vx


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## vimnjicki (Aug 1, 2008)

where and how much is a decent (for a 46 inch Sharp Aquous HDTV) low profile/half height video card that provides both 5.1 audio and at least 720p video from the HDMI port? Would the one you mentioned fit into an ultra small form factor case? Like Tiger Direct says its only 12.4" long.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

This is about the best of the lot, but I have never used on a large screen, it seemed to be ok on 26" monitor with HD output.> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102829

Does the case your looking at accept standard ATX size power supplies?


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## vimnjicki (Aug 1, 2008)

I'm starting to look seriously at Newegg. never did before. Would this computer ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883103222 ) fill all my "requirements"?


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## vimnjicki (Aug 1, 2008)

Thats the card I was looking at also. it looks very good, as long as the hard drive doesnt get in the way. From looking at the images on newegg, the PSU I see in the case looks like an ATX, but as we all know, looks can be deceiving.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

I think the G100 would struggle with a large screen size, it's an OEM only card made to run on small power supplies it would do ok on a 19" W/S monitor but larger image sizes i believe would not be clear.


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## vimnjicki (Aug 1, 2008)

Would this card ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102843) work with this computer (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883103222)?


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## vimnjicki (Aug 1, 2008)

Now that I actually look at the different cards and their form factors, I see the difference between them. Sorry about all the foolish questions. I will look and research more before I ask silly, misinformed questions. Thanks a lot, wrench, for all your help.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Those are SFF or Small Form Factor cases so would need a low-profile card, the issue with the SFF case is always the PSU SFX supplies top out around 350w a powerful card needs more over the long run.


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