Build Your Own High-Def PC

If you've been dreaming of the ultimate high-definition computer, why not take matters into your own hands? We show you how to pick the hottest components and create the multimedia system of your dreams.



It's official: We're living in a high-definition world. And with a new generation of affordable, high-quality HD components flooding into the world of PCs, it's high time your computer shared in the fun.

Unfortunately, great HD systems still cost a fortune. However, if you've got the skills to assemble your own machine, you can save a bundle by building an HD-capable Media Center PC that can bring you pristine video and amazing gaming.

Whether you're recording free, over-the-air HDTV, playing Blu-ray Disc movies, or making light edits to your HD home videos, a well-built high-def system does it all. For this demonstration, I'm building a PC that will complement my living room entertainment system. Feel free to mix and match choices for your own needs. Heavy gamers, especially, should aim higher on the video card and processor.

Note: For the purposes of this guide, I assume the reader has a basic level of PC building experience. If you've never built a computer before, I recommend reading Scott Mueller's article " Step-By-Step: To Get Just the PC You Want, Build It Yourself " -- it offers important tips for assembling your computer. No matter how experienced you are, be sure to practice good antistatic procedures by grounding yourself well at all times and wearing an antistatic wrist band .
Case and Power Supply

Any good computer starts with high-quality components from the ground up. That means choosing a case and power supply that will be adequate for your needs.
SilverStone Crown CW03-MT--click for full-size image.

Case
Beauty is beauty--even if it's skin deep. Pick a case that will look good on your desk or in your home entertainment center. Many home theater cases also include displays to show the name of a song that's playing and even navigate media: in a word, slick. I chose the SilverStone Crown CW03-MT for my HD PC, largely because of this integrated LCD display. (Look for this case at various online electronics stores.)

Be sure the software that drives those extras works with your operating system of choice. I'm planning to load my HD system up with Windows Vista Home Premium, which I know will support this feature (as will Windows XP Media Center Edition).

While you could cram everything into a case the size of pizza box or shoe box, you'll have a much easier time and a broader selection of components to chose from if you stick with a horizontal minitower. Also, the system's heat--and therefore the sound generated by fans keeping everything cool--is going to define your experience. Nobody wants to have to pump up the volume just to drown out a whiny PC fan. Good airflow design will keep things quiet.

Builder's Tip: Before you start building, cover part of a table with overturned mouse pads to create an antistatic workspace, and wear a wrist strap clipped to the case to protect the components.
Antec NeoPower 650--click for full-size image.

Power Supply
A 500-watt power supply should generally prove adequate if you're not including multiple hard drives, a high-end video card, and other energy-hungry devices beyond the recommendations given here. (Use OuterVision Extreme's Power Supply Calculator Lite to come up with a rough estimate of what you'll need.) Some cases--especially those smaller than the industry-standard ATX--include built-in power supplies. But for nearly silent performance, consider upgrading from those. Finally, go green if possible, with the latest energy-efficient spec, 80 Plus. I chose the Antec NeoPower 650 because of its quiet fan, and its 650-watt rating ensures more than enough margin to grow with upgrades.

When installing your power supply, try to route the nest of cables along the case edges so that they don't obstruct airflow.

Motherboard, Processor, RAM, and Video Card
ASUS M3A32-MVP motherboard--click for full-size image.

Lay a foundation for premium performance by selecting a great motherboard and CPU; then complement those components with fast memory and a high-def graphics card.

Motherboard
First, be sure to pick a motherboard that works with the previous parts: ATX versus MicroATX for the case and the right socket for your processor. The video card should work with any new motherboard's PCI Express slot, but get one with a like-brand on-board video chip set for best compatibility. (Or avoid on-board video entirely.) Skip a dedicated sound card by picking a motherboard with a surround-sound chip set and output plugs to match your receiver. The standard assortment of PC ports should be fine, but get gigabit ethernet for high-speed, wired video transfers over a home network. I picked the ASUS M3A32-MVP for compatibility with all of the previous components and for its silent heat-pipe design that provides extra cooling.

For PC World reviews of top motherboards, see our Top 10 chart.
AMD Athlon X2 BE 2400 CPU--click for full-size image.

Processor
Quad-core processors are going mainstream, but they draw a lot of power and generate excessive heat. Certain video editing programs take great advantage of the four cores, but we're aiming for a lower target. You could still build a good system with an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 or other similar chip--gamers take note--but I decided to go with something less powerful and a lot cooler. The AMD Athlon X2 BE 2400 works well for home theaters because its peak draw of 45 watts helps keep the fans quiet. This CPU's 2.3-GHz speed and dual-core architecture provide enough muscle for general media tasks, but a dedicated HD video decoder on the graphics card will add more power. Whether you go with an Intel CPU or one from AMD, you'll definitely want a dual-core processor to handle the system's multimedia tasks.

You can install the processor simply by lifting the socket arm, carefully setting the chip in place, and lowering the lever--no pressure is needed.
Zalman CPU cooler.

CPU Cooler
Your CPU should come with its own heat sink and fan, but those bundled components may well generate too much noise for an entertainment PC. Give them a try if you can, but don't hesitate to consider a replacement. While you can buy liquid cooling components that are completely silent, we're skipping that route because of the maintenance required, not to mention leaks. Instead, opt for a quiet, variable-speed fan attached to a heat sink. And double-check the specific model for processor and case compatibility. The Zalman CNPS9500 CPU cooler fits with my components and case, and it runs quietly when turned down.

When installing your own CPU cooler, be sure to apply an even, paper-thin layer of thermal paste over the processor's surface, and set the cooler in place. Try not to let the cooler slide back and forth over the CPU while seating it.

RAM
Current motherboards can support a variety of memory chips, but make sure that the exact type you select works with yours. Don't bother with the absolute fastest DDR3 RAM. Instead, spend your money on quantity: 4GB will be ample for Windows Vista or Windows XP Media Center. (And unfortunately, your particular OS and hardware configuration might not quite recognize all of it.) Also, go for a pair of the same 2GB DIMMs. Many current motherboards take advantage of dual-channel architecture so that each DIMM can access the memory controller. The middle-weight Crucial 2x2GB DDR2 PC2-5300 DIMMs strike a solid balance between price and performance.

Handle the RAM--and any other components, for that matter--only by its edges, and firmly push it straight into place rather than at an angle.
ATI Radeon HD 3450 graphics card--click for full-size image.

Video Card
The graphics card is one of the most critical components in our setup, since it's going to take over much of the HD playback from the processor. And in just the past several months, these cards have made a giant leap forward in quality while prices have dropped.

You don't necessarily need an ultra-high-end option: Those generate excessive heat. Instead, just make sure the card decodes Blu-ray Disc movies in addition to your own recorded shows. HDCP compliance--which decrypts the digitally protected video signal--is critical, but fortunately, it's also typical these days. The Asus EN8600 GT with HDMI is one good option, fulfilling these needs easily. At press time, nVidia was also readying its GeForce 8200 chip set for motherboards, bypassing the need for a dedicated HD graphics card. For my system, however, I picked the ATI Radeon HD 3450 video card, because it meets my other needs and doesn't require a fan for cooling. Unlike the Asus, this card lacks an HDMI port, but it works well with any DVI-equipped HDTV.

Drives, Displays, Input, and Operating System
1TB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 hard drive--click for full-size image.

You'll need tons of hard-drive space to store all your media, plus an HD optical drive to play high-def movies. Here are the components for completing your HD PC.

Hard Drive
Compressed HD video recordings can eat up roughly 7GB per hour, so get a big enough hard drive to hold all those recordings. Nearly all current motherboards support the SATA bus, and the most recent models run at 3GB per second, although 1GB/sec models should be fast enough for this system. Pick a drive that runs at 7200 RPM or greater. While you could install multiple drives for the absolute best performance, a big, single drive will be sufficient. Go for at least 500GB. I settled on a 1TB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 because of its speed and its capacity to hold 140 high-def episodes of Lost. If you add multiple drives, position them as far from each other as possible, so they stay cooler.

Optical Drive
A few weeks ago, as of this writing, Blu-ray had pummeled its rival, HD DVD, into little more than a sad memory. Unless you're looking for bargain movies as they're discontinued, you should avoid the dead-end HD DVD format. I chose the Pioneer BDC-2202 for my system, because it plays back Blu-ray discs and burns standard DVDs. (You can find Blu-ray burners for about three times that cost.) Whichever drive you settle on, consider removing the front bezel when installing it in your case. This plastic lip isn't always needed, and some system cases even come with a replacement bezel that matches the color of the front paneling.
ATI TV Wonder 650

Video Tuner and Capture Card
I'd like to drink straight from my cable company's HDTV programming through a CableCARD solution, but those still aren't readily available to do-it-yourselfers like me. Instead, I'll have to get my over-the-air HDTV through an ATSC tuner card and antenna. Since the ATI TV Wonder 650 supports the Clear-QAM format for digital cable, I can use it to capture unencrypted digital channels directly from a cable feed. Analog component-video capture cards are available, but they're overkill for this project, running a thousand dollars and designed for high-end video production.

To capture HD footage from your own video camera, just stay digital with USB or FireWire. Antenna type and position will determine your channels. Look for one that advertises digital reception, and try aiming in different directions while testing stations.

Sound Card
Dedicated audio cards aren't nearly as essential as they used to be. Sound processing is rarely taxing enough to slow down a modern system, so I didn't use any add-on card for my project. Besides, Windows Vista's rewritten audio architecture takes even less advantage of sound cards than Windows XP. Unless you're building a recording studio or need specialized audio ports that aren't built into the motherboard you bought, skip the sound card altogether and save a chunk of change.
Logitech diNovo Mini Keyboard--click for full-size image.

Input devices
If you're planning to use your PC with your home entertainment system, a Media Center remote is a must. You'll want something that controls mouse movement and can input key commands. I like to have a full-on wireless keyboard and gyroscopic mouse nearby for extensive input. But you can also get home-theater-designed devices that fill all these roles. For that universal approach, I picked the Logitech diNovo Mini Keyboard. This Bluetooth remote handles mousing with its trackpad, while the thumb-friendly keypad works well for entering URLs. But if you choose a different solution, be sure it uses RF--radio frequency--commands instead of IR (infrared). RF can work from as far as a few rooms away, while IR requires a short, direct path to the PC.
Samsung SyncMaster 275T monitor--click for full-size image.

Display
Resolution and aspect ratio are critical when picking a monitor. For a living room, be sure to get something that's natively shaped in a 16:9 rectangle to match HD video. (A work-and-play office display might have a taller shape.) And pick a size that's at least 1920 by 1080 pixels (1080p). Both LCD and plasma screens look great, although some plasma displays present brighter colors in exchange for a higher cost. I'm going to be plugging my system directly into my existing HDTV, but the 27-inch Samsung SyncMaster 275T makes a good desktop alternative because it includes a variety of inputs for analog and digital connections. Be sure that your display--like this one--supports HDCP for Blu-ray Disc and movies.


Software
I based my system on Windows Vista Home Premium because Media Center comes bundled with that package (as well as with the Ultimate edition). If you can track down Windows XP Media Center Edition, that older OS is a good alternative, but it doesn't include the same native HD support, built-in MPEG-2 decoder, and overhauled interface as Vista's version.

Unfortunately, neither OS allows Blu-ray Disc playback in Media Center or Windows Media Player. Your Blu-ray drive will likely ship with bundled software, but if not, check out Nero 8 Ultra Edition.

Once your system is up and running, add it to your home entertainment center or set it up on your desktop to watch and edit movies, record your favorite shows, play all your music, and more.

End of the High-Def Format War: Five Pros and Cons

There's no question that the next-generation DVD, high-definition format war has been a detriment to consumers. Ever since Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD movies and hardware came to market in 2006, the cloud of uncertainty has hung heavy over both formats, constraining growth as wary consumers watched from the sidelines.

With Toshiba's withdrawal today from producing HD DVD players and PC drives, the format war has come to abrupt end--and consumers everywhere can breathe easier as they whip out a credit card to buy a Blu-ray player.

But it's not all good news for consumers. Now that the war is over, I can see both pros and cons. Here are some to consider.
Pro: One Format Rules Them All

With HD DVD's withdrawal, all movie studios will release their content on Blu-ray. That means when you buy a Blu-ray Disc player, you will be able to buy it with the confidence that all of the movies you'll want to see or buy--regardless of what studio produced and distributed the film--will be available on that format.
Pro: Your Movie Collectionf Will Play in Your Player

Buy high-def movies today, and know that those discs won't become tomorrow's Frisbees. That said, you still have a bit of buyer beware here: Older Blu-ray Disc players still remain on the market that don't support Blu-ray's Bonus View (also known by its former code-name, Profile 1.1). Such players won't be able to play back the picture-in-picture and other extra features that Bonus View provides, but they will play the movies.
Con: Price Drops Will Slow

When trying to win the war, Toshiba pushed prices on HD DVD equipment down artificially fast. Without the intense price competition from Toshiba's HD DVD players, we're not going to see the speedy drop in prices on Blu-ray players that we've seen in the previous two years.

In 2006, according to the Consumer Electronics Association, the average player price was $500. This is a number that I personally find incredibly low given that Blu-ray players were introduced in the summer and fall of 2006 at $1000. (HD DVD players cost less, and so clearly dominated the early sales if the average unit sales price still came out at $500). Fast forward to 2007: The average selling price dropped to $395. In 2008, the CEA expects the average player price to drop to $307.
Con: There Are Fewer Deals to Be Had

Think high-def TVs bundled with Blu-ray players. Think aggressive buy-one, get-one-free disc deals. I don't imagine Blu-ray's backers will completely drop such initiatives--after all, they have a vested interest in converting users to the new formats.

But I fully expect we'll see fewer such promotions, and that they'll be used more judiciously than they have been in what has turned out to be the last few months of the format war.
Pro and Con: Expect to Find HD DVD Movies and Hardware on the Cheap

Toshiba says it is working closely and communicating directly with its retailers on next steps. The company will begin to reduce shipments of HD DVD players to retails channels, aiming for cessation by the end of March 2008. Presumably players will be sold on the cheap.

Best Buy spokesperson Brian Lucas says his company doesn't have any immediate plans to pull HD DVD product off the shelves at this point. "Customers who still want to purchase HD-DVD movies will be able to come to our stores to do so. But we anticipate demand will drop considerably, and as demand dries up for HD-DVD products you will start to see us pull them from our shelves," Lucas says.

If you see an HD DVD player--specifically the A35 or the A30--for about $100, you'd be getting a good upconverting DVD player for the price (upconversion enhances your DVD movie viewing pleasure). But that's still a higher price than some upconverting 1080p DVD players, so buyer beware.

Toshiba After HD DVD: What Lies Ahead?

By now Toshiba's decision to no longer develop, manufacture, or market HD DVD players and recorders is public knowledge. What's next for the company, and for consumers who bought into the format it supported? A close look at Toshiba's press release reveals some answers.
Long-Term Impact

"We carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the so-called next-generation format war and concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop," says Atsutoshi Nishida, Toshiba president and CEO.

There's irony here, for sure: After all, Toshiba forged ahead with its technology two years ago, at a time when a format war could have been averted before products went to market and consumers were dragged into the mess. Perhaps this is the company's way of apologizing for the whole debacle.
High-Def Lives

Nishida continues, "while we are disappointed for the company and more importantly, for the consumer, the real mass market opportunity for high definition content remains untapped."

That Toshiba still sees the market opportunity for high-definition content is no surprise. This is a company that makes HDTVs. What will you play on those enormous HDTV screens if not high-definition content?

But will Toshiba enter the Blu-ray Disc player market? It's doubtful. In part thanks to the format war, prices have deteriorated so quickly that the margins just aren't there. Plus, the market is fast moving toward commoditization. Give it another two years, and we'll see Blu-ray Disc players being sold for under $200.
Beyond the Disc

At the same time Toshiba announced its withdrawal from HD DVD, the company said it would increase its focus on high-capacity NAND flash memory and small hard drives. Toshiba also said it would work on maximizing next-generation CPUs, visual processing, and wireless and encryption technologies.

Shortly after making its HD DVD announcement, Toshiba revealed that it has partnered with SanDisk to build a new flash memory chip factory; the companies will share the output from the factory. Toshiba is also launching another chip factory of its own for NAND flash memory.

If Toshiba could get costs down and capacities up on its portable hard drives, the company could pursue another market: high-definition recording to hard disk for DVR-like networked media players. Converged devices such as these could be attractive to network-savvy users who want everything networked throughout the home, including their high-definition content.

That said, Apple's foray into the field--Apple TV--didn't exactly get consumers humming. For Toshiba to make a go of it, the company would have to make its product easier to use and better than the solution that cable and satellite operators currently provide: high-def DVR boxes that require few cables. Toshiba could offer a premium high-definition DVR that also supports streaming media around the home network; years ago Toshiba had prototype designs for such a concept (sans the high-def). Toshiba has already dipped into media streaming with its Network NAVI interface introduced on the RD-XS54 DVD recorder a few years ago.
HDi: Does It Still Have a Future?

Toshiba says it intends to "maintain collaborative relations with the companies who joined with Toshiba in working to build up the HD DVD market, including Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, and DreamWorks Animation and major Japanese and European content providers on the entertainment side, as well as leaders in the IT industry, including Microsoft, Intel, and HP. Toshiba will study possible collaboration with these companies for future business opportunities, utilizing the many assets generated through the development of HD DVD."

Translation: The company plans to maintain good relations with its current partners.

However, this may be an oblique reference to the HDi interactivity initiative Toshiba and Microsoft began in 2007, which involved expanding the advanced interactive layer used in HD DVD media authoring. As recently as late January Microsoft was pushing its HDi technology at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. And Toshiba and Microsoft have revealed that the larger vision for HDi included a universe where multiple devices--including portable media players, servers, and content stored on the Internet--would use HDi to talk with one another.

It's quite possible that Toshiba plans to continue exploring HDi--assuming Microsoft plans to continue pursuing the technology in light of HD DVD's demise.

Internet failure hits two continents

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CNN) -- High-technology services across large tracts of Asia, the Middle East and North Africa were crippled Thursday following a widespread Internet failure which brought many businesses to a standstill and left others struggling to cope.

Hi-tech Dubai has been hit hard by an Internet outage apparently caused by a cut undersea cable.

Industry experts are blaming damage to two undersea cables but it is not known what caused the damage.

Reports say that Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain Pakistan and India, are all experiencing severe problems.

Nations that have been spared the chaos include Israel -- whose traffic uses a different route -- and Lebanon and Iraq. Many Middle East governments have backup satellite systems in case of cable failure.

Stephan Beckert, an analyst with TeleGeography, a research company that consults on global Internet issues, said the damaged cables collectively account for the majority of international communications between Europe and the Middle East.

Du, a state-owned Dubai telecom provider, attributed the outage to an undersea cable cut between Alexandria, Egypt and Palermo, Italy, according to an internal memo obtained by CNN.

In India, Spectranet and Telecomasia.net, two large Internet service providers were experiencing problems. Reliance, a third major Indian Internet provider, said it was not affected.

An official at Egypt's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, speaking on condition of anonymity told AP it was believed that a boat's anchor may have caused the problems, although this was unconfirmed. Beckert agreed that was a likely cause.

The head of an Egyptian Internet service provider called the situation a "wake-up call" for the region, which he said is too dependent on underground lines and does not have a strong enough back-up system. Mohammed Amir, head of Quantum, an ISP in Cairo, described the situation as "a major problem," but expressed hope that the worst of it is over.

The two cables damaged are FLAG Telecom's FLAG Europe-Asia cable and SeaMeWe-4, a cable owned by a consortium of more than a dozen telecommunications companies, Beckert said.

He added the options while those cables are repaired were re-routing traffic around the globe or using an older undamaged cable that has less capacity -- both of which would cause usage delays.

Kuwait's Ministry of Communications said the problem could take two weeks to solve, according to a statement carried by the state news agency, KUNA.

There were concerns in India that an Internet slowdown could affect trading patterns at the country's two major exchanges, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in Delhi and the SENSEX exchange in Bombay.

Rajesh Chharia, president of India's Internet Service Providers' Association, explained that some firms were trying to reroute via Pacific cables and that companies serving the eastern US and the UK were worst affected, AP added.

Besides the Internet, the outage caused major disruption to television and phone services, creating chaos for the UAE's public and private sectors.

The Du internal memo called the situation in Dubai "critical" and stated that the cable's operators did not know when services would be restored.


"This will have a major impact on our voice and Internet service for all the customers," the memo stated. "The network operation team are working with our suppliers overseas to resolve this as soon as possible."

The outage led to a rapid collapse of a wide range of public services in a country which proudly promotes itself as a technological pioneer.

Sources from Emirates Airlines confirmed to CNN Arabic that the outage did not affect its flight schedules -- a statement which assured hundreds of travelers worried after rumors about the possibility of rescheduled flights due to the faults.

However, Dnata, a government group in charge of providing air travel services in the Middle East and ground handling services at Dubai International Airport, acknowledged facing problems because of the outage, sources from its technical department confirmed to CNN Arabic.

The outage heavily crippled Dubai's business section, which is heavily reliant on electronic means for billions of dollars' worth of transactions daily.


Wadah Tahah, the business strategies and development manager for state-owned construction company EMAAR, told CNN Arabic that it was fortunate the outage started Wednesday, when there had been only moderate activity in the UAE markets. He said that softened the blow to business interests.

But Tahah warned that if the outage continued, "such a situation could create problems between brokers, companies, and investors due to loss of control.