38 MAXIMUMPC OCTOBER 2006
Assembling a PC for the living room is a little different than bolting together a power rig for gaming.
Your key objectives: Keep it cool, and keep it quiet.%HP MH NBE= : %HF> tA>:M>K pc
Tight space inside the case dictates
using oversized thumbscrews to se-
cure the optical drive in its bay.HOME THEATER PC HOME THEATER PC HOME THEATER PC HOME THEATER PC
Evaluating the home-theater PC market
based on what major system manufacturers
are producing would lead you to conclude
that it’s kaput: HP currently has just one
model remaining in its “Entertainment” line,
and Dell has nothing at all in this formfactor.But if the market’s dead, why does
Silverstone alone offer nearly two-dozen
HTPC cases? No, the demand for these
machines is strong—it’s just that main-
stream manufacturers don’t seem to under-
stand how to build them. But we do; and sowill you, soon enough!
For the most part, building a home-
theater rig is just like building any other rig,
with a few small differences. Never built a
PC? You’ll fi nd a complete refresher course
at http://www.maximumpc.com.THE HARDWARE
CASE Ahanix MCE701
$350, http://www.ahanix.com
MOTHERBOARD Asus
M2N32-SLI Deluxe
$250, http://www.asus.com
CPU Athlon 64 X2 3800+
(Energy Effi cient Small
Formfactor)
$365, http://www.amd.com
VIDEOCARD MSI GeForce
7600 GT w/HDCP
$180, http://www.msicomputer.com
TV TUNER CARD
Hauppauge PVR-250
$150, http://www.hauppage.com
SOUNDCARD Sound Blaster
X-Fi Extreme Music
$120, http://www.creative.com
HARD DRIVE Seagate
Barracuda 7200.10 750GB
$500, http://www.seagate.com
OPTICAL DRIVE
Plextor PX-716A
$140, http://www.plextor.com
KEYBOARD & MOUSE
Logitech Cordless
Desktop S510
$70, http://www.logitech.com
REMOTE CONTROL
Logitech Harmony 890
$400, http://www.logitech.com
IR BLASTER USB-UIRT
$50, http://www.usbuirt.com
MEMORY 2GB Crucial
Ballistix DDR2
$400, http://www.crucial.com
CPU COOLER Zalman
CNPS8000
$55, http://www.zalmanusa.com
POWER SUPPLY Antec
NeoHe 550
$130, http://www.antec.comTHE SOFTWARE
OS Windows XP
$200, http://www.microsoft.com
PVR BeyondTV
$70, http://www.snapstream.comTHE HARDWARE
THE SOFTWARE
Make sure you have a long Philips screwdriver on hand. Temporarily remove the rear case
fans and the hard-drive cage from the Ahanix MCE701 case, and then carefully angle the
Asus M2N32-SLI motherboard down onto the case’s stand-offs. Fasten it securely.
Next, install the CPU and heatsink. The Zalman model we chose blocked the fi rst
memory slot, so we installed our RAM into slots two and four. Mount the power sup-
ply next, and plug its power cables into the motherboard and the case’s front panel.
Reinstall the case fans and plug them in. Mount your hard drive into the cage (choose
a bay that won’t block your videocard or the motherboard’s power socket), secure it to
the case, and plug in its power and SATA cables.
Remove your DVD drive’s faceplate and attach the aluminum one that Ahanix pro-
vides. Slide the drive into its bay, secure it using the provided thumbscrews, and plug
in its power and ribbon cables. Install your videocard, but hold off on the soundcard
and TV tuner until after you’ve installed Windows.1 INSTALL THE INTERNAL COMPONENTS
The Ahanix MCE701 is outfi tted with a slick 7-inch touch-screen LCD (1280x768 resolu-
tion), which plugs into one set of your motherboard’s internal USB ports. The Asus moth-
erboard we used comes with three super-handy blocks—called Q-Connectors—that
make it a cinch to plug in the case’s front-panel connectors (LEDs, USB, and FireWire).
Unfortunately, you’ll have to connect the touch screen the old-fashioned way. But
as long as you orient these wires in the same way as you have the standard USB ports
(note: the unmarked cable is a second ground), you shouldn’t have a problem.
A thick cable extends from the front-panel display to the back of the case, where
it terminates with a standard VGA connector. After you’ve installed your videocard,
you’ll plug this cable into one of its outputs (you’ll need the DVI-to-VGA adapter that
came with your videocard). Don’t forget to install the screen’s device drivers after
you’ve installed Windows.2 CONNECT THE FRONT-PANEL DISPLAY
Home-theater PCs are designed to fi t inside a rack with other electronics gear, which
means their dimensions are narrower and shallower than many other PCs; as a result, their
internal components wind up in close proximity to one another. We want this machine to
be ultra quiet, however, so install as few case fans as you think you can—one blowing air
over the hard drive, and another exhausting air from the back of the case should do it.
Finally, an HTPC will likely spend most of its useful life buttoned up tighter than Queen
Victoria’s corset, so it’s critical that the internal wiring is arranged with an eye toward
maximizing airfl ow channels. Wherever possible, route cables around the perimeter of the
case, so that air moves unimpeded from the front to the back. Zip-tying cables together
will make this task easier, and it will reduce the amount of space the cables consume
overall. Good cable management will also make your DIY job look more professional—
which is gratifying even if you’re the only person who ever sees it.3 MAXIMIZE YOUR AIRFLOW
The front-panel touch-screen dis-
play plugs into your motherboard’s
USB port.Wherever possible, route your cables
around the periphery of the case. This
will maximize airflow and keep tem-
peratures inside the case manageable.