How To Build A Home Theater Computer Part 2

Your Home Theater System Setup

When you build a home theater computer (also known as HTPC), it's best to use a home theater plan. You can build a home theater pc, including your home theater system, with a little help from your computer guides. Video and sound cards, power supply, CPU and memory, HTPC case and motherboard, and more are just some of the topics covered in this system building guide.

So far so good? Get comfortable and let's continue with How to Build a Home Theater Computer, Part Two:

Hard Drives and Optical Drive

Installing a hard drive is quite simple. First, remove the drive bay by removing the screws that hold it in place. Note, if you have a different case, your drives may be secured differently.
Slide each drive that you have to install into the drive bay and secure them in place using 4 screws per drive.
Replace the drive bays back into the case and secure them in place.
Remove the center 5.25" drive bay by removing front screws that hold it in place. (On some cases you may need to remove the center bracket that runs over the top of it.
Slide your optical drive into the bay and secure it in place using 4 screws.
If needed, remove the plastic piece on the front of the case that is covering the optical drive bay.
Replace the optical drive bay into the case and secure it in place.

Power Supply

To install the power supply, simply slide it in place inside the case and secure it in place from the rear of the case using four screws.

Video and Sound Cards

If you are installing a video or sound card, follow these simple steps.

Align your video card with the PCI-e slot on the motherboard and find out which slot protector needs to be removed.
Remove the slot protector and re-align the video card with the PCI-e slot.
Slide the card into the slot, ensuring that it is seated securely.
Secure the card to the slot on the back of the case using a single screw.

If you are installing a sound card or TV tuner card, the process is identical to the above, except you will use either a PCI slot or a PCI-e x1 slot. Refer to your sound card manual for the proper slot.

Additional Reading:

Visit Media Center PC, Part 1

Visit Media Center, Part 2

Media Center Computer

Home Theater PC

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