thinking of building a cheap htpc

[lrmat]

i have an ati 9600xt and an ati tv wonder pro pci card already and a couple of harddrives. what else do i need and what would you recommend? should i go sff? how much ram is enough? i don't plan on playing games, just recording movies and burning them to dvd's.

i appreciate all your help.

 

[mcveigh]

first decide what OS/software you're going to use. for eas of use I reccoemnd MCE2005, for features I prefer sagetv...I do want to play with myth tv on linux though.
get....
NEC 3520A dvd burner
big hard drive
If you have to buy a new mobo/cpu combo for for something with PCI express slots as that's the way the futures going.
your video card will do great (I know it's agp)
good sound card...are you putting the sound out to a receiver?
what's your display?

 

[lrmat]

i plan on using a windows xp variant. i was thinking of the nec burner. yes i need a mobo but it should work with agp cause i want to keep it as cheap as possible.

 

[CheesePoofs]

For ram probably get 512mb, if you use something that supports dual channel ram be sure to get 2 256mh sticks.

 

[lrmat]

oh, by the way i have a thermaltake purepower 480w psu as well. once again, what should i do? go sff? case? mobo? cpu? how cheap?

 

[mcveigh]

what display? a monitor, HDTV, SDTV? how are you connecting? composite, component, S-video, DVI, VGA?

 

[lrmat]

i have two hdtv's but it will probably mostly be at work. i just want to be able to record the ppv movies at my job. s-video would be fine. as i said before, i have an ati tv wonder pro card.

 

[mcveigh]

I'm not sure if that's a hardware encoding card or not, hardware is better b/c it takes the load off the CPU
I's go the AMD route, say a Nforce3 250 mobo,
copied right from the AT entry level buyers guide
Socket 754 Motherboard: Chaintech VNF-250 Nforce3 250
Price: $73 shipped
Socket 754 CPU: AMD Athlon 64 2800+ 1.8 GHz
Price: $127 shipped (Retail)
Total: $200
use your video card, hard drives (if big enough) capture card
I'd get a dvd burner (nec 3520 ..about $65)
get 512 MB basic DDR3200 ram
you should be good to go.

 

[lrmat]

THE ATI is a hardware encoder. what about a case?

 

[mcveigh]

well I like the silverstone ones. any case will do, but do you want it to look nice, I have an older coolermaster case that looks good by my TV.
http://www.silverstonetek.com/product-case.htm
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...rder=PRICE&InnerCata=7
don't know if that newegg link will show up, but if not goto cases and search for ATX desktop cases
I'd go for an ATX instead of micro atx unless you know exactly what mobo you're getting and it's micro atx