Building My High Definition Media Center

[kb8kicker]

I want to build a media center pc. Mainly what I'm looking for is a computer that will run very fast in all that I want it to do. I do not game at all. I will be using this as my main blue ray player and have already ripped all of my dvd collection onto the hard drive of my current media center pc. ( just an old compaq presario 6331rsh)

Please tell me what you think of this setup. The only part I really want to keep is the case.

Case: Antec Fusion Black Media Center Case

Motherboard: Abit I-N73HD Motherboard

or XFX MG-63MI-7109 Motherboard


Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600

Drive: Sony BDU-X10S Internal Blu-ray Disc

2 or 4 gigs of RAM?

I'm a new member so I can't post any URL's yet. Sorry

The main thing I'm not sure of is the motherboard. I don't really think I'll need a separate video card since I don't do any gaming. But, I definitely want to get full 1080p and good quality High Def content.

Please give me your advice on whether any of this is more or less than I need. Thanks!

[GvForces]

go with high definition man and 4 gigs of ram

[SiM]

Quad core = overkill
4gb ram = overkill

anything can do 1080p now days... its best done by hardware decoding with an integrated chipset and at the moment the AM2 motherboards are better at this.

If you are interested, you can take a look at my build here... My E2200 does everything flawlessly at stock.

I would look at a board like this:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=775308 (has HDMI and onboard graphics that decodes Blu-ray)
and for the CPU:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=807038

any thing more powerful would work of course, but it is a waste of money...

if you go for intel, you will need a separate graphics card if you want hardware decoding

btw you should have posted this in the hardware forum... this forum is for abit presale/customer service

[kb8kicker]

Thanks Alot! I'll post it there too.

So what processor would you recommend for this board?

[kb8kicker]

haha wow nevermind! I just saw that you gave a link for a processor.

So This board would be fine for all my HD without a video card?

[Abit_NL]

Some chipsets have pretty good HD decoding.

AMD 690G:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=845045

Nvidia Geforce 8200:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=827893

So at this moment a system with an AMD CPU is the better choice. But if you prefer Intel you can go for the I-N73HD, it has HD decoding as well, but from a previous generation.