HTPC spec request and questions..

[staffsMike]

True.. the main idea of the spec (same with most of my specs) is that it stays next to silent so I specced the very good value 5000+ black edition (which is a brisbane core making it 65nm) and the scythe ninja to keep things very quiet I have the same chip and HSF and it stays pretty much at ambient tempretures.

Since the 780G chipset has essentially got an ATi HD3450pro shrunk into it you don't need a lot of cpu power but the black edition will hold it's value better and overclock with ease due to the unlocked multiplier. This also means the motherboard isn't stressed when overclocking

[Crazywhores]

Gigabyte GA-73PVM-S2H, GeForce 7100, Socket 775, MCP-630i £36.69
Nice board with onboard 7100 graphichs and HDMI

Patriot 2GB PC2-6400 C4 Extreme Performance (2x1GB) £29.95
500GB Samsung Spinpoint SATA2 16MB £45.45
Intel Pentium Dual Core E2160 1.8GHz (Retail 775) £36.45
Nothing to add really

Antec NSK2480 Desktop Case (Silver/Black) £51.95
Nice case with 380w 80% efficient power supply( I have this power supply in my HTPC and it's really quiet)

Total: (exc. VAT) £200.49 (£235.58 inc)

Found the above items all at Aria, but you should be able to find them all over

Just add your own optical drive and TV tuner card. For software I use media portal which works great with XP and is free. This system should play all you can throw at it, but maybe the onboard graphics might struggle with 1080p. But you have an expansion slot to add a 3450/8500gt if you find that it's not upto the task.

Just another option to muddy the waters

[adsmithy]

Has anyone connected their PVR to a Sky satellite dish?

[dave87]

I believe you can, the issue comes with the CAM (Content Access Module) as most Sky Cards are coded to the box I believe.

You will however need a DVB-S tuner instead of a DVB-T one.

[adsmithy]

I believe you can, the issue comes with the CAM (Content Access Module) as most Sky Cards are coded to the box I believe.

You will however need a DVB-S tuner instead of a DVB-T one.

Correct me if I'm wrong, I don't currently have a Sky subscription, but I still have my Sky dish, will I be able to get Freeview through that with a DVB-S tuner?

[adsmithy]

Just something that is confusing me. Does anyone know the difference [if there is one] between Freeview through DVB-T and free to air through DVB-S in terms of channels available?