media center pc

[GoNz0]

im now looking at building my own media center instead of going the popcorn hour route, just wondering what you all suggest hardware wise..

i dont have a clue as i normally build game pc's not quiet media center ones !

i have been reading a few threads, but nothing recent.

[staffsMike]

I'm not exactly up to date (a month or so out) but I would be looking for something like this.

AMD 4850e X2 + Scythe ninja mini ~£70
Asus/Gigabyte 780G based mobo ~£50
2GB PC6400 4-4-4-12 £20
Antec NSk2480 + 380W earthwatts (ugly as sin but very good) ~£70?
640GB WD AAKS ~£45
LG Blu Ray Drive ~£65

£300 in total, without TV cards, OS etc..

[GoNz0]

cheers m8, not looking at tv card as we have V+, will require HDMI 1.3a spec for the telly as i want 1080p, more to stream HD content from the thecus, so will also need gb ethernet, small and quiet is the key to this

[staffsMike]

cheers m8, not looking at tv card as we have V+, will require HDMI 1.3a spec for the telly as i want 1080p, more to stream HD content from the thecus, so will also need gb ethernet, small and quiet is the key to this

The IGP handles 1080p no problems. It also games reasonably well though not at those extreme resolutions lol

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-...-RAID-HDMI-ATX

[GoNz0]

just found my old 8800gtx in parts box!

wondering how to proceed with that, will need optical out as i plan on plumbing it into a Sony STRDG820..

also wondering what sort of media case to get for it all, they seem rather bloody expensive !

[staffsMike]

i wouldn't bother with that monster, the IGP on the AMD board is plenty.

If you want a cheap case the NSK2480 I think I mentioned before is the cheapest decent way to go. Comes with a 380W earthwatts for £70 all in.

[hyenus]

i would go with a 750 or 1000 gb samsung sata hd remembering to use the ibm/hitachi aams(acoustic mgmt) proggie to set the hd in superquiet mode (makes big diff) ive got a wd 1tb sata hd and the samsung is quieter and withbless vibration

[GoNz0]

i got a 250gb maxtor im going to use, i have a thecus n5200 to stream the media so storage is not a problem

[GoNz0]

well i started to buying today, did a bit more homework and so far have these on order

LG GGW-H20L Super Multi Blu-Ray Writer
Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H, NVIDIA GeForce 9400, S775
Silverstone LC16B-MR Black Desktop

i need a PSU to go with it though and wonder whats worth buying under £50

also need some ram, im intending to put vista on there so would like 4gb