First HTPC Build

[bigal40]

-I am looking at building a new HTPC. I've never built a HTPC before but I have built and worked on PCs before.

-I will mainly use it for watching Xvid and HDTV from the hard drive, some DVDs(SD), and some occasional gaming. I also want to put all my music on it so I can play it on my home theater speaker system.

-I need to hook it up to my projector and to my CRT TV. I'll hook it up to the projector through my receiver using component. I'll then need another output to the CRT TV of either composite or s-video. What is the best way to accomplish this? Should I get two video cards or do some cards do both component and either composite or svideo at the same time? Most video cards have an HDTV dongle the comes out of the s-video slot meaning you can only use one or the other.

-What is the best software/OS to use to browse my media files? I was thinking about Windows XP Media Center but it is a little pricey.

-Want to keep the cost below $500.


Here's what I have been looking at:

.........................Processor.............................
Pentium D 805 2.66ghz x2 + GIGABYTE 775 Intel 945GZ Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

$121

......................RAM..........................................
Kingston ValueRAM 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) Retail

$80

......................Case/PSU.......................................
POWMAX CP808PL-1 Beige Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450W Power Supply - Retail

$26

......................Video Card......................................
ASUS EN7300GS/HTD/128 GeForce 7300GS 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Retail

$60

Another card that I might be able to use only for svideo out

DIAMOND Stealth S60PCI Radeon 7000 32MB DDR PCI Video Card - Retail

$28

.......................Hard Drive.................................
SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD300LD 300GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM

$94

......................Windows...................................
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 (Full Version) Single-Pack OEM

$110

Some wireless mouse/keyboard about $20

Total comes to $540.

Is there anyplace where I can cut back? Is the processor overkill? Too much RAM?

 

[jpeyton]

$540 - $20 (Mouse/KB) - $110 (XP Media Center) = $410

Antec Sonata II w/ 450W PSU $50

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ & Biostar TForce550 $160

Arctic Cooling Alpine64 $10

Patriot 1GB (2x512MB) DDR2 667 $67

Gigabyte Geforce 7300GS 256MB $65

Western Digital Caviar SE16 320GB SATA II $90

Total: $442 Plus Shipping/Tax

 

[Slammy1]

You probably want to go PCI/e and dual core if you're wanting to do HD.

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

Some observations:

1.) Go Core 2 Duo or AMD X2. You need some muscle to decode next-gen HD formats.
2.) Dont skimp on video card. Get an Nvidia 7600GT or 7600GS at least.

 

[regnez]

Originally posted by: Sudheer Anne
Some observations:

1.) Go Core 2 Duo or AMD X2. You need some muscle to decode next-gen HD formats.
2.) Dont skimp on video card. Get an Nvidia 7600GT or 7600GS at least.

:thumbsup: for a low end X2 (3600 or 3800). It would run cooler than the 805, and it is more powerful. A C2D would be ideal, but with a sub $500 budget, it is not really a viable option.

 

[Chubbbs]

I agree that you should try to stay away from the Pentium D. I get the feeling you're going to be disappointed at this price point for a media PC. Especially if you plan on moving to Vista in the next year or so, it's gunna get marginal before you're ready to upgrade. You should consider that investing in a C2D platform (G/P965) will provide a better upgrade path, as all indications point to Intel being superior for single-socket systems for the next couple product generations. In my personal experience, whenever I built a system for cheap because I thought it was all I needed, I ended up regretting it. But if that's the budget, then jpeyton seems about right. You'll need two video cards for two TV-outs, even if one is component and the other is svideo.