Media Center build

[wally3434]

Hey guys. New to the forum and about the buy these components but I thought id be smart and run them by you guys. Any suggestions would be awesome if you have dealt with any of these parts, or suggestions on how to approach this build. I know i might get flamed for this, but i am more of a mac guy and have not built a pc yet, but any help would be great.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Media Center, limited gaming, ripping DVDs to HD , compressing DVDS, HDMI to TV, in future hoping to start DVR, use with XBMC, looking to convert most dvds to HD

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread,
right now have it down to around 400.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts
USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.

no real preference, but i like where intel is going. suggestions welcome

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

all new, already picked up a dynex case from best buy for 19.99 on that deal. also have a 74 GB 10,000 RPM hd for running the operating system

not really looking to overclock, or run anything but a stable system. I am more of a mac guy but need a pc to be able to use with XBMC and tversity. I am also going to be running Windows XP professional, maybe media center edition.

Thanks!

samsung Dvd burner OEM

seagate hard drive
Memory
fixed
motherboard

Intel Processor

 

[heyheybooboo]

GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX $100

Athlon 64 X2 5400+ 2.8GHz Brisbane 65W $88

Your memory link is bad.

 

[wally3434]

why use AMD vs INTEL? pros and cons?

 

[heyheybooboo]

AMD 780g chipset is more advanced than G35, has better IGP (with onboard HD DVD . BluRay acceleration), HT3, better onboard audio (Realtek ALC889A), eSATA, optical S/PDIF out and a PCIe 2.0 x16 slot ... For $30 less.

The X2 5400+ is faster at stock than the e4500 and costs $25 less. The 5400+ will OC to 3.2GHz most likely at stock volts with temps in the 27c range at idle. The e4500 will OC to a similar speed and perform 5-10% faster than the AMD cpu at 3.2GHz.

If you are going to stick with Intel consider an e2200 for $30 less (and a x11 multiplier). You will need to OC it 15-20% to match the x2 5400+ at stock. The e2200 should also reach 3.2GHz or so without cranking up your voltage too high.

I normally verify compatibility on memory between OEMs - either through the mobo QVL or ram vendor specific recommendations. It generally means the components have been tested together - though it's not 100% necessary to do so

You so happen to pick an area where AMD is quite competitive in price and performance. And who knows? Maybe a 45nm AMD quad could be in your future.

Good Luck!



edit: What about an ATSC tuner card ???

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo
GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX $100

Athlon 64 X2 5400+ 2.8GHz Brisbane 65W $88

Your memory link is bad.

definitely +1 this. In the HTPC field, where your not going to do any heavy encoding/decoding, AMD wins @ your budget.

 

[wally3434]

upgrading wise doesnt intel have a better roadmap? and with relation to possibly running osx, either natively or virtually, does this have a impact on choices?