Media center PC

[MarioBros]

Can anyone give me a good parts list for a Media Center PC
...Thanks!

 

[MarioBros]

Ok, maybe the way i said it the first time was lame.


I need recommendations for parts for a powerful media center pc.
No gaming, but more like home theater and that kind of stuff.

 

[Pciber]

regular computer, anything over 1ghz or so, really, then stick in a TV tuner card.. maybe an hdtv tuner card.

 

[imported_Kiwi]

Video takes up huge amounts of storage, and music lovers tend to accumulate more recordings than they can justify keeping; both of those point toward 200-300 Gb Hdd's as a feature of an HTPC. The typical enclosures limit the user on external drive access, so a good CD/DVD-RW/+R/-R Combo like a Plextor 716A is in order.

 

[bookman]

Try www.htpcnews.com. They have several guides posted there.

 

[ribbon13]

Get some Seagate 7200.8 for storage

Heres an HDTV tuner card
http://pchdtv.com/hd_3000.html

Theres a few ATers with WinMCE in the HTPC rigs.

 

[Penth]

I have a few recommendations if you plan on building a XP MCE PC. An AMD 64 3000+ and maybe a DFI nForce4 Ultra-D or you can go nForce3 if you've got the video card. Hauppauge PVR-150 * 2. 2x512 value ram. NEC 3520 DVD. Spend the extra cash for a nice case that will look good with your home theater if it is going to be in there with your other components. I have a similar setup and if I were to do it again, I would probably spend more on a nice case, though I had a case from my first try at a HTPC that I used instead.

 

[MarioBros]

I will definetly use AMD64. I like the Corsair Xpert series, but then again the Crucial Ballistix is cool too.
What for a graphics card ? I like the look of a ATI AIW 9600XT!

 

[imported_CromsDog]

What software are you planning on using for your HTPC? Windows XP MCE has very specific hardware guidlelines and even Sage TV requires use of a dedicated hardware encoder card. THese are a few things you need to consider.