Building a Tivo

[Chengora]

Hi all,

Hope this is the right place for this question. I'm looking to build a DVR out of an old Dell 3000, and I wanted to make sure I was going about this the right way. It's primarily going to be used for video recording (obviously), but I'll probably make it so that my girlfriend can sync her MP3 player on it, as well as storing some pictures.

From the original PC, I'm going to have:

1. Motherboard
2. Pentium 4 Prescott Chip
3. 512 MB RAM (almost certain it's DDR)
4. 250-300W power supply
5. Running Windows XP, Home Edition SP2

From Newegg, I'm picking up:

1. Hard drive (probably 250 GB)
2. DVD/RW drive

And I'll get a bundle from BeyondTV or something for the TV Tuner/capture card and the software. I'm really hoping the PSU is strong enough, but let me know if you think it's worth an upgrade.

My question is whether I need to purchase a discrete graphics card. The Dell has an integrated Intel graphics chip, but I could certainly go for something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161184

Unfortunately, this PC only has PCI slots available. Does having a discrete card matter? Will there be any real difference between the integrated card and the discrete one? Or should I just scrap the old Dell and get all new parts?

Thanks for your help!

 

[trencin]

I dont think you would need that video card, hence i think your onboard should be fine. if you only have one PCI slot available and u want/need that video card i think your board should have a PCI-E x1 slot and so you could pick from a list of these tv tuners and i personally have the hauppauge

here is the list
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...7 1148710226 1148418886&bop=And&Order=REVIEWS

I think there is more of PCI-E X1 tv tuners than that but i got a list of those with a remote control for the convinience

 

[utaka95]

I would suggest buying a slightly larger hard drive, I started with a 500 gig and upgraded to a 750 recently. I personally recommend the Western Digital 500 gig se16 AAKS, it's very quiet and pretty fast. That Dell case may not be very friendly as far as aftermarket power supplies go, the ones here at work are a nightmare to find suitable replacements for. Otherwise, I say go for it!

 

[Chengora]

Thanks, trencin and utaka!

The Dell has 2-3 PCI slots, but I don't think it has a PCI-E x1. It was a poor purchase from the minute I got it in 2005, although at least it wasn't too expensive. Just looking to salvage it, since it did serve me well, although obviously it doesn't have the power to be much more than a specialty computer.

And I've heard great things about Hauppauge - will almost definitely go with that. As for the hard drive, yeah, 500 GB makes sense. I wish I could put two HDs in - one for the DVR and one for music and photos - but Dell's aren't the most upgrade-friendly, sadly.

Thanks again!

 

[trencin]

yeah no prob! good luck with it