Opinion on HTPC Build

[theownero]

Ok this is going to be my first attempt at a HTPC Build, the main reason is so I can have an all in one system that I can give as a present to my mum. Ive got a budget of around £600 but would like to spend in the region of £450-£550. IVe done a bit of research into HTPC's and this is the current set up im considering. Ive also given the average price. Ill use the newegg links just because it's easiest.

Motherboard – Asus P5N7A-VM - £80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131348
PC/TV Tuner – WinTV-HVR-4000 - £85
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000N4NKAK/ref=nosim/coffeeuk85237-21
Processor- Intel Pentium Dual Core 2.5 GHz -£50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072
Case - Lian Li PC-C37 - £120
http://www.awd-it.com/scripts/prodview.asp?idproduct=6091
Hard Drive - WesternDigital Caviar SE 160GB - £30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136075
Ram- G.SKILL 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 800Mhz -£20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231085
Power Supply – CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX -£50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008&Tpk=CORSAIR%20CMPSU-400CX
CD/DVD Re-Writer - Sony Optiarc Black - £20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118030

I was also thinking about leaving out the RAM and using a stick of 1GB OCZ RAM from my Desktop.(Abit lowq

Basically I will be using this to watch HDTV, Analogue, and Freeview, watch movies and listen to music. Want to know if this rig is overkill not enough, or if there are any combatibilty issues.

Fianlly any recommendations on an OS i've done abit of research and am considering Windows MCE, but i'm not very knowledble on the subject.

Thanks in Advance

 

[theownero]

For an AMD based System im Considering:

Motherboard:GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-US2H - £60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128379
Processor1:AMD Athlon 64 X2 5050e Brisbane 2.6GHz-£45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103298
Processor2:AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200 Brisbane 2.7GHz-£41
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103210
Processor3:AMD Athlon X2 7850 Black Edition Kuma 2.8GHz -£50

 

[shortstuff_mt]

I would go with an AMD setup for a HTPC if it was me. I would also consider going with a bigger HD since you're getting a tv tuner card. I can't seem to ever have enough storage space in my HTPC. I currently have about 2TB of storage and am looking at adding more. I would also consider getting more RAM since RAM is so cheap right now. I would get 4GB and use Windows 7.

I recently upgraded my HTPC from Vista to Windows 7 and have been very happy with the results. I was able to get Vista to work, but had to do some hacks to get it to recognize both of my tv tuners and to tune sub-channels. Windows 7 just worked out of the box with no tweaks.