Budget Media Center PC

[rubberdown]

Hey everyone thanks in advance for your help!!

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: weekend of sept 12 BUDGET RANGE: as cheap as possible while not having a crappy power
supply or something that will go out in a year.

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Media Center, maybe as an old school video game emulator

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: any external parts ie: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: dont really have any preference as long as they are quick and reputable

PARTS PREFERENCES:Need a rack mountable case, need a digital audio output, IR remote would be nice, and wired lan so my crestron system can control it.

OVERCLOCKING: Would prefer not to

MONITOR RESOLUTION: My LCD TV displays 1024x768 at 60hz and 1920x1080 at 60hz

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Going into my existing home theater, video will be sent over VGA cable to LCD television, (can use HDMI at later date but current reciever doesnt have HDMI switching), would like it to be quiet and not put out much heat. I want to catalog my collection of DVDs (about 350)and CDs/Mp3s into it so I dont have to fumble through them all to find what I want. I also would like to put an emulator on there to play astroids and what not. While I have built computers previously, I have no experience with overclocking etc so I would like to stay away from that.

 

[rubberdown]

Not getting any feedback here. What is the minimum processor speed I need to run to have great HD playback at 1920x1080.. Are there any asus motherboards out there that can support 1920x1080 with onboard graphics out VGA? I figure 2 Gig of ram is fine to start, can always upgrade later. Are there any rack mountable cases with ir controls on em? Someone help me get started here... I havent looked at a computer component since 01... have had work laptops ever since then. Thanks!

 

[dragoon190]

Well, the Nvidia Ion platform can handle blueray and dvd playbacks, and I suppose that you might want to use a mATX or miniITX board for a wall mounted unit. I haven't really researched much into HTPC, though, but I think these two links would help you a bit.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-ion-htpc,2329-2.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-ion-htpc,2329.html

Here's the AMD 785G offering, I think it's only available in mATX flavor, though.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-785g-chipset,2381-13.html

Well, this is as far as I can help you with, good luck.

 

[batuchka]

 

[rubberdown]

Ok, so I picked up an AMD 720 BE processor for basically free. So thats my start. I was thinking this combo:

AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649&Tpk=amd%20720%20be

ASUS M4A78-EM AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131384&Tpk=m4a78-em


Questions are:

I need a recommendation on RAM. I would like to stick with DDR2 800... two 2GB sticks.
Is any DVD burner better than the other?
As far as cases, I can just set a shelf in the rack and stick a microATX case or ATX case. Any recommendations for something that can hold lots of internal drives and wont take up a ton of space? Thanks!

Ryan