Help with a Media Computer Build

[Yukon Cornelius]

Hi guys, started building a new pc and got the idea to use it as a media pc. Besides a Blu Ray drive, what else would you recommend? I'd like to be able to pvr from my Bell Satellite too if it is possible.

Specs so far:

ASUS M4A88T-M AMD 880G Socket AM3 Motherboard
AMD PHENOM II X6 1035T THUBAN 2.6GHZ AM3
Lite ON 24X DVDRW SATA
2x Corsair XMS3 4GB PC10666 DDR3 1333MHz 4096MB
Seagate 2TB LP Serial ATA HD 5900/64MB/SATA-6G
Windows 7 Home Premium

Cheers, Ryan

[great_big_abyss]

Instead of going with a hex core processor which is waaaay overkill for an HTPC (are you going to be encoding with it?) why wouldn't you just go with an APU like AMD's A6 3650 (Llano). You could get a mATX mobo like this. This combo has more than enough horsepower to play HD video and play light games. You can even add a discrete video card if you wanted to play something a little more demanding. And best of all, since it's a mATX board, it'll fit in a mini-tower.

[Yukon Cornelius]

Originally Posted by great_big_abyss

Instead of going with a hex core processor which is waaaay overkill for an HTPC (are you going to be encoding with it?) why wouldn't you just go with an APU like AMD's A6 3650 (Llano). You could get a mATX mobo like this. This combo has more than enough horsepower to play HD video and play light games. You can even add a discrete video card if you wanted to play something a little more demanding. And best of all, since it's a mATX board, it'll fit in a mini-tower.

Already have those parts on hand for the build.

[great_big_abyss]

well, that's as good a reason as any, then.

Consider getting an SSD to install your OS. A 64GB would probably be enough if you're not installing any games on it.

And I would definitely put in a wireless LAN card. You don't want to be running CAT5 cable through your living room (PITA).

I'm sure you know this, but you'll need the 64bit version of Windows to take advantage of all your RAM.

Other than that and the aforementiond BD drive, looks good!

[frontier204]

Originally Posted by Yukon Cornelius

I'd like to be able to pvr from my Bell Satellite too if it is possible.

You should be able to PVR "SD" content if you have a TV tuner card with IR blaster. I used a Hauppauge 1650 to record off my Rogers box, although I gave up on it and I just PVR analog cable now because the IR blaster software with that card is buggy. High-def content is affected by DRM at several different levels (e.g. the HDMI / DVI port, set top box blocking component outputs, etc).

[Panzer23]

Not entirely sure what you are looking to do with it, but a ceton DCT would also be an awesome addition to it. I own its predicessor and it basically turns my media PC into a HD-DVR for my cable as well. You rent a cable card from your cable company (stupid DRM) and then you have a fully functioning and expandable Tivo in addition to an internet capable PC. Plus you can watch the content you record on other computers in the same network .

SSD is also an awesome Idea. Especially with the setup above because who wants to wait two whole minutes to watch TV, sit down, hit the power button on the remote, and blam, watching that episode of archer you told it to record yesterday

P.S. IR Blaster is key, no getting off the couch required.

[Yukon Cornelius]

Is there something similar to a ceton DCT that works with Bell Satellite?

[Panzer23]

It seems that there are ways to use satillite with WMC. But since I have never needed it, I haven't looked into it. A quick Google search kept coming up with something called expressvu. Heard of that?

[Taichan]

Originally Posted by great_big_abyss

well, that's as good a reason as any, then.

Consider getting an SSD to install your OS. A 64GB would probably be enough if you're not installing any games on it.

And I would definitely put in a wireless LAN card. You don't want to be running CAT5 cable through your living room (PITA).

I'm sure you know this, but you'll need the 64bit version of Windows to take advantage of all your RAM.

Other than that and the aforementiond BD drive, looks good!

I disagree with the statement about wireless. I live in an apartment and during the evening there is so much wireless traffic in the area I can't stream an HD video across wifi from my freenas box. (Over 50 unique SSIDs in the area.)

As for Ceten. Great product but no cablecards in canada. And I know satelite companties do not want to give 3rd party products access.

When I was looking into this a few years ago this was the only option I could find for HD in canada.

Newegg.ca - Hauppauge HD PVR High Definition Personal Video Recorder 1212 USB 2.0 Interface

[Panzer23]

Originally Posted by Taichan

I disagree with the statement about wireless. I live in an apartment and during the evening there is so much wireless traffic in the area I can't stream an HD video across wifi from my freenas box. (Over 50 unique SSIDs in the area.)

As for Ceten. Great product but no cablecards in canada. And I know satelite companties do not want to give 3rd party products access.

When I was looking into this a few years ago this was the only option I could find for HD in canada.

Newegg.ca - Hauppauge HD PVR High Definition Personal Video Recorder 1212 USB 2.0 Interface

True story there, its not that hard to run a hard line, and the hauppauge should work perfectly! also love the limit per person they have on it just in case you want to watch 99 things at once...