New Media Centre Build

[RhysGM]

Hello, the last PC I built was about 6 or 7 seven years ago. And now I want to build a new media centre pc.

What I have is;

My TV which can take an input from HDMI or standard PC input (I'm making the assumption either one will do for 1080p)

I have an 5.1 amp which can decode DTS and DD. With an Optical and Coaxial input.

I have my Harmony One remote which I would like to configure with it.

I do have a humax foxsat hdr box so no real need to record TV but it would be nice to able to connect this to the pc to pull the recorded programmes off.

The sole purpose is to sit under my tv and play hard drive backups of my DVD's, BluRays and from disc. Also to have an easy to use media player for all my music.


What I'm thinking of getting;

Antec Fusion Remote Media Center Case (£116.67)
Antec Fusion Remote Veris Black MATX Media Center Case - No PSU - Ebuyer

Nesteq Semi-Fanless ASM 450w PSU (£81.73)
http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/produc ... esteq-psus

ASUS M3N78-EM GeForce 8300 Socket AM2+ VGA DVI HDMI 8-channel Audio MATX Motherboard (£68.04)
ASUS M3N78-EM GeForce 8300 Socket AM2+ VGA DVI HDMI 8-channel Audio MATX Motherboard - Ebuyer

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4850e 2.5GHz Socket AM2 Energy Efficient 1MB L2 Cache Retail (£49.26)
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4850e 2.5GHz Socket AM2 Energy Efficient 1MB L2 Cache Retail Boxed Processor - Ebuyer

Scythe Ninja II Heatpipe Cooler used fanless (£41.99)
http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/produc ... ng/ninja-2

OCZ 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 CL 4-4-4-15 PLATINUM XTC (£24.41)
OCZ 2GB DDR2 Memory - Cheap at Ebuyer!

Western Digital 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache - OEM Green Power (£79.99) x2
Western Digital 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache - OEM Green Power - Ebuyer

LG Electronics Blu-Ray & HD-DVD-Rom Combo 16x DVDRW Black SATA (£75.81)
LG Electronics Blu-Ray & HD-DVD-Rom Combo 16x DVDRW Black SATA - Retail Box With Software - Ebuyer


Is this all compatible and a good build for my needs, will it be able to play BluRay backups seemlessly?

Also I currently use XP pro and Ubuntu, I will want to use windows so which should I go for given what I'm going to use it for? XP or Vista and which version?

Thank you for any advice you can give.

 

[Gilles]

I don't think you can write files to a BlueRay disc with that particular drive, but that doesn't matter if you're just playing them from your HDD. Just a head up in case you didn't realize.

Oh, and your link to the PSU just goes to the home page of that site.

Everything else looks good to me.

 

[RhysGM]

Fixed links for the;

PSU
Nesteq Semi-Fanless ASM PSUs

Heat Sink
Ninja II Heatpipe Cooler, with 120mm fan

 

[Asylum]

Everything looks good except for that power supply...Never heard of that company...Think i would go with a 500 watt from corsair or another top brand!!

 

[RhysGM]

Everything looks good except for that power supply...Never heard of that company...Think i would go with a 500 watt from corsair or another top brand!!

I went with that PSU as it was the quietest one I could find that was fairly well recommended.

 

[Gilles]

Never heard of that brand of PSU either, but it seems to be a pretty good one, after reading reviews around the net. I'd definitely try it, especially if you want silent and affordable.

That heat sync seems a bit overkill for the processor you went with, especially if you aren't overclocking. Not sure what the stock sync is like for the X2, but I'd give it a try, and then find a sync locally if it's not what you want.

 

[RhysGM]

Never heard of that brand of PSU either, but it seems to be a pretty good one, after reading reviews around the net. I'd definitely try it, especially if you want silent and affordable.

That heat sync seems a bit overkill for the processor you went with, especially if you aren't overclocking. Not sure what the stock sync is like for the X2, but I'd give it a try, and then find a sync locally if it's not what you want.

I'll go with the mini heatsink as that one wont fit. And after a bit more research I think a 780g chipset over a 8300. Supposedly it handles hd better.

But now I'm stuck on which OS to use.

 

[synergy]

If you want full media center functionality you'll need Vista Ultimate or XP MCE.

 

[RhysGM]

If you want full media center functionality you'll need Vista Ultimate or XP MCE.

Can I streamline the bootup process, so it loads straight into the media centre and doesn't enable anything else. Mainly to speed up the boot time and so other non computer literate people can use it, like my gran (If I had one).

 

[Yami]

If you want full media center functionality you'll need Vista Ultimate or XP MCE.

I thought that Home Premium had media center?