Is This a good deal for an HTPC?

[hype88]

I was getting ready to build a new htpc but then i got offered the following for 600$ already built...

Intel's latest E6750 Core 2 Duo 2.66GHz 1333FSB 4MB cache CPU.

-1GB of DDR2 dual-channel RAM (its a crap brand.. but i got extra from another computer)

-80GB + 320GB dual SATA hard drives. Use the 80GB as your dedicated OS drive, and the 320GB to store all your movies/music/videos/photos.

-Raidmax 630W power supply.

-An ATI X800 PCI-E video card.(i'll be changing this out with my 8600gts)

-Dual SATA optical drives - a Samsung 16X DVDRW and a DVDROM reader.

-Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P motherboard.

black Lian Li HTPC case, with dual matching aluminum bezel to cover the dual optical drives for the cleanest minimalistic look.

it seems like a good deal but i just recently started looking at all the components im going to need so basically i'd just like a second opinion...

thanks....

[zoobie]

looks like a nice deal to me
these are guesstimates:
e6750 = $200
ram = $50
HDD's = $125
PS = $50
video card = $100
optical drives = $100
mobo = $125
total=$750 without the case

[bendixG15]

The e6750 in the GS3P motherboard are the accepted creme de la creme.

Memory is another story....

[redwudz]

The Lian Li cases are really nice. One of the best around.

[hype88]

cool.. thanks for the replies guys.. i feel a little more confident on the buy now...

[hype88]

Now i have to decide on the OS and memory.. this is my first true HTPC.. So i never had the chance to use Microsoft Media Center 2005.. So i'm not sure if i should go with the future and get Vista or get what i've heard was more stable in MMC 2005? I've been reading the vista edition of media center has gotten alot better over all the latest updates? Anyone have any thoughts on which one they'd prefer?

And then with the memory.. the 1gb it comes with is a garbage brand so i'll be needing some ram as well.. i have 2gb of super talent DDR2 -667 PC5300 but should i evan put that in the case? I was thinking about getting some better quality ram.. any suggestions?

also the remaining pci-e slots are x4 and x1.. would a HDTV tuner card run smoothly in a x4 slot? also can anyone suggest a good tuner card for my set-up?

I just don't have much knowledge when it comes to computer parts so any advice would be appreciate...

[budz]

Make sure you check the GIGABYTE website for the compatible memory for that mobo. GIGABYTE makes it very clear to only use the recommended memory for their mobo's.

For that Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P here's the link for the supported brands of memory:

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/MemorySupport/motherboard_memory_ga-p35-ds3p.pdf

The CORSAIR 1GB CM2X1024-6400C4 ram is a good one to use. I just picked up 2gb's of that memory last week from Zipzoomfly.com since there was a $40.00 mail in rebate and shipping for me was only $12.99 to Hawaii. It's high performance/gaming memory and very good if you decide to overclock that Conroe cpu.

IMHO I'd get rid of that DVD-ROM and opt for SAMSUNG S203B SATA 20x dvd burner. There's no riplock on the drive, meaning it can read at faster speeds. Some dvd burners are riplocked to only rip at 9x spd for commercial dvd discs and 16x spd for single layer dvd discs. Here's a review of that SAMSUNG SATA S203B dvd burner at Cdfreaks.com:

http://www.cdfreaks.com/reviews/Samsung-SH-S203B-DVD-Burner-Review

[Heavensent]

as OS i whould use xp and add a program that will deal with the home theater stuff.
the reason i say that is that i heard lots of complaints about vista, and xp
is allready patched for most threats.
another thing is gaming, your much better off with xp for gaming
then with MCE or VISTA.
i understand its supposed to be HTPC but, you never know

and in your post i didnt see what capture card you intend to use, so save some money for that too

i like the Hauppauge products myself, have the MCE-150 card and am very pleased with
the resolts i get with it.

i use a program named MediaPortal to capture and manage the whole thing.
its free and it works

goodluck

[jman98]

hype88 - I work in IT for a living. Only an idiot would install Vista. NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER install an OS from Microsoft until after the first service pack comes out. NEVER! There are no service packs for Vista. If you ignore this advice, don't come crying back here for help when various things just don't work in Vista because you were warned not to use it.

I would use XP if it was me. I don't trust MCE, but it should be better than Vista.

[Heywould3]

hype88 - I work in IT for a living. Only an idiot would install Vista. NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER install an OS from Microsoft until after the first service pack comes out. NEVER! There are no service packs for Vista. If you ignore this advice, don't come crying back here for help when various things just don't work in Vista because you were warned not to use it.

I would use XP if it was me. I don't trust MCE, but it should be better than Vista.

statements like this really bug me.. for one jsut becase a person works as an IT pro doenst hold water with me. im not in IT but i can and have been able to run circles around myIT department for years. most of them only know what they were taught at the place they work and that is not saying much. I have never ever met a "IT pro" that knew half of what i knew when i needed help. im not saying that jman98 doesnt know his stuff.. im just saying the title doenst mean crap. one thing that really stands out to me is that a real "IT pro" would never make a statement like that.

that statement sounds like it came from a 20something or younger person that works for comp usa or bb or cc in the computer rapair department.

Only an idiot would install Vista

WTF man. there are lots of other reasons a person would install VISTA and not one of them makes the person an idiot.

i would agree that MS has its issues but so does everyone else. VISTA is new and yep its gonna have bugs. everything new has bugs. cars tvs home audio rockets even the medical field has bugs with new procedures. so its just stupid to make such statements.

This is not meant as a direct slam on jman98 but at the statement.

there are lots of people using MCE and i would use it if i were you. go to the avsforum and have a look around. vista is a good idea it just needs to be tweeked. (updates are free) I currently use XP but only because im lazy and dont have a huge interest in tweeking multiple OS's

I hear there is a new LINUX out that has all the media center pgms already integrated ad its free. so thats something to look into.. but then you have a leaning curve

[hype88]

Make sure you check the GIGABYTE website for the compatible memory for that mobo. GIGABYTE makes it very clear to only use the recommended memory for their mobo's.

For that Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P here's the link for the supported brands of memory:

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/MemorySupport/motherboard_memory_ga-p35-ds3p.pdf

The CORSAIR 1GB CM2X1024-6400C4 ram is a good one to use. I just picked up 2gb's of that memory last week from Zipzoomfly.com since there was a $40.00 mail in rebate and shipping for me was only $12.99 to Hawaii. It's high performance/gaming memory and very good if you decide to overclock that Conroe cpu.

IMHO I'd get rid of that DVD-ROM and opt for SAMSUNG S203B SATA 20x dvd burner. There's no riplock on the drive, meaning it can read at faster speeds. Some dvd burners are riplocked to only rip at 9x spd for commercial dvd discs and 16x spd for single layer dvd discs. Here's a review of that SAMSUNG SATA S203B dvd burner at Cdfreaks.com:

http://www.cdfreaks.com/reviews/Samsung-SH-S203B-DVD-Burner-Review

that's a great deal on that ram.. i might go ahead and just get that.. thanks...

i agree with changing out the dvd-rom.. i planned on doing that actually and crazy enough with that exact samsung drive you're talking about lol.. i've heard quite a few people say it's the best sata burner in the 30$ range...

[hype88]

as OS i whould use xp and add a program that will deal with the home theater stuff.
the reason i say that is that i heard lots of complaints about vista, and xp
is allready patched for most threats.
another thing is gaming, your much better off with xp for gaming
then with MCE or VISTA.
i understand its supposed to be HTPC but, you never know

and in your post i didnt see what capture card you intend to use, so save some money for that too

i like the Hauppauge products myself, have the MCE-150 card and am very pleased with
the resolts i get with it.

i use a program named MediaPortal to capture and manage the whole thing.
its free and it works

goodluck

actually gaming was one of the reasons i was thinking about going with vista.. with dx10 support there's a huge difference in textures and lighting evan though the games list with dx10 is small.. i'll def. be playing games.. not much but occasionally.. i've been doing alot of reading and i think i'm going to give vista a try.. i figure worst case scenerio i could just split my 80gb hd between xp and vista and do a dual boot....

i'm actually using Media Portal right now.. i like it but i wanted to give wmc a try...

Hauppauge is pretty much the only brand i've been looking at for capture cards.. i'm going to wait until a good deal pops up somewhere but i def. plan on getting one with in the next month or two..

do you know if i'd beable to record a high def show/movie and still beable to browse the internet or play a lightly demanding game?

[hype88]

hype88 - I work in IT for a living. Only an idiot would install Vista. NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER install an OS from Microsoft until after the first service pack comes out. NEVER! There are no service packs for Vista. If you ignore this advice, don't come crying back here for help when various things just don't work in Vista because you were warned not to use it.

I would use XP if it was me. I don't trust MCE, but it should be better than Vista.

i appreciate you trying to help me out but is it really necessary to call a person an idiot for using vista? using a newer os i fully expect bugs but along with those bugs there are also a few vital improvements i've noticed in vista (for me atleast) such as dx10 support and purevideohd and then the media center in vista has a much improved user interface especially for music.. so iguess i'll be an idiot and go with vista..,

[hype88]

thanks for the post Heywould3.. i completely forgot about the avsforum.. it's been awhile since i been there.. i'll probably spend a couple hours doing a little more researching to solidify my choice...

i've always wanted to try out linux but truthfully i'm too lazy as well to learn a new os.. i've used windows my entire life and now with vista im sure i'll have my hands full...

[budz]

i agree with changing out the dvd-rom.. i planned on doing that actually and crazy enough with that exact samsung drive you're talking about lol.. i've heard quite a few people say it's the best sata burner in the 30$ range...

Yup, the SAMSUNG S203B SATA dvd burner is the best drive in the market right now. I have 2 of them now and I like the fact that the drives are not riplocked at all. There's no need for hacked firmware although CodeKing has released a patched firmware for the drive that will allow certain Media ID's to burn better than the stock firmware. I've been able to burn VERBATIM MCC-004 & TAIYO YUDEN T02 dvd media at 12x & 16x time speeds with no problems in the discs reading correctly in any of my standalone dvd players.

[Heywould3]

to answer your question about cap cards. i have the HVR1600 from them and its hardware encoding so it uses very little cpu. if you get any harware based card you can cap and surf or what ever at the same time.