radiog33k's HTPC

[radiog33k]

Hello All!

Happy New Year! I have put together an HTPC which is still a work in progress but I thought I would share what parts I've used so far and how I configured it.

Here is the parts list:

- Chassis, NZXT HUSH, with a 450W PSU
- MSI K8T Neo2 v2.0, VIA K8T800PRO chipset with DDR, AMD Socket 939
- CPU, AMD Athlon 64 3800+ 2.0GHz
- RAM, ULTRA PC2700, DDR, 1GB
- HDD, 1X Seagate Barracuda 250GB 7200RPM (partitioned for 60GB boot), 1X Maxtor 80 GB (slave storage)
- NEC DVD/CD R/W
- VC, XFX 6600GT w/ 128M RAM, AGP8X
- CPU cooling, Thermaltake
- Keyboard&mouse, Adesso Wireless and Gyration mouse
- Sound, on-board
- TVcard, Haupaugge PVR-150 w/remote
- Ultra PCI 1394 Firewire card

Software

- MP 0.2.3.0
- Video codec, ffdshow
- h263 codec, ffdshow
- Audio codec, AC3filter with passthrough for AC97 etc
- Skin, Project Mayhem III
- iTunes and Winamp w/ Streamripper
- DVDFab HD Decrypter

The idea here was to make use of legacy hardware along with some spare parts I had from past builds to come up with a relatively cheap media center PC that I could add Blu-ray capability to and eek out a few years of enjoyment until the current batch of hardware becomes afforable . The primary purpose of this build was to....

- Rip, store and play DVDs
- Rip, store and play CDs/music
- Process and catalog family video collection

The entire build cost me <$500. For what I need it to do, I have been pretty pleased so far. I am weighing the addition of Blu-ray playback capability against an entirely new build. Adding this capability to the current box will require a CPU upgrade to a 64 X2 3800+ and a video card upgrade to an ATI 2600PRO with HDCP capability. The question becomes whether or not I want to put anymore money into Socket 939 and AGP-based components as AM2 and PCIe become more ubiquitous and better supported. For now the system works like a charm!

/Peter