Your opinion and suggestions would be appreciated. TIA.

[jrbowie]

Hello all, this is my first Post on this Forum and am gratefull you are here.

I Googled today looking for some alternatives to the major players in the HTPC Software Arena and stumbled onto Media Portal and look forward to giving it a try.

I am about to build my first HTPC (really my first computer build, period) and was looking for any opinions and/or guidance that any of you might be willing to share. Here is what I have already purchased for components, it looked good on paper.

Jetway A210GDMS-Pro AMD Motherboard, AMD 3000+ Venice Processor, AOPEN nVidia 6600 Video Card (not the GT) with HDTV Output, Avermedia 180A HDTV Tuner, Xtasy Theater Pro 550 Tuner Card, plus 2 GIG of RAM, 2x160 GIG Hard Drives and an NEC DVD Burner. All of this will go into a Chenming 118 Micro ATX Case with a 300 Watt Power Supply.

I noticed that Media Portal supports the AverMedia Card and the Theater 550 Pro Card right off. This is far more than the others can boast. BTV3 and Sage are having problems with the 550 cards, at least that what is reported in their Forums. Are there similar experiences with Media Portal?

Does anyone have any warnings or any wisdom about the build that I am about to attempt? Should I just start tearing out what is left of my hair now? :shock:

Also, does anyone have any expeirence with Indoor Amplified HDTV Antennas? I live in an Apartment and an Outdoor Antenna is not an option (and I am not willing to pay Comcast $10 a month for 9 HDTV channels that I should be able to capture for free). My apartment has a large window with a relatively unobstructed veiw of the skyline in the direction of Chicago, if that helps. I live about 45 miles nearly due west of Chicago.

Thanks for any insight and wisdom you are willing to share.

[jrbowie]

Moderator,

If I placed this in the wrong Topic, please move it to the right area.

Thank you.

[Stinky]

I can't critique much of your hardware choices, I don't know them well enough. 2GB of ram and 2x160GB drives is great, though. I think that's an area where a lot of us cheap out and wind up upgrading later, anyway.

I'm running my TV on the DVI connection as well, it's awesome but it really highlights poor reception. When everything onscreen looks so crisp and then you switch to a ghosty, fuzzy channel with annoying scan lines, it really shows.

Good luck with the build, and make sure you use up-to-date drivers for everything!

A 300w psu for all kit that sounds a bit low :!:

useful "Is my PSU big enough thread"
http://discuss.futuremark.com/forum/...=5&o=0&fpart=1

[jrbowie]

I appreciate the encouragement.

I started assembly last night and it is going well.

I was a little concerned about the PSU sizing and agree that it is too small. I just ordered a 400W PSU.

I also ordered some round cables to, hopefuly, help with air flow through the case. I can only put one Cooling Fan in the case and I am a little worried about keeping things cool enough. Once I get this little monster running I may need to get a different fan to increase air movement through the case.

Next stop, a TV that is worthy of this machine that won't break the Bank. Probably a refurbed Philips Direct View with HDMI hook-up to go with the DVI HDTV out on the Video Card.

[jrbowie]

I appreciate the encouragement.

I started assembly last night and it is going well.

I was a little concerned about the PSU sizing and agree that it is too small. I just ordered a 400W PSU.

I also ordered some round cables to, hopefuly, help with air flow through the case. I can only put one Cooling Fan in the case and I am a little worried about keeping things cool enough. Once I get this little monster running I may need to get a different fan to increase air movement through the case.

Next stop, a TV that is worthy of this machine that won't break the Bank. Probably a refurbed Philips Direct View with HDMI hook-up to go with the DVI HDTV out on the Video Card.

[jrbowie]

I appreciate the encouragement.

I started assembly last night and it is going well.

I was a little concerned about the PSU sizing and agree that it is too small. I just ordered a 400W PSU.

I also ordered some round cables to, hopefuly, help with air flow through the case. I can only put one Cooling Fan in the case and I am a little worried about keeping things cool enough. Once I get this little monster running I may need to get a different fan to increase air movement through the case.

Next stop, a TV that is worthy of this machine that won't break the Bank. Probably a refurbed Philips Direct View with HDMI hook-up to go with the DVI HDTV out on the Video Card.

[jrbowie]

I appreciate the encouragement.

I started assembly last night and it is going well.

I was a little concerned about the PSU sizing and agree that it is too small. I just ordered a 400W PSU.

I also ordered some round cables to, hopefuly, help with air flow through the case. I can only put one Cooling Fan in the case and I am a little worried about keeping things cool enough. Once I get this little monster running I may need to get a different fan to increase air movement through the case.

Next stop, a TV that is worthy of this machine that won't break the Bank. Probably a refurbed Philips Direct View with HDMI hook-up to go with the DVI HDTV out on the Video Card.

[jrbowie]

I appreciate the encouragement.

I started assembly last night and it is going well.

I was a little concerned about the PSU sizing and agree that it is too small. I just ordered a 400W PSU.

I also ordered some round cables to, hopefuly, help with air flow through the case. I can only put one Cooling Fan in the case and I am a little worried about keeping things cool enough. Once I get this little monster running I may need to get a different fan to increase air movement through the case.

Next stop, a TV that is worthy of this machine that won't break the Bank. Probably a refurbed Philips Direct View with HDMI hook-up to go with the DVI HDTV out on the Video Card.

[jrbowie]

I apologize for the repeated Postings.

I kept getting an ERROR Mesage that told me that there was an SMTP problem and the system could not connect.

Yikes !!!!!!

I guess it was connecting just fine.

The Moderator is welcome to remove any extra postings.

I'm guessing the problem might be related to the Firewall at work.

Again, my apolgies.